In the spirit of the Oscars, I'll start with a different kind of focus. Last weekend, I rented the latest bawdy Seth Rogen comedy Zack and Miri Make a Porno. It's one of those rare cases when the title actually does summarize the story. Strapped for cash, the platonic title characters attempt to pay the bills by creating their own adult film. However, during production obvious romantic tensions flare, and the whole thing culminates in a friendship-turned-relationship When Harry Met Sally-esque happy ending.
I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, however, when friends were asking me for recommendations, I was hesitant to mention Zack and Miri. The predictable conclusion is enough of a guilty pleasure, but I was embarrassed by how much I laughed at the crude jokes and obscene humor (in the same vein as Knocked Up and Superbad, but worse). In the past, moviegoers favored the smarter satires, the dramas and the more mainstream aisles of Blockbuster stores, but this marked a completely new chapter. What ever happened to PG-13 films and conventional plotlines-or is there such a thing in the post-Judd Apatow world of comedy?
As I shamefully mourned my downward spiral into the land of vulgar humor, I suddenly realized-why does it matter? The movie made me laugh, which is the ultimate goal of a comedy. Sure, the methods of a strategy may be unconventional, but does that mean we should jump to criticize it if it ultimately triumphs?
We live in a culture and a country where efficiency is the name of the game. We are obsessed with the bottom line, the net cost and the final product. If the ends meet a goal, then they almost always automatically justify the means. Directors and producers of films like The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Pineapple Express have been smart enough to understand this and take advantage of it. Even The Dark Knight exemplifies this principle, although with less sex and marijuana-laced humor. Box office success and critical acclaim rarely coincide, but the intense action, story and performances in The Dark Knight proved a movie can have both.
Now, if only the government could take a leaf out of Hollywood's book. In one of the most tumultuous economic times the U.S. has had in a century, our politicians are still wrapped up in the same arguments that have dominated decades of partisan warfare. Tax cuts, government spending, education goals, environmental strategies-we have heard it all before, just like we have heard of the boy-meets-girl-boy-loses-girl-boy-wins-girl script or the misunderstood-bad-guy-with-a-heart villain. Problems are not going to be solved merely by reiterating the same two opposing positions back and forth on the Senate floor. What we need is innovation, new faces and new approaches. The politicians do not have all the answers, and as constituents, we need to accept that fact as much as our elected officials do. They need to be willing to embrace ideas from outside economists, educators, scientists and researchers. We are being encouraged to buy American, but that does not necessarily mean we need to think American-maybe we could take a hint from Slumdog Millionaire and learn from our friends in India, who are beginning to power their cars with solar energy.
If the movie industry can continually provide new ways to instigate viewers' emotions, our government should be able to develop policies that move us in a better direction. What if, by next year's Academy Awards ceremony, we had a stimulus that did not just spend money, but actually funneled it into programs that guide our country through the recession? That, ladies and gentlemen, is what you call a true Hollywood ending.
Jensen Henryhenryjk@muohio.edu
Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter
Read More
How one professor and her classes are preserving Oxford’s Black history
By Sean Scott | March 20, 2024Jazma Sutton, an assistant professor of history, teaches The Black Midwest (HST 350Q) and Black Women in America (HST 450D) classes. In both courses, she has students working with the Smith Library of Regional History and Miami’s archives to document and preserve Black history in Oxford.
Miami faculty members recount Freedom Summer in new documentary
By Luke Macy | February 25, 2022After seven years of work, “Training for Freedom,” a documentary highlighting Oxford’s involvement in the Freedom Summer of 1964, premiered on PBS Western Reserve on Valentine’s Day.
“Documenting the COVID-19 Pandemic”: History in the making
By Alice Momany | August 29, 2021In March 2020, Miami University’s archives launched “Documenting the COVID-19 Pandemic,” a collection focused on life during the COVID-19 pandemic.