Agreed. Well said. I was thinking the same thing but, as always, you said it better.
The whole show (Mad Men, that is) is tongue-firmly-placed-in-cheek. They want you to think, “I can’t believe that was tolerated!” At least, that’s my impression. The characters are from the Archie and Edith Bunker generation. It is the children in the show, especially Sally Draper, that will challenge the society’s way of life and rally and march on Washington, D.C. They are literally Gen X.
Loved it, had the feel of the more “classic” British farce movies, fast paced and hectic then it kinda slowed down and we got more indepth with the characters which was a different kind of funny.
Nearly fell off the couch with the parrot:D
listened to almost two hours of the cast today, one thing struck a chord with me about the nostalgia end of things.
After free comic book day I popped in to game stop *yes we have that here too) and picked up a boxless copy of midway arcade treasures volume one. She kindly popped it in to an in shop psp and once i saw joust and defender, I was sold.
Not played it yet as I had to unexpectedly drive two hours home this evenign after plans in galway fell through at the last minute.
so that’s my nostalgia thingy, oh and go see thor, it rock.
Phaze
on the “still aching from pilates thursday but the drive home , though unexpected, was smooth” ID
For what it is worth, I heard it as movie X is worse than movie Y, not racism is worse then sexism.
One point that might clarify things is a discussion I had with a friend about Scrubs. She said it was an immature show. I said it was a mature show, about immature people.
A movie can be *-ist or it can be about *-ists characters. The first is bad, the second good.
My 2¢.
Tom Skerritt and Kelly Preston make Space Camp a cool movie.
~Shooter Out
Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk
Great point. A movie that uses -ist characters well is able to put you in the place of the protagonist. Using -ism’s to allow your audience to empathize with your characters is storytelling at its best-IMO.
FYI - Kelly Preston makes things Hot not Cool. :groucho:
I like period pieces and I keep hearing good things about Mad Men. I think I’ll rent the DVDs someday, but I’ve been dragging my feet when it comes to watching it. Sean mentioned that the way the show portrayed women killed the entertainment value for him, and that’s why I haven’t watched the show myself, even though I find the premise interesting.
I think the reason that I’m hesitant is the same reason I stopped watching AMC: almost every single night I’d see a movie that portayed minorities or women in a way that made me want to put my fist through a wall. It’s funny, because the only movies I really enjoyed didn’t have any black people in them at all, because then I knew I wasn’t going to see or hear anything infuriating. Oddly enough, the worst offenders were the movies that tried to be progressive.
Oprah had the stars of Mad Men on her show and apparently Gayle is a big fan, so she played a small walk-on role as a secretary. She was so excited to be on the set with her favorite actors and she was just thrilled to get to wear a 60s-style costume. But the entire time I kept thinking, “Are you kidding me? Shouldn’t there be a mop in your hand?” It made me think about the clash that goes on when nostalgia butts heads with harsh reality—and how sometims the williing suspension of disbelief becomes difficult when an issue hits too close to home.
If only all movie reviews were like that:D
I’m chiming in a bit late here as i’m almost finished listening to tthe show now. The comments on racism made me think about sci fi fandom in general. I’ll admit that the majority of my experince is based in Ireland and the Uk (primarily Uk based) but I’ve been to fandom events in several countires and I’ve noticed a rather disturbing trend.
I annot imagine it’s consious racism but the sci fi fandom I’m am member of seems to be self selecting in relation to differing ethnic groups. I see very few coloured, hispanic or essentially other non WASPish people at the fandom, GWC being the obvious exception but the majority of people I encounter seem to be white and middle class.
I ponder if this is a self fulfilling prophecy, do people from minority groups feel they are so outnumbered by the white middle class ethnicity that they are not welcome, is it a choice thing I honestly don’t know but I’m worried that,despite our welcoming nature am I engaging in unconscious racism (note I say I, not we I don’t wish to speak for the community I am making genuine observations and expressing concern over what I see).
I may be overemphasising the point and reading in things which do not exist but the crue’s discussion of racism in the likes of smokey and the bandit brought it to the forfront of my mind.
Please comment, I am honestly takng the temperature of fandom on this one.
Alan
USian here. Fandom, at least the ‘showing up at cons’ faction, seems to be weighted towards white guys.
However, it’s relatively friendly to women, and they are often found in the organization/leadership roles. This dates back at least to early Trek fandom (e.g., D.C. Fontana and Bjo Trimble.)
