Save the environment one piece of garbage at a time by recycling. Keeping trash out of landfills, oceans, and roadside ditches not only leaves our planet looking and feeling clean, but it has positive long-term effects. Imagine what would happen if all of our landfills were full or our ocean was so contaminated with junk that the sea life died. By recycling, which means turning trash into new items, we are helping to save our environment one step at a time. For most people, however, recycling is an afterthought, which is why it is important to introduce recycling to children at an early age. The sooner we get our children to make recycling a habit, the better off our world will be. Here are some tips to help you introduce recycling to even the youngest of learners.

How to Recycle

Earth Day, celebrated annually on April 22, is the most popular day to discuss recycling. However, you should start today by introducing the idea of recycling to your kids. While many younger children may not grasp the concept of why it is important to recycle, you can show them why recycling is great so that it becomes a habit for them later on in life. The best way to teach your child to recycle is to be a good role model by recycling yourself. In the resources below, you will find plenty of guidance as you approach this topic with your children no matter what their age.

• The 3 R’s – Discover ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle from a kid’s point of view, games and activities included from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
• How Garbage Affects Nature – Using an interactive program, see how garbage affects animals and the ecosystem directly – includes hands on craft projects, online games, and additional resources.
• Introducing Recycling to Young Children – National Geographic provides an informative article for parents who are struggling with ways to teach young children the reasons and ways of recycling.
• Kids’ Green Scene – The Kids’ Green Scene is a kid-friendly blog that posts current events related to recycling.
• Ways to Encourage Recycling – Read about methods you can use to make recycling a daily habit for your child.
• Visit Recycle City – The Environmental Protection Agency has developed an interactive site featuring online games and hands-on activities that encourage children to recycle.
• Meet Recycle Rex – One helpful dinosaur, Recycle Rex reinforces the principles of the 3 R’s with online games and printable coloring pages.
• Read About Recycling (pdf) – Check out this book list of suggested reading for children in preschool through 5^th grade.
• Lesson Plans for Kindergarten – Find several lesson plans geared at kindergarteners, as well as a list of links for further information.

What Kids Can Make with Recycled Paper

Paper products ranging from newspaper to toilet paper tubes are one of the most substantial forms of recyclable material we produce. It is also the easiest type of material to reuse in our homes. Here are several resources related to reusing paper, including a method for recycling your very own paper. Check out all of the craft projects you can do at home using all kinds of paper including old magazines and school notebook paper.

• How to Make Recycled Paper – Watch an informative video that shows you the process of recycling your used newsprint and craft paper, and transforming it into recycled sheets of paper.
• Simple Craft Projects for Recycled Paper – Instead of throwing out all of your used paper products including plates and toilet paper rolls, try some of these kid-friendly craft ideas.
• How to Make Paper Bowls – Craft paper bowls and trivets using pages from your old magazines, the perfect option for those glossy pages that cannot be recycled by many facilities.
• 24 Paper Crafts – Martha Stewart presents 24 paper crafts that reuse a wide range of paper products, from empty paper towel rolls to used greeting cards.
• Toilet Paper Tube Art – Apartment Therapy lists several innovative ways to reuse those empty toilet paper and paper towel cardboard tubes.

General Arts and Crafts Made from Recyclables

One of the most immediate benefits of recycling is that you are saving money. By taking stuff you would normally toss in the recycling bin, you can transform it into new-to-you objects. Get ready to be creative as you try out some of these craft projects using everything from old stuffed animals to stained T-shirts. As the 3 R’s are recycling, reducing, and reusing, you are doing your part by reusing stuff rather than filling the landfills with it. And, you can create some nice and useful items, which you can keep or give away as gifts.

• 40 Recyclable Projects – Family Fun by Disney has compiled 40 kid-friendly craft projects that reuse and re-purpose recyclable objects.
• Go Green with Crafting – Learn how to transform all types of things, from CDs and DVDs to empty egg cartons, into new and useful items.
• 12 Crafts for Older Kids – Pre-teens and teenagers will love these funky crafts that save money without sacrificing on style, including stuffed animal headphones, colorful night lamp covers, and re-purposed T-shirt tank tops.
• Make Art for Pennies – Kinder Art presents dozens of craft project resources targeted at young children including a milk carton bird house and wind chimes made from old silverware.
• 6 Kid Crafts – Better Homes and Gardens lists 6 fun projects for kids to do that transforms trash into treasure.
• Celebrate Earth Day – Here is a wonderful selection of dozens of crafts using recyclable items. Create coffee ground fossils, paper mache globes, and tin can flower pots.
• Useful Crafts for Kids – From a cardboard box oven that really works to a food box camera, here are some innovative projects using recycled items.
• Eco-Friendly Craft Projects – Check out these ecologically-friendly crafting ideas by Martha Stewart, including beads made from stale bread and cardboard doll furniture.

