The naked truth
By: Laura Cogliandro
Issue date: 2/22/10 Section: Entertainment
Going. Going. Going. This fast-paced modern world delves itself into quick thinking, quick action and quick relief. Entertainment is the priority to most of us, Americans -whether food, dancing, traveling, movies, etc. We eat. We work. We learn. We entertain ourselves.
It is in this day and age, though, that our lives have developed into our main form of entertainment; that our humor is this sick, twisted, blatant misuse of the human body on the "big screen." The disgusting ideas of "pleasure" to some are rearranged to get a laugh.
I'm not saying that we shouldn't find humor in serious matters. I'm saying: why must we find humor in specifically visual manners at social events?
A good laugh about an awkward, sexual situation is fine -as long as it does not pass the boundaries of imagination. It is the visual aids that give movies such as "Bruno" popularity that is disturbing. "Borat," at least, had more of a storyline and fewer physically awkward scenes. When "Bruno" came out, the movie had a more straight-forward sense of "comedy" that betrayed the fun in storytelling.
Adult humor is hilarious, but have all of us forgotten how to suggest or imagine a situation that may have multiple meanings?
The kind of adult humor that is assumed and implied makes a scene funnier rather than knowing more information than necessary. It gives the imagination a chance to run wild.
Also, this older, modest form of entertainment gives everyone a control as to where each of our boundaries begins and ends. With the blatant sexuality of a visual aid, possibilities are out of our control, and our limits are pushed farther than many of us may want to go.
After recently watching "The Maltese Falcon" (1931), implications of adult sexuality manifested throughout the film, but were modest enough to allow a younger audience a chance to know the story without surpassing the naivety of youth.
Especially with young, it is better to speak in sexual innuendos than to blatantly give ideas each should not be amusing himself or herself with yet. Children need to grow and learn these things when they are old enough to understand the reasoning behind the actions of this sort humor and decide their own boundaries.
Also, I wouldn't say it is necessary to shield children from the world either. There are plenty of ways the human figure can be a positive, artistic feature rather than the awkward "in-your-face" kind.
If nothing else, allow our maturity levels to rise a little. With the guidance of ratings, keep movies -such as the "Hangover"-that make fun of stereotypical situations in an entertaining story, and rid the world of the cheap and unfortunate "stories."
It is in this day and age, though, that our lives have developed into our main form of entertainment; that our humor is this sick, twisted, blatant misuse of the human body on the "big screen." The disgusting ideas of "pleasure" to some are rearranged to get a laugh.
I'm not saying that we shouldn't find humor in serious matters. I'm saying: why must we find humor in specifically visual manners at social events?
A good laugh about an awkward, sexual situation is fine -as long as it does not pass the boundaries of imagination. It is the visual aids that give movies such as "Bruno" popularity that is disturbing. "Borat," at least, had more of a storyline and fewer physically awkward scenes. When "Bruno" came out, the movie had a more straight-forward sense of "comedy" that betrayed the fun in storytelling.
Adult humor is hilarious, but have all of us forgotten how to suggest or imagine a situation that may have multiple meanings?
The kind of adult humor that is assumed and implied makes a scene funnier rather than knowing more information than necessary. It gives the imagination a chance to run wild.
Also, this older, modest form of entertainment gives everyone a control as to where each of our boundaries begins and ends. With the blatant sexuality of a visual aid, possibilities are out of our control, and our limits are pushed farther than many of us may want to go.
After recently watching "The Maltese Falcon" (1931), implications of adult sexuality manifested throughout the film, but were modest enough to allow a younger audience a chance to know the story without surpassing the naivety of youth.
Especially with young, it is better to speak in sexual innuendos than to blatantly give ideas each should not be amusing himself or herself with yet. Children need to grow and learn these things when they are old enough to understand the reasoning behind the actions of this sort humor and decide their own boundaries.
Also, I wouldn't say it is necessary to shield children from the world either. There are plenty of ways the human figure can be a positive, artistic feature rather than the awkward "in-your-face" kind.
If nothing else, allow our maturity levels to rise a little. With the guidance of ratings, keep movies -such as the "Hangover"-that make fun of stereotypical situations in an entertaining story, and rid the world of the cheap and unfortunate "stories."