Opinion: Cuties is part of the problem with sexualization

 I do NOT support the sexualization of children in anyway shape or form. If there's one important thing you need to take away from this, it's that sentence. I never want to hear that this type of behavior is okay. Cuties, a film on Netflix that attempts to tackle this issues, falters heavily on its message. Yes, I saw the film. No, I don't recommend you watch it. I will encourage you to strap in because we got alot to talk about.

Director Maimouna Doucoure attempted to tell the story about the sexualization of children in today's culture. I say attempt because the actual execution DOES infact sexualize the characters in the movie (all of whom are 11). If the movie wanted to tell this story, it went about it the wrong way.  These kids should not have been filmed doing any of the provocative dances and the religious aspect of the feature isn't prominent enough in the feature. It's all kinds of uncomfortable and I was wrong to think the controversy was overblown. This movie is not worth watching for these scenes alone, but that's not the worst part.

No, the worst part is that Cuties' mere existence is a byproduct of a bigger problem. You wanna know why this film was made in the first place? To be blunt, it's because we as a society let this happen. Not just the movie, but the subject matter this movie tried to tackle. We let the sexualization of children go on for too long and we didn't notice until it was brought to our attention. Had we not normalize open sexuality in the first place, Cuties would've never existed in the first place.

Let's not beat around the bush: this world has become more perverted with each passing decade. Sure, humanity has always been pervertrd but things really took off in the 20th century. With the rising popularity of pornography and putting sex into mainstream movies, sex and nudity was slowly but surely being normalized until it became common place in the 21st century. Ever hear of the term "sex sells?" Unfortunately that's become the unofficial law of the land. Whether it's in commercials, music videos, movie posters, billboards, games shows or what have you, you will always find a suggestive looking woman or man posing with few clothes on. We're like flies being attracted to the bright bug electricutor. Even if we know it's bad for us, we can't help but go towards it. It's even gotten to the point where children are being attracted to it.

Kids have always imitated whatever they see, that's how they learn. In today's perverted world, if a kid sees Iggy Azalea or Miley Cyrus twerking, they're going to think that looks like fun and imitate it. 👏This👏is👏bad. Any form of provocative dance or gesture should not be imitated by children, and yet they do it anyway. Why? Because we don't monitor our children closely enough to make sure they don't imitate this stuff. I'm not just talking about having a filter on your browser. I'm talking about demanding the big media corporations discourage such vulgar and provocative behavior in their marketing. In order to proctect the children of the world from this kind of seduction, we need to actively say no to ALL forms of sexualization in media. Sex itself isn't bad, but it should strictly be between a husband and his wife: no exceptions.

I'm willing to be called a prude for the rest of my life if it means standing by my opinion that this world is perverted. Cuties was made to bring the issue of sexualizing kids to light, but in doing so it became part of the problem. I'd much rather this film be about something else than to try (and fail) to tackle a problem in our society. In closing, don't watch Cuties, don't let your kids watch Cuties and don't let the big media corporations get away with sexualizing them. 

It's Time To Retire The "Sex Scene"

Many movies and TV shows aimed at adults tend to incorporate sex scenes into the narrative. Many people have criticized the inclusion of these scenes and I can definitely see why. Even if they're integral to the plot, a sex scene is problematic for the actors involved and it tends to make casual audiences uncomfortable watching it. With the rise of more prominent women in shobiz, I think now is the right time to retire the practice of sex scenes in general.

The reason behind sex scenes being included varies from filmmaker to filmmaker. The most common though is because it stimulating to watch two actors have sex. To put it bluntly, it gives the filmmakers an excuse to make porn without directly calling it porn. The problem with that mentality is the same problem with pornography in general: it's degrading. It dehumanizes the people involved, particularly the women, to essentially make the porn stars for the sake of stimulating the filmmaker. Of course not every sex scene is like this, but even the exceptions aren't worth filming in the first place.

Take for example the attempted sex scene between Bruce Banner and Betty Ross in The Incredible Hulk. The scene itself isn't bad as it shows Bruce can't even have sex without Hulking out. However, that's a fact that could've been left unsaid because it was already established in the beginning of the film that he can't let his heart rate go up so high before he turns green. As such, the scene is superfluous.

