The President is a Black man

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Another appearance by our Astronaut archetype in advertising. Hulu wants you to know that they're innovative and Good. Funnily enough, the "See what's new" video doesn't utilize the Astronaut theme any more, but instead shows off how they're features can make you a Zombie (perhaps visually expressed in the chubbiness of the Astronaut). The tagline is "Start exploring today," and it makes (over) use of the words "explore" and "discover".  It seems to me all 'new' features combine aspects of YouTube and Apple products, with the notable exception of the 10 second rewind which is new. And probably useful. The rest of the ad explains how the new Hulu will make making choices easier and faster. So that you can stare at the screen like the mouth-breathing consumer you are.

Now let me return to watching my show!!! 

To me, you are perfect, and I love you very much. God bless you, God bless America.

Meryl Streep heard Jack Nicholas say the words of this post's title when she won the 2004 AFI Life Achievement Award. Most people I suspect agree with his sentiments. The actress has been nominated for 17 Oscars and 26 Golden Globes. She won 3 of those Oscars, which only four other actors have done (Katherine Hepburn, earning one more than that, has the most). Not only is she the most nominated performer at the Golden Globes, she is also the most awarded with 8 on her shelves. Plus so much more. Dr. Streep reigns as America's greatest actress. No arguing.

I wanted to investigate her career more to figure out if there was another feminine archetype other than Girl. The works I've chosen only include her recent films (New American Mythology), and I've avoided the more obscure movies. Now, I havn't seen all these so feel free to point out my short-comings.

The Hours (Paramount, 2002), Clarissa Vaughn

Girl - This complex movie is essentially about Girl archetypes desperately trying to define happiness (and along with it independance). Clarissa Vaughn struggles with the emotions she has for her dying friend Richard, even though she is a lesbian in a committed relationship. This makes her a Girl because even though she has the sexual freedom to choose her lover and other liberties, her life is not 'happy' but filled with anxiety. 

The Manchurian Candidate (Paramount, 2004), Eleanor Shaw

Cowboy (in The City) - An apparently disappointing remake of a 1962 film, The Manchurian Candidate is a conspiracy movie with Denzel Washington, Leiv Shreiber, and Meryl Streep. Streep's character has a total disregard of ethics, but still believes in America's potential. She uses other people for her own beliefs and gains without consideration of the others' lives. Hence a Cowboy.

The Devil Wears Prada (Twentieth Century Fox, 2006) Miranda Priestly

Cowboy -  Streep plays a influential executive of a fashion magazine. Andrea Sachs, the main character, along with most people in the movie perceive Miranda Priestly as cold and ruthless. Miranda does not care for others' emotions or aspirations, nor does sugar coat the truth. These ways have gotten her to the top of her business, but they have isolated her. In fact if she was a bit nicer and helped other people she could be a Astronaut. But that wouldn't make much of an adversary for our Girl heroine Andy.

Lions for Lambs (MGM, 2007), Janine Roth 

Girl (or Astronaut) - Streep plays a journalist who is told of a new government strategy to win the wars in the Middle East. She disagrees with the stratify, seeing it as political ploy. The scene here is after she knows the whole plan. The ethical implications of publicizing the story give Roth pause. She must choose to follow The Man's orders and spread the information as propaganda, or she can report the facts as a political manipulation of the military. The movie ends without revealing Roth's actions, but the story is presented in a positive (propagandic) light. We can suppose Roth decided not to fight back, seeing the repercussions a too great, and gave the story up. This would mean she's a Girl. Alternatively, if she decided to quit and get the 'true' story out on her own, sacrificing her security for the greater good. This would make her an Astronaut. But the story does come out, so more than likely, Girl.

Mamma Mia! (Universal Pictures, 2008), Donna

Cowboy? - This one is tough. The shenanigans in Mama Mia! actually aren't an epic story, but a fairy tale strung together with song. It's fun and quirky, but what is Donna? My initial reaction was to label her as a Girl, but she isn't struggling against The Man nor is she very conflicted. Well, her conflicts are inner emotional ones not ones that make her choose between having children or a career. She doesn't 'need' a man but she wants one.  Can I call her a CowGirl? Is that fair? 

Doubt (Miramax, 2008),  Sister Aloysius Beauvier

Zombie - Sister Beauvier is perfectly content in the Church's structure. So much so that she blindly follows the rules and acts only when she feels those rules have been violated. She does not struggle to live within the parish, nor does she live for her own success (that's why she's a nun). The Sister's strong beliefs eventually cause her to disregard the rules without any reason other than her intuition. So even though she's not trying to munch on the Pastor's leg, she 'eats away' at his resolve and reputation because her instincts tell her to.

