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 Last year it was an ugly and misogynistic term for an outdated product used for intimate female cleansing.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.

Jim Emerson Deconstructs ‘The Dark Knight’ Action Sequence

Posted on September 14, 2011 at 8:00 am

Jim Emerson of Indiewire takes viewers through the truck chase scene in “The Dark Knight” and explains how an action sequence works (and does not work). This is a superb lesson on visual story-telling, highly recommended.

A Treat for ‘Say Anything’ Fans — Deleted Scenes!

Posted on September 6, 2011 at 8:00 am

It’s the movie Entertainment Weekly called the greatest romance of the past 25 years. Boom boxes have come and gone, but the iconic image of John Cusack holding his over his head so that Ione Skye can hear their song is all-but-universally recognizable. “I used to think I had a crush on John Cusack,” a 20-something friend told me. “But I really had a crush on , Lloyd Dobbler.” A lot of the teen girls in the audience (and even the grown-up women) identified with Corey, DC, and Rebecca, who said, “If you were Diane Court, would you honestly fall for Lloyd?” “Yeah.” “Yeah.” “Yeah!”

Diane (Ione Skye), the high school valedictorian memorably described as “a brain…trapped in the body of a game show hostess,” does fall for Lloyd, then breaks up with him after pressure from her father (John Mahoney), then comes back to him when it turns out her father, the person she trusted most, was stealing from his nursing home residents to get money to give Diane lavish gifts.

Susannah Gora of Salon notes that writer-director Cameron Crowe (“Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” “Almost Famous,” and the upcoming “We Bought a Zoo” with Matt Damon) has been posting deleted scenes, just the screenplay, not footage, on his website.

Gora says:

Crowe had based the Lloyd character on a real-life man named Lowell Marchant, who was his neighbor in Santa Monica during the time he was working on this script. Marchant was an optimistic 19-year-old kickboxer from Alabama, who, as Crowe told me when I interviewed him for my book “You Couldn’t Ignore Me If You Tried,” “would knock on the doors of his neighbors to make friends. And you’d answer it, and he’d be like, ‘Good afternoon, I’m Lowell Marchant. And I would like to meet you. I’m your neighbor, and I’m a kickboxer. Do you know about kickboxing?’ And he would wipe off his palm on the side of his pant leg, and shake your hand. And it was just such a great thing.” Crowe told me that Marchant’s simple, thoughtful gesture of wiping his palm before going for the handshake “was the first little spark for the bonfire that would become getting the character right.”

But what struck me as perhaps the most interesting and most significant finding in all the newly released material was this: Originally, Lloyd had a line at the very beginning of the film in which he asks one of his friends, “Did ever say anything about me?” The line was ultimately scrapped, which may seem insignificant if not for one thing: That was the only time that Cusack’s character ever uttered the phrase that was the title of the film. As it stands, that phrase, “say anything,” is spoken many times — but only by Diane and her father.

It is a lot of fun to read over the script for the famous dinner scene and see the stage directions, and understand how much Mahoney, Skye, and Cusack brought to the film, and to see the portions that Crowe wrote but did not use. And if it inspires you to watch the movie (again or for the first time), that’s good, too.

New ‘Star Wars’ Blu-Ray Creates Controversy

Posted on September 4, 2011 at 8:00 am

George Lucas can’t stop fiddling with “Star Wars.” This week’s highly anticipated Blu-Ray release of Star Wars: The Complete Saga films has 40 hours of extra material, which will make the fan-boys happy, but it also tinkers with the original films so significantly that some of the hardcore fans are calling for a boycott and have even set up a Facebook page to get support for the boycott. For example, you won’t see the famous “Han shot first” scene in the Blu-Ray.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1YbFnkZwZk

And the Ewoks now have CGI-enhanced eyes that blink.

Nikki Finke cheekily quotes from Lucas’ 1988 testimony before Congress to her story on the controversy:

People who alter or destroy works of art and our cultural heritage for profit or as an exercise of power are barbarians, and if the laws of the United States continue to condone this behavior, history will surely classify us as a barbaric society.

In the future it will become even easier for old negatives to become lost and be “replaced” by new altered negatives. This would be a great loss to our society. Our cultural history must not be allowed to be rewritten.

Attention should be paid to this question of our soul, and not simply to accounting procedures. Attention should be paid to the interest of those who are yet unborn, who should be able to see this generation as it saw itself, and the past generation as it saw itself.

Ross Lulppold of The Huffington Post has a funny piece with some other suggested changes Lucas might want to consider. Chewie in pants? Googly eyes for the Sarlaac? Stay tuned.

Family Media Rules for the New School Year

Posted on August 29, 2011 at 9:37 am

As families get ready to start a new school year, it is a good opportunity to sit down and map out the rules for managing media, which should be posted in the kitchen and signed off on by both adults and children. Here’s what I recommend as a good starting point for developing a plan that works for you.

Certain times and spaces in the home should be media-free zones. That means no iPods for kids and no Blackberries for parents and no smart phones for anyone. Recommended: during meals, in car rides under 30 minutes, after bedtime.

No screen time for anyone under age 2, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Recreational screen time, whether television, DVDs, or computers, is a treat, not a right. It’s a good idea to make sure that it comes only after homework, chores, exercise, other kinds of play, and family time.

Make sure there is some quiet time each day as well. The spirit is nourished by silence. All too often, we try to drown out our unsettled or lonely feelings in noise, instead of allowing them to resolve themselves. Just as important, the best and most meaningful family communication flourishes only in quiet.