Even movies about sex, such as Don Jon or American Pie, could've gotten their point across just fine without filming the actors having sex. Showgirls, the most notorious example of gratuitous sex and nudity, did not need any of those scenes to tell the story of a girl trying to get into showbiz. I know a remake is never going to happen, but if I were to remake the film I'd focus on the anxiety and stress Nomi goes through while being a glorified prostitute. Instead of showing her performing or having sex with guys, I'd show the aftermath with her drinking, smoking, crying, calling her parents and trying to get out. Maybe have it end with her being a born-again Christian as a little cherry on top.

Now I know what you're thinking, "but what about show, don't tell?" and to that I counter argue less = more. Contrary to popular belief, not everything in the story has to be spelled out for you. You don't need to see the characters going to the bathroom all the time, you don't need to see character stopping to take a cigarette break, and more importantly you don't need to see characters having sex. Even if sex if part of the story, you don't need to show it. 

Many actors have also come forward to say that they were uncomfortable filming sex scenes. While filming the sex scenes on Jessica Jones, they were filming all day and Mike Colter was getting back pains. While there was a mediator there to make sure everything ran smoothly, it's still a tedious process to shoot a scene that ultimately establishes what we already know: Jessica and Luke Cage are compatible with each other. There are many actor who refuse to film sex scenes because it goes against their beliefs and as such they aren't hired for the project in mind. This is unfortunate because it enforces the stigma that sex sells, which itself should no longer be tolerated especially today.

Instead of trying to making filming sex scenes more comfortable, why don't we instead try making the story more engaging without the need to have the actors take off their clothes? It's not artistic to film a lady giving a guy a blowjob; it's disgusting. It's not important to show characters having sex because they love each other; it's redundant. In closing, let's start a new era in filmmaking where the sex scene is not common in mature movies and TV shows. Instead replace it with good character interactions, a strong story, and some laughs along the way.

In Defense of Kangaroo Jack

Kangaroo Jack is mostly remembered as that edgy family film from the mid-2000s with a talking kangaroo. Critics hated it and yet it managed to make a decent profit at the box office and was even given a direct-to-video sequel. Having watched it recently, I found that I enjoy it as a funny buddy comedy with solid performances and great humor. Today, we'll be looking at what works about the film, what doesn't and why it ended up the way it is.

This film does tell a solid story about 2 guys who travel to the land down under to deliver a package to someone named Mr. Smith. While they were taking pictures with a kangaroo, it steals the package (which Louis put in his jacket, which he then put on the kangaroo) and now they have to chase him to get the package back. The story is very straightforward but culminates with a big twist at the end that puts the whole thing into perspective. It also helps that there are alot of funny jokes in this film, particularly the camel scene. Most people scoff at fart jokes, but I personally found it kinda funny.

Obviously the best part of this film is the chemistry between Jerry O'Connell and Anthony Anderson. They work so well with each other and their performances particularly shine when they're walking in the desert near the brink of dehydration. I especially love Anthony Anderson's wild and goofy performances and how much fun he's having on set. All the other actors give a solid performance with what they got, particularly Christopher Walken and Michael Shannon. Walken brings the right amount of menace and charsma to his character and Michael Shannon just hams it up every chance he gets.

The characters themselves offer quite a bit to like. Charlie is a good man who just wants to do the right thing and Louis is lots of fun and deeply cares about his best friend. Jessica is a smart, funny and resourceful wildlife expert and Frank is a short tempered gangster who relishes in putting Charlie down. The biggest standout of the cast though is Kangaroo Jack himself. He's such a funny little creature and the sequence in which his speaks and raps was just hilarious. Also, the CGI use to bring him to light looks pretty good. He moves like a real kangaroo and the jacket he wears throughout the film moves organically with him.

I really do think the cinematography deserves some credit in this film. Peter Menzies, jr (who also provided the cinematography for The Incredible Hulk) shot some amazing shots of the Outback, from the rugged canyons to the luscious oasis. I especially love the wide shots that showcase the vastness of this Australian desert. Overall, it's a well shot film.

