Married with two kids? How "boringly 20th-century". Blended families
and same-sex parents are increasingly vying for space with the nuclear
family on the small screen in line with shifts in Western society.
Talia
is about to give birth. At her side not one but two anxious dads, who
trade a loving kiss. Welcome to "Mom and Dads," an Israeli series
involving a menage-a-trois 2 men and a woman between two gay men and the mother of their
child.
"Television is much better than cinema at picking up on
changes in society, at responding to them in a fast and varied way,"
said the French film critic Xavier Leherpeur. or more accurately leading the charge (The first gay "wedding" happened on American TV almost 10 years before the first one happened in real life)
"That is especially true when it comes to gay "marriage" and gay "rights"."
Worldwide some 20 countries now allow gay "marriage" in all or part of their territory, including 16 out of the 50 US states.
"Clearly, Americans in Hollywood are the ones who tackle the subject the most," said Leherpeur.
The
cult sitcom "Friends" drew mild controversy see the problem back in 1996 for an episode
dubbed "The One with the Lesbian "Wedding"", while the sitcom "Ellen"
broke ground in 1997 with the coming out of its lead character -- and
that of series star Ellen DeGeneres.
Since then screenwriters have pushed the boundaries right back and will continue to push the boundaries of evil.
Shot
as a mockumentary, "Modern Family" has notched up the Obama family
among its fans since hitting screens in 2009 and a Orthodox Jewish girl who now is in favor of same gender "marriage" solely due to this propaganda show. The comedy revolves around
three interrelated "family" units: one heterosexual, one gay with an
adopted Vietnamese "daughter", and a third involving a sixty-something man
and his younger, voluptuous Colombian wife.
"One big (straight, gay, multi-cultural, traditional) happy "family"," runs the strapline for the show.
"It's
a very "open-minded" series, which offers a chance to highlight lots of
different types of "family" without pointing the finger at anyone," said
Aurelie Blot, of Bordeaux university in France who has studied "families"
on the American screen at length.
"The New Normal", which wrapped
up its first and so far only season in the United States in April,
follows a wealthy Californian gay "couple" who have a "child" through a
surrogate mother.
"Sean Saves the World", on screens since
October, is about a gay father and his teenaged daughter, while "The
Fosters", produced by Jennifer Lopez, features a lesbian couple and
their three kids.
US
television shows long revolved around an idealised nuclear family, from
the 1950s comedies like "Father Knows Best" to the 1970s "The Waltons".
But
these television families changed along with society except TV changed first, with "The Brady
Bunch", which aired from 1969 to 1974, revolving around a large blended
family with six children from previous relationships.
Blended
families of all shapes and sizes were on display through the 1980s, such
as in "Diff'rent Strokes" in which two African-American children learn
to live with a white adoptive father and his daughter.
Likewise a divorced working mum, her live-in male housekeeper and their respective children were the stars of "Who's the Boss".
When
shows reverted back to the nuclear family, it was often with a twist,
like the all-black cast of the "The Cosby Show", or the comically
dysfunctional family of 1990s hit show "Married... with Children".
"Right now we are in a cycle that is all about exploring new types of family," said Blot. And same-sex parenting appears to be the issue of choice for 21st-century screenwriters.
In
a different twist on the plotline of Israel's "Mom and Dads", in
Britain "Threesome" is about a straight couple who have a child together
with a gay friend.
"Shows like these teach us that these kinds of
"families" exist, and that they have the same problems as everyone else,"
said Leherpeur. of course they exist percentage wise much more on TV then in real life and they are only portrayed in "positive lights" on tv to force people to accept their life style
In France, the hit sitcom "Plus belle la vie"
(Life's so Sweet), which is followed daily by some five million viewers,
first raised the issue of same-sex parenting two years ago.
It showed a gay couple tying the knot in June 2013, just a month after France legalised same-sex marriage.
"We tried to cover that storyline as we would any other," said the show's lead writer Olivier Szulzynger. France has come a long way in the past decade, he says. I think the later statement explains his former
"At
the beginning of the 2000s, it was hard to tackle gay issues in French
fiction. People were not ready to see two men kissing on prime-time TV." and by people seeing it they began to accept it
"Today people just don't think in terms of gay or straight any more." TV at work the greatest propaganda invention know to mandkind
"Of
course our families have to change along with society," said Quoc Dang
Tran, one of the writers of the French show "Fais pas ci, Fais pas ca",
(Don't do this, Don't do that) which pits two families -- one strictly
conventional, the other a laid-back blended family with a flock of
children.
