A few weeks ago I went to see Bruno with Casey and my friend whom I'll refer to as T. We had all been looking forward to the film since we'd heard about it. The previews made the film look hilarious. And it was. But a lot of the time I felt extremely uncomfortable... even though I was with two other close gay males.
That could have been because despite our small island of queer in the theatre, we were surrounded by a sea of breeders who seemed to be laughing at, instead of with, Bruno. The things we laughed at were different. I laughed at the miming of the blow job out of familiarity, they laughed at what Bruno was wearing. Granted, some of those outfits were outrageous, but many of the pieces were designer pieces, as indicated by Casey. I feel like the audience would have laughed at my image on screen just easily-- not that I wear designer, like Casey, but that I have a flamboyant air about me.
But Bruno breaks so many taboos and makes fun of so many different groups, the public's reaction to the film has been more nuanced than the gay/straight divide. For instance, one prominent gay activist called on Sacha Baron Cohen to explicitly state his support for gay rights. One San Fransisco Chronicle film critic found the comedy in the film tantamount to "gay blackface." Casey, T, and I disagreed.
I've heard some straight people feel confused by the film. A coworker of mine said she would have reacted as did the TV talk show audience to the apparent child abuse of baby OJ, whom Bruno adopted and dressed in a GAYBY t-shirt. I think she missed the idea that Bruno was embodying the sick consumer/celebrity culture of the US.
I've read and heard some intellectual film critics bash the film for using cheap methods, especially shock value, to draw crowds. Certainly the shock factor does do the foot work for getting people into the theatre, but I think there is something more profound in Bruno. It is derived from Cohen's sense of humor that uses outlandish characters to poke fun at bigotry. But in Bruno, he was able to call out the insanity of American celebrity culture, homophobia, machismo and religious zealotry all at once. As someone who is completely disgusted with all of the above, I say bravo.
Friday night, I had just finished eating leftover stirfry and was looking forward to watching Super Nanny before going out for drinks. But Jo was nowhere to be found. Instead, like a public service announcement, Un-Broke interrupted regular Friday night broadcasting (and all of the pleasure I derive from seeing Jo's healthy discipline technique) to tell me that I need to be frugal.
The show is right. Americans have been dwelling in an increasingly borrowed reality that we do not own. We have way too many credit cards, debt up the ass, and all we have to show for it are heaping piles of junk we don't need. It's toxic on every level, from the damage to our psyches, to our growing fat asses.
Seth Green's Cribs parody (above) was perhaps the gem of the show. As a common man, he gives us a tour of his extremely modest dwelling (a 1 bedroom ranch style) while still employing the rich gangster vernacular. Case in point: " Keep yer spending tight, and your money on your mind." We are shown a "state-of-the-art play station", which amounts to a pile of a boardgames; "bubbly," or bubble bath soap that he uses to clean his feet, and a luxurious plastic kiddy pool that is filled with "hose"... you get the picture.
This is what we should all be doing... living within our means. And that's great. This is what Americans need to hear. Too often, like the Cribs show Green was parodying, we are given rich celebrities to emulate, glamorizing consumerism and luxury. Green says:
"We're in a culture that emphasizes a lot of importance on financial wealth... so I'm concerned for all of America's youth who grew up watching [MTV's] My Super Sweet 16andCribs. They have such different goals and aspirations. You can't fault kids for their influences. Kids only learn what you tell them."
My only caveat is I sensed an underlying tongue-in-cheekness not just toward the Cribs show, but to the commonman austerity the clip was ostensibly idolizing. While it was extremely amusing to see juxtaposed a hood language of the rapping rich with modest living arrangements, it perhaps overemphasized the gap between the two. That is to say, seeing a kiddy pool might not make us think of poverty straightaway, but when you say "Staying cool by the pool" which elicits images of relaxing near a fancy pool, but then shoot to the kiddy pool, disappointing our expections, it simply exacerbates the jealousy we feel toward the wealthy.
It certainly does not help that during the course of the show, it is the super wealthy that are telling us how to manage our money, Green included. It is quite patronizing. Green, Will Smith, Rosario Dawson, the Jonas Brothers (perhaps most insulting of all), none of them have to deal with the realities of money management or austerity. They can continue to enjoy all of the luxury they desire, including multimillion dollar mansions. But it is they who are telling us to behave with our money, to only buy a shitty 1-bedroom ranch style home so as to keep housing costs at less than 1/3 of our total income. Easy for them to say.
In sum, the show was good. It attempted to inculcate values that have long since vanished from the US, first and foremost frugality and austerity. But the message might have resonated a little better with lesser known actors (whom we don't recognize for their lavish spending.) Although, I suppose then there might be less incentive to watch. You just can't win :)
She's all the rage. I have heard Poker Face, but don't hear anything particularly unique. For all the hype, Lady Gaga sounds like generic dance pop.
But to see Gaga is anything but generic. While critics say she's simply stealing David Bowie's style, she is a unique sight to behold. And I have to admit that I am jealous of the no pants thing... in my dreams, I am a pop star who rocks leotards and freak'em dresses as a quotidian. It is refreshing to see a female artist subverting traditional images of feminine sexiness. (Although I would be interested to read a feminist take on her... it could be argued she is simply playing into those images.)
"I operate from a place of delusion... I used to walk down the street like a fucking star... I want ppl to walk around delusional about how great they can be - and then to fight so hard for it every day that the lie becomes the truth."
On one level, it's super exciting to subscribe to this - to strut around the streets like you own them (I confess :) and perhaps play into the illusion of one day becoming rich and famous. But this idea is uniquely American, isn't it? To believe that the key to success is placed soley on the shoulders of the individual, that by working or fighting hard enough, wealth and fame will come.
But we know that fame and wealth are matters of chance, of being in the right place at the right time and knowing the right people. There are also powerful social forces, especially poverty, in play that would prevent the majority of would be divas from stardom. (Yes, believe it or not, America, there are social classes in the United States.) Simply believing you'll be wealthy (delusion) will not make you wealthy, no matter how many times Oprah or Lady Gaga tells you otherwise. I can keep strutting my little ass around the streets of Columbus, but I am not gonna be picked up by a modeling agency and catapulted into success, now am I?
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