Pop Culture Indicator of Voter Sentiment?
Posted in Elections by Julie Ponzi
H/T to
John J. Miller at NRO for bringing my attention to this not-to-be-missed (though I had missed it) November 2 article in the
LA Times by
Andrew Klavan in which he dubs the 2010 midterms as the "Toy Story 3" election. If you have not seen the movie yet (it's now available on DVD), proceed with caution. It's a "spoiler."
1:42 PM / November 11, 2010
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Hm, good article. Thanks.
I found Toy Story 3 fascinating. I saw two showings of it in the theaters, and in both showings the audience was overwhelmingly made up of 20-somethings and older teenagers rather than children, since most of us grew up with the characters in the first two films. It speaks to the permanence of the films and their connection with a generation of people. For all its fun and imagination, it was also a serious contemplation on loyalty, growing up, manning up, and family, most exemplified by both a dramatic scene and a touching scene towards the end. Good film, and worth using as a pointer of what values are still valued by many in America, at least beneath the surface.
Thanks for your insights, R.O.B. . . . in bringing up the way today's 20 something connect with these films, you bring up a point that hadn't even occurred to me (because I'm no longer young, I suppose). Thinking back to the day I saw the film with my two children, you are right. The audience was composed mainly of older teenagers and young adults in their twenties--most likely kids who had seen the originals in the theaters with their parents. I forgot to remember that those "kids" are now grown up!
I am curious whether the soliloquy from Barbie on "consent of the governed" elicited the same reaction from your audiences as it did in the one I was a part of: there was an audible gasp and cheering. I remember thinking at the time that it was remarkable to imagine those who cheer those lines also being inclined to cheer platitudes of a Barack Obama speech . . . but then I remembered that they likely hadn't heard anything much better until they heard Barbie talk. Dear God. There's much work to do, isn't there?