To Kill a Mockingbird

I was flipping through the (sorry to say) limited movie channels that I have when I stumbled upon the movie to my favorite book of all time: To Kill A Mockingbird. The story follows a girl named Jean-Louise Finch aka Scout and talks about growing up in Alabama during the Great Depression. The movie focuses on the trial of an accusation of rape of a white girl named Mayella Ewell by a black man named Tom Robinson, who her father Atticus defends. The story is a heartbreaking depiction of the inequalities that black people faced and the utter desperation portrayed by the actors is astounding. Though the book goes into much more detail about the separate lives white and black people lived, the movie surely shows how unfairly black people were treated. I was so glad to see this movie on television, but I wish that it was shown on basic cable. Why is it that important old movies like this can only be found on extra channels? Are we unable to watch black and white movies anymore? Though we have come far, we still need to remind ourselves of where we came from and that we still need to work as a society to make sure these inequalities do not occur to any race in this country. If you have not seen the movie or read the book, I highly suggest that you do so. It is a wonderful story, and the movie boasts some heavy acting (with Gregory Peck as Atticus, Brock Peters as Tom Robinson, and Robert Duvall as Boo Radley).

Medicine television commercials

Since my focus on my past few posts have been about advertisements, I've decided that I would discuss the influx of medicine ads. I was watching television yesterday, and within two commercial breaks I had seen six different medicine ads (Aleve, Excedrin, Slim Quick, Pepto Bismol, Tylenol, and Viagra). It's crazy how often medicine commercials are on television, which just showcases our problem with over-medicating ourselves here in the US. These 6 different ads were shown multiple times each in only a half hour segment in different commercial breaks, not including the ads for lawyers who want to sue doctors for using medications that have had adverse side effects. I can only imagine what the frequency of medicine ads are doing to children's viewpoints on medicine.

With that said, SNL does really well with parodying television commercials. One that plays on these medicine ads was a pill for "Racial Tension Headaches" by Excedrin which Queen Latifah starred in. The skit was absolutely hilarious, not caring about being politically correct and pointing out how ridiculous many of these ads are. The skit makes a point to show how white people can make unfair assumptions about black people that are extremely frustrating. It is great that in a PC world, there are still mediums out there that comment on the inequalities in a way that is attention grabbing and poignant. If you haven't seen this skit, please follow the link below!

http://www.hulu.com/watch/1605/saturday-night-live-excedrin-for-racial-tension-headaches

Mentos, the fresh maker!

What is it about snappy music that makes people want to buy the advertised product? I recently read an article about some of the most remembered commercials because of their catchy songs. Remember the mentos ads? Or how about asking yourself what would you do for a Klondike bar? Surprisingly, the Kit Kat ads weren't on the list. Number one on the list has people wishing they were a deli meat- thats right! 'Cuz Oscar Mayer has a way with B-O-L-O-G-N-A! Though these ads don't really say anything about diversity, it is interesting how influential television can be. If you remembered the Mentos jingle from ten years ago, thats very effective advertising! The power of television can be astounding. So pay attention to what you're listening to and how much you're persuaded by songs. Because what is cooler than the FreeCreditReport.com commercials? Here are some clips of some of my favorites:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_KsOnyuCGA Mentos, the freshmaker!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDu5c73OHFY Gimme a break!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMXv0__CYSU They say a man should always dress for the job he wants...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrzW_YuO6_I Its truly sad that I remember this one, as I was a kid when it came out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5eNcFRit8M You know you had one of these as a kid!