There are a couple elements that don't work about this film. For one, I didn't care for the romance between Charlie and Jessica as I felt they didn't spend enough time together to form som chemistry. I also don't like who when Charlie thinks she's a mirage the first thing he does is grab her boobs. He totally deserved that canteen to the face. Another element I don't think worked as well was the climax. I felt it could've been more exciting, but as is it's just adequate.

Did you know that this film was originally going to be R rated? Shocking, I know but it's true. This film was originally going to have more cursing and violence and the kangaroo was only going to appear in one scene. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer saw a rough cut of the film and felt it wasn't working. So after recieving positive feedback from the kangaroo, the filmmakers decided to reshoot most of the film and tone it down significantly to appeal toward a family audience. Thus this film is one of those PG rated films that just teeters toward the line of PG-13.

Overall, Kangaroo Jack is at best a funny buddie comedy and at least a guilty pleasures of some sorts. I totally understand why some take issue with this movie being an edgy family film, but for what its worth I found it to be all good fun. Thanks so much for reading and I'll see you soon ;)

Why I'm Done With Pornography

This has been something I've been struggling to confidently say for years. When I tried to go cold turkey before I would eventually relapse and the cycle would repeat itself. This time however I feel more confident in saying that I have no desire to look at pornography of any kind any more. If I were you I'd get some snacks and strap in because this post isn't going to be a deep dive into how my addiction started, how it has affected me in the long run and what ultimately made me decide it just wasn't worth it anymore.

When I was a kid (maybe 9 or 10), I picked up a Men's Health magazine and on the second to last page was an ad for a sex pill with a bare chested woman laying on top of a man. This was the earliest memory I can think of when I found that women being partially or completely naked looked cool. It then lead me to look up basic phrases on the Internet such as "naked women" "nude girls" and "sexy girls" among others. I went down the rabbit hole that was pornography and was hooked for almost a decade and a half.

The most common side effects of viewing pornography on a daily basis differ from person to person. For me it was having a skewed perspective on all the women in my life during my high school years. I never had a girlfriend in high school and I thank God I didn't because I either would've treated her like an object or cheat on her with another girl I found prettier. While my sexual urges never caused me to rape anyone, it did make me come across as a creep more than a few times. I once asked a lady I didn't know what sex was at the public library. If I wasn't a minor, I'd would've gotten maced at best or arrested at worst just for asking a question like that. I also had this bad habit of giving one girl in particular various gifts in a stupid attempt to get her to like me back. It got to the point where she rightfully told the school counselor about it and asked me to please stop. I'm glad I did because I was probably one unwarranted advancement away from being put on a restraining order. The most embarrassing moment for me though was trying to share a shower with either my sister or my aunt. Yeah, there's being a dumb kid and then there's being a straight up pervert. I'm more than ashamed I did any of those things and I thank God I've been forgiven for all of them.

Another major side effects to viewing pornography daily was it made me defensive and secretive about it. When I was first caught, it was embarrassing and rightfully so. It's like being caught with your hand in the cookie jar. And yet even after I was caught, I still viewed it in secret because the root of the problem wasn't handled properly. I didn't just watch porn because I liked it; moreover, I watched it because I was a lonely depressed kid with little friends and a severe lack of understanding of my purpose in life. This continued well into my adulthood when I was now stuggling to get a rise from something that was bringing me less and less enjoyment as time went on.

If I could point to the number one worst side effect of pornography, is its negative influence it had when it came to sexual encounters with strangers. I can most definitely say that despite meeting up with many strangers both men and women, I NEVER had a good sexual encounter. They were all varying degrees of filthy, unengaging and overall unsatisfying. While I knew pornography was not representative of real sex, I didn't know how underwhelming casual encounters were until I actually had them.

