Seth Rogen Is Not A Victim Of The Santa Barbara Killings

[redqueen]

...

(Seth tweeted: "how dare you imply that me getting girls in movies caused a lunatic to go on a rampage.&quot

For the love of Judd Apatow movies, GIRLS ARE NOT A THING YOU GET. They’re not a goody bag at the end of the frat party. It honestly feels like Rogen could not miss the point more if he were participating in some kind of point-missing contest.

To quote Hornaday: “For generations, mass entertainment has been overwhelmingly controlled by white men, whose escapist fantasies so often revolve around vigilantism and sexual wish-fulfillment (often, if not always, featuring a steady through-line of casual misogyny).”

This is the point at the heart of the op-ed that really matters. Neighbors is just referenced as the latest in a long, long line of movies in which men are granted what they desire, always and without question, even if what they desire is not a what, but a who.

Rogen is offended, as any reasonable person probably would be at the suggestion that something they did could possibly have contributed to an act of grisly violence. But this is not the first time someone has linked pop culture to crime, and there’s plenty of precedent for a better way to handle the situation.

...

Rogen is basically Not All Men-ing Hornaday. Why not take this as an opportunity to use the huge platform that is Rogen’s Twitter account (he has over 2 million followers) and start a thoughtful constructive dialogue? ...

http://thinkprogress.org/culture/2014/05/27/3441705/seth-rogen-neighbors-yes-all-women/

[merrily]

1. "Point-missing contest" Love it, stealing it, will have many opportunities to use it at DU,

try to remember to give redqueen credit.

Rogen no doubt meant that his characters are lucky enough to win the affection of women whom society thinks could get a better looking man (as if looks were all that matter. Then again, it's L.A.)

That is not my take on real life, but it is the kind of movie role in which he get tends to get cast. That's what supposedly made Knocked Up so supposedly funny. She was pretty and thin and employed in TV, while he was plump, average looking and unemployed. Yet, she was knocked up and he was the baby daddy. And, by the end of the movie they were in love. Now, y'all try to control your hilarity, okay?

And that is exactly how they publicized it. As he and Heigl (sp?) made the rounds of the interview shows, every interviewer asked, "You, you? She falls for you? And poor Rogen had to chuckle as though he were a hideous and agree. Interviewer after interviewer and over, so it was the script.

I don't think he's a bad guy in real life, but, yeah, the "get the girl" phrasing echoes the cartoon caveman who clubs the gal and bring her to his cave, where they live happily ever after.

[KitSileya]

2. The "out of your/my league" thinking is very toxic

It implies that looks, and only looks count when finding a partner, and it also implies that women that are in 'one's league' have no reason to refuse men. That is, 'hotties' can be choosy, while 'average' women should be grateful if any men deign to bother with them.

And I use genders deliberately here, because there are a ton of movies where Rogen-type men "get" the "hottie", but every average woman pursued by a "hot guy" turns out to be a "hottie" obscured by glasses. Do you need any more proof men are the ones with power in the film industry?

[historylovr]

4. Very true.

I can only think of one time off the top of my head where the hot guy falls for an "average looking" woman, and that's if you think Dawn French is average looking, cause I think she's beautiful. But that was a British TV series, Vicar of Dibley: The Handsome Stranger episode.

[redqueen]

6. It doesn't seem to be as bad in the UK as it is here. nt

[theHandpuppet]

5. There's also the "age thing"

You'll see actors 25-30+ years older than their romantic partners.

I watch a lot of old movies on TCM and it reminds me, sadly, how there used to be parts -- leading roles - for actresses of all ages and sizes. Used to be movies that had multiple women in the leading roles. Of course, those were also the days when the best writers were recruited for scripts. Now that we've got 22 year old guys writing movie scripts for a fourteen year old male audience, women characters are mere background accessories or wet dream fantasies for the perpetually pubescent.

[redqueen]

7. Yeah, that's truly indicative of who's running Hollywood. nt

[merrily]

10. Obviously, I agree as to the looks issue.

Do you need any more proof men are the ones with power in the film industry?

No, but women are also capable of being that way. Indeed, the members of all groups that have had biases against their own group drummed into them are at risk for having assimilated those very same biases.

[redqueen]

8. It's phrasing that has always grated on my last nerve.

So I was happy to see someone else has a problem with it.

[ismnotwasm]

3. His are the kind of movies I try not to watch. They make me cringe.

"40 year old virgin"? Ew. "The Green Hornet?-- terrible movie my grandson made me watch.

It's no surprise he doesn't "get" it.

[redqueen]

9. He was one of a list of examples she used.

I'm still thinking he just wanted to be talked about.

Or maybe he really is just a drama king.