Mad or Marvelous?...Definitely Mad!
Our television network lost quite a few viewers this festive season, and it's not because they screened any distasteful or controversial programs. In fact, it's quite the opposite. The SABC decided to broadcast a selection of old films, which apparently was just 'not on'. Now I'm not saying that 1985 Sylvester Stallone films are what make my Christmas either, but it's surprising to me that people rather opt for more recent films. Granted the painfully unrealistic effects of Jaws are a turn off for the generation that created Avatar, but I would far rather watch a great classic such as Annie than...say, Borat. It's probably a little offsides to compare such a renowned musical with a film about a man in a lime green one-piece, especially since we have made many brilliant films of our own. But what I'm trying to get at here is that at least amongst the classic films of older generations there isn't any vulgar trash, such as we have between our Slumdog Millionaires and Inceptions. And sadly, more and more films are heading in this direction.
Just the other day I saw a trailer for a new Ashton Kutcher film entitled No Strings Attached. The film's tag line is: 'Can Sex Friends be Best Friends?' Oh, well now here's a lovely film for the whole family! Kutcher would have been handy to have around during the attack on Pearl Harbour with all the F Bombs he drops in this film.
It seems that current films are becoming far too comfortable and open with what is crude and, previously, taboo. I'm not saying it's a bad thing to break some old boundaries - after all, this is how we have achieved positive movements such as democracy and feminism - but what has happened is that initial acts of liberation introduced by icons such as Marilyn Monroe and Madonna have some how turned into a gross generalization that sex sells. Hollywood has reached a point where they believe that sex jokes are the only form of humour out there. They don't have the capacity to understand a knock-knock joke until it's reworded into a knock up-knock up joke. Humour can be clean, just look at Ghost-busters or any Pixar film, and you'll in fact find that such humour is more widely applauded because of the actual skill and ingenuity behind it.
One of the greatest falsehoods of all time is that sex is all everybody wants. Just take a look at the most celebrated film icons of all time, and you'll find it's those who have made wholesome, feel-good films - Audrey Hepburn, Gene Kelly, Julie Andrews. Hollywood needs to find its eye for quality that it some where along the way lost for its one of quantity. Get this back, eliminate the trash, and I will then understand why current cinema rakes in the greater ratings. Until then, I'm keeping a copy of My Fair Lady in the DVD player for whenever Dance Flick comes on.