So, what changed? How did I go from a struggling addict to completely apathetic towards porn in general? Well, it was a number of factors, but the biggest was becoming a born-again Christian. While getting baptized and recieved the gift of the Holy Ghost didn't immediately cure me, I did slowly but surely start to drift away from porn as the years went by. Another key factor in the decimation of my addiction was having good relationships with a bunch of female friends and co-workers. The women in my life today are all smart, funny, caring, patient and understanding and they make me feel more appreciative of all the great women I've had in my life (such as my Mom, Grandma, my older sisters and teachers). Most recently, I've come to the realization that pornography is everything I said I didn't like in my last post about eye candy. Men and especially women in pornography are essentially reduced to sponges when put in front of the camera. Similarly, erotic drawings serve no other purpose than to arouse viewers with characters from an existing IP partaking in lewd acts. I've also come to the realization that if I spend so much of my time watching, writing and drawing porn, why don't I use all that time to create something original and fun?

Sure enough it was these factors that made me decide it was time to finally kick the bucket for good and start living my life. I just turned 24 over a week ago and I know for a fact that I don't want to spend another decade and a half dabbling in pornography. This is going to be the start of a new chapter in my life and this will hopefully lead to much better things down the road.

Why Eye Candy Is Degrading

"I am NOT a prize to be won!" Princess Jasmine from Aladdin (1992)

This quote from Jasmine basically sums up how I feel every time a female character with a strong personality shows up. We are living in a revolutionary era of entertainment where woman are given prominent roles in movies, TV shows and video games and are made to be well rounded, likable, relatable and a true role model. Unfortunately, this wasn't always the case and every now and then we get the occasional female character (with some male exceptions) that are only relegated to just stand there and look pretty. In Layman's terms: they're simply eye candy.

Now this was an inherent problem that dates back long before the concept of filmmaking came into fruition. Women were often placed on display as prizes by prominent leaders and who's primary function was to give birth and nurse babies. A prominent female leader such as Cleopatra and Mary, Queen of Scotts were the exception, but not the rule. It wasn't until as recent as over 100 years ago when the feminist movement gained prominence and women start demanding equal treatment.

Back on the topic of women in entertainment, one of the most notorious tropes that perfectly exemplifies the eye candy mentality is the "damsel in distress." Typically the hero has to save the damsel from a dastardly villain and is rewarded with a kiss or in some cases a hand in marriage. Now, this trope itself isn't bad (obviously a story needs stakes to be engaging) but the fact that many damsels in distress are deviod of personality is itself a problem. Take for example Ann Darrow from the original 1933 film King Kong. Everybody remembers the mighty gorilla, but nobody talks about Ann Darrow, who was the epitome of eye candy. She mostly just stands their and looks pretty, occasional screams in terror while everyone else actually moves the plot along. Disney themselves are guilty of this as Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty is often regarded as the weakest Disney Princess interms of personality and character development. While she's is pretty, Mary Costa gives a good performance as her original voice (both speaking and singing), she isn't made to be any more interesting to the audience as she is to Prince Phillip. She is ultimately bedridden at the end of the second Act and almost immediately after Prince Phillip breaks her curse with true love's kiss, they're hitched and dancing in the throne room.

Eye candy is not exclusively linked to the damsel and distress trope, however, as sometime it's a trope in and of itself. Remember Nazz from Ed, Edd, n Eddy? She's a perfect example of this trope and is easily the most boring character in a show full of wacky characters. Episodes like Boys Will Be Eds best exemplify how one-dimensional Nazz is as a character as all the boys (sans Jimmy) fall for her yet her unique personality is just be pretty while standing up for Jimmy. The show never develops her as an interesting character beyond just the stereotypical pretty girl with some hints of a personality, but not enough for me to care.

The problem with making female characters nothing more than eye candy is it makes the girls and women who are watching the show or movie feel under appreciated. It also makes me as a man who supports equal treatment for women feel embarrassed. If all Timmy Turner sees in Trixie Tang is just a pretty face, than I have no reason to care about his attempts to woo her. If Drake Parker doesn't actually care for half the girls he dates, why should I? If you're goimg to make a female character for the male protagonist to fall for, you need to do more than just slap on a pretty face to what might as well be a piece of cardboard. I no longer think it's funny that Susan Storm is forced to strip naked in 2005's Fantastic Four; I think it's degrading and undermines her as a character. I don't just want to save Princess Peach in a Mario game, I want to spend time with her so that when she is kidnapped by Bowser (again) I have more incentive to rescue her.

