“What has largely disappeared from the media are distorted portrayals of women as frigid or uninterested in sex. What has replaced them, however, are shows like “Cougar Town,” “Private Practice,” “Desperate Housewives” and “Grey’s Anatomy” — all on ABC — that frequently portray women as rapacious sexual predators, always in the mood for sex and without qualms about bedding down as many men as possible.”
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“Normal signs of the passing years are erased, so that anyone over 35 still has a whipped-cream complexion and an ice-cream-stick figure. Because viewers are so unaccustomed to seeing faithful renditions of older women, when they do appear, people assume that the characters are older than they really are. The rampant use of Botox, facial fillers or cosmetic surgery among female celebrities has caused the eyes to readjust.”
I still have an issue with the glorification of marriage (I’m still frustrated with Up in the Air). Only once the pair are married can they be transformed and live out their dreams. I guess that message could be argued as an improvement from the message of Beauty and the Beast – a woman’s sacrifice is the only means to transform and bring happiness into the world.
The “best” part of the film is when Tiana asks her prince if he is still hungry, and of course she gives him her food to eat. Good woman.
This is a rarity – but a major company has decided to include a gay couple in their national ad campaign. Not only is there two gay men, but they are kissing!
The ad comes from Virgin Mobile Canada for its pre-paid mobile broadband Internet service, Broadband2Go.
Unfortunately, along with the gay angel make out ad, a billboard in Toronto’s Dundas Square shows a short-skirted model dressed as an angel enticing passersby to call a toll-free number.
The pre-recorded message features a sultry female voice describing various service offerings with a sexy twist.
“Hook up with us and I’ll give you everything you desire,” it says. “Once that phone is in those powerful paws of yours, we’ll make sure you’re totally serviced.”
I guess I’ll have to take the good with the bad on this one.
Out director/producer Lee Daniels, from Monster’s Ball fame, kills it with this film. Oprah-endorsed, a lesbian teacher, and a surprisingly strong performance from Mariah Carey makes this the best gay-friendly film I’ve seen all year.
Directed by Rob Marshal — the former choreography, turned Tony nominee/Academy Award nominee/ Golden Globe nominee/Emmy winner– returns with Nine. The out director of Chicago and Memoirs of a Geisha gets lots of famous, award-winning actors (and Kate Hudson) to sing and dance with beautiful cinematography.
Tom Ford makes his directorial debut with the ASingle Man, a film about an English professor who, after the sudden death of his partner, tries to go about his typical day in Los Angeles. While I have issues with Tom Ford’s love of misogyny in his clothing ads – seen here, and here, and here, and here, and here and here – this looks worth seeing. I am biased though – ever since The Hours(or was itThe Lost World?), I am sucker for anything with Julianne Moore.
Last night I watched Up in the Air. Before I go any further I just want to say I did not hate the movie, I did not find it offensive, and I am in no way outraged by it.
For those of you who don’t know, Up in the Air is about a man, played by George Clooney, who travels around America firing individuals from their jobs. Clooney spends nearly all year on the road up in the air, and he cherishes living a life unattached from anyone else. Of course something happens that challenges his way of life.
1. People in the theatre kept laughing every time Clooney fired someone. There were a few times it was meant to be funny, but people just kept laughing as people declared they had no will to live after loosing their job. I just didn’t find that amusing when I know there are plenty of employees who are going through downsizing.
2. In the end of the film, past employees who lost their job explain what gave them hope. All of the responses were about their husbands or their wives. Also throughout the film there is a running story line about a couple getting ready to marry. The couple getting married is extremely poor (contrasted by Clooney), but they are happy because they are in love. Ultimately, the expression of that love is represented in the marriage ceremony. So the message of the film is security, if not happiness, can best come through marriage.
The film doesn’t idealize monogamy or partnership – it is explicitly marriage.
Now I saw the movie with another gay person who thought nothing of that and was fine with the focus, but whenever I see a movie that centers on marriage I cannot help to think, “I can’t get married, this is heteronormative, I can’t get married, this is heteronormative, I can’t married, this is heteronormative” over and over again. Which eventually leads to me thinking that such a movie, because I cannot get married, is implying I can never be happy, fulfilled, or complete.
And so many movies deal with weddings or have a wedding in them: Muriel’s Wedding, The Wedding Banquet, Four Weddings and a Funeral, My Best Friend’s Wedding, The Wedding Singer, The Wedding Planner, Ever After: A Cinderella Story, The Wedding Dress, Mansoon Wedding, American Wedding, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Father of the Bride, Father of the Bride II, Sex and the City, Mama Mia, Rachel Getting Married, Bride Wars, and nearly all the Disney princess films. Certainly there are countless more, those are just off the top of my head.
Like I said, I didn’t hate it, but it left me feeling a little uneasy.