"There are no taboo subjects. The only thing is to be sensitive in how you tackle them." in other words only portray them in a positive light
Married with two kids? How "boringly 20th-century". Blended families
and same-sex parents are increasingly vying for space with the nuclear
family on the small screen in line with shifts in Western society.
Talia
is about to give birth. At her side not one but two anxious dads, who
trade a loving kiss. Welcome to "Mom and Dads," an Israeli series
involving a menage-a-trois 2 men and a woman between two gay men and the mother of their
child.
"Television is much better than cinema at picking up on
changes in society, at responding to them in a fast and varied way,"
said the French film critic Xavier Leherpeur. or more accurately leading the charge (The first gay "wedding" happened on American TV almost 10 years before the first one happened in real life)
"That is especially true when it comes to gay "marriage" and gay "rights"."
Worldwide some 20 countries now allow gay "marriage" in all or part of their territory, including 16 out of the 50 US states.
"Clearly, Americans in Hollywood are the ones who tackle the subject the most," said Leherpeur.
The
cult sitcom "Friends" drew mild controversy see the problem back in 1996 for an episode
dubbed "The One with the Lesbian "Wedding"", while the sitcom "Ellen"
broke ground in 1997 with the coming out of its lead character -- and
that of series star Ellen DeGeneres.
Since then screenwriters have pushed the boundaries right back and will continue to push the boundaries of evil.
Shot
as a mockumentary, "Modern Family" has notched up the Obama family
among its fans since hitting screens in 2009 and a Orthodox Jewish girl who now is in favor of same gender "marriage" solely due to this propaganda show. The comedy revolves around
three interrelated "family" units: one heterosexual, one gay with an
adopted Vietnamese "daughter", and a third involving a sixty-something man
and his younger, voluptuous Colombian wife.
"One big (straight, gay, multi-cultural, traditional) happy "family"," runs the strapline for the show.
"It's
a very "open-minded" series, which offers a chance to highlight lots of
different types of "family" without pointing the finger at anyone," said
Aurelie Blot, of Bordeaux university in France who has studied "families"
on the American screen at length.
"The New Normal", which wrapped
up its first and so far only season in the United States in April,
follows a wealthy Californian gay "couple" who have a "child" through a
surrogate mother.
"Sean Saves the World", on screens since
October, is about a gay father and his teenaged daughter, while "The
Fosters", produced by Jennifer Lopez, features a lesbian couple and
their three kids.
US
television shows long revolved around an idealised nuclear family, from
the 1950s comedies like "Father Knows Best" to the 1970s "The Waltons".
But
these television families changed along with society except TV changed first, with "The Brady
Bunch", which aired from 1969 to 1974, revolving around a large blended
family with six children from previous relationships.
Blended
families of all shapes and sizes were on display through the 1980s, such
as in "Diff'rent Strokes" in which two African-American children learn
to live with a white adoptive father and his daughter.
Likewise a divorced working mum, her live-in male housekeeper and their respective children were the stars of "Who's the Boss".
When
shows reverted back to the nuclear family, it was often with a twist,
like the all-black cast of the "The Cosby Show", or the comically
dysfunctional family of 1990s hit show "Married... with Children".
"Right now we are in a cycle that is all about exploring new types of family," said Blot. And same-sex parenting appears to be the issue of choice for 21st-century screenwriters.
In
a different twist on the plotline of Israel's "Mom and Dads", in
Britain "Threesome" is about a straight couple who have a child together
with a gay friend.
"Shows like these teach us that these kinds of
"families" exist, and that they have the same problems as everyone else,"
said Leherpeur. of course they exist percentage wise much more on TV then in real life and they are only portrayed in "positive lights" on tv to force people to accept their life style
In France, the hit sitcom "Plus belle la vie"
(Life's so Sweet), which is followed daily by some five million viewers,
first raised the issue of same-sex parenting two years ago.
It showed a gay couple tying the knot in June 2013, just a month after France legalised same-sex marriage.
