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July 1994

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Subject:
From:
Denise Bryson <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 19 Jul 1994 11:56:05 CDT
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>On Mon, 18 Jul 1994, Denise Bryson wrote:
>
>>
>> It's not high art.  It's not the best film ever made.  But darnit,
>> it's a well-spent entertainment buck, and not every filmgoer out there
>> wait in line and spends his/her money to be politicized.
>
>
>Oh yes they do, whether they have the time or inclination to think about
>it or not. By the way, ever read any Harriet Beecher Stowe?
 
OK, how about a slight addition to that statement:  ....spends his/her
money BECAUSE he/she WANTS to be politicized?"
 
Come on.  Most of the folks who were sitting in that darkened theatre
with me have NRA stickers on the back of their pickup trucks and
their VCR permanently set to tape Rush Limbaugh.  This particular
movie will not have much of an effect on their socio-political views
one way or t'other.
 
We spend our entertainment buck to be entertained.  If we're
exposed to political messages (and yes, I'm familiar with the
argument that ALL discourse is political, though I have a problem
figuring out what that little Deer X-ing sign REALLY means at its
political core), then they're often subtle enough to be completely
missed.
 
A friend recently overheard two little old ladies describing "Thelma
and Louise."  Their opinion was that it was a "sweet little movie about
about a couple of girls who had some adventures, got into some kind
of trouble, and then held hands and jumped over the Grand Canyon."
 
So even the MOST political subtexts, it seems, are often missed.  I
just think we too often ring the alarm bells, since we're the kinds
of folks who make a living by looking for socio-political messages
on cereal boxes.  (Ever noticed the Trix rabbit is WHITE?  Just
imagine what that does subconciously to children of color|)
 
 
Denise Bryson, Language and Literature
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=      Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot      =
=       change, the strength to change those things I can, and        =
=         the wisdome to hide the bodies of those I've killed         =
=          because they PISSED ME OFF|   - Anonymous _                =
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