A Frank Piece of Pie
A new movie that came out two weeks ago is “American Pie.” “American Pie” is a teen sex comedy that is the most sexually frank and vulgar of a long line of recently released movies that fall in this category. Other such movies that have recently come out but are not quite as frank are “Can’t Hardly Wait” and “She’s All That.” When asking what exactly is a teen sex comedy the definition is hard to explain.
A teen sex comedy is a comedy with a target audience age of about fifteen to twenty-five. It is a comedy that relates to its target audience and deals with its problems. The movie takes place in either a school or function that deals with people in this target audience. The film shows all of the aspects of this age groups life showing confrontations with sex, drugs, parties, police, parents and friends. “American Pie” is the most frank and vulgar when showing sexual tension, questions about sex and sex in general. Movies like this have been around for a while, but never one so frank and vulgar. Not every movie shows a guy chug back on semen filled beer, which they refer to as the “Pale Ale.”
In the eighties movies such as “License to Drive,” “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” and “The Breakfast Club” all spoke of sex and joked of sex but not in the manner that “American Pie” does. When teen sex comedies were made in the eighties they could not be as vulgar for several reasons. One reason is that society would not accept them to be so vulgar. If films like “American Pie” were released in the eighties they would be bashed to death by critics that reviewed it and would receive a rating of NC-35. The second reason is that the movie was designed to be a good wholesome movie not one that is graphic and raunchy.
However times have changed. In present times our society is more relaxed and is prone to these raunchy movies. We as movie viewers are more ready for these vulgar movies and know that each movie in this category tries to be more vulgar and frank than its predecessor merely to gain attention and snag more viewers. One problem with these movies being so frank and vulgar in present times is that they fail to mention that all of this casual sex could lead to someone getting a STD or aids.
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) gave Trey Parker's puppet satire Team America (2004) the ‘R' rating after initially giving it the dreaded NC-17 stamp of disapproval. Dr. Kevin Sandler, Professor of Media Studies at the University of Arizona, associates the R rating with the motion picture industry's focus on producing ‘respectable' or ‘incontestable' films. Known as the “Incontestable R,” an R rating ensures audiences that the film's content cannot be confused with that of an NC-17 film. Parker's efforts to cut out portions of Team America's controversial puppet sex scene and its subsequent R rating, seem to have been fruitful. Team America generated little controversy with media critics in regard to its R rating.
During the beginning scenes of the movie, development of sexual behavior was shown. Sam filled out a questionnaire that was written inside of a note that was passed to her. Inside the note read sexual questions such as, “Have you ever touched it? Have you ever done it?”. Questions like these show how sexual interests and desires arise during these years of adolescence. Nationally, 47.5 percent of twelfth-graders, 39 percent of eleventh-graders, 30 percent of tenth-graders, and 21 percent of ninth-graders reported that they were currently sexually active (Eaton & others, 2012). Therefore, it was not surprising to me that questions like these were being asked in high
The MPAA rating system was once a good source for people to find out whether a movie would contain immoral or violent images; currently the system has grown to become ineffective in today’s society. Society changes as well as movies; content and subject matter has changed for movies of this generation. If the system is not changed it will not help parents to know what movies will be appropriate for their children to watch. Because of the influence and prevalence of movies in our society and culture today a rating system is important, if that system fails to do its duty the negative influence that the movies can have on the children and youth of tomorrow will be great.
This Film is Not Yet Rated is a documentary directed by Kirby Dick, and produced by Eddie Schmidt about the Motion Picture Association of America (or the MPAA) and their often-unjust rules in rating movies. The MPAA’s rating system is as follows: G and PG are the same as they are in Australia, M is called PG-13 in America, MA15+ is R, and R18+ is NC-17, the latter being the strongest rating. The difference between an R movie and an NC-17 movie can be as wide as hundreds of millions of dollars, and is factored by disparities between Hollywood and indie filmmakers, straight and gay sex, male and female sexual depictions and violent and sexual content.
Ever imagined a woman so old and small but was still willing to go through any obstacles for a loved one? In the short story, "A Worn Path", by Eudora Welty, the author explains the long journey of an old woman named Phoenix Jackson, who is on a mission to get to her grandson 's medicine. Through her adventurous journey, Welty shows the readers the character traits of Phoenix being courageous, ambitious and full of imagination.
There are a total of four ratings that they show at most cinemas: G, PG, PG-13, and R. One would think that with so many different types of movies, there would be more ratings. Movies today have a very complex storyline and don’t want to give away any of the movie in the commercial. If there were more ratings you can tell what kind of movie it is and what is shown in the movie. For Example, the movie A.I. (directed by Stephen Speilberg) would be D_L-SC. This is because the movie is a drama, has language and has sexual content. If you saw that in a commercial rather than PG-13, you would have a better idea on if you wanted to see this movie or not.
...arious the first time I watched it, but the second time I watched it I started to analyze and develop an analysis of the characters, by which I found to be vulgar as well. This movie allowed for a great deal of deconstruction, based on the depth and variety that was established throughout.