Related Articles

Comparison and Analysis of Paintings by Mary Cassatt and Georges Seurat

Giorgio Vasari: Brief Biography and Analysis of Four Major Works

For example, music therapy can be a powerful tool in opening the flow of communication for special needs kids who have trouble expressing themselves and interacting with others and the world around them. Music therapy comes in the form of singing and playing instruments, writing songs, and other listening exercises under the guidance of trained practitioners. The resources on this page all come from reliable and reputable groups within the worldwide music therapy community.

Music Therapy Information

These sites are operated by non-profit foundations. They are filled with valuable information about music therapy and can help connect you with others in the music therapy industry in different areas of the world.

• American Music Therapy Association – The official site of the AMTA, a non-profit group dedicated to furthering the understanding and practice of music therapy through education.
• World Federation of Music Therapy – The WFMT not-for-profit group is an international community of music therapy users, workers, and enthusiasts.
• Australian Music Therapy Association – Home page for the AMTA, a group of music therapists, parents and teachers of special needs kids, and others who are interested in or passionate about the benefits of music therapy. The AMTA is a member of the WFMT.
• Canada Association for Music Therapy – Non-profit group supporting the music therapy community across Canada.
• American Cancer Society on Music Therapy – This page, from the ACS, explains what music therapy is and how it can be beneficial as part of a treatment plan for cancer patients.

Music Therapy Practitioners and Centers

The sites in this group are all centers that actively practice music therapy. They are all highly respected, long-standing institutions. Most are run from University schools and provide lots of great free sources of information about the field of music therapy. They are a fantastic place to start if you’re seeking treatment for someone you love.

• Institute of Applied Psychomusicology – A group dedicated to sound therapy and treatment through music. Started by a psychologist and musician specializing in psychoeducation, the site offers literature and training for those who want to teach others about the therapeutic benefits of music.
• The Rebecca Center for Music Therapy – Based out of Molloy College in New York, this non-profit music therapy center is renowned for its work in helping to increase function through music therapy in special needs children, teens, and adults. Additionally, they can help you find a reputable center in your area.
• Nordoff Robbins Center at NYU – The center, operating as part of New York University’s Steinhardt School, offers degree programs in music therapy as well as on-site treatment and research. The site is rich with resources for anyone who is curious about music therapy.
• MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Music Therapy Pages – The Anderson Center is a part of the University of Texas Integrative Medicine family of treatment centers. Not only are there resources for those seeking music therapy internships through the center, but you can download and listen to specialized therapeutic music created through the institution.

Careers in Music Therapy

If you’re interested in become a practitioner of music therapy, check out some of these sites with information about educational programs, internship opportunities, and other resources to help you get your foot in the door of the industry.

• Temple University’s Music Therapy FAQ Page – Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance has put together this handy Q&A page to answer all of your basic questions about becoming a music therapist. While the page was created for potential students considering a career in music therapy, it’s a helpful resource for anyone who is curious about the concept.
• California Department of Mental Health Internships – Hospital internships for music therapy students through the Department of Mental Health.
• CSUN Music Therapy FAQs – A Q&A page from California State University at Northridge, outlining the steps it takes to get a music therapy degree as well as how to go about getting yourself certified and ready to work in the field.
• SWOSU Music Therapy Pages – Southwestern Oklahoma State University’s Music Therapy Program offers up this great collection of resources for those interested in pursuing an education and career in music therapy. You’ll find everything from class descriptions to outside links for delving deeper into the world of practical and applied therapeutic music.

Music Therapy Stories

You can read all you want about music therapy as a practice, but there’s nothing like hearing stories from real people who have benefitted from music therapy. This collection of sites and pages will take you to the real-life stories of those who have experienced the healing benefits of music.

• Soundscape Music Stories Page – This page is from the site of a music therapy center in Kentucky, and features links to well-written stories chronicling some of the personal success stories of applied music therapy. You’ll get a peek at actual patients and the therapy techniques used to help them flourish.
• Center for Music Therapy Client Stories – This site includes firsthand testimonials attesting to the value of music therapy. Learn more about some of the specific conditions music therapy can be used to treat and the effects it can have on patients.
• Stories from the Canada Music Therapy Trust – A fantastic collection of stories, told through text and video, of how music therapy has helped people to dramatically improve their quality of life and overcome communication and behavioral issues.
• Success Stories from Pasadena Child Development – Touching stories from real parents who have watched changes in their own children as a result of applied music therapy. The center is a non-profit corporation dedicated to providing music therapy to as many children as possible.

Related Articles

Drugs And Music

The Influence of the 60s and Psychedelic Music and Culture on Modern Society

You Are What You Listen To : How Musical Tastes Reflect Personality

This is obvious because these are the people creating the films, white American filmmakers displaying their fantasies through stereotypes. While there are multiple examples that might effectively highlight Hagedorn’s assessments as well as reinforce the notion that white American men, who are the purveyors of what we consume in American cinema, continue to represent Asian women as at the mercy of or at the feet of (romantically, especially) American men. When joined with Hagedorn’s assessment that many women in Asian film fall into the category of “whore” or prostitute in cinematic representation, we are forced to evaluate our understanding of many recent films, one of which is the 2005 blockbuster, Memoirs of a Geisha—the epitome of some of the most prevalent Asian female stereotypes Hagedorn explores.

