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Social Justice in Pop Culture (part 1 of probably many)
It's 250 AM as I start this one.
Yep. 250 Am CST. Why are you up at nearly 3 am Tessana?
I fell asleep like 3 second after I got home, then I woke up at midnight. Couldn't fall back asleep.
So I asked my roommate to toss in a DVD (since he was near the player) for me to watch until I fell asleep.
He picked one that I haven't watched in awhile. I have a total love/hate relationship with the film and the director Chris Columbus.
No I am not going to talk about the first couple of Harry Potter movies.
Outside of being a comic book junkie, a film producer, a public speaker....guess what else I am?
A theater junkie. It's kinda a hold over from many moons ago in high school when I was a "stage wizard" and the "props bitch".
While I don't particularly like being called a bitch, in this case I loved it because I was SUCH A BITCH about the props and costume. In good ways.
But anyway. Said roomie tosses in "RENT".
For the 4 of you in this planet that hasn't seen RENT on a stage, please so do. If you can't afford going to the theater (which I would much rather you do to support some starving artists) get the newly released DVD.
No not the one with Rosiario Dawson, please go Rent/download on ITunes, the "Rent: Filmed on Broadway" Disc.
(This is the cover to the one I think you should watch)
Why? Because as a Rent head I hate Christopher Columbus for watering down the story, cutting out songs and for no reason that I can fathom as a filmmaker-actually rearranges some of the lyrics in my favorite song (la vie boheme). As a filmmaker (and my studiomates/classmates can vouch the next statement) I truely despise when you adapt a story from X,Y,or Z medium into film and not stay true to it. I see it as an insult to the orginal artist (in this case Jonathon Larson) and the fanbase.
Watch either version, but know if you are watching the one that released in the theaters a few years ago with Rosario Dawson, Ty Diggs and (orginal broadway member) Jesse L Martin (that guy from Law and Order!) know and understand that you are watching a watered down version.
So here's the real reason that I am blogging at now 3 am in the morning.
I fucking love this movie. Why? FINALLY a film made by a mainstream director (the aforementioned Harry Potter/Adventures in Babysitting Director Chris Columbus) that actually, HOLY SHIT
==promotes gay rights.
==promotes the ideals of social justice (rights for AIDS patients, the homeless etc)
--actually has non-white actors in pivotal roles (the aforemention Dawson, Diggs and Martin).
--made by a mainstream filmmaker (Columbus) and produced by Tribecca films, who is owned by guess who?
Robert De Niro.
So hat's off to you Mr. De Niro for going against the grain of Hollywood. Kudos. Thank you as a filmmaker who wants to change the industry that you are setting the path for others to continue making.
I ask that you watch one of these versions. Why? Jesse L.Martin. Hands down. I rarely cry watching a movie. Everytime I watch the Columbus Version (hell, even when I saw him when I watched RENT on broadway) Martin makes me cry with "1000 kisses reprise" EVERY TIME.
This is one of the only films in recent memory (ok...X2 I can make a damn good arguement with, but that's another blog), that actually promotes a message without hitting you over the head with said message (say, unlike Brokeback Mountain...which is another great great social justice film).
When we were at the summit, I heard rumblings of people wanting to make films and/or documentaries dealing with their cause.
Don't get me wrong, docs can be powerful (hello, "An Inconvient Truth") but in comparision to the rest of Hollywood, its few and far inbetween. There is something about narrative film that everyone can suspend disbelief and share a tiny piece of their lives with a well written and well protrayed character (ahem, thank you Mr. Martin!)
This actually probably does work better on stage, but to reach the masses film/tv is the way to go my friends.
Take a look at this film (either version) and tell me if you just don't want to go and do some work on your blueprint. :)
So... now I think I am going to go watch "Newsies". (another blog another day).
Any other things in "pop culture" that you guys want to point out as a good (insert medium here) that promotes progress on a social justice cause?
Tessana
- Tessana Nemenski's blog
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On a technical note
I deleted this entry's two duplicates. Be sure to click "Submit" just once. (They had more than 300 views between them, though!)
Also, for future reference, in this system tags have to be separated by commas.
To add to the discussion: Captain Planet represents a different approach and didn't exactly address, y'know, environmental racism or any of that — correct me if I'm wrong, everyone — but was a good example of one way in which pop culture can support new norms.
Re:Technical note
Hey Rebecca! I am so sorry about the duplicate posts. When I hit submit I kept getting an internal error page. When I finally got through I saw the duplicates. It was an accident I swear!!!!
Couldn't agree with you more about Captain Planet!!!!
On a Reverse side, last semester I was in this wonderful class called Culture Race and Media. We disected pop culture left and right.
My personal favorite was looking at some of the Disney Animation movies. Particularly Pochantas.
Not only is the story completly wrong, but talk about stereotypes. yeeesh.
Of course, i shocked my class and my professor telling them about a paper I wrote for a social problems class- where I basically prove all Disney and Pixar films as being sexually biased and reinforcing gender stereotypes- My particularly favorite example is in Peter Pan- the part where Peter is teaching them to fly? "all you need is a bit of fairy dust"--- Yeah, Tinkerbell is SO into the BDSM scene :)
Man I am weird I know ;)
"There's no reality in virtual reality" -Kabuki:Circle of Blood by David Mack
Duplicates
Don't worry, I didn't suspect you of trying to sabotage the blog. :) If this phenomenon happens in the future, try clicking the "Edit" tab on the older copies -- you should be able to delete them.
On the Disney tip, I had an anthropology class once that briefly watched part of the Peter Pan movie — many of the students were stunned to realize how blatant the racial stereotyping is in that film, having had only vague childhood memories of it.
Peter Pan/Anthropology
Out of wonderment here, can you explain what type of anthropology class looks at peter pan? Culture anthro maybe?
Another personal favorite of stupid stuff.
Pixar films (at the time of writing the paper Incredibles was just about to release).
Toy Story 1: 1 female- Bo peep who is basically a barbie doll/trophy wife/dumb blond.
Toy Story 2: Jesse the cowgirl who is also played as an idiot, along with Ms. Potato head who is the stereotypcal nagging wife.
Finding Nemo: Dory, the dumb blonde idiot stereotype.
Monster Inc: 1 character that is the "i need my man or I can't live type" (celia), 1 chainsmoking no holds barred woman (Roz) or the watered down hollywood version of a bitch. Oh and the little girl that doesn't talk (Boo) which reinforces the stereotype of children/woman should not be seen nor heard.
I didn't include A Bug's Life in this as I haven't watched it (even as of today).
But to throw Incredibles in there: A mom that has to stretch in every direction to take care of her family (whoo hoo a good thing) and the daughter that feels invisble to everyone (ok another good point!) Oh and lets not forget the fashion designer (a stereotypical profession for a woman and the character comes of a bit of the bitch mentality)
However all of the female character (even more so with the character of mirage) reinforce the stereotype that woman need to be tiny waisted with big chests. I was like Whoo hoo, you guys did something right, but it's more of a back handed compliment.
Just my two cents. I would comment about Wall-e but I barely watched it. So I won't
"There's no reality in virtual reality" -Kabuki:Circle of Blood by David Mack
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