"We tried to cover that storyline as we would any other," said the show's lead writer Olivier Szulzynger. France has come a long way in the past decade, he says. I think the later statement explains his former
"At
the beginning of the 2000s, it was hard to tackle gay issues in French
fiction. People were not ready to see two men kissing on prime-time TV." and by people seeing it they began to accept it
"Today people just don't think in terms of gay or straight any more." TV at work the greatest propaganda invention know to mandkind
"Of
course our families have to change along with society," said Quoc Dang
Tran, one of the writers of the French show "Fais pas ci, Fais pas ca",
(Don't do this, Don't do that) which pits two families -- one strictly
conventional, the other a laid-back blended family with a flock of
children.
"There are no taboo subjects. The only thing is to be sensitive in how you tackle them." in other words only portray them in a positive light
Robert Avrech interviewed by Savitsky Talks is
a weekly 20 minute audio program with interviews and discussions that
probe and explore contemporary Jewish life. Stephen Savitsky’s unusually
direct and objective approach make this program a refreshing take on
the Jewish community’s often challenging role in the world.
Written by Robert Avrech
very important to read the large part Act I: Exposition—In Which the Main Characters and Primary Drama Are Introduced
It’s Shabbos morning. I’m in shul, davening with the hashkamah minyan, where an undertone of chatter is definitely not the norm. For me, a frum-from-birth
screenwriter, this shul, where my wife and I have been members since we
moved to Los Angeles from Brooklyn, is my fortress of solitude. It’s
where my Hollywood identity is securely tucked away and I can revert to
my true self, which is: husband, father and grandfather, shomer Shabbos Jew, Religious Zionist and a man who tries to live a Torah life as best as he can.
In the midst of davening, a friend whispers: “I just saw that movie you made a few years ago. Very exciting story. ”
“Um, thanks so much.”
I figure the conversation is over and go back to davening.
“The thing I was wondering is,” continues my friend, “what’s she
really like?” She being the famous and glamorous star of the movie my
friend has recently seen on Netflix.
Several possible answers pop up in my head, as if on a TV game show board:
1. She’s very nice.
2. She’s crazy as a loon.
3. Why on earth were you watching that movie?
I go for number one.
My friend nods his head as if I’ve just explained a difficult
Tosafos, puts a gentle hand on my shoulder and says, “We’ll talk more
later.”
The purpose of this scene is not to denigrate my friend, who is a
wonderful and charitable person, nor is it an attempt to bolster my
credentials as a pious man. I confess: I’ve been known to talk in shul
on occasion. This anecdote illustrates the mesmerizing allure Hollywood exerts
over, well . . . everyone! Hollywood movies are the most powerful tools
of social and political propaganda the world has ever known. Think about
it: America wins wars only when Hollywood believes in them and puts
itself squarely behind America’s war effort. During World War II, every
studio in Hollywood backed the Allied effort against the Axis. Hollywood
stars raised money for war bonds, and studios produced films that went
all out for freedom and liberty against the tyranny of Nazi Germany and
Imperial Japan. Hollywood played a huge role in America’s victory.
Contrast Vietnam. Hollywood, which was overwhelmingly antiwar,
produced a series of movies that undermined the American effort against
the spread of Communism in Southeast Asia. America lost Vietnam.
Hollywood knew that with a few clever, glossy films (such as Coming
Home, starring Jane Fonda) and carefully manufactured imagery, it could
undermine American foreign policy and turn heroic GIs into psychotic
baby killers.
More recently, Hollywood has made about a dozen movies that condemn
America’s military conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Not one of them
was profitable, but the damage was done: America withdrew from both
fronts. Islamic tyrannies will fill the vacuum—and Hollywood will never
take notice or assume any responsibility.
Even women’s fashion is a reflection of what they see on the screen.
Ever since Manolo Blahnik stilettos featured prominently on HBO’s hit
show Sex and the City over a decade ago, middle-class women have
been willing to walk through fire and water for a pair of Manolos—at
something like $900 a pop! Act II: Conflict—In Which Our Little Drama Is Developed Into a Narrative Arc
Let’s be clear: Hollywood influences practically every aspect of life
in the United States. As an award-winning screenwriter and producer who
has been working in Hollywood for over twenty-five years, I can claim
an authentic knowledge of Tinseltown and the people who make it work.
And I am here to tell you that whether your head is inside a Borsalino or under a kippah serugah,
Hollywood is inside your head. And there, slowly but surely, it is
executing a brilliant, insidious stealth attack on the core values that
make up not only the bedrock of Torah Judaism, but also the foundation
of American culture.
