My Sparkly Girl and I went to see Hairspray and although I was reluctant to go I was pleasantly surprised at how fun it was.
You have to love a moment when a mom ties up her daughter, throws holy water on her, and calls her a devil child... well at least I love those cinematic moments. My Sparkly Girl was worried though when I laughed out loud in the theater because we were viewing the movie in the little town of Berryville and they are not known for their great tolerance. I think she was worried they would be outside to tar and feather me, but goodness if they show a film with men in drag they have to know that all kinds of folks will come to watch it. Even left leaning laughing ones!
Speaking of, I don't think the young preteen girls next to us KNEW that it was a man playing a woman. There are women who are that big and well... manly in this region and I think they thought she was just, well, a she. Which, again, cracks me up!
The darker side of the evening came when My Sparkly Girl and I were discussing the state of television today and we don' t think that the idea of integrated television really has made many inroads.
There is Everyone Loves Raymond (the white show) and Everyone Hates Chris (the black show).
It seems that on most sitcoms there may be a black character, but they are never the focus. They are just the friend or neighbor. Then there are shows with Latinos, but again they don't dominate the airwaves. What about Asians? They can be news anchors, but where are they in family shows? The best integration seems to happen at the reality TV level, but who is watching that anymore?
It is a sad statement that in 2007 we really still have segregated television.
