Let's Go to the Movies, Part 3: "Amok, Amok, Amok"

Unfortunately, I’m unable to attend my beloved Popular Culture Association in the South conference this year; being laid off has had the paradoxical effect of giving me plenty of time to think up paper/presentation topics but no income to share that work, but such is life. Since there have been a few ideas bouncing around in my head--midnight breakthroughs, all--I’m going to share them with you. I’ve written with the assumption that my audience is familiar with the films I’ll be discussing, so consider this a pre-emptive spoiler alert. Read on!

For Part 1, click here. For Part 2, click here.

*** 

Halloween is two days away, so I thought I would take the opportunity to talk about my all-time favorite Halloween movie: Hocus Pocus.

As my father put it to me a couple of weeks back, "Bette Middler had a good career. But then she made Hocus Pocus and had a LEGACY." This is perhaps the most accurate thing my father has ever said. Because everyone who was raised on this film now has a shared cultural touchstone on October 31st, no matter how costume, candy, or decorating trends have changed throughout the years. (If you've never seen it, you've clearly been living at the bottom of the ocean since 1993, and I feel bad for you.) It's the Halloween equivalent of A Charlie Brown Christmas. And I, for one, could not be more grateful.

Hocus Pocus was probably the movie that sparked my love of Halloween. Well, that, and the fact that people hand out bags of Better Made chips when you go trick-or-treating in southeastern Michigan. It's extraordinarily perfect: extravagant costumes, jokes that speak to children as well as adults, Sarah Jessica Parker's spot-on ditzy display, and a show-stopping musical number in the middle of the action. You know the one I'm talking about:

Sure, it's a far cry from Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You," but hey--this is a family film. (One in which Disney decided it would be okay to show Garry Marshall and his sister Penny as spouses, but that's a minor detail.)

And let's talk about Thora Birch for a minute. She was ten or eleven when Hocus Pocus was made--years before she made a splash in American Beauty. Not only does she make the perfect little sister opposite Omri Katz, but she's able to hold her own against Middler, Parker, and Kathy Najimy. Besides, her name is Thora, and that makes her awesome.

Oh, and here's a thing that will blow your mind: Kenny Ortega, the director of Hocus Pocus, is also a well-known choreographer who has spent a good deal of time working with other music legends like Madonna and Cher. Who knew someone could be responsible for such large chunks of our shared popular culture experience (he also directed Newsies and the three High School Musical movies)?

If you ever get homesick for childhood outside of the Halloween season, by the way, just go watch some NCIS; Sean Murray, who played the cat on whom so many girls had a weird, inappropriate crush, is now McGee on the long-running CBS drama (even though someone dubbed his speech in Hocus Pocus, I still give credit to Murray).

-Cate-

Thora Birch image via here.

Let's Go to the Movies, Part 2: Grease Is the (Misguided) Word

Unfortunately, I’m unable to attend my beloved Popular Culture Association in the South conference this year; being laid off has had the paradoxical effect of giving me plenty of time to think up paper/presentation topics but no income to share that work, but such is life. Since there have been a few ideas bouncing around in my head--midnight breakthroughs, all--I’m going to share them with you. I’ve written with the assumption that my audience is familiar with the films I’ll be discussing, so consider this a pre-emptive spoiler alert. Read on!

For Part 1, click here. And come back next week for the conclusion!

***

As I move closer to self-actualization, I realize that it’s worth reexamining things from my adolescence that may have taught me something. For example, the musical Grease. When I was in 6th grade, Grease was the pinnacle of awesome, even though we were 20 years out from its initial run in theaters. I remember seeing it in the theater with my grandmother when it was rereleased, and that was some exciting shit for me.

 

Now, however, 15+ years later, I realize that Grease is a terrible movie to watch when you’re 12. Yes, it delves--shallowly--into the consequences of unprotected sex (thanks for the lesson on condom usage, Rizzo!). And yes, it--superficially--explores inter- and intra-high-school rivalry. But it also teaches you several undesirable things:

1) Breaking into song and dance on the bleachers will never lead to bodily harm.

2) It’s okay to make fun of the new girl when she’s in the next room just because she lives a different (read: more prudish) life than you.

3) Defying authority figures is a worthy pastime.

4) Frankie Avalon can--and will--call you a loser and tell you to get a job as a secretary if he thinks you’re not up to snuff.

5) Drag racing is a fantastic way to resolve disputes.

6) In order to snag your man, it is necessary to change your entire being, such as when Sandy goes from her long skirts and white blouses to second skin-type leather pants and cigarettes to prove herself worthy of Danny.

