Wall?E’s Hidden Secrets
Posted on November 16, 2008 at 8:00 am
Now that Wall?E is being released on DVD and you can hit the “pause” button, here are some things to look for:
Still Leaving it to Beaver
Posted on November 14, 2008 at 8:00 am
The Washington Post has a poignant tribute to Leave It to Beaver
“Leave It to Beaver” rejuvenates me. I need its gentle tone and mild-manneredness, its absence of deep drama and complicated characters, and its simple, predictable, formulaic story lines, in which nothing seems to have lasting consequence. And I need Beaver’s innocence, his youthful ability to trust and believe completely, his state of confused wonderment (“Gee whiz, Dad, has it always been hard on kids being kids?”), and his wholly natural, small-boy approach to life. When my cancer refuses to slow down for sentiment, “Beaver” helps me feel embraced by life, not tossed around by it….
It’s easy to lose one’s perspective in the suffocating web of cancer. I don’t know if watching “Leave It to Beaver” is pathetic or liberating. But for now, I’ve put my faith in the idea that these stories from my childhood — realistic or not — possess the kind of redemptive power referred to by William Maxwell. “Stories,” he wrote, “can save us.” Such is the reality; such is the hope.
Appreciation for one of “Beaver’s” stars comes from an even more surprising place. The Louvre, with one of the world’s great art collections, the place that houses the Mona Lisa, will show a sculpture from Tony Dow, who played Beaver’s older brother, Wally.
“Of course, I’m really proud of ‘Leave It to Beaver’ and my directing career in television,” said Dow. “Those are great accomplishments. I’m really proud of them, but this is interesting because I don’t think they know anything about that at the Louvre.”
Still, I suspect Dow and his fellow castmates will be most fondly remembered for their 1950’s television show. It does hold up remarkably well, not just for the way it evokes a more innocent time, but because it evokes the worldview of a child. Sweet but not sugary, it is a family classic.
Doctor Group Objects to Smoking in Movies for Kids
Posted on November 11, 2008 at 10:00 pm
USA Today has a story about smoking in movies:
A new study by the American Medical Association Alliance, the volunteer branch of the AMA, finds that over the past six years more than half of the movies geared toward children feature characters smoking. In more than a quarter of the movies, actors light up cigars.
The study’s own figures show that while the majority of PG and PG-13 films show characters smoking, it has decreased since 2007, when a stricter rating policy from the MPAA went into effect.
MPAA spokesman Seth Oster takes issue with the study. He says his organization’s own four-year analysis of 3,400 films found that of the 1,938 movies that featured smoking, 75% were rated R. In addition, he notes, the MPAA has added phrases such as “glamorizes smoking” and “pervasive smoking” in its ratings. “We have incorporated smoking as a factor on par with other issues like language, violence and sexual situations,” Oster says. “The motion picture industry takes very seriously the issue of smoking in films.”
The AMAA and American Lung Association would like an R rating for any film with smoking unless it is a biographical film or a movie addressing the dangers of tobacco.
(P)G is for Box Office Gold
Posted on November 9, 2008 at 10:31 pm
Madagascar 2 (PG) made more than $63 million in its opening weekend. Just to put it in perspective, number 2 was the R-rated Role Models, at $19 million, which under normal circumstances would have been enough to make it number one. But $63 million puts “Madagascar 2” in the top 50 opening weekends of all time, around the level of “Wall?E” and “Lord of the Rings.”
Last week’s number 1 was the G-rated High School Musical 3, for the second week in a row. This week, at number 3, it continued to do well, increasing its total to a domestic $75 million and over $160 million world-wide.
Why does Hollywood keep having to re-learn the lesson that there is an enormous and enthusiastic audience for family-friendly movies?
Teach With Movies: Resource for Teachers and Parents
Posted on November 9, 2008 at 8:00 am
Teach With Movies is a subscription-based website with teaching materials for over 200 movies, to help teachers and parents use films to begin discussions with children and teenagers about everything from understanding emotions and improving communication to making choices and recognizing narrative themes and symbols.
Their free samples include a guide to October Sky, one of my favorite films, based on the real-life story of a young boy from a West Virginia mining town who dreams of becoming a rocket scientist. And their guide to Finding Nemo has some great ideas for talking to children about friendship and responsibility. It has good advice that applies to any movie or television show kids watch, a good reminder that media is most valuable when it is used to awaken ideas and start conversations.
Just talking with your child fosters verbal, social and emotional learning. You can talk about a movie at any time: right after it is over, in the car on the way to school, during quiet time, or before bed. — Ask about the story, the characters, and the plot. Keep it light and fun. — Always encourage your child to form opinions and to share them. — Exercise memory skills by asking about plot details. — Open-ended questions will help get a discussion going.