Fortunately many creators have learned from these passed shortcomings and female characters today are better than ever. Occasionally there is that one show, movie or video game that falls into the eye candy trap but those are now the exception, not the rule. The Disney Princess lineup has gotten significantly more diverse in terms of personality and  character development, female characters in TV shows are far more interesting and engaging then they were in the past and being able to play as female characters in video games has become a stable thanks in part to Metroid. This truly is a grand time for female characters, who have come a long way from being just a prize to be won.

In Defense of Joel Schumacher's Batman Movies

The original Batman movies between 1989-1997 are some of the most popular and topical films starring the Caped Crusader. While the first 2 directed by Tim Burton are often regarded as the most well made Batman films, the ones by Joel Schumacher are...not. I'm of the camp that they're rather enjoyable films, if not otherwise guilty pleasures. Having rewatched them on HBOMAX, I find that they still offer some substance and entertainment value.

Storywise, Batman Forever delves into Bruce Wayne's long suppressed tramua regarding his parents' murder while Batman & Robin finds him learning to trust his newfound partner in crime fighting. Batman Forever is often regarded as the better of the 2 Schumacher Batman movies in terms of storytelling, and I agree. In addition to taking the time to explore this part of Bruce Wayne's character, this film also organically sets up Robin's origin and how he becomes Batman's young ward. Batman & Robin, meanwhile, has a more straightforward plot while also introducing Barbara Wilson, aka Batgirl into the mix. This makes the film a tad predictable, yet the element in which both films succeed it is the over-the-top acting (particularly from the villains), the cheesy lines and outlandish costumes.

Can we just take a moment to acknowledge how fun these films are? Joel Schumacher was tasked to make these film more lighthearted in contrast to Burton's take and he more than delivered. Gotham is more vibrant and lively, and the costumes look more extravagant. I especially love the portrayal of Two-Face in this film, from wearing double sided clothes, having 2 maids dressed as an angel and devil, as well as his goons wearing double sided masks. I'm aware people have a strong distaste for Mr. Freeze's puns, but honestly a couple of them got a genuine chuckle out of me. Many people claim that Batman & Robin was made to sell toys, but having watched both films back to back, I feel Joel Schumacher just doubled down on the campy nature of Forever and gave Batman more gadgets and gizmos as an homage to the 1960s Batman TV series with Adam West.

While I enjoy these movies and all their cheesiness, I do have a couple issue. I felt the character of Dr. Chase Meridian was pretty much portraying the same love interest Batman had in the Tim Burton movies, only this time she's more attracted to Batman in a sexual manner. As such she has little to offer in terms of personality. I also felt Commissoner Jim Gordon being relegated to just calling Batman for help was kinda underwhelming. I kinda hoped he would play a bigger part, but I guess not. I also found it odd that Billy Dee Willams was replaced with Tommy Lee Jones as Harvey Dent, leading me to assume Dent had vertigo (a la Michael Jackson). Lastly, I feel Bane falls into the unfortunate category of Adaptation In Name Only because he's basically just Frankenstein's Monster in a mask as opposed to an intelligent tactician with superhuman strength that broke Batman's back.

Still though, I very much enjoy these movies in the most unironic sense possible. Yes, they're cheesy, yes they're outlandish, yes they're over-the-top, but darn it they're still fun. While I respect that Joel Schumacher apologized for disappointing people who expected Batman & Robin to be great, I don't think he felt any shame for making a couple fun movies. Thanks for reading and I'll see you soon ;)

Why It Worked: Ed, Edd, n Eddy

Introduction

Ed, Edd, n Eddy was a Canadian-American animated series which ran on Cartoon Network from January 4, 1999-June 24, 2008 before officially concluding with the TV movie, Ed, Edd, n Eddy's Big Picture Show on November 8, 2009. Created by Danny Antonucci, the show features the voice talents of Tony Sampson, Samuel Vincent, Matt Hill, Janyse Jaud, David Paul Grove, Peter Kelamis, Keenan Christenson, Kathleen Barr and Erin Fitzgerald. The show ran for 6 seasons and recieved critical acclaim throughout it's run (boasting a 8.8/10 on TV.com and 7.4/10 on Imdb). Growing up with the show and binging the complete series last week, I definitely consider Ed, Edd, n Eddy to be a classic slapstick cartoon. Today I'd like to talk about why this show still holds up even to this very day.

