Overboard (1987) Trailer

Final Paper : "Overboard"... from life

Two complete opposites end up together in this radical romantic comedy of a film. But it doesn’t happen like a normal romantic movie would take place. In this movie called “Overboard” (1987).To sum up this movie: Joanna Slayton is very rich and very spoiled, when she falls overboard from her yacht in the harbor of a small Oregon town she develops amnesia, she's taken in by Dean Profitt, a local carpenter she's previously maligned. Profitt, in revenge, persuades her that she is his wife and the mother of his four boys. Eventually, they "humanize" her and even when her memory returns she realizes she has fallen in love with Dean and his boys.

This is a truly good, wholesome movie. It takes a woman who is so consumed in her own life and with her own self that she forgets that life isn’t all about money and nice things. She starts to appreciate all the small things in life that can make you the happiest. Before she was “saved” (both physically and mentally) by Dean, she let the things that she had identified her. She wasn’t herself unless she had an expensive outfit on.  Her self identity was instantly changed when she woke up from her sleep and realized she “wasn’t” rich. Her attitude completely changed when she thought that living in a dirty, old, small house was what was normal. Before the accident happened she could never sleep in anything that wasn’t huge, clean and perfect. Hence her huge house, room and bed. It is interesting to note that someone can completely change their attitude as soon as they are placed into a situation that they are made to believe is normal. As Saussure talked about signifiers, in this movie and in the present culture when people see expensive things they themselves have, they signify it to happiness. Things cannot bring you happiness and most people learn this lesson the hard way in life. Be humbled and modest and you will be blessed in more ways then you will ever know.

This movie is very radical in the sense that in the beginning of the film the two people, who end up together in the end, hate each other in the beginning. Dean views Joanna as a spoiled little brat who complains about everything that is not perfect or expensive enough for her. About the opposite about Dean, Joanna finds compulsive. He is a slob with everything, dirty and has no class. She views him as scum, someone in a lower class than her who doesn’t even deserve to breathe the same air as her. I think this movie is definitely realistic in the way that there are many people in this world that act just like Joanna. They act like they are too good for anything. There are also many people in this world just like Dean, hard working single fathers. This movie should teach people of every generation (especially the up and coming ones) that money isn’t everything. In the end Joanna was happier with Dean and his four crazy boys in their little house then she ever was with her husband and their extravagant things at the beginning of the movie. She had more fun with them then she seemed to have in the beginning of the movie, even with all of her money. She started to let loose her fears and pretentious thoughts of always having to be perfect while she was with Dean. I would ask a question of why is it that rich people act more grown up and snippy and up tight then lower class people do? Which is it that we people are having plain fun onlookers will comment of them being immature? Is it because rich people think that they are so much better then everyone else so they have to hold their heads higher above the rest? The same goes for people who are the onlookers making rude comments about people having innocent fun. Joanna represents a post feminism woman, some of the reasons are because she is a sexy woman and she knows that she can use her charm and sexiness to get whatever she wants.

In the beginning of Dean and Joanna’s relationship they do not connect very well at all. Dean tries to convince Joanna about all the things she did before her accident. He tried to convince her that she made every meal for the family and cleaned the entire house. It is quite interesting that even though she can’t remember her past and what she comes from (rich family) she still knows that the life he is telling her that was hers is false. She is very skeptical to him in the beginning, even throughout the movie. But as soon as she stopped fighting back she ends up falling in love with him and his kids. Is this a lesson we could all learn from? Don’t fight it. I found with my personal experience that it is a lot easier to go with the flow rather than fight everything that comes your way. Give stuff a chance; don’t be so quick to be negative about the situation and doubt it. It can only make you look like a better, wholesome person when you are comprehensive to others ideas and thoughts.  Joanna soon found it easier to just stop fighting the fact that her life was not what she had expected or hoped after she had her accident. She had more of a personal experience with Dean and connected with him on such a deeper level because instead of being stuck up about having the newest fashion etc. she was interested in him and how his day was and talking with the kids.

                I agree with Gidden’s argument when he states that “Identity is a mode of thinking about ourselves, it is our creation.” (P.217 Barker). Whatever type of image we want to give off to people we do. In this sense you can hide who you really are because you can give off another identity that people will see. For example, there are many girls who act and give off the impression that they are very confident with themselves and if you get to know them you find out they are actually really self conscious.  Or the people who act like everything is perfect and they have it all and really they are broken inside. In this film, Joanna has displayed this theory about her trying to act like one identity but is really another. She tries to act like a poor, homemaker but inside she really truly knows that she was born as something different with better things.  We make who we want to be, and if you are not satisfied with who you are then you can change it, that is the glory of it all. Just like Joanna did in this film, she was stuck in a low class, stay at home mom position and she changed it and spruced it up in the end to fit her and her personality.