Children and ADHD TV

If there is one thing I can say about television, it has certainly made its mark on every generation. For me, I feel that I grew up in the golden age of children's television. Reruns of the classic 80's nickelodeon shows such as "You Can't Do That On Television" as well as all of the tv shows of the 90's including (my favorite) Rocko's Modern Life, All That, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Saturday morning cartoons with reruns of the classic Looney Tunes, and not to mention the television shows not necessarily meant for television that my brother and I watched anyway (SNL, In Living Color...) One of our favorites was watching Wild Discovery. We were fascinated with watching the animals survive in the wild, and it became a favorite of ours. When I was babysitting my little cousins this summer, I was forced to watch the children's shows they have now, and I confess that I found myself lost. I didn't understand and couldn't follow most of the cartoons that were on, and I honestly couldn't tell you what they were about. All I know is that I saw a lot of things flashing by and faced paced action. It can be kind of a trippy experience to watch children's shows now... I don't think I have to point out how creepy the Teletubbies are to watch as an adult. The teen shows weren't much different, and I don't think I can describe into words how upsetting it was to have to watch the Jonas brothers for an entire afternoon. I did notice that my cousins wanted nothing to do with the History Channel or Animal Planet, which distressed me. Why does it seem that kids are even less likely to watch something educational? Perhaps my brother and I were the rare exception, but I feel like most children's television shows are pretty much required to be very colorful, extremely fast and follow the guidelines of having to catch the child's attention with something new every 60 seconds. I hope that future children's shows take the initiative to actually make the children learn something (remember learning geography with "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiago?"?) otherwise the next generation will be an over-stimulated mess with no desire to learn from television and will only look to it for meaningless enjoyment. And having such a powerful medium being only used for entertainment when it has the potential to teach the world would be a complete waste and a great shame.

The best actors in all of television...

Its late at night, and you're flipping through the channels. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, you're sucked into watching an infomercial. These actors are by far my favorite (and most underrated) in all of television. There is nothing quite like the performance of how difficult a task can be like mopping the floor or cleaning a kitchen before they find the wonder invention that will change their lives. To me, it transcends any acting that comes from prime time shows. Because it is drama at its best. It transcends issues of race, ethnicity, gender- these people really know how to exaggerate a problem and look happy and completely satisfied with their new product. So next time you're watching "The Office" and loving the performance and shenanigans of Steve Carrell, you'll know he learned from the true masters. The actors of Sham Wow.

Oh how I want Samantha Brown's job...

One of my favorite channels on television is the Travel Channel. It is a channel that embraces different ethnicities and culture and showcases the positive aspects of traveling throughout the world. I feel that people who are more open are willing to travel to different places and explore for themselves. I especially like Samantha Brown, though I admit I am supremely jealous of her because she has such an ideal job. What I most especially like about the Travel Channel is that Samantha Brown, as well as Anthony Bordain and Andrew Zimmern, encourage viewers to experience new things, especially different foods. There is nothing like submersing yourself in another person's culture than eating with them and seeing first hand what their culture is like. Though many other channels on television showcase diversity and positive images of all races and cultures, the Travel Channel to me is the most positive and open of all television channels. Much like the History Channel, the Travel Channel also gives historical accounts of the different countries. I like Samantha Brown as well because she doesn't just hit the tourist spots, but interacts with true locals and goes to true cultural celebrations and tastes local cuisine that is not affected or altered to favor tourists. If you've never watched the Travel Channel, I highly suggest you start to watch. But a fair warning for you: it will make you want to travel, and if you're as broke as I am, it can be more than slighlty upsetting to realize that it won't happen too soon.

NFL's own South Park

I saw this article about an animated television commercial for the NFL network that makes fun of Jessica Simpson and her weight. Has it really come to fat jokes? Really? Why is there such an obsession with weight issues and women? Why is it that male celebrities never really get flack for gaining weight like female celebrities? For example, Alec Baldwin may have put on a few pounds and yet no one says anything. But people like Kirstie Alley or Oprah are constantly watching for papparazzi because the minute they look unfavorable, it is all over E! and trashy magazines. Why is it acceptable to make fun of overweight women? I just get so sick of the double standards in today's society concerning women. Because lets be honest, most if not all of the ex-NFL players who work on the NFL network are not exactly 'fit' anymore, and yet they do not face what female correspondents face in terms of weight management. Can you think of an overweight female correspondent who was not pregnant? Thats what I thought. Check out this article with the video clip and tell me if I'm overreacting:
http://www.popeater.com/2009/10/14/jessica-simpson-nfl-commercial/