Premise and Execution

The show revolves around 3 boys scamming kids in a cul-de-sac in order to buy jawbreakers, which in this show are about twice the size of a bowling ball. Episodes typically follow the formula of the Eds coming up with a scam, something going wrong and the Eds suffer the consequences. Each episode uses its premise as a baseline to incorporate excellent slapstick comedy. Some of the funniest episodes are thr ones where the Eds get pulverized, particularly Eddy in the most cartoonish way possible. In addition to slapstick, there's also alot of self-aware humor with characters frequently breaking the fourth wall and acknowledging that they're in a cartoon. The animation for this show is amazing. The character designs are stylized to fit their personalities, right down to their walk cycles. The backgrounds are vibrant and have a 50s cartoon feel to them, and the character animation is loose and perfectly fluid. But the best part of the show as a whole is the amazing voice acting. Everybody gives it 110% and make these characters come alive in their performances.

Characters

The characters themselves offer a lot to like about them and are all memorable in their own way. Starting with Ed, he is one of the best lovable oafs in all of animation. He's so in love with the world and everything in it and his lack of thinking before he acts makes him so funny. Edd, often called Double D in the show, is very much the brains of the main trio as well as the voice of reason. In addition to being exceptionally smart, he's also hilariously awkward and not particularly strong. Then there's Eddy, the conniving prankster and self-appointed leader of the Eds. He's stubborn, greedy and egotistical, yet deep down he does care about his friends, mainly because they're the only ones he's got. The other kids in the cul-de-sac have alot to offer in terms of comedy and personality. Kevin, the neighborhood bully, is often the one who trusts the Eds the least and he relishes in referring to them as "dorks" every chance he gets. Johnny 2x4 is such an oddball because his best is a piece of wood named Plank, yet he's also a pretty funny character and his friendship with Plank feels genuine. Jimmy is such a worry wort and is typically afraid of the Eds, but as the show goes on he becomes more confident and even beomes a con artist himself like Eddy. Then there's Rolf, who stands right next to Ed as the most quotable character in the whole show. His unfamiliarity with American customs makes him relatable to every foreign kid living in America and his commitment to upholding family traditions make him all the more entertaining.

Where It Falters

I deliberately didn't bring up the girls in the show because they're one of the 2 major problems with the show overall. Ed's younger sister, Sarah, is one of the textbook examples of a spoiled brat. She's loud, obnoxious, a kiss up to her parents and the most violent kid in the entire cul-de-sac. The Eds have no choice but to put up with her in every episode because Ed doesn't have the assertive nature of Eddy to tell her to back off. Nazz is the very stereotypical attractive girl and is most certainly the weakest in terms of personality. There are moments where she could've been fleshed out more, but for the most part she might as well be a jawbreaker with hair. Then there are the Kanker sisters, Lee, Marie and May. They problem with the Kankers is that they've very much become a product of a different time. They frequently try to kiss the Eds without their consent, they forced them into "marriage," they made out with them in the girls bathroom and frequently refer to them as their boyfriends despite the Eds frequently wanting nothing to do with them. As a kid, yeah this was funny, but now that we're living in the #MeToo era, this type of humor just doesn't sit well. The other major problem with the show is it's commitment to a limited cast prevented them from introducing new characters to flesh out the world. This is most evident in Season 5 when the kids go back to school and it feels so empty. There's no other students present and all the teachers (and every other adult save for Eddy's brother in the movie) is never shown.  There were a few other problems such as Eddy going too far in some episodes, the episode title not being that memorable (outside of the Ed puns) and Season 6 only containing 1 episode, but it's 2 most egregious crimes are a lack of good female characters and a lack of adults or other characters to flesh out the world.

Conclusion

All and all though, I still very much love this show. Despite lacking female characters and Peach Creek being virtually a ghost town, the show still has great main characters, amazing slapstick, incredible animation and outstanding voice acting. It's a show I frequently find myself quoting and still laugh at the jokes to this day. Thanks so much for reading and I'll see you soon ;)