Posted on May 7, 2010 at 1:59 pm
Our troops take a well-deserved break to create a salute to Lady GaGa and her video for “Telephone.”
And NPR takes a moment to salute them both.
I love the way both videos have such whole-hearted enthusiasm and good humor. And, as always, I love seeing how art inspires us to affectionate parody and even, sometimes, some more art.
Posted on April 10, 2010 at 12:54 pm
A new book by Susannah Gora takes a look at the group of young actors who appeared in the John Hughes films that seemed to define a generation — and certainly changed the way teenagers were portrayed on screen. You Couldn’t Ignore Me If You Tried: The Brat Pack, John Hughes, and Their Impact on a Generation
Gora quotes Roger Ebert’s description of writer-director Hughes as “the philosopher of adolescence” and talks about the impact the movies and their music had on the culture and on the teenagers who appeared in them. The highlight of this year’s Oscar ceremony was the tribute to Hughes from his favorite performers, concluding with Matthew Broderick’s just-right thank you: “Danke Schoen.”
You can listen to Scott Simon’s interview with Gora and the brat pack actors she covers in the book on NPR.
Posted on March 21, 2010 at 10:35 am
Linda Holmes of NPR’s great Monkey See blog has a list of tired cliches that should be barred from all future romantic comedies because they are not funny and they are not romantic. Not coincidentally, several are featured in the movie and even the trailer for the dreary mess, “The Bounty Hunter.” The romantic kidnapping, for example, which in the “Bounty Hunter” trailer has Gerard Butler tossing Jennifer Aniston into the trunk of his car. As Holmes says, this is not funny — it’s creepy. Holmes also wants to prohibit the winking references to Pride and Prejudice’s Mr. Darcy, the trashy best friend, the rain-soaked fights (take it inside, people), and punches in the crotch. Hear that, Hollywood?
Posted on March 11, 2010 at 8:00 am
Thank you Linda Holmes of NPR, for this heart-felt column about NOT TALKING IN MOVIE THEATERS. I think it is because people are used to watching movies at home or listening to director commentaries or checking their Blackberries in the middle of a conversation, but for goodness’ sakes, please, as they say in the movies, do not add your own soundtrack. I once sat next to a man who not only ate very noisily, he repeated every punchline (drowning out the next one). Holmes says:
I don’t want to be a bad sport. I’ve talked back to the screen at Honey. You’re not a bad person for wanting to goof around with your friends. But please, seriously: choose your moments. Because when you pick the wrong one, you take something away from everybody else in the room. This isn’t a stodgy etiquette rule run amok; it’s got a purpose.
Thank you.
Posted on January 24, 2010 at 3:11 pm
NPR asks whether “The Office” should be used in HR training.
Though the show is clearly a caricature, there are grains of truth in the dysfunctional conflicts that drive its humor, says Sheri Leonardo, senior vice president for human resources at Ogilvy Public Relations.
“As an HR person, I sometimes cringe,” she said. “Some of the stuff is so outlandish, politically incorrect, morally incorrect and everything else — but at the same time I say, ‘God, I would love to take clips of this and use it for training, because it’s so perfect.’ “
A 30-year human resources veteran, Leonardo says that although the characters’ insensitivities are exaggerated, she can think of real people who fit many of the show’s office stereotypes: the out-of-touch and politically incorrect boss; the peace-keeping secretary; the ambitious underling who doesn’t care whose toes he steps on to suck up.
Does “The Office” remind you of anyone you know? Do you think people who resemble the characters in “The Office” are capable of enough self-awareness to learn from the show?
