Recently in popular culture Category

The other day Terri and I were watching this reality show on MTV called "Sixteen and Pregnant." What's really ironic about that is, I'm willing to bet a lot of the girls in that show are pregnant, at least in part, BECAUSE of MTV. To sit through the commercial breaks that play during the show is to be confronted with the media imagery that influence these young people's behavior in ways that are permanently, life, altering. And then MTV makes a reality show out of their plight. It almost defines exploitation.

I think one of the reasons we so often abandon New Year Resolutions is because we make them based on results that feel good to imagine, not on work that feels good to undertake. So ultimately we abandon our resolutions for the same reasons we make them in the first place: it feels good at the time.

Another reason we abandon our resolutions is because, in a weird way, we don't forgive ourselves when we fail to hold true to our resolutions. A New Year Resolution is like a decision that we make to try to improve ourselves which, once we first lapse on it, we abandon until the start of the next calendar year. What I mean is, I think we abandon our New Year Resolutions too easily, after backsliding only a bit. If I resolve to lose weight, and find that I have gained weight in February, I abandon the resolution for the rest of the year. In Christian terms, that means I refuse to forgive myself and abandon myself to iniquity for the rest of the year. By forgiving ourselves, the way Jesus does, we can resolve ourselves to our goals once again, even if after we relapse in February. And then by December 31 something may have actually improved.

People often ask why there will be yet another season of this or that TV show which stopped being good a long time ago, or that is morally repugnant, or is just plain not good. The simple answer is the economic principle of supply and demand. As long as demand exists for stale, morally repugnant, or terrible television, big media producers will continue to pay for stale, morally repugnant, and terrible television -- because it makes money. The best way to ensure that a show does not return to the airwaves is to ensure that it stops making money -- i.e., to not watch it. I, for example, do not watch Jersey Shore.

No, you cannot borrow my iPhone. And here's why.

It's flu season again and it seems like the biggest carrier of germs could be that sleek little smartphone you just can't live without.

That's right. Personal touch-screen devices like iPhones, iPads, Droids and BlackBerrys carry more germs than a toilet in a subway bathroom, according to a study published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology.

And that's not even the half of it. The study also found that these devices are so good at spreading viruses, that sharing them may be as bad as sneezing in someone's face.

Awesome! What a great excuse to be inexcusably stingy with the greatest $200 I've ever spent!

The person who should be most concerned about this: my beautiful wife. So she can check her email, she has asked to borrow my iPhone at least 100 times in the three weeks since we've been hitched.

Because I love her so much, I routinely pause whatever app I happen to be playing at the time so she can do so. But now, because I love her so much, I will have to tell her to just pull out her laptop. You wouldn't want me to sneeze in your face, now would you, honey?

Apparently Billy Ray's daughter Miley Cyrus of Hannah Montana fame has come out with a new song and video.

The video is making the news. I believe the title is "Who Owns My Heart?" or something. I haven't seen it. Don't want to. Won't link to it. Reports are that in it she channels Britney Spears. Miley is 17.

How many more young women will hoochy themselves in TV, radio, and film for the awkward consumption of hundreds of millions of people worldwide before we start to feel too awkward to watch? We're seeing young women entice the sexual appetites of viewers, and then self-destruct. Britney Spears, Lindsey Lohan, and now Hannah Montana appears next in line.

Now, I know it is very easy and popular to make fun of bitter old fogies who run frantically around saying, "Is this the kind of message we want to send to today's youth??" Knowing how easy it is has often made me stop short of saying something similar, but this time, forget that. IS this really the kind of message we want to send to young women in America and around the world? That if you want to be successful and famous, the way to do it is to pander to teeny-boppers during your adolescent years until you're 17, and then make like a Victoria's Secret model -- or worse -- in front of a camera?

I think some people today take for granted that our culture values feminism, femininity, and sexual independence. We're confused. Maybe our culture on a large scale values true feminism -- the fostering of customs that protect and value women. Maybe our culture on a large scale values true femininity -- the act on the part of women of embracing what it truly means to be a woman. Maybe our culture truly values sexual independence -- the ability to be truly happy by living one's sexuality free of regret or addiction.

But our popular culture, i.e., the people responsible for crafting words and images consumed on a mass-market level, seem to value none of these things. It would appear that far too many of them value sodomy and harlotry -- which stand in direct opposition to true feminism, femininity, and sexual independence.

