I saw Twilight when it first came to the theatres (girlfriend at the time made me see it with her- let's make that clear!)and I pretty much dismissed it as a Corny Vampire movie. However, now that I watched it again with a little purpose behind it, it did seem to have some valuable critiquing moments. I found two major themes that relate to this course:
1. The stages of Teenagehood (ie The Storm, Becoming)
Bella and her parents
Bella and Edward not fitting in with each other's groups
2. Male vs. Female Sexuality
Bella's desire for Edward
Edward having to "Resist" his urges
Edward As I watched this, for some reason I kept focusing on Edward, The Male, rather than Edward, The Vampire. Looking at Edward's character as "Male" allowed me to properly critique the issue of Teenagers. One of the glaring observations was Edward's fight to resist Bella. Even though the movie plays it off as Edward's prevention of Bella becoming a Vampire, I looked at it as his inner hormonal battle that most guys would lose. In fact at the end of the movie, Carlisle even says, "Use will power" when Edward sucks the venom from Bella.
Bella Aside from the obvious Bella= Princess and Edward= Prince, Bella's desire to be with Edward represents a teenage girl's desire to be with the mysterious/bad boy over the nicer boys who show an interest. Other than the above-mentioned observations, I don't really know what else to add. Maybe Ms. Grinner will enlighten me? LOL
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Good Girls Gone Bad: Talking Points # 9
Good Girls Gone Bad: Talking Points # 9
First let me say that I will welcome EITHER one:)
Now, I'm going to start off with a key quote:
""Nothing my boy did was anything any red-blooded American Boy wouldn't do at his age...What can you do? It's a testosterone thing."- this was a quote from a mother of one of the boys in the Spur Posse mentioned on page 207. Later, the girls who were "victims" of the Spur Posse were labeled as "Those girls are trash."
There is an obvious double-standard and I really do not know how this will ever be rectified. You see it all the time. Here are just some popular examples:
1. Ben Roethlisberger, 2- time Superbowl Champion Quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
2. Rick Pitino, Hall of Fame Basketball coach
3. Tiger Woods
4. Bill Clinton
5. Kobe Bryant
In all of these cases the men mentioned above have been excused and really never missed a beat (except monetarily) and there will always be a large contingent that will say, "Oh, the girl seduced him," or "She knew who he was-she was after his money."
Take a look at this clip below from Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990-2000). Tiffany Amber Thiesen (yes, Kelly from Saved By The Bell) replaces Shannon Doherty as Brandon and Brenda's long lost "Good Girl" cousin from Buffalo. She starts off as the "Goody-Two-Shoes Cousin" but has a "Dark Side." Luke Perry plays Dylan McKay, who is the "Bad Boy" of the show. What are the images you have of each as you watch this scene? We should look at this again in class on Tuesday night!
As far as the Atalanta clip- very well done. Good point about true love and based on the date of the clip, definitely a feminist statement at that time. Also, is it me or does Atalanta and Young John look alike?
Ron
First let me say that I will welcome EITHER one:)
Now, I'm going to start off with a key quote:
""Nothing my boy did was anything any red-blooded American Boy wouldn't do at his age...What can you do? It's a testosterone thing."- this was a quote from a mother of one of the boys in the Spur Posse mentioned on page 207. Later, the girls who were "victims" of the Spur Posse were labeled as "Those girls are trash."
There is an obvious double-standard and I really do not know how this will ever be rectified. You see it all the time. Here are just some popular examples:
1. Ben Roethlisberger, 2- time Superbowl Champion Quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
2. Rick Pitino, Hall of Fame Basketball coach
3. Tiger Woods
4. Bill Clinton
5. Kobe Bryant
In all of these cases the men mentioned above have been excused and really never missed a beat (except monetarily) and there will always be a large contingent that will say, "Oh, the girl seduced him," or "She knew who he was-she was after his money."
Take a look at this clip below from Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990-2000). Tiffany Amber Thiesen (yes, Kelly from Saved By The Bell) replaces Shannon Doherty as Brandon and Brenda's long lost "Good Girl" cousin from Buffalo. She starts off as the "Goody-Two-Shoes Cousin" but has a "Dark Side." Luke Perry plays Dylan McKay, who is the "Bad Boy" of the show. What are the images you have of each as you watch this scene? We should look at this again in class on Tuesday night!
As far as the Atalanta clip- very well done. Good point about true love and based on the date of the clip, definitely a feminist statement at that time. Also, is it me or does Atalanta and Young John look alike?
Ron
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Project Ideas: Talking Points # 8
I really would like to look into TV/Movies and how teenagers are portrayed in them. I feel as a teacher, that my students are deprived of the quality television shows that I was able to observe in the late '80's and early '90's. There are so many tv shows now that send such a bad message versus when I was a teenager. I truly feel that because of shows like Growing Pains, Who's the Boss?, Family Ties, The Cosby Show, The Wonder Years, Boy Meets World, Step-By-Step, Family Matters, even Full House with its corny "Talk-With-Dad-At-The-End-Cue-The Music-Let's-Hug-Before-The-Credits-Moments that it made me a better person/decision maker. I don't know, maybe I watched TOO MUCH tv, but I know my students watch tv when they go home and there is NOTHING of any moral fiber to soak in. At the very least, the shows made me laugh inside, and not like laughing at shows like Jackass.
I mean, sometimes I think it's all in the way it is presented too. For example, in the early '80's there was the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High which portrayed the different perspectives boys and girls have toward it. That movie was very well-written and actually, behind some of the silly parts, left viewers with a "real" view of what sex is and ISN'T. Contrastly, a movie like American Pie, which deals with the same issue, has ABSOLUTELY NO REDEEMING QUALITY. It's just frustrating, because I feel that society is representative of the media world and there is definitely a correlation between what is viewed on TV/Movies/YouTube and the Apathetic Umbrella that not only teenagers live under.
Like Lexi, I needed to get this off my chest. Now back to watching the Final Four and Red Sox...AHHHHH, there's that TV thing again:)
I mean, sometimes I think it's all in the way it is presented too. For example, in the early '80's there was the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High which portrayed the different perspectives boys and girls have toward it. That movie was very well-written and actually, behind some of the silly parts, left viewers with a "real" view of what sex is and ISN'T. Contrastly, a movie like American Pie, which deals with the same issue, has ABSOLUTELY NO REDEEMING QUALITY. It's just frustrating, because I feel that society is representative of the media world and there is definitely a correlation between what is viewed on TV/Movies/YouTube and the Apathetic Umbrella that not only teenagers live under.
Like Lexi, I needed to get this off my chest. Now back to watching the Final Four and Red Sox...AHHHHH, there's that TV thing again:)
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