Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Cinematical: Do You Care How Your State is Presented in Film?

Cinematical features this article on how various states have been consistently presented in film. According to the article, perceived negative portrayals have seen push back from some state governments. An excerpt:
Meanwhile, Texans are concerned about the political and violent themes of Robert Rodriguez' Machete, especially since that controversial Cinco de Mayo trailer that bashed Arizona's new witch-hunt-like immigration law. Florida also recently had some controversy regarding its attempt at censoring film productions, which was viewed as against homosexuals. Other states merely frown upon movies that are or might be deemed pornographic (or simply rated NC-17). But the people of these states aren't so much worried about the tourism industry; they mostly just don't want their tax dollars to go towards films they disagree with.
Compared to New York, California, or Texas, Minnesota and Wisconsin do not have nearly as many films set or shot here. But for those that do, the tendency is not to portray Minnesotans and Wisconsinites as dangerous and full of drug dealers and murderers (Wisconsin's many serial killers notwithstanding) but as beer drinking, gun toting, religion clinging idiots. Consider North Country, Fargo, The Great Outdoors, Grumpy Old Men, Milwaukee, Minnesota, and New in Town.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Ben Wardinski to Co-Host Sounds of Cinema

Ben Wardinski, my younger brother, will be the special co-host of Sounds of Cinema for the episode airing on June 13th. Tune in for music from Back to the Future, Dumb and Dumber, and more.