This is not to paint all bigtime record and video and film producers with the same brush. It is comforting that Taylor Swift, for example, is able to succeed in the same market where such depravity can befall a 17-year-old girl.

Again, I think most regular folks find it pretty deplorable that their 12-year-old daughters' teen idol Hannah Montana appears to be going the way of Madonna (the "Like a Virgin" one, not the Virgin one).

But these are the images and messages being made available for consumption today. The red-light district of cable and network television has been growing steadily for decades, and including in its employ younger and younger souls, created, by the way, in the Creator's own image and likeness.

From the contemplative monk Thomas Merton:
"I am certainly no judge of television, since I have never watched it. All I know is that there is a sufficiently general agreement, among men whose judgment I respect, that commercial television is degraded, meretricious and absurd. Certainly it would seem that TV could become a kind of unnatural surrogate for contemplation: a completely inert subjection to vulgar images, a descent to a subnatural passivity rather than an ascent to a supremely active passivity in understanding and love. It would seem that television should be used with extreme care and dsicrimination by anyone who might hope to take interior life seriously."

These words of the Trappist monk were first published in 1961, when stuff like the Dick Van Dyke Show was still on. Imagine what he would say today about Miley Cyrus' music video. He almost certainly would not bother to watch it, or any channel it might be playing on. Should we?

Last night Terri and I went to the movies. It was there that I realized ...

If you're on a date, the best place to sit in a movie theater is directly behind two short people. Because nothing is more irritating than a giant cranium rising like a black hole sun into the horizon of the screen. But if you can find two short people to sit behind, there is a one hundred percent chance that that will not happen.

***

Before the movie started, there was a commercial for 3D televisions. During it, Terri remarked to me: "It would make me nauseous to watch stuff in 3D all the time."

I replied: "But dear, we see stuff in 3D all the time."

She remained silent for a few seconds, before replying: "Shut up."

It's nice to win one every now and then.

***

The film Terri and I watched, by the way, was Toy Story 3. Terri and Mark give it two thumbs way up. I say it is the funniest and most suspenseful of the three, with a truly Mission Impossible-esque storyline. Great fun.

How cliche is my life?

I'm sitting here watching the NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics, two of the most storied franchises in the history of basketball -- for reasons of which my fiance is completely, and offensively, ignorant. She could care less about the game. I am hoping the Celtics win because I can't stand Kobe Bryant.

Speaking of my future wife, she is sitting next to me on the couch, reading ... Twilight, one of the most popular works of modern fiction in the country -- for reasons I will never understand. I could care less about the progression of the story, although unlike the game, I know what's going to happen in the book -- because I have seen the movie. So has she, and yet she continues reading, completely engrossed.

I know, I know. It's not supposed to make sense.

And I can't complain. Why do I get so much joy out of watching Kobe blow a play, then whine and moan and wave his arms around claiming the ref blew a call? One of those imponderables.

Last night, T, her maid of honor, and I watched the Disney film The Princess and the Frog.

I've only been to New Orleans once in my life, which is weird for a Cajun boy from Lafayette. But based on my limited experience, it's pretty spot on. Spot on in a cliché way of course, but as my fiancé observed, they were respectful of the Cajun people. The writers could have been a ot more ridiculous and poked a lot more fun at Cajun culture. But then, if they had, the last thing you would see is a group of politically correct Cajuns protesting the movie. There's no Association Against the Defamation of Cajuns or anything like that.

Some parts of Cajun culture are omitted from the film -- including its deep religious elements. I found it interesting that the clearest depiction of religion or the supernatural was the voodoo villain Dr. Facilier. There is a good-guy voodoo lady in the film as well, but of course, she fights voodoo with more voodoo. Other than them the closest thing to religion in the film is wishing on a star. The central character recognizes at one point in the film the utter futility of doing so, while the voodoo powers are clearly very real from beginning to end.

This is not a big surprise, of course. It's a Diseny movie, and Disney has never been about the kind of religion one finds in the real world. Disney is about "magic." Disney characters don't pray. They "wish upon a star," because that is supposedly more appealing to a mass audience.

None of this is a deal-breaker, mind you. The movie is fun and laugh-out-loud funny at times. The characters are all endearing in their own way. The coolest one is Ray, an adorable firefly who helps guide the central characters through the swamp. Ray's Cajun accent is uncanny. He is voiced by Jim Cummings, who among other things has provided the voice for WInnie the Pooh (and Tigger too) going back to the 1980s.