Our culture, in contrast to Ancient Greece, uses sexuality to characterize people by their sexual behaviors. Other cultures view sex as a raw pleasure activity while our society has elevated it to the expression of a person’s identity and moral code. Chasing Amy contributes to this view of society as the whole movie centers around sexual beings and the influence of sex on their lives.
In today’s media it is almost impossible to find a show that does not contain some sort of explicit sexual material. Over 70% of television shows include some sort of sexual content (http://lubbockonline.com/stories/111005/nat_111005043.shtml). Adolescents are starting to engage in sexual activities at earlier ages and they do not understand that the media does not accurately portray the risks and dangers associated with having sex. With this adolescents are also becoming more interested and curious to learn about sex and their bodies. The rise of access to the internet and ease of access to pornographic videos at home has been linked to the decline in sexual crimes (http://mises.org/daily/3080). With all of the positives and negative linked to sex and the media it is extremely hard to decide whether it is good or bad for society.
‘Lad flicks’ or ‘lad movies’ is a type of film genre that emerged in the late 1990s. They are defined as a “‘hybrid of “buddy movies”, romantic comedies and “chick flicks”, which centre on the trials and tribulations of a young man as he grows up to become a ‘real man’. ‘Lad flicks’ respond in part to the much-debated ‘crisis in masculinity’” (Benjamin A. Brabon 116). This genre of film explored what it meant to be a ‘real man’ in the twentieth century and in order to do so, they would have to grow up and leave their juvenile ways behind to enter the heterosexual world. Gender relations in ‘lad flicks’ portray masculinity as a troubled, anxious cultural category hiding behind a humorous façade and also rely greatly on a knowing gaze and irony. The two ‘lad flicks’ that will be analyzed are The 40-Year-Old Virgin (Judd Apatow 2005) and Role Models (David Wain 2008).
The Colosseum was possibly built to house gladiator fights and other genres of entertainment in ancient Roman times. This is important because it shows the place and origin of gladiator fights, which still continue in our era, in modified versions.. This is the place where most gladiators spent the majority of their time - training and fighting. This Colosseum shows us the product of Roman effort, persistence, energy and time. In comparison to other sporting arenas in the past and the present, the Colosseum shows uniqueness because it describes the Romans’ such great love for bravery, fighting, and entertainment overall.
Have you ever heard of the Flavian Amphitheatre? You probably know this great landmark better as the Roman Colosseum. The Colosseum was originally called the Flavius Amphitheatre after the Roman leader at that time, Vespasian Flavius. This named was soon changed to the Colosseum in medieval times, the name Colosseum probably given because of the Colossal statue of Nero, one of Rome’s great emperors, that was near the landmark. Even though this is a well known place of generally all people, very few actually know much about it. To truly understand the Colosseum, you must know about its building and structure, its prime usage, and its later uses after it was abandoned.
Sex is a universal irony. Modern society is bombarded by sexual images yet the definition of sex is much more hidden. The words "sex," "love making, and "sexual relations" may be perceived differently from one person to the next. Sex is an abstract word, difficult to define because of a taboo in America against publicly discussing the issue. Thus, because the topic of sex is discussed among friends privately more often than publicly, a certain personal language evolves among individuals when discussing sex. When sexual language is used publicly ambiguities are developed. Culture also plays a key role in how specific individuals define sex. Political, anthropological, and social debates occur because of ambiguous terms and cultural differences regarding sex, as well as because social taboos do not always dictate behavior.
Another advancement was the invention of birth control. This gave women the choice as to when they wanted to have children which led to an increase of sexual activity in society. This is seen in the movie Friends with Benefits. Although the main character Jamie is an independent woman who has a strong career, she shows how sexuality outside of the confines of marriage has become an increasingly common occurrence in American culture. The modern day contraceptives make it easier for people to have multiple sexual relations. This has affected the romance genre greatly. The plot has gone from the two people being attracted to each others personalities and seeking a long term relationship, to two people having one night stands after drunken nights out on the town. Hollywood produces films in which this type of sexual behavior is seen as the norm, it is often called “hookup culture”. Belton discusses how some radicals of the women’s movement argued that the the sexual revolution served as a “field day” for men while women became “sexually exploited”(Belton 346). The culture shift has led to more romance films in which sexuality has become an increasingly important
Take a look at what was acceptable 40 years ago, and what is considered acceptable today.(Pareles) The lyrics of songs today would cause a riot 40 years ago! According to Bozell, 21st century pop music has become very dirty. This is very true. “The top 100 pop songs are about sex.” (Bozell) In Katy Perry’s song “E.T.” she talks about having sex with an alien. E.T. is a song that many young people listen to. Lady Gaga wrote a song that said she was going to have sex with people till she got old and faded away. When people listen to these song, they are filling their heads with the though that it is ok to have sex outside of marriage. The Bible tells you to put a guard on you ear, eyes, and mind because what you take in will affect your heart.