Sex in Media

Doug

As I see it, sex seems to be very taboo in film still, even with the rise of sexual openness.  Violence in comparison is much more acceptable in today’s film.  Drug use, killing, and racism/sexism are allowed in film without much hoopla.  When a director wants to make a movie about making a porno, it gets a NC-17 rating, but when a psycho killer goes around abducting people and makes them cut their own legs off gets an R rating.  Now I’m not saying that sex shouldn’t get a restricted rating, I’m merely saying that sex, in its natural state, is much more common than an ex-marine going around decimating whole armies by himself.  But that’s just me.





John

Sex is a huge topic in American media, but it shouldn’t be. Sex is something a majority of humans do, and it has been done since the beginning of time. Yet there is a huge obsession with it in media and especially how it is affecting the youth. There are two ways to solve this issue. If parents are worried about negative effects in media then they need to either limit what their children watch or make them understand what they are seeing. It there are other people who do not want to see sex then they have the choice to see or not see the film or television show. Basically I think that

instead of chaining an entire society down to prude point of views, people should just worry about themselves. 



Rob

My thoughts on sex in film is pretty much the same as my thoughts on violence in film.  I don't mind sex in film as long as it adds something to the plot of the story.  If the only reason sex is in a movie is because the the movie wanted to give the viewers some eye candy, then the movie is probally not very good, and I wouldn't waste my time seeing it.  I don't really mind a sex scene to much if the girl is really hot, but if she isn't hot, or isn't a women, then the sex scene it isn't very good  in my opinion.  Overall my thoughts on sex scenes is that they aren't really neccesary because filmakers can get the fact that the characters "did it" without actually showing them "doing it."

Stereotypes in Film

Rob

I don't think that stereotypes in movies is all that big of a deal. I think that many of the stereotypes that are portrayed in movie are based partly in truth, only it is over played for entrainment value. I do agree that some stereotypes in movies, are a little bit over done, and can possibly offend some people. However, I don't find this to be the case in most stereotypes. People shouldn't worry so much about stereotypes in film, because there is nothing that can be done to completely eliminate stereotypes in film.



Doug

As I see it, stereotypes are mostly untrue hurtful things, that shouldn't have any place in modern society.  But, in the world of cinema, stereotypes can be a useful tool if used effectively and carefully. Stereotypes are based are common schemas that large numbers of people know, and when a short film is cramped on time but still needs to introduce a well developed character, a stereotype can provide a way to achieve that.  Now I am not saying that stereotypes are good and should be used, but they can be used to provide information about a character in a movie without someone flat out saying it.  If a filmmaker does decide to use Stereotypes as a tool, they must be very careful and consider all views of the stereotype.  I believe Stereotypes can be used as a tool in film, if used correctly.  But thats just me.

John

While the general moral consensus of stereotypes is that they are wrong, they are still useful. They can be used in ways to show social and political ideas, especially when exploring the topic of racism. One director that uses stereotypes to prove a point is Spike Lee. He brings stereotypes to the viewers attention in almost all of his films and although he is usually blatant about his viewpoint, he gives the other side of the argument. People will say and do things that hurt others. Understanding stereotypes can help people learn how to avoid this type of “racial confrontation”.

Your class does not determine how you watch movies.

Amir

It's easy to complain about issues. All I see are people complaining here about just about anything they can think of, but no one doing anything about it. Class doesn't make a difference between 'home theaters' versus the typical theater. Either way you're spending money, and a lot of it. Do you know how expensive it is to buy a DVD? It costs way more than it would to see the movie in a theater. You might suggest renting one, but that comes out close to a ticket; and thats without factoring in the cost of purchasing your 'home theater'.

The people that come up with these 'issues' and discuss them are so detached from the reality of living life with low income, myself included. It's just another way to fool our new generation of 'thinkers' that they're doing something productive. Class doesn't determine whether or not you go to see movies in theaters or your house. It's personal preference. What these 'thinkers' don't seem to realize is that while they might not be able to fathom any sort of way to get around throwing money at anything they have a whim or fancy for, people deal with their situation, and it is possible to watch movies with a low income.

While 'thinkers' debate the social effects of a failing economy, the people feeling its effects the most are coming up with ways to make their short existence on this earth as enjoyable as possible. Sure, certain luxuries are sacrificed, but nothing really changes. They go to movies and enjoy the same gory, sex-infused action/adventure flick that everyone else does. What we do is waste our money needlessly for certain luxuries that we couldn't live without.

Has anyone ever considered how cheap a matinee movie is? Go to the movies before 6 and you're only dropping down $5-6 in most cases. Thats almost half of what a normal ticket costs at the expense of going a few hours earlier. What? Nothing else to do later in the evening? Go to bed earlier, stop waking up at noon.

We can sit here and think and discuss how class affects a movie-going experience, or we can realize it doesn't and move on. If people want to watch movies in theaters, they will find a way. It just comes down to preference.

The ways class could affect how movies are watched

John

An issue that is now prevalent due to the availability of DVDs is staying home. There is now a way to enjoy a movie in a compfortable enviroment at a low price. When i say low price I mean that middle class families are now able to own a semi-decent home theater system. While the price of movies is going up, there are movies on television for no cost and movies on DVD for almost no cost (renting is now around 4 dollars). This means that families in the middle class and upper class have a choice of staying home or going out to see a movies. With cable on-demand, it could quite possibly be the same movie playing at home as in the theater.

Rob

I think class effects a person’s movie going experience in two main ways. First off, the more money a person has the more movies a person can afford to see. By either going to see a movie in theaters or buying or renting it a person usually needs to spend money to see a movie. Therefore, the more money a person has will allow a rich person to see more movies than a poor person. Secondly, the wealth of a person can affect wether a person can afford to see a movie when it first comes out in theaters or if they need to wait for it to come out on DVD. Also a wealthy person can afford to have a nice home entrainment center, whereas a poor person is forced to watch a movie on whatever t.v. they can afford. A rich person can have a very big t.v. or even have a home movie theater.

Doug

To me it seems that movie theaters are slowly become what they once were, back to the theater palaces of yesteryear. From what I have seen the prices of movies have done nothing but go up, which makes people like myself decide to stay at home and watch a DVD (or stream a movie online if you do that). In order to entice more customers many movie theaters bringing back the elaborate palace like buildings to make going to the theater more of an experience. Unfortunately, the prices aren’t going down and I still have a hard time paying for all the movies that I want to go see, when they come out. Most middle class and lower class people can’t afford to go see these movies, even if the movie theaters kick up the “movie night” experience. I am personally torn between going to see a movie opening night at a sweet movie theater and just saving my money and seeing it on TV, renting it, or seeing it at a friend’s house. But that’s just me.