 Julie & Julia (Columbia Pictures, 2009), Julia Child

Astronaut - Streep lent her talents to portray the heroic figure of Julia Child. The movie/Streep portrays Julia as a strong-willed woman not trying to fit into French culture, but instead embracing whatever circumstances she was in and making the absolute best of them. The chef had the gumption to follow her own interests, and the passion to share them with the world. She believed the knowledge of French Cooking could better the lives of cooks and eaters everywhere. Not only did she write a book, but she had a show on public television. She took American cuisine out of The City and into Space!! Bon Appetite!  [Julie on the other hand is quite obviously a Girl that happened to get lucky and got a book published. That part of the movie is actually quite dull.]

It's Complicated (Universal Pictures, 2009), Jane Adler

Girl - Jane Adler, a divorced woman, thinks life is finally going to straighten out and make sense when ! Complications arise! She's got two guys vying for her love, one of which she already made commitments to. She follows the path infront of her, but not without hesitation. Jane even confronts her therapist about the ethical implications of carrying out an affair with her ex-husband (making her non-Zombie). Eventually, she realizes she doesn't want her ex/past, but a new life. Her reluctance to say no to her ex makes her a Girl (not fighting The Man), as well as the complications and anxieties that brings about.

The Iron Lady (Film4, 2011)Margaret Thatcher 

Astronaut/Girl - This movie occupies an awkward spot in New American Mythology; it's a movie about a recent-ish British icon. Phyllidia Lloyd couldn't seem to decide between a biopic that focused on Margaret Thatcher's private or public life. If it had focused on the public life, she could have been an Astronaut or Cowboy (or the British version). The movie portrayed Thatcher's private life in a way that could have been Astronaut or Girl. Meryl Streep pulls both off well, which is why she won an Oscar for the role, but unlike Julie & Julia the director/editor/producers whoever couldn't pull off the dual storylines. It ends up being a stunning Streep performance in a mess of a movie that doesn't quite enlighten us on this public figure.

Hope Springs (Management 360, 2012), Kay

Girl - I havn't read or heard too much about Hope Springs. The Girl label here is just a conjecture.  Anyone watch this movie and want to have some input? Or how about the other movies? Leave a comment below.

I don't see any additional archetypes really in just Meryl Streep's characters. Maybe as I investigate New American Mythology further I'll find a neater title for characters like Donna in Mama Mia! or Margaret Thatcher. Please don't confuse these analysis of characters as an critique on Meryl Streep; clearly she can embody any of the archetypes flawlessly even when the directors don't know what they're doing. I think she's a self-possessed and kind lady. Even trying to poke fun at her makes you look foolish. So, in my book Dr. Streep reigns as Queen.

[Note: I left out Angels in America because I havn't seen it since it came out. The mini-series is too complex to analyze from clips on the internet. It wasn't that I was trying to downplay the importance or influence of the series, it was just that I knew I couldn't do it justice. Sorry.]

Nostalgia: How not to Time Travel

"Nostalgia is denial - denial of the painful present... the name for this denial is golden age thinking - the erroneous notion that a different time period is better than the one one's living in - its a flaw in the romantic imagination of those people who find it difficult to cope with the present."

Surprisingly, perhaps, this is from Woody Allen's recent film Midnight in Paris (Gravier Productions, 2011). The movie itself is, well, a Woody Allen film- entertaining, introspective, rambling, and questionable at times. 

Why in the world did the poster designer pick van Gogh's Starry Night?????
Nonsensical!

We're not here to talk about Woody Allen though, but about Nostalgia. He defines it so well that I feel silly explaining the idea any further. I'm going to anyway. The fact that Allen made a film explicitly about Nostalgia shows that at least some people in Hollywood notice this trend in American Mythology. 

The hard part about Nostalgia is noticing it as an incarnation of The City. That "erroneous notion that a different time period is better than the one one's living in" is a loss of faith in humanity. So it's not just 'the past,' but using selective history to frame the present as not awesome. Nostalgia also isn't explicit exploitation of your heartstrings, although it can be. Sometimes it's something as simple as not coming up with a new idea, sometimes it's really explicit. Sometimes it's both. 

Quit being a Nostalgic hipster Ryan Gosling!
Oh wait...

