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November 2, 2009
Winter has begun to blow cold across the heartland, but when it comes to movies, November and December are hot, hot, hot months. It's the Official Holiday Movie Season, and with sometimes less-than-jolly glee, Hollywood moviemakers jockey for position as they try to get their latest production into theaters on just the right weekend so that millions of folks who are gearing up for Thanksgiving and Christmas will include their film in the cheerful festivities. (It's also because Oscar time is right around the corner, but that's another story.)
Since talking about movies is one of the biggest things we do around here at Plugged In, we've decided to fill up these last two months of 2009 with a made-to-order series of articles that delves into all things movies. What should we watch? How should we watch? Why should we care? Can good movies go bad? Can bad movies go good? We'll ask and answer all these questions and many more in an exclusive, 8-part series titled "Not Just a Movie." In weekly installments, each article will appear in our "Up Front" column. So check for them there, on our home page or in this e-mail. We're feeling more festive already! |
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Not Just a Movie: Super Story Power
When is a movie not just a movie? The easy answer is never. But there's a much more interesting one: This week, as we launch an exclusive 8-part "Not Just a Movie" series, we start where stories start. |
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Michael Jackson's This Is It
In this intimate concert film, cameras capture Michael Jackson's final days as he prepares to mount a colossal comeback tour. |
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Selena Gomez & The Scene
This debut disc from Disney's 17-year-old Wizards of Waverly Place star spends a lot of time mourning lost love and putting bad boys in their place. |
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G.I. JOE: The Rise of Cobra
We've already seen Transformers on movie screens this year. Now there are G.I. Joes. What's next? Wobbly Weebles? Lincoln Logs? Tinkertoys? |
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Law & Order
In its 20th season, Law & Order continues to turn real-life headlines into TV dramas. Its latest fictionalization revolves around the issue of abortion—and the pro-life side gets a pretty fair hearing. |
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Choosing Their Religion
Rather than rejecting spiritual truth outright, many young people are naively trying to tailor those absolutes to accommodate individualistic, consumer-oriented, iPod lifestyles. |
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 QUOTE: "I'm not thrilled with the deliberate onslaught of the public by the major networks in terms of the sitcoms. They still don't get it about race. They still don't get it about gender. Jokes are still about jerks and body parts and sex. The excuse is always the public wants stuff that raises the dopamine level."
—Bill Cosby, this year's recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, on why he doesn't watch television sitcoms. He also added, "Our youth [should be able to] find themselves being excited about things other than going straight for the genitalia."
[usatoday.com, 10/22/09; parentstv.com, 10/30/09]
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Don Draper, the suave, decadent and fictional lead character from AMC's show Mad Men, was selected as askmen.com's Most Influential Man of 2009—beating out Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt and President Barack Obama, who finished second and third, respectively. "It's interesting how drinking, smoking and carousing wins the race today, no offense to President Obama," says Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and American Idol's Simon Cowell rounded out the Top 5.
[starpulse.com, 10/8/09]
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Children's television viewing is at an eight-year-high, according to the Nielsen Company's latest statistical parsing of Americans' TV habits. Kids ages 2 to 5 spend 32 hours a week parked in front of the tube, while 6- to 11-year-olds watch slightly less (28 hours).
[mediapost.com, 10/26/09 stats]
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It wasn't so long ago that Miley Cyrus was seen as a positive role model for young people. Now, in a recent poll on AOL's Just So You Know celebrity gossip page for teens, Miley topped the "Worst Celeb Influence" category, followed by Britney Spears, Kanye West, Vanessa Hudgens and Shia LaBeouf. On the opposite end of the influence spectrum, fellow Disney girl Selena Gomez was voted "Best Celeb Influence," with Taylor Swift, Nick Jonas, Emma Watson and Justin Bieber hot on her heels.
[jsyk.com, 10/28/09]
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