Whatever Happened to the Little Rascals?

I watched reruns of the Little Rascals on our old black & white TV set on afternoons when I was in elementary school. My kids watched them on video release back in the 1980's. I think my parents, at least my mother, watched the original releases during their/her childhood.

There was something about the creativity and can-do attitude of the Our Gang group that, more than just their escapades and antics, appealed strongly to our young hearts.

The short black & white films placed the Little Rascals in their own inventive and engaging world, an adult-imitative but child-centered one, and one we could easily picture ourselves in, as well.

Following their young acting careers, life for the series' child stars became harder and, in many cases, ended tragically.

This link is to a web page summarizing the adult lives of many of those featured in the Our Gang films.

Twilight Eclipses my Comprehension

So, it’s that time again. Twilight Fandemonium hit with last night’s, 4,000 North American Theaters’ 12 a.m. to 3 a.m showings generating more than $30 million.

I suppose I shouldn’t comment on the phenomenon, not having seen the picture, and my earlier post, Twi-night of the Living Dead laid out my questions regarding “The Saga”, but really, how could the “Twilight” movie characters possibly be more compelling than Gary Cooper in High Noon, or Gregory Peck in The Gunfighter?

There are no reports that people lined up, breathlessly anticipating the midnight showing of those two great films. Were audiences simply more sophisticated in the 1950’s, or what gives?

Eclipse audiences are reported to display the same giddy response that might result from Congress passing a balanced budget amendment with a term limit rider – or say, would accompany the announcement of the elusive, yet-to-be produced, truly effective, hair-re-growth product.

The most famous vampire personage, Count Dracula, based on the historical figure, Vlad the Impaler, was an intolerant, cruel tyrant who ran pointed poles about 3” in diameter through his victims with the entry point being "where the sun don’t shine". As the victims were raised on the skewer, the weight of their bodies sank them further down the pole, the top of which eventually emerged somewhere around the clavicle. Death was slow and excruciating.

It baffles me how the proponent of this process might inspire any sort of romantic entertainment without extensive artistic license and heavy editing. Granted, the lead actors are reputed to possess physical traits that most women admire, but let’s be frank, these guys are freaks and their bites carry the risk of rabies at best (via the werewolves) and could consign you to an eternally soulless journey to nowhere (via the vampires).

It’s all a good romp, of course, until you find you have to submit to a series of painful rabies shots to the abdomen or can no longer tell if you got the part in your hair straight because your image no longer reflects in a mirror. Logically, wouldn't movies be the logical vehicles for effectively communicating these important warnings to our young people? And we wonder why they end up as walking tattoo billboards and jewelry display cases.

Anyway, I’ll present the opportunity again. If anyone can explain what the appeal is of these vampire/werewolf story motifs I would be interested in hearing from you.

Apologies for re-using the graphic from a previous post, but Baby Daughter is working 9 hour days, 6 days a week now and can no longer serve as my Photoshop-savvy assistant.

Princess Ka’iulani

Familiarity with anything more than a few facts regarding the history of Hawai’i is a rarity among the vast majority of non-Hawai’i born residents of our state.

Still, anyone who has connected at all with Hawaii’s people and culture knows generally about the armed takeover of the Kingdom of Hawai’i and its annexation to the U.S., led by American and English businessmen in the last decade of the 19th century.

The movie, “Princess Ka’iulani,” portrays the story of one of Hawai’i’s last royal heiresses in line to the throne, from childhood to young adult, as she experienced the circumstances of that period. Historical events, instead of providing the narrative, play out in the background.

Memorable in the film is the depiction of the legitimate rulers of the constitutional monarchy. Faced with the realization that it is outside of their nation’s power to physically resist the takeover, the royal rulers choose to act with humble dignity, wisdom, faith and courage to preserve the identity and place of the Hawaiian people.

