Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by EdM (R) on June 04, 2006 at 09:49:55

We all know many films have “messages” but I wonder how many people really recognize the deeper messages placed well in the background of films?

I am a long time auto enthusiast so I’m always interested to see what vehicles the producer or director have chosen for their characters. I have observed there is almost always a not too subtle message in this.

Case in point- “The Family Stone”. A so-so movie with a great cast and a horrible script. As the film opens we see two young men- one black and the other white arrive to a Cape Cod style house in a $85,000 Range Rover.
I admit this had me fooled for a brief time. What is a Range Rover doing in liberal New England? Then we learn the two men are gay! Of course! They have no visible means of support throughout the film but the idea that gay men drive a expensive auto is there to reaffirm the rich gay stereotype.

Now, what does every other character in the film drive? Why Saabs and Volvos, of course! I have noticed in every liberal leaning movie-the makers apparently are not aware any other vehicle exist except for Swedish ones (both owned by GM & Ford for even further laughs).
For more interest one of the stars crashes a Saab several times and is not shown to have a scratch on her so we then are taught how "safe" this car is.

I guess film makers are not technically savvy enough to throw in a hybrid here and there yet.

To drive home the point even further, these film makers use a hammer in the form of a bus. Poor Claire Danes who arrives late in the movie (and steals a few scenes)- apparently can’t even afford a car- or perhaps since she’s an “artist type” eschews the use of one altogether and takes a bus.

Ah, liberals and stereotypes- there’s nothing like them!

Music is Emotion