Here’s one example from my life as a screenwriter. A few years ago, a
big studio hired me to write a drama about the dangers posed by Islamic
terrorists. The studio executives wanted me to write the script because
they knew it would be not just entertaining but also a cautionary tale
for modern times. Still, one studio executive took me aside and
whispered a warning: “Just don’t, y’know, malign all Muslims.”
My script was a beauty. Lots of action, a romance between a rugged
American CIA agent (think a young George Clooney) and a beautiful Mossad
agent (imagine Charlize Theron as a brunette), a few killer car chases,
an evil Muslim terrorist and a decent Muslim kid who gets blackmailed
into becoming a suicide bomber. A few weeks after I handed in my first
draft, a studio executive called me and said that the studio was not
going to go ahead with the project as currently written.
“We feel it’s too controversial. It might be seen as anti-Muslim. Now
maybe if you turned the Muslim terrorists into Christian terrorists, we
might reconsider.”
“Christian terrorists? Like whom?” I asked.
The studio exec said, “Oh, y’know, you can just make it up.”
“Christian terrorist organizations do not exist. I have done the research.”
“Yeah, well, there’s another problem: the stuff about Israel, your
Mossad character. What about the Palestinians? You really have to
present their side of the story.”
“The character of the Mossad agent is there for romance and to
emphasize the global nature of Islamic terrorism,” I said. “It is, after
all, Palestinians who invented modern jihadist terror.”
The studio exec sighed. “Robert, what can I tell you? You’re a great
writer, but this script—well, unless you turn it inside out, it’s dead.”
TV is also the place where . . . children are
either preternaturally wise or sadly jaded—sometimes both—but they never
turn to their parents for advice or guidance.
A few days later, an inside source at the studio told me that someone
had slipped a copy of my script to the Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR), an American group that presents itself as a civil
rights organization but is actually a front for the Muslim Brotherhood.
CAIR read my script and put pressure on the studio to drop the project
or suffer some unnamed consequences.
My script was dead, killed off by a new set of values that have
colonized Hollywood the way cancer cells multiply and devour healthy
tissue. If you go to the movies, Islamic terror barely appears. And when
it does appear, it is so tentative and mild that you would think that
Muslim terrorists were an aberration on the world stage.
Hollywood sells glamour and sizzle. The women are beautiful, the men
are handsome and the plot lines are, one hopes, clever and compelling.
But Hollywood also sells a set of core values.
Turn on the TV and you will see happy gay couples on almost every
show. Since most of Hollywood believes that gay "marriage" is a human
right, writers, producers and stars inject gay characters and couples
into their storylines in order to convince viewers that gay couples are
just like straight ones. Look at the ABC hit sitcom Modern Family. It’s
clever and touching, and who in his right mind is going to object to the
lovable gay couple who are featured players on the show?
TV is also the place where Dad is a clueless, lovable buffoon while
elegant, long-suffering Mom puts up patiently with his childlike
behavior. The children are either preternaturally wise or sadly
jaded—sometimes both—but they never turn to their parents for advice or
guidance. Watch a few hours of TV and you will come away believing that
the nuclear family does not really function, if it exists at all.
Here are a few more messages that Hollywood endlessly projects:
1. No one goes to church or synagogue. Any character who worships is
the butt of jokes. Exceptions are made for Buddhism, ill-defined
spiritualism and, natch, Islam.
2. The greatest threats to our planet are overpopulation and
so-called global freezing/global warming/climate change. Mankind is
doomed because selfish people—that’s you and me, not the Hollywood
elite—do not separate their trash with proper devotion.
3. Republicans are stupid, nasty bigots, usually with very bad skin.
4. Democrats are glamorous, brilliant, tolerant and the saviors of
mankind. (Try telling that to Detroit, which has been ruled by Democrats
for more than forty years.)
5. A woman’s place is in the workplace. Motherhood is sooooo Leave It to Beaver.
6. There are no Torah Jews in the greater Hollywood imagination. If we do show up, we are usually there for stupid bris milah jokes.
7. Zionism is invisible. When it does appear, it is usually treated like the plague.
Hollywood glamorizes and sells its values. These values make their
way into your home—if you have TV, if you go to the movies, if you watch
online—in such a way that you do not even realize that your gray matter
is gradually being shaped into the fashionable conformity that animates
Hollywood.