I’m not saying that movies have to provide us with lessons about morality or that everything has to be perfect in cinematic or real life. My favorite film, after all, is Pulp Fiction. But when we make things (books, cinema, music) aimed at young people, I think we do have a responsibility to supply them with better role models and more meaningful discourse--especially in this age of media saturation. Should it all be Mr. Rogers-level cheerful? Of course not. But nor should it be vapid or devoid of any guidance. 

  

I wouldn’t trade my memories of loving--and singing along to--Grease for the world. And, being who I am, I think I was able to separate the story from my reality. Unfortunately, that may not be true of everyone in the audience.

However, I will give credit where it’s due: for all its faults, Grease captures what it is (still) like to be a teenager: the urgency you feel when the person you like is nearby, the fun times had with friends on a Friday night, the uncertainty of senior year. And that’s some pretty powerful stuff.

-Cate-

Images via here and here.

Let's Go to the Movies, Part 1: Tale As Old As Time?

Unfortunately, I’m unable to attend my beloved Popular Culture Association in the South conference this year; being laid off has had the paradoxical effect of giving me plenty of time to think up paper/presentation topics but no income to share that work, but such is life. Since there have been a few ideas bouncing around in my head--midnight breakthroughs, all--I’m going to share them with you. I’ve written with the assumption that my audience is familiar with the films I’ll be discussing, so consider this a pre-emptive spoiler alert. Read on!

For Part 2, return next Wednesday. For Part 3, return the Wednesday after that.

***

While Beauty and the Beast isn’t my favorite Disney movie, it IS my mother’s, so I’ve seen it many times, and I do appreciate the hell out of it for several reasons. If ever an animated film deserved to be nominated for Best Picture, this was the one (it lost to The Silence of the Lambs), and it should have stayed that way, except the AMPAS made some changes a few years back that allowed for more leeway when it came to animated films breaking into that category. But I digress.

 

In addition to admiring the artistry of the film (those stained-glass windows! the special effects! that ballroom!), I feel it’s one of the better “princess” movies, thanks in large part to Belle’s spirit, personality, and moral code. For example, has anyone else ever noticed that she is willing to sacrifice herself on at least two occasions in order to save her father?

First she rides into the forest with Philippe and trespasses in the Beast’s castle to find Maurice. Once there, she cuts a deal with the Beast, offering herself up in exchange for her father’s freedom, in spite of his protests. Later in the movie, she leaves the castle--admittedly, with the Beast’s blessing--to help Maurice, who has fallen ill. This is one dedicated daughter.

Yet, in defiance of the expectations of her time, she refuses to sacrifice herself for the other men in her life. From the outset, we know she doesn’t give a fig what the townspeople say about her; ain’t nobody got time for that, in her opinion. She chooses instead to pursue her own passion--reading--to the exclusion of much else, including, importantly, the overtures Gaston makes. She knows he’s borderline illiterate and will force her to change if she enters into a relationship with him; this would be unacceptable to her, so she rebuffs him.

Near the climax, when Gaston informs Belle that she can marry him in order to buy her father’s freedom, she is disgusted by the notion in a way she was not by the prospect of living in the Beast’s castle, because she knows there must be a way to save Maurice that doesn’t involve compromising her own standards.

While this does parallel her situation with the Beast, Belle doesn’t feel forced to trade places with Maurice in the castle; rather, she makes her own, conscious decision (which tracks with Belle’s actions in the Beaumont version of the fairy tale). If she allows Gaston to coerce her into marriage, neither she nor her father can live with the consequences, because even though it’s never said, only intimated, we know Gaston is the type of man who would beat his wife into submission without hesitation.

Moreover, we know Belle continues to adhere to her strong moral code even once she realizes she and the Beast are falling in love; rather than stay at the castle with him and various enchanted housewares, she continues her tradition of aiding Maurice, as discussed above. In Belle’s case, the old cliché is true: blood is thicker than water.

And this is a good set of lessons for children to learn, I think:

1) Do not degrade yourself by letting a bully win.

2) Make efforts to preserve your autonomy and personality.

3) Family is there for you and you should be there for them, too (assuming that there isn’t any dangerous dysfunction at work).

4) Choosing a boy/girl/significant other over your own interests or those of the people closest to you is detrimental to you and your dearest.

  

Bonus lesson: it’s okay to be a bookish lady, because some people will appreciate your nerdiness, and not just the bookshop owner (although, can we be friends with that guy? He gives out free books!).

-Cate-

Images via here, here, and here.