Practically no genre of current American Mythology is free from Nostalgia, and it comes in various aesthetics. Although some Nostalgia 'look' old, others use old concepts or ideas. (But that does not necessarily mean all things drawn from the past are Nostalgic.) 

David Guetta's 'Titanium ft. Sia' is currently on VH1's Top 20 Music Videos. Kind of an odd story, but hey it's a music video. We've got this Astronaut-kid (isolated, has powers) with a sweet bike in 80's? suburbia made more old by the lens filters. Carly Rae Jepsen's somehow insanely popular "Call me Maybe" also utilizes the old lens as well as old cars and suburbia (but the guy wheres ipod headphones..?). Instead of being in suburbia, the suburban kids are at the beach in One Direction's "What Makes you Beautiful" music video, complete with 70's cars and more old filters. Justin Bieber rounds it all out in "Boyfriend" with filters again, old cars, Michael Jackson's dance moves, 80s clothes, and a hairstyle borrowed from New Kids on the Block. There's no plot or conceptual reason to have these vintaged music videos. You'll also note that these songs are (arguably) the worst of Pop music: repetitive and expected rehashings of the same angsty themes. Not fresh at all. 

The Help (Dreamworks SKG, 2011) particularly annoyed me for it exploitation of Nostalgia. The highly successful film had millions of white people nodding their heads saying, oh yes look how good we were, we freed the Mammies. Nevermind that the film misrepresents both southern black women and southern white women (I'm not saying people like that didn't exist, I'm saying that not all southern women, regardless of race, are dumb and demure), in this post I'm more concerned with the total disregard of the present situation. The book and movie could have spun the plot so that it made readers/viewers reflect on current racial tensions, namely the ones directed toward immigrants from Latin America, but this can also extend to 'The Help' who hail from Asia as well. Instead fans of "The Help" appluade at Emma Stone's performance and just blink accusations made at Sharon Stone.

It could have been so awesome...
Prometheus (Brandywine Productions, 2012)

At least The Help was an original idea. Ridley Scott's origin story/third(?) reboot of his Alien (1979) franchise Prometheus (2012) also could have been cool if he hadn't used themes from 20th Century Mythology. I really did want to like it, it just failed to remain/become relevant for today's audiences. Instead of capturing the wonder of space or search for god/knowledge and pitting it against greed and self preservation (which it easily could have), Ridley chose to play up the weakness of humanity against the force of god/nature/knowledge/people with money. That's not something the American people want to see. 

Other reboots and remakes include: The Expendables (for the actors), Dark Shadows (for the remake, actor(s), and director), The Bourne Legacy (plot), Total Recall (plot), Ice Age: Continental Drift (characters), and The Three Stooges (concept). In television: Charlies Angels (whole thing), Go On (actor), I Love the [Decade] on VH1 (whole thing). There's more too. Just wait til this fall, a whole wave of interdimensional feel good movies are coming. Maybe they'll be good...

Which brings up a bump in my dislike of Nostalgia. Sometimes the past aesthetic works. I don't quite know how to grapple with the fact that I really like Wes Anderson films which almost exclusively use Nostalgia (and quirky hipster-ness) to draw viewers, particularly his most recent movie Moonrise Kingdom (2012). Perhaps Anderson knows how to use Nostalgia in a way that conveys a deeper concept missing from most movies and makes it relevant. His movies, however, have to be watched multiple times, and Moonrise Kingdom hasn't come out on DVD just yet. When it does, it'll be on repeat as I mull it over. 

There's also The Artist which won Best Picture at the Academy Awards, which was filmed as if it were of the time period. But then again it's a French film, so maybe we can dismiss it from American Mythology and avoid the problem altogether. 

Also, I suspect the Great Recession has something to do the recent rise of Nostalgia. Or we can blame the hipsters.

Ideas anyone? 

When you give an Astronaut a Chewy Bar...

What do we have here?

Fiber one is utilizing one of the archetypes to sell deliciously healthy Fiber One Chewy Bars. The terrible 'Mamagus' Alien has captured an Astronaut and won't release him until he eats a snack!! The terror!!!!! The Alien in the case only appears irrational to the Astronaut (WHY?! WHY MUST I SNACK!?!). Only when the kid tastes the snack and sees for himself that it's tasty does the Alien disappear and revert to being a normal human being (aka Mom). The Astronaut, however, stays in character.

Coincidence? Perhaps. But snack buyers everywhere will note the Astronaut's new discovery.