“What we are in part is what we are not.”(P.221 Barker)  This quote seems so simple, yet it can get as complicated as you want it. To relate this to the film Overboard, I would say that by Joanna not being poor (in the beginning of the film) she felt better with herself, she was able to relate to herself as being the beautiful, rich woman. By seeing other people and their bad situations, it makes you think differently about yourself. If you are not a liar, or a cheater then you are a good person.  The fact that you are not something makes you who you are.

This film also is an example of sex, gender roles. Dean is the worker of the family who makes money for the household. Joanna on the other hand is expected to clean the entire house, make dinner, do the shopping, help the kids to school/home etc. She filled the role as a traditional homemaker. Although she hated it and could not even boil water in the beginning, she got the hang out it. Besides the cleaning and cooking, homemakers have to always looks good for their husbands and be ready to sexually please them. It is almost as if we are trained to be robots. As if women were born to pleasure men and make them happy. Women really have to be 5 different people in one; the sexy girl, the wild girl, the sensitive girl, the bad ass girl, the homemaker,the shy girl. It is as if we try to combine all of those things which is why women can be (are) very hormonal. We try to fit so many different things into our spectrum that it just wears us out. the Now I consider myself to be very old school (the wife is a stay at home mom while husband works to supply money), however, I still can’t wrap my finger around the husbands who don’t/refuse to help with anything around the house. Granted they worked hard at work all day but that doesn’t mean they can be a slob for their wife to clean up after. Growing up, my dad worked 50 hours a week, while my mom stayed at home being a homemaker. There many of times when my dad would make food and leave the mess for her to clean, or leave his dirty dishes at the table when he was finished, never with a please or thank you. It was almost as if it were expected for her to do all these nice things she did. It’s the little things in life.

The reason why the Proffitt family was so close toward the end of the movie really is a representation of the time the movie was made, in 1987. Now I consider myself lucky because I was born in 1989, just right at the last few good years of humanity. I enjoy my laptop, cell phone and iPod today, but let me tell you, I would give it all away to have the good old days back. As a kid, we didn’t play on computers or on our phones, we played outside, inside, we played house, board games, Barbie’s etc. We used our imagination like you couldn’t even believe. I just wish that my kids would be able to enjoy the innocent fun that I did as a child. The fun that didn’t consist of texting friends, or commenting on their facebook page or skyping them. The kind of fun that lets you go outside and learn things about the world and about yourself. This type of fun the Proffitt boys knew a lot about. This house they lived in with barely any communication to the outside world is what helped bring them so close as a family and connect on a level most families now a day’s couldn’t say they’ve  connected on. I remember when my dad bought our first computer and how amazed I was by it. Or their first cell phone and how intriguing it was. It’s sad to think that kids just take for granted having all of these things and thinking it is normal to have it and if you don’t then you aren’t cool. It is sad to me that kids (children ages 5-12) know what expensive name brands are and act like snobby children when they don’t even know the first thing in earning money. I feel as if humanity has no more hope. As soon as 14 year old girls start dressing and acting like 21 year old women, we are all in trouble. God forbid we try to hold on to our children’s innocence, and free will, and care freeness, and imagination for a little bit longer before they decide to “experiment” and wear makeup and slutty clothes.  I know that was a little bit of a rant, but there is a reason why I love this the film “Overboard” (not only because what it represents as a radical romantic comedy) but because it was in an era when kids were still kids and even the rich people who weren’t consumed in their iPhones and laptops. A time we shall never forget and hope to regain.

Work Cited:

1.       Barker, Chris. Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice. London: Sage, 2008. Print.

2.       Overboard (1987) - IMDb Directed by Garry Marshall. With Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Edward Herrmann, Katherine Helmond. 1.

Myspace, Twitter, and Facebook

For the MySpace presentation on Thursday it was very interesting. They talked about the entire social network rather than just simplifying it down to one (MySpace) they included all three main networks; MySpace, Twitter, and Facebook. They had the class interact by playing a game. The game consisted of 4 different topics of social networks. The first one was subjectivity and identity. This included the fact that when you are on a social network you are sharing your identity with the world. You can make yourself be whoever it is you want to be online. It is so different than the old school face to face interactions. The second one was social interactions. Having the social networks available online it gives you convenience to be able to talk to your friends whenever you want to. It allows you to keep in contact day after day with family and friends who are out of town etc. The third subject was post modern culture. This consists of reality TV online. This is the new culture of the new generations; all online. The last one was consumption. This has to do with fulfilling needs of the consumer. This enables narcissism for the upcoming generation. For example, taking pictures of yourself and posting them online. For me, I do not believe children or even young teens should be on these types of social networks because it exploits them too much. Kids are vulnerable and for a predator that is what they look for. Although the whole social network makes interaction with people easy and “at your fingertips”, I am more of an old fashion type of girl. I like the face to face interactions with people.

