The trend in family-oriented movies has been influenced based on the “norms” for the period in which they were created, much like other pop culture in our society.  The trend from two parent families to single parent families, for example, has been weaved into the story being presented to us on the silver screen.  The need for heroes/heroines as positive role models and action/adventure to add to the entertainment value has grown with the advent of current events and unrest.  Unconditional love portrayed between a child and an animal is very popular among family viewers and never fails to inspire and tug at everyone’s heartstrings.

            I found some characteristics of family oriented to be very interesting.  Our fascination with space, aliens and mythical legends gave us a series of family movies such as E.T., Star Wars and Harry and the Hendersons.  Family life goes from a nostalgic “Father knows best” theme in the movies Lassie and Stand By Me to the single parent family theme in E.T. and Milk Money.  Adventure is a definite ingredient to the family-oriented genre to stimulate interest of all family members and help them to more easily relate to the characters in the movies.  Unconditional love between a child and an animal in movies such as Flipper and Free Willy continue the tradition of portraying loyalty, unconditional love despite obstacles and tugging at the heartstrings of everyone in the family.  Action and animation are a winning combination to entertain all family members in movies such as Cars and Cars2, where automobiles take on human characteristics and interact with each other in human-like scenarios.  Comedy is a key ingredient to drawing in the audience in these films and encourages families to share laughter.

            I will, personally, not look at family oriented movies quite the same.  Family values, desires, dreams, morals and a need to believe in “something” are at the basic core of most family-oriented fare.  There are shared moments of laughter and tears, fantasy and reality, awe and fascination.  The nostalgic hope is to draw in the audience as a family to enjoy time together, much as we used to around the dinner table before we became “too busy”. 

            Family movies tend to have very similar formulas throughout each generation.  Most audiences look for love, loyalty, action, adventure and of course, drama.  Many are animated, although several are not.  Some heroes may have super powers while others may be just down to earth people who do extraordinary things.  One of my favorite movies to watch with my grandsons is Spirit.

            Spirit is a wild stallion who grows up to be leader of his herd.  He is captured by Army soldiers when he lures them away from his herd.  In spite of torture and humiliation, he does not give up, nor does he miss the opportunity to escape.  He is befriended by a young Indian brave and they escape together.  They develop a respectful friendship and Spirit falls in love with the brave’s mare.  Spirit is once again captured by the Army and forced to help with the installation of the railroad.  The cruelty to the animals is appalling, the horses are beaten and work until they drop.  Spirit fools them and again escapes.  He and his Indian friend escape the Army and he and the brave’s mare are reunited and again run free with his band of wild mustangs.

            My grandsons are totally mesmerized by all of the action on the screen.  The herd of mustangs thunder across the screen and the whinnies reverberate off of the living room walls.  In spite of the odds against him, Spirit is determined to remain free.  He represents good in the face of the evil of the Army who would attempt to destroy him and his herd.  He performs many acts of heroism in his adventures and in some aspects his behavior is most decidedly, “human-like”.  Spirit has no fear and learns to use his wits to defeat those who would do him and his family harm.  He shows great responsibility in his leadership and sacrifices in order to protect his family.

            I feel these messages are clear even to my grandsons. Be responsible and take care of your family and do not give up your fight for freedom.  Learn to be smarter than your enemy and don’t be afraid to love and be loved.  Not all men are evil.

Black, White, and Blue:  Racial Politics in B.B. King’s Music from the 1960s:  An Analysis

            Although racial politics were involved in blues music, the article brings to light the music itself cannot be classified in racial context.  The 1960s was an era of change in the black community with the advent of the Civil Rights movement.  The attitudes of the black community towards blues music and B.B. King were not favorable.  To survive economically it became necessary for B.B. King to attempt to crossover to the white audience and initially he met with little success.

            Ironically, B.B. King chose to hire a Jewish manager, Sidney Siedenberg.  I found it interesting the author should point this out as Jews were discriminated against as well in the South.  This was to be a turning point in B.B.’s career, however, as Sidney booked him to perform in front of a predominately affluent, white, hippie audience.  Again, the author presents us with another group stereotype with the reference to the audience as being affluent and of the hippie culture.  From the moment he stepped out on the stage, he received a standing ovation prior to ever beginning to play.  He felt overwhelmed these people would treat him in such a fashion.  He was honored and torn at the same time, which I found interesting.  The author also points out:  “It is important to note that in actuality neither King’s audience nor his music had ever been purely “black” in the first place, and that his “whitening” is only a matter of perception (one of the fascinating aspects of King’s shift in audiences was that the actual music did not dramatically change).” (Adelt, p. 204).  His success continued to build and gradually he became accustomed to the “white ways” of dealing with his music.  “An ‘all black’ audience represents obscurity and failure, whereas a crossover to ‘mainstream’ or ‘white’ audiences equal the ultimate success in America.”  (Adelt,  p. 201).  “Black” audiences, however, continued to turn away from King and the blues in the 1960s in favor of soul music.  They did not want to be reminded of a time and place they had outgrown and they did not like what they called King’s “Uncle Tom” attitude.  They either booed him in concert or stayed away altogether.

