I really never thought I'd take on a topic like this. I mean, it's really not my 'area,' you know? I'm by no means an expert in gender theory and all that stuff. I pay attention, I have my own theories about how people build gender identities, and all of that, but it's not 'what I do.'
And yet, here I am. Transsexual cows. It's a wierd one, I know. First, you have to watch the trailor for a new Nickelodeon movie called Barnyard, then we can start.
Okay, looks like yet another silly little 'talking animals' flick. It has the standard elements: a little bit of rockish music, some 'smack-talking' friendly animals, computer animation, and, of course, the announcer who sounds like he's been smoking ten packs a day since he was five. Nothing unusual there.
But am I the only one who gets kind of a wierd feeling off of the fact that all the cows have male voices? I mean, they're cows, female bovine. And the tagline, "what happens in the barn stays in the barn," is a clear reference to closet homosexuality. Now, far be it for me to scream "think about the children!" in that screatchy, mindless voice that only the truly moronic can achieve. That's not my point.
What confuses me is this: do the producers of kid's movies even know what cultural references they're invoking anymore? For that matter, did they ever? What bothers me is not gender-bending in kid's movies. I've watched Bugs Bunny put on a dress and seduce Elmar Fudd a millions times and I seem to have come through emotionally unscathed.
No, what bothers me is filmmakers, and TV producers, creating stories that have obvious, if muddied, references in them, to pop culture, to sexuality, to politics, that don't make any damn sense, that don't add up to a coherent narrative, that are just grabbed at random. If they're really that oblivious, what the hell else do they toss in there, just 'cause they think it's funny?
I mean, jebus, guys! Pay some freakin' attention.
Posted by orion at September 4, 2005 1:35 PM | TrackBack