Plan recreational media usage. You might say something like, “We should have time for one hour of television today” or “Let’s get a DVD to watch on Sunday afternoon.” Then look at the newspaper or television guide listing together or look through a movie guide to see the options and pick which ones you think are worthwhile. Try to avoid the “let’s see what’s on television” channel surf, which has a tendency to be numbing rather than engaging or relaxing.

Distract and entertain the kids with books, crayons, or non-electronic toys; not television, iPads, and DVDs. The Washington-based Center for Media Education estimates that preschoolers watch four hours of television a day. Most educators think that anything over two hours at that age takes too much time away from the important “work” of playing, learning to interact with others, learning to amuse themselves, and developing their imaginations. School-age kids should spend even less time with television.

Turn the television off when the program or DVD is over, unless there is something else you planned to watch on next. This discourages the idea that we “watch television” instead of watching particular programs.

Watch with the kids whenever possible, and comment on what you see. Encourage them to comment, too. “What do you think he will do next?” “She looks sad. I think they hurt her feelings.” “He’s having a hard time feeling good about himself, isn’t he?” “If you were that kid, what would you do?” “If someone said that to you, how would you feel?”

Look for positive role models for girls. Children’s shows produced for commercial networks tend to ignore girls. Producers are asked for shows with “boy appeal,” because the numbers show that girls will watch shows produced for boys, but boys won’t watch shows produced for girls. There is a lot of what I call “the Smurfette syndrome,” a reference to the once-popular cartoon show that featured 99 highly varied male characters and one girl character, whose sole and defining characteristic was that she was a female. Whether you have daughters or sons, help them to be sensitive to these concerns, asking questions like, “Do you think it’s fair that there are no girls on that team?” “How come only the boys get to go on that adventure?” and commenting positively on good female role models: “She’s brave!” “That’s what I call persistence!”

Be alert for issues of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, family, and class. The media tends to feature Dick and Jane, Ozzie and Harriet suburban families, where Dad works and Mom stays home and does housework and everyone is white and vaguely Christian. Non-whites are often portrayed condescendingly or stereotypically. Make sure your children know that there are many different kinds of families, and many different kinds of homes. Make an effort to be sure they see diverse families in what they watch.

Set a good example. Don’t let the kids see you veg out in front of the television, aimlessly clicking the remote. Don’t tell them not to talk to you so you can watch some sitcom. Do let them see you reading, and enjoying what you read.

Don’t ever let anyone — parent, grandparent, sibling or friend — tell a child that a program or video he or she wants to watch is “too babyish.” Respect children’s interest and affection for the shows they like, and their need to return to old comforts.

Make sure that children understand the difference between programs and commercials. Saturday morning cartoon commercials are particularly troublesome, with a sort of hip-hop precocity that shows grade-school kids acting like hyperactive mini-teenagers. Online games and communities for children are also filled with marketing and advertising.

Establish a zero-tolerance policy for mean or bullying behavior on social media. Middle school and elementary school-age children should know that parents can and do review everything they do online or via texting at any time.

If you find that you have made a mistake and taken your children to a film that you find inappropriate, leave the theater. You can get your money back. And you communicate an important lesson to your children about your commitment to protecting them. The same is true, of course, for a DVD or television show.

Do not be shy about setting television limits with babysitters, friends’ parents, or grandparents. Never leave your children with anyone without being clear about your rules.

Be careful with tie-ins, especially cartoons based on movie characters. Just because a Saturday morning cartoon like “Beetlejuice” or “The Mask” or some fast food gizmo is geared for children does not mean that the associated movie is appropriate for them as well.

Use movies as a starting point for developing interests. Go to the library to check out a book or video relating to what you have seen. Read the newspaper for stories relating to what you have seen. Make a craft project inspired by the show. (“Can you draw Mickey carrying the buckets of water?” “Let’s try to find where Indiana Jones went on a map.”)

When in doubt, turn it off. Remember that there is no reason to watch any DVD unless you genuinely feel it is the best use of your child’s time and worth two hours of childhood.

Every month or so, try a “television diet” day without any television at all, and use the extra time for special family activities.

When an older sibling is watching a video that is not appropriate for a younger child, make sure the younger child has an appealing alternative. It’s a good time for you to do something special together, even if it is just sorting laundry or setting the table.

Establish strict limits on viewing, but try not to use limits as a punishment, unless the offense relates to television itself (watching without permission, for example) or time management (“If you don’t finish cleaning up by 3:00, you won’t have time to watch the movie.”) This reinforces the message that we make decisions about television and videos based only on the merits of the shows.

Let them know why you like (or don’t like) particular shows. Try not to say that something is “too old” for them, as this will just make them more interested in seeing what it is about. Sometimes it works better to say (truthfully) that it is “too stupid.” Compare it to food; some shows are like healthful food, some are like candy, some are like poison. Model good television behavior yourself. Don’t keep it on as background noise. Don’t watch anything you don’t want them to see if they are around (you’d be amazed — and appalled — at what a three-year-old can pick up.)

No television in a child’s bedroom, unless he or she is sick in bed. It is not only isolating, but it makes establishing limits impossible.

Never, never, never have the television on during family meals. That is your most precious time to share the day’s experiences, challenges, and thoughts, and to let children know how important they are to you. The same goes for rides in the car, minivan, or RV.