A good movie, in my opinion, is one that lasts no more than 90 minutes, or so, which is the case here. Beyond that criterion, the film is a well-crafted presentation. There are no wow-factor, CGI scenes and only one explosion, but the acting is good, the cinematography not bad at all and the deliberate pacing allows the story to develop coherently. Additionally, you can watch this entertainment with grandparents or younger children without concern for embarrassing language or subject matter that will leave you ill-at-ease.

I recommend the movie for having qualities similar to “Chariots of Fire,” if you can recall that movie from the early 1980’s. In both films, the directors set out to make a good movie without spending tens of millions of dollars by focusing on plot, character development and conflict resolution.

Perhaps the movie will be found to be more meaningful to those who live here in the historical after-path (to coin a term) of the events portrayed, but I believe many others will find the movie a rewarding experience, as well. Not being a major studio production, it probably won’t be in theater release for very long. Before it disappears, try to see it.

Could somebody explain this to me..

I wanted to use the last post to segue into posts about the Christmas season but something's been weighing on my mind. I've asked some others about this but I'm still left with a lot of unanswered questions.

What is this massive female obsession with vampires?

The appeal of the Twilight saga is beyond my comprehension. I admit I haven't seen the movie but from descriptions I've read of the plot it's full of holes. First and foremost: How is it possible for a teenage girl to find her soul mate in a soulless creature?

I'm told the protagonist vampire hero, who has presumably reached near-full-grown vampire size from years of drinking human blood, suddenly foregoes leeching the blood of his protagonist female love interest and subsequently confines his blood meals to animals. Have I got this right, basically?

Do vampires or their swooning victims have a clue about the risks involved in this lifestyle? Who today cannot recognize the danger of having someone else's blood in your mouth? All but the most isolated of vampires must have learned something about hepatitis C and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome in the last thirty years. Oh, wait, ... perhaps that's the subtextual message we're suppposed to read into their pursuit of virgin blood. Okay, I get that part.

Still, raw animal blood is no more safe. Rabbits? You contact their blood with a break in your skin and you're at serious risk of debilitating illness from tularemia. Pigs? They are commonly infected with trichinosis, a parasite that can cause humans severe gastrointestinal illness and muscle rigidity that would make death seem a welcome relief. Waterfowl or other animal-life that happened to eat parasite-ridden freshwater fish? The cure for acquiring those parasites is toxic enough to kill you.

I could go on and on but the point is, a vampire that consumed animal blood might be observed to display many cysts and pustules on his face and body. From the movie posters I've seen, the Hollywood makeup artists really dropped the ball on this one.

I can hear some of you now. "You're missing the point, blogger brain. It's not about health precautions and disease avoidance. It's about romance, coming of age, star-crossed lovers, the timeless dance of life called love." Okay (again, setting aside that vampires have no souls with which to love), if this were true why don't we see a similar phenomenon where the main love interest is a zombie, another character with no soul and also an immortal member of the living dead?

There's really very little difference between fresh blood and living flesh. When doctors do diagnostic tests they often want a blood sample and a tissue sample, right? And both are usually acquired with needles, so what, really, is the difference between vampires and zombies in their basic life, or, non-life pursuits and passions? A difference only in degree.

These are some of the reasons I probably wouldn't enjoy watching "The Twilight Saga: New Moon." I am, though, still curious about girls' and even middle-aged women's infatuation with vampires. If you have an opinion on this, click on the comments section below and share your thoughts.

I'd comment further myself but I have to sign off now. I just got this idea for a book about a socially isolated girl who moves into a new town and falls in love with a teenage zombie who dedicates himself to eating the flesh of animals instead of his new love's face -"Twi-Night of the Living Dead." I need to get an outline together quickly to send off to publishers. I'll fill in the plot holes later. This could be just the vehicle I've been looking for to finally acquire the phenomenal wealth that's so far eluded me. And when it comes time for my book to be made into a movie, those Hollywood makeup artists better get it right this time!

(Thanks, Baby Daughter, for the Photoshop work.)