The 2009 version of Fame leaves a lot to be desired. Faithful followers will recall that I was urged to start this blog after watching a truly bad movie. I fell compelled yet again to mount up on my soapbox and spread the warning against this crime against bad movies.
Followers will also remember that I am a fan of "bad" movies, the movies that are predictable and cheesy and written to prey on the minds of teenage girls (and a 26 year old girl). Perhaps thats why I was drawn to Fame. It had all the makings of a truly great bad movie:
high school full of extraordinary students - check
singing and dancing - check
complicated yet predictable plot - check
a powerful theme song - check
What Fame lacked was the ability to cohesively tell any kind of story. It left you without any real victories. At least when I watch Step Up 2 : The Streets I get an ending that satisfies. They win the battle and gain the respect of the snooty dance school they go to - everyone celebrate and feel good. The end of Fame showed a few students graduate from high school. Thats seriously it. There were so many characters that it was virtually impossible to connect to any one person. Of the characters that actually achieved something, none of them were people you actually got to know through the film. The characters you actually really invested in stood on a stage at the end of the movie having no jobs coming and no real achievement through the 4 years that the movie tried to show you in under 2 hours.
One exception was the very stereotypical urban black man, Malik. His father ran out on them, mom works 3 jobs, sister was shot and killed in a drive by. He learns to accept the things that have happened to him and embrace them to become a better actor and rapper. Or at least thats what we are supposed to believe because his teacher is smiling when he raps near the end. Seriously Hollywood, aren't you tired of that. Why couldn't the kid with the rough life be the white kid, why couldn't his struggles exist with a father at home, why do you insist on perpetuating a stereotype that only teaches young people to accept it. Why not push the next generation of this country to not make judgments based on the color of a persons skin but on the caliber of their soul. Why do you refuse to let us out of our boxes, we are pushing on the walls and screaming for freedom yet you continue to pigeon hole our generation. My only solace is that it appears that very few people have seen this piece of dribble that you call a film. The generation of Americans that is rising up as I type this will hopefully continue to push and scream for new definitions of itself. Black doesnt equal fatherless, hispanic doesnt equal poor, and white doesnt equal entitlement. Quit trying to teach us that it does.
Amen! I haven't seen Fame yet, but was seriously talking about watching it with my friend Janice here on Friday. Perhaps we should avoid it even if Kerrington is in it... The stereotypes in Glee also frustrates me like crazy. Football player gets teenage girl pregnant, jewish girl wants to be Barbara Streisand, black girl is a diva, gay guy has athletic father who doesn't get him, and (though hilarious) blond cheerleader is dumber than a doorknob. It's a cool show with great humor and excellent music~but it keep reinforcing stereotypes that young people are sick of. Plus I think it tears apart the idea of family. Anywho, great entry and glad you are back!
ReplyDeleteLeah