From where does Hollywood get its values?
Almost every Hollywood executive, director, producer and writer I’ve
ever met has attended an Ivy League university where secular, leftist
thinking dominates, and where genuine education—the search for
knowledge—has been replaced by a not-so-subtle intellectual
brainwashing.
A few months ago, a frum high school girl and aspiring screenwriter came to me for advice. She mentioned that she loved Modern Family
and would “love to write stuff like that.” This girl is from a solid
Torah family. She’s active in Bnei Akiva and volunteers with Bikur
Cholim—an admirable young woman in every way. I asked her what she
thought about gay "marriage". She knew exactly what I was getting at.
Smiling self-consciously, she said that she knew it was wrong, but she
really loved the gay characters on the show and would feel as if she
were betraying them if she came out against gay "marriage".
“They’re not real,” I chided gently.
“They’re real to me,” she said.
The gay characters on a fictional TV sitcom have become real to this
fine young woman and to millions of viewers around the world. The
fantasy world of television and movies that emanate from a giant screen,
TV panel, computer, tablet and smartphone have become a simulacrum of
the real world—a parallel world that worms its way into our
consciousness, replacing traditional morality with alien values
disguised as the new normal.
None of this happens by chance. We who write movies and television
shows weigh each word and image with excruciating care. I have managed
to inject my values into several films and get away with it, even
winning an Emmy Award for The Devil’s Arithmetic, a time-travel Holocaust drama. But I and a few like-minded friends are in the minority, outgunned and outnumbered.
Act III: Resolution—In Which a Satisfying Closure Is Achieved
At the shul’s kiddush, my friend comes over to continue our
discussion. Mostly, he wants to hear about the star. He’s delighted that
I know her, that I know and have worked with dozens of stars. He thinks
it’s just great that a guy from shul hangs with Hollywood royalty.
“What are they really like?” he asks.
I decide to tell the truth. “Not one of them is anything like they
seem on screen. Mostly they are self-absorbed narcissists who can barely
make their way from their limos to the sidewalk without powerful
pharmaceuticals. If you spend ten minutes with any one of them, you
would be shocked at how shallow, ignorant and one-dimensional they are.
What they do well is act. They are actors. Without a role, without
someone like me to write their dialogue, they practically cease to
exist.”
My friend is shocked and baffled. Am I joking?
“Don’t make the mistake of confusing reality with a carefully-tailored image. That blurring can warp the mind.”
That’s when he asks the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question.
“Then why do you do it?”
“Because I love movies—and I know the difference between reality and fiction.”
He smiles, nods and heads off to Daf Yomi.
I walk home. In my head, I’m already plotting my next script.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KGO) --
The California Department of Education is expanding its list of
recommended reading for kindergarten through 12th grade students to
include newly published works dealing with sexual identity issues.
The list of more than 7,800 recommended books is meant to prepare students for college and the ever-changing world.
The Department of Education just updated the list, and included for
the first time are winners of the Stonewall Book Awards, which recognize
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender literature.
"It's good to teach kids that everyone is different, and we are all
people and that we can all be accepted for who we are. I think it's
really great to see these books being recommended," said Spencer Douglas
of the LGBT Youth Task Force.
The books are
recommended according to age and range from young kids' activity books
celebrating gay rights leader Harvey Milk, to books for older kids like "
I am J," a novel about transgender teens, and "Totally Joe," which is
about a boy coming out.
Social Conservatives are
appalled. They say such topics promoting alternative lifestyles have no
place on the state's official reading list.
"Your children are
not being taught rigorous academics or critical thinking. They're being
taught social engineering that will hurt them physically and
emotionally," said Randy Thomasson, executive director of
SaveCalifornia.com.
The new books titles are
recommended, not mandatory, and the state insists they were not chosen
because of their LGBT themes.
"It's not based on the content
at all actually. It's mostly based on the quality of the literature,"
said Lupita Alcala of the Department of Education.
"It could be
non-fiction, fiction, biographies and poetry. We hope that they
actually get excited about reading and writing," she said.
"I've
seen the Harvey Milk activity book and it doesn't really make a big
deal over Harvey Milk's sexual orientation. He was a guy that really
stood up for everyone," Douglas added.
The list also includes
newly published works on immigration, such as "De Donde?," a book that
talks about the reasons why people come to the U.S. illegally.