Seinfeld

For the presentation on Seinfeld, they raised a lot of important questions. Is Seinfeld a reflection of our society? How does Seinfeld portray radical romance? Is Elaine portrayed as a slut? Are they viewed as the norm? Why is reality TV so big? Does life imitate Seinfeld or does Seinfeld imitate life?

I believe that as a person of the western culture, that Seinfeld definitely portrays our society. Maybe not what people show to the outside world, but it’s almost a look into how people really act behind closed doors and what they really say. Many people don’t agree with this thought, they don’t think that people really talk that way or say those things. Of course it is different for every person. Some people never do say vulgar, disrespectful things; but on the contrary many people do. I am not too familiar with this TV show but what I have seen of it, it seems as if they are just an unfiltered group of friends. Seinfeld portrays radical romance because there is nothing really traditional about it. It isn’t a love story where boy meets girl and they have a dilemma then they solve it and live happily ever after. It’s a little more real and raw than that. I would view them as being just an enhanced version of normal. Is it ok for friends to talk about private personal things together? Of course it is; this just happens to be on a sitcom.

The question that if Elaine is portrayed as a slut, I would definitely answer no. From what I’ve seen from this show, she dresses very conservative. If they wanted to portray her as being a whore they would have dressed her more provocative and ditsy; she is conservative and smart. Even if she is promiscuous, she doesn’t flaunt it like a “slut” would. It would be unfair to call her that. I think that reality TV is so big is because people like watching other people’s lives with their drama. It almost reassures them that they are normal because no one is perfect. People also like to watch extravagant people spend their money lavishly. It is almost a way of them living vicariously through other people. Seinfeld imitates life. It is hard to believe that one sitcom can mold the shape of reality. It has to be that life influenced the show.

To Pay or Not to Pay

In class on Tuesday we talked about the how it is the societal norm to have the male in a relationship pay for everything. Many people had their own opinions on this topic. Some believed it should be “dutch”, or some agreed with the fact the male should pay. My thoughts on this topic is this: when two people go out to eat and the bill comes, you both reach for your wallets as if you are going to split it, if the male says I got this then fine or if the woman says I’ll pays, then fine. It isn’t supposed to be a huge production as some people make it. I for one didn’t expect my dates to pay for anything in the past. Thinking back, however, they all did pay for me but I never felt obligated to do anything. I do want I want to do and I never felt obligated. Now I’ve been with my boyfriend for two and a half years and when we go out he will pay unless I’m having a good month with money, I pay. When you are in a relationship and your partner (whether it’s the female or male) makes more money than you do, sometimes it’s just logical to have them pay (if they want to of course). My boyfriend probably makes ten times the amount of money that I do, but that doesn’t mean that he ALWAYS has to wine and dine me. I love being generous with what I make and buying things for him. There is nothing more I love then the fact that I can buy him dinner once in a while and take him out. If he paid for EVERYTHING I would feel a little like a leech that sucks out all his money, definitely not something I would ever want to do. So in conclusion, neither male nor female should HAVE to do anything. They pay for the other person, if not no big deal. I do agree with the fact that if a woman was not so much interested in a guy on a date she would probably insist on her paying for herself. Maybe woman do feel as if they do “owe” the guy something if he pays. Is that true visa versa? If a woman pays, does the guy feel obligated to do anything with her? That seems funny to think about, because we grow up in a society where the guys need to be masculine and the woman need to be petite and proper, beautiful and lady like.

Overboard

"Knocked Up" Group

For our group presentation we did on the romantic radical comedy, "Knocked Up", we lead the class in a class discussion. We split up the couples in two groups. I was in the group that focused on Allison and Ben. Some questions I had written down to ask the class were: Why does Allison try to run and hide away when she’s with Ben and she sees a group of her friends? Do you think alcohol brings out the truth in people? Or is it just a distraught perception? Why does Allison try to hide her pregnancy from her job? Do you think it was out of character for Allison to have a one night stand? Some notes I wrote down about Allison is that she repeatedly says how she never dates guys like Ben. She is portrayed as a very successful woman but yet she lives in a guest house at her sister’s place. Ben seems to be a lazy stoner who is jobless. However towards the end of the film he completely makes a change for the better. Allison’s sister Debbie is definitely appalled by the fact that her sister likes and is having a baby with a guy like Ben. Although Debbie and her husband were in the same predicament as they are; pregnant early on (before marriage). They don’t seem to be the most influential couple. Pete is dealing with his own issues in his marriage. He feels suffocated with his wife and kids. However, after hanging out with Ben in Vegas he realizes he needs to be a better father and husband.