I give it three stars out of four, which in the world of Ebert and Roeper is a thumbs up. I liked it.

... Ha! I just looked up Roger Ebert's review and he gave it three stars too! He actually makes the good point that the film reverts back to classic Disney animation. No CGI, no 3-D chicanery. Just great and simply drawn characters living in a world of painted backdrops. Awesome.

And the film got 84 percent at Rotten Tomatoes. If you haven't seen this movie yet, and you're looking for some funny, classically animated Disney adventure, this won't knock your socks off but it is a safe bet.

This past weekend, my fiance and I went to see the recent DreamWorks animated feature, "How to Train Your Dragon," which I think should have been called "The Dragon Whisperer." Perhaps that would make a good title for a sequel?

But my qualm with the title is pretty much the only thing wrong with the film, which has scored a phenomenal 98 percent at Rotten Tomatoes.

Everything about the movie is done well. It kicks right off with a fiery bang, like a U2 concert. The art and animation are excellent. The score is awesome. The character and relationships development is deep and feels real. And, it's funny.

Most of the film feels real, even though it's about dragons, and depicts a community of Vikings some of whom have heavy Scottish accents. (review continued below)

The movie seized the top spot at the box office again this weekend, after being released March 26 and falling off the top spot. My suspicion is that word will spread, and more people will recommend seeing the movie in 3D. If Avatar is any indication, movies shown in and made for 3D will start have a lot more longevity. This movie is a perfect 3D experience. The flying and battle sequences are pitch perfect.

But the characters who occupy the 3D world, both the Vikes and the dragons, are moving and relatable.

When the main character, Hiccup, first encounters the dragon up close, we react exactly as he does. The relatioship that develops between the two is almost on the level of E.T. or the Iron Giant. Indeed, certain moments may move some viewers close to tears.

I don't want to give away too many details. Suffice to say, you will not be disappointed. It is funny, exhilirating, and warm-hearted. Go see it.

... Oh and in case anyone's wondering, my fiance liked it too.

Providing viewers with nine fantastic years of action, romance, terrorist plots, idiot plots, suspense, extreme measures, melodrama, personality disorder, and office pettiness, Fox's hit '24' is finally getting cancelled at the end of this, its eighth, season.

That means we the Jack Bauer faithful have twelve precious weeks to enjoy watching the counter-terrorist extraordinaire, played by Kiefer Sutherland, kick some evil-doer derriere. Read about it here, here, and here.

The moral value of the program has been a subject of debate among Catholics and other Christians, and rightly so. Certainly Jack Bauer does some things in the film that would be, were he a real person, not entirely licit. Torture of terror suspects, for example. Some consider that a deal breaker for the show. Oh, and the fact that he kills literally dozens of people each season.

But for me it is not a deal breaker because, well, it is just plain entertaining. It is fun to watch Jack Bauer save the world, year after year.

Also, there are merits to this show that are sorely lacking in way too many television shows these days. One is the presence of clear-cut good guys and clear-cut bad guys. It's tempting to say that in real life people don't neatly fit into such cookie-cutter categories.

But the heroes in 24 clearly have their own flaws, their own failings. Jack Bauer is the clearest example. The bad guys, similarly, have their good points.

But there is never any doubt that one set of characters is fighting ultimately for good, and the other set is ultimately fighting for evil. The fact that there is even a good-vs.-evil struggle immediately sets the show apart from countless banal reality shows and sitcoms where all the characters care about is themselves.

Also a big part the progression of the character of Jack Bauer over the years, which I have particularly enjoyed watching, has been his gradual rediscovery of his own soul. I have noticed in this most recent season that Jack, even as he is still racking up kill after kill, is beginning to find some redemption for all the things in his past that haunt him. It is kind of redemption that he is seeking, and even beginning to find.

There's a lot to admire about Jack Bauer. His refusal to compromise. His ability to overcome adversity, to play hurt. His commitment to saving the lives of noncombatants. His love for his family.

And, of course, his ability to squarely wedge his boot in the posteriors of and strike fear into the hearts of evildoers. Here's to twelve more weeks of Jack Bauer throwing down for freedom.

Oh, and the expected movie, in which I predict everyone will finally have discovered that they should always do what Jack Bauer says, allowing the movie to take place in real time, and be called "3."

This makes me smile.

It is actually the second video that the rock band OK Go has made for their song "This Too Shall Pass," which is on their latest album "Of the Blue Colour of the Sky." The first one features the Notre Dame marching band, and is also awesome.