Tide Commercial Gets It Wrong About Moms, Daughters, and Gender Roles

Posted on October 7, 2011 at 3:42 pm

I try to maintain a sense of humor about ads, but I really do not like the new series of commercials for Tide with people explaining how they get their clothes dirty. I know they are intended to be funny but I find them annoying and the one with the “girly” mom complaining about her cargo-pants-wearing daughter really bugged me. So I was very pleased to see a very thoughtful commentary on the Tide ad from Lauren R. of Representing America.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9LTRbWsGOI&feature=player_embedded

Tide may be making fun of this stereotypical perfectionist housewife. The elaborately decorated living room, the pink cardigan, sensible haircut; it all fits. Is this commercial trying to present satire? If so, I don’t think that they were obvious enough about doing so.

The satire presented is also sexist in its own way. The mother is portrayed as uptight, reserved, and repressed to the point of (maybe?) being humorous….Either way you look at it, this ad is probably sending the wrong message.

Who are they making fun of here? The little girl in the cargo pants who likes to get dirty or the mother who wants her to wear pink? Either way, it is definitely sending the wrong message.

‘The Lion King’ Roars at the Box Office — Again

Posted on September 25, 2011 at 9:58 pm

The Lion King, a 3D conversion of a 1994 Disney animated film that has been available on DVD and on video, cable, and broadcast television before that has stunned box-office predictors by out-grossing Brad Pitt’s very high profile baseball movie in its second week back in theaters. It is tough for a family movie to beat a PG-13 because children’s tickets cost less and they don’t sell many seats to late-night and weekday showings. “Lion King” makes up the difference with the premium for 3D glasses, but still, even “Moneyball’s” Billy Beane could not have come up with a computer formula to predict that a 17-year-old film could make “Moneyball,” like the Oakland A’s, an underdog.

I have my own theory about this. I don’t think it’s because of the 3D conversion. In the old days before videos, Disney re-released its classic animated films every seven years or so because they knew there was a new generation of children who had not seen them. The children of today may have seen “The Lion King” dozens of times on DVD but they have not seen in on a big screen with no distractions. And they have not seen it as an event, a family outing with everyone sitting in the dark enjoying it at the same time. That’s a dimension that goes way beyond anything you can do with fancy glasses.

1. The Lion King 3D — $22.1 million
2. Moneyball — $20.6 million
3. Dolphin Tale — $20.3 million
4. Abduction — $11.2 million
5. Killer Elite — $9.5 million

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Network Television’s Distressing New Word

Posted on September 23, 2011 at 3:51 pm

Years ago, “Saturday Night Live” had a funny “Wayne’s World” sketch with Bruce Willis as the high school cool kid, who appeared on the show to reveal to Wayne and Garth what the new cool insult word of the year would be. I’m not going to reveal that word here, but I am beginning to suspect that somewhere there is a Bruce Willis equivalent who decides what boundary-crossing word will all of a sudden be prevalent on broadcast television. Last year it was an ugly and misogynistic term for an outdated product used for intimate female cleansing. As in the “Wayne’s World” sketch, this year’s word is an anatomical reference, used to insult or provoke. According to the New York Times, all of a sudden the most popular new word is the clinical term for what are sometimes more politely referred to as lady parts. Sadly, in many cases the scripts are written by women who seem to think that it makes them cool enough to be in the TV boys club instead of understanding it makes them look undignified, insecure, and trashy.

Two female writers who are behind three of the shows that use the word commented:

I think our tolerance for what is edgy is changing,” said Cummings, who, besides writing her own comedy for NBC, also wrote “Two Broke Girls” with Michael Patrick King, a longtime producer and writer of “Sex and the City.” “We’re getting a little desensitized, so sometimes you have to be more and more shocking because now you have YouTube and the Internet and all the rest that’s available for us to watch.”

…

“I think it’s great this is all coming from women,” said Liz Meriwether, the creator of another new show, “New Girl.” “This is all part of the human experience”…As for the reasons to use it, she added: “Sometimes you use crudeness just for shock. But sometimes you’re using crudeness because it absolutely is the funniest joke. I think the best comedy is the stuff that does make you a little uncomfortable.”

I think the best comedy does not confuse cheap shocks with what is genuinely provocative.

More 3D Conversions: Top Gun is Next

Posted on September 12, 2011 at 3:33 pm

The re-release of “The Lion King” in 3D is coming this month and now the Hollywood Reporter says that “Top Gun” is being adapted for a 3D release. Apparently, director Tony Scott has not yet given his approval.

As I noted on Ebert Presents At the Movies, there’s a world of difference between films shot in 3D and those converted to 3D after they have been shot with 2D cameras. I don’t think there’s any benefit at all from releasing a well-known film in an obviously-converted format, do you?

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A Controversial Choice for a Judah Maccabee Film

Posted on September 12, 2011 at 8:00 am

The story of Judah Maccabee, one of the greatest warrior heroes in Jewish history, could make a great movie. He led the first revolt against religious oppression in 167 BCE. His victory is celebrated by Jews around the world each year at Hannukah.

One of the most successful directors in Hollywood is behind the project, someone whose previous film about a rebellion was an Oscar-winner. But that director is Mel Gibson, whose anti-Semitic tirade when he was arrested for drunk driving and portrayal of the ancient Jews in his controversial “The Passion of the Christ” suggests that he may not be the person to tell this story. Gibson has said repeatedly that this is a movie he wants to make. But his choice of screenwriter is also sure to raise concerns. It is Joe Eszterhas of “Basic Instinct,” “Flashdance,” and “Showgirls.”

Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, released a statement: “We would have hoped that Warner Bros. could have found someone better than Mel Gibson to direct or perhaps even star in a film on the life of the Jewish historical icon Judah Maccabee. As a hero of the Jewish people and a universal hero in the struggle for religious liberty, Judah Maccabee deserves better.” They have asked Warner Brothers to “reconsider” Gibson’s involvement.

I am skeptical about Gibson’s ability to tell this story, not because I think he will promote stereotypes or bigotry but because I think his increasing fascination with anger and violence will give the story the wrong focus. I hope I’m wrong.

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