            He had a sense of loss over the lack of interest of his own people in his music.  The author points out how ironic it was indeed that just when the hippie generation started listening to his music, his own people had turned away from him.  His success with the “white” audiences continued to grow and he appeared on television shows to perform.  His albums became a mix of his works designed to appeal to the hippie audience.  The author discusses the album, Indianola Mississippi Seeds, as winning a Grammy for Best Album Cover.  King’s picture was not on the cover “but a watermelon carved in the shape of a guitar, replete with pickups, strings, and cable.” (Adelt, p. 208).  A worn out amplifier served as the backdrop.  Clearly, the author wants us to see the association of the blues to “blacks” being marketed to the “whites”.  Live at the Regal became a blues “classic” when it was reissued with a different album cover, which was in the form of a newspaper article bearing the headline “A Classic Revisited:  B.B. King Live at the Regal, and additional production.  King continued to market to the white audience with the production of a live album from the Cook County Correctional Institution in Chicago, which was a predominately black inmate population.  He followed in the footsteps of Johnny Cash who had gained a measure of success from marketing this concept to his fan following.  The name of the album was Live at Cook County Jail and its purpose was to elicit nostalgia from the “black” inmates to supply the “white” audience buying the album with the “authentic” background.  The author in conclusion writes, “Despite their social and economic relevance, the confluence of racial categories in the process of crossover, for instance in the reinscription of “black”sounds for “white” audiences, shows the ultimately unstable nature of these categories.” (Adelt, p. 213).

            I found from reading this article just how politics of the time could be manipulated to market an art from one group, “black” to another group of people, “white”, with the help of a Jewish manager and a mixed group of others of various nationalities and skin color.  I agree with the author that there is no true race sounds but merely the presumptions of prejudiced or uneducated people.  B.B. King’s music is real art, expressing emotions and life experiences with and unequaled talent of the guitar and a tone of voice which is unmistakably his own.

References

Adelt, U. (2011).  Black, White, and Blue:  Racial Politics in B.B. King’s Music from the 1960s.

            The Journal of Popular Culture. 44, 195-214.

           

            Family movies seem to focus more on the concepts of heroes rather than the cult of the celebrity.  The concepts of heroes are those which serve to inspire us to strive to become more successful and are created by us to serve as role models we can identify with more easily.  In other words we can through hard work and focus, become more like them and be more successful.  They are role models for what we may become spiritually and physically.

            The movie, The Ghostbusters, is a good example of supplying us with role models of ordinary people, who together can accomplish extraordinary things.  The heroes are able to effectively work together as a team, communicate knowledge and ideas and become over-whelmingly successful.  They do work to contain the supernatural and save the city from the forces of evil, thereby reinforcing our belief that good conquers evil.  The movie serves as both an escape from reality and the characters as effective role models in teamwork, shared knowledge and good communication to achieve success.

            The role model theory is best described with the three main characters, who have created the business of Ghostbusters, Inc.  These three men are normal, down to earth individuals, some of who have geek characteristics and with which most of the audience can identify.  From a spiritual aspect, they have faith in each other’s abilities and their own so they may effectively use good to defeat evil.  The theory of achievement of success applies as well.  The three men lost their jobs in the beginning of the movie and yet were able to team up and establish their own business and achieve success.  They pooled their resources and worked together to establish an excellent reputation as reliable, professional, business men.  The characters also exercised combined “powers” to defeat the evil forces threatening to take over and destroy the city.  This enactment appeals to the “escape from reality” aspect we like to see.

            The insight I have gained by applying these theories to family movies is I see a definite trend to provide positive role models, easily identified with, who are able to accomplish whatever they set their minds to and be successful.  Often teamwork is also involved as well as the spiritual belief that good conquers evil.  All of these combine to address our personal need for validation and success.

Written Analysis 2

Family movies often involve both rituals and stereotypes.  Typically the women/females are portrayed in “traditional” female roles, i.e. cleaning, cooking, child-rearing, etc., even though they may also have a career outside the home and men are often portrayed as the main bread winner/head of the household.  Many family oriented rituals are also included such as weddings, baby showers, family dinners and holiday celebrations.

            Stereotypical roles can be seen in the annual holiday classic, It’s A Wonderful Life.  I have a ritual of watching this movie as I set up the Christmas tree every year.  Jimmy Stewart portrays a man who is the eldest of his family.  He sacrifices his dreams for love and assuming responsibility of the family business as his brother goes off to war.  He is a good man who strives to do good things, the “right” things by others without a thought to himself.  Of course there is an evil competitor who strives to undermine him and just as he is feeling overwhelmed, a guardian angel appears to remind him how empty his life might have been had he made different choices.  His wife, Mary, is shown as being loving, supportive and taking care of the home and children.  She appears to suffer no depression, of course, as she is fulfilled in her role.  One is also led to believe that you should count your blessings and continue to have faith because you shall reap the rewards of sacrifice and good deeds.  The movie ends with all those he individuals he helped pitching in to help him and saving him and his family in their hour of need by repaying his kindness and helping him to defeat his nemesis with their monetary gifts on Christmas, the most sacred of holidays.

            Truly little has changed in the expectations of roles of gender in society.  Women are still portrayed as being expected to be the caregivers at home and in the relationships in spite of the fact many also hold jobs outside the home.  Men are still often portrayed as the head of the household and the patriarchs of the family with limited household responsibilities and limited expectations in regard to child-rearing.  Dads help their sons out with sports but daughters are taken care of by their mothers for the most part.  Holidays are pretty much celebrated as they have always been with  the mothers doing the cooking, cleaning and preparation and the fathers carving the Christmas ham or Thanksgiving turkey.  There are exceptions, but at this point in time they are few in number and need to continue to be improved on.