It’s extremely friendly to handicapped individuals.
It’s also extremely friendly to people with non-normative sexual orientations (Furry jokes aside.)
Other minorities are welcomed, but interest seems to vary. It’s easy to find Asians, for example, but harder to find Blacks (who seem to end up in comic book fandom on a greater scale for some reason.)
Incidentally, part of the reason that there’s a stereotype of socially awkward fans (I keep wanting to type fen) is that they’re much more readily accepted in fandom.
(FWIW, I ran this past The (black, early Trekkie) GF and she agrees.)
I am a comic book fan but never been to a comic book fan con, I was saying what i said as an exploration of others reactions and see ifPike my perspective is skewed.
thank you, Pike for pointing out ways in which sci fi fandom includes, rahter than excludes and nicely counterpointing what I said.
Phaze
on the “I really should go upstairs and attempt sleep now, too late and too non sober for continued consciousness” ID
Other minorities are welcomed, but interest seems to vary. It’s easy to find Asians, for example, but harder to find Blacks (who seem to end up in comic book fandom on a greater scale for some reason.)
I have definitely seen this, but I have also noticed that with younger fans it is far less true. At the last convention I went to, I would say the majority of the fans were white overall, for fans under 18 say, I would guess there was not group that was a majority. It probably also has to do what people of different ages are interested in. Younger crowd = Animee, gaming. Older crowd = Science Fiction, fantasy, books. Just my 2 cents.
(I keep wanting to type fen)
You called? 
Regarding Madmen … Preach brother, preach 
I remember Smokey and the Bandit, mostly for Jerry Reed, his dog Fred, “Eastbound and Down” and the car … oh yes … the car. I recall seeing that flick in the movie theatre back in the day and they had the car in the lobby as a promotion. Yes they sure knew how to get butts in the seats back then
hehehe … QT sure has his own spin on things
"Let me tell you what ‘Like a Virgin’ is about … " Mr. Brown
Again, I think the internet plays a big role here. Being a marginalized minority of a marginalized minority is tough, whether you’re a low-income woman or a queer person of color or a D&D playing geek. But it’s a little easier when you can quickly connect to communities of like-minded folks online.
One other potential contributing factor is that there have been more and more women and people of color working and becoming renowned within the SFF entertainment field. There is something to be said for affinity–not that we all go wherever we see folks like us, but it can form the foundations of a sense of likemindedness that is necessary to develop a strong community.
I have the gut feeling that GWC exhibits this demographic trend, too: most of our 40+ folks are white males, but non-white, non-male folks have greater proportional representation the younger you get. I could be wrong, though. Just my vague impression.
First, a couple thoughts on my nostalgia and sci fi. One of the things I get nostalgic about was the sense of wonder and incredible optimism I had as a kid watching science fiction movies and TV shows. I also get a bit nostalgic about the degree to which I used my imagination then – drawing pictures of movie scenes, acting out new parts of the story, etc.
Second, I had a different take on Risky Business: “Do you hear a preponderance of bass, Joel?” That was a great scene in the beginning where his father chastises him for messing with the equalizer on his stereo. I was not a rich kid, but I related to the level to which Joel felt that he life was being determined by his parents and the expectations on him, and it was liberating to think that you could just say to hell with others’ expectations.
Incidentally, I think that relates to Mad Men, a show that I wholeheartedly endorse. One of the reasons I think Sean may have had trouble watching the show is his often discussed problems with authority. Everyone who is not a white male executive must bow down to their authority…but they are all waiting for their time. The African American characters are marginalized people, especially in the first season (1960), but by the fourth season (1964-5), the civil rights movement is making some headway. And even when they are holding mops and running the elevator, we the viewers can sense the degree to which they are restricted by the fear of losing their jobs. That is very unlike the Holiday Inn kind of portrayals of the happy shoe shines.
One note about Cannonball Run: the portrayal of environmentalists is not flattering either.
James T. Kirk would not gets his ass kicked in the Firefly 'verse. Ugh!
First of all, there is no Starfleet. Kirk now has no one to answer to, not that it mattered anyway. Kirk is a survivor. He would thrive on Serenity. With Kirk in command, the Serenity crew would be the richest bunch of misbehavers in the entire 'verse. Add Spock to mix and the entire Reaver issue would be solved in an episode.
To be honest, I always thot of Mal as Kirk without Starfleet.
Two words:
Top Tongue
That is all…
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