Memoirs of a Geisha is certainly not the first Hollywood film to emphasis Asian women’s roles as being tied to sexual servitude and female victimization. In her assessment of the film, The World of Suzie Wong (1960) Hagedorn notes that the main character, Suzie “and all the other prostitutes in this movie are cure, giggling, dancing sex machines with hearts of gold” (360). In fact, this “geisha” portrayal of Asian women in film is one of the most recognizable and most-used stereotypes, especially when a particular film has a setting based in a native Asian culture. Whether its American soldiers depicted in a Vietnam-era film with shy, appealing, demure mannerisms (Apocalypse Now [1979] among others) so common in this Hollywood version of Eastern prostitutes, or in Memoirs of a Geisha itself, the presence of this stereotype is consistently found in films across the span of cinematic history.

In her commentary of film and her personal perceptions as an Asian woman, Hagedorn states that while in the Philippines there was not the geisha tradition as in Japan, demure beauty was “overtreasured” and “daughters are protected virgins or primed as potential beauty queens. And many of us have brought into the image of the white man as our handsome savior: G.I. Joe” (365). This value and cultural emphasis on beauty is part of the reason American viewers are able to fully accept, romanticize, and idealize the life of this “hooker with a heart of gold” trope without recognizing the serious problem of stereotype-based problems this film presents.

In the film in question, the lovely, sensitive and of course, exotically beautiful main character enters reluctantly into a semi-glamorous lifestyle as a geisha. This new lifestyle that the legally-underage maiden enters into is laden with enough difficulties (being stolen from and subjected to harsh treatment) to make it not seem as though it is glorifying prostitution too much while all the while using enough soft-focus on the camera’s lens to keep the viewer’s eyes misty with adoration. Even though there are these elements of hardship presented as the main character quests for her freedom (only to offer it up for a man) there is little doubt that the stereotype of the beautiful and exotic geisha/prostitute is being propagated to its fullest extent. By the end of the film, despite any of the negative associations with a life of prostitution the viewer has been presented with, what is left is a story that is, at its very heart, a fairy-tale romance akin to the story of Cinderella, minus the sex. This film perpetuates the idea that Asian women are in need of a male savior and more importantly, that they are naturally suited to entertain men in ways that are sexually explicit and implicit. Even more importantly—this is presented in the end as something entirely romantic; every woman’s secret dream, every man’s wildest fantasy–and reality’s farthest truth. This is a reality that only exists in the Western visual conceptualization, which is a process that Hagedorn defines as the “colonization of imagination” (366). This colonization is the engine that propels Hollywood forward, creating Asian women into “objects of desire or derision; we exist to provide sex, color, texture, in what is essentially a man’s world” (366). Given the cultural power of film as a medium, this is a painful state for Asian women to be in, and one that box office records do to offer promise to correct.

Some scholars posit the idea the geisha is seen as more than an international sex symbol, but more incorrectly, as a symbol of Asian femininity in general. “Since the mid-nineteenth century, there has been an enduring relationship between Western imaginings and the Japanese woman. Dressed in a kimono and made up as a geisha, she has often been used in illustrations and cartoons as an archetypal gendered symbol of her country, often to the exclusion of all other symbols” (Morris, 2002). While Hagedorn cites many other incorrect (not to mention potentially damaging) stereotypes of Asian women in film, this seems to be one of the most historically consistent stereotypes of these women that predates those of the “street fighter” or ninja that one more recently associates with films such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, (2002) and related kung-fu or martial arts-based films. The Westernized image of Asian women, in this case Japanese women, as weak, demure, and in need of a savior (preferably one that is tall, handsome, and in military gear) is complicated with the addition of sexual servitude, but for many viewers, this only enhances the titillation element of the film. The meek females who are the sexual mercy of the highest bidder are compelling enough to generate best-seller and box office record-setting numbers, which indicates that this is not only a plausible stereotype, but an exciting one as well.

There can be little doubt that the prevalence of the Asian woman as a perpetual geisha; a weak, beautiful creature in need of a savior is appealing to Western viewers. With the stunning success of both the novel and film versions of Memoirs of a Geisha, one can realistically expect that Hagedorn’s criticisms will fall upon deaf ears in the mainstream context as we seem to cherish this version of Asian femininity far too much as a culture. “The world is crazy for geisha, a symbol of the Japanese mind, which has something in common with the Noh mask and the Japanese style of painting—‘Geisha chic’ and ‘Geisha Galm’ are our identity” (Narumi 314). We have melded together an incomplete, incorrect, limited, and even damaging understanding of Asian women through Hollywood films. Since success in American cinema is often tied to what is “hot” at the time, we can expect to continue seeing traces of this kind of representation of Asian women as it is clearly something that speaks to the romantic sensibilities of many viewers in the West. However, with this in mind, it is hoped that future filmgoers will begin to notice a disturbing trend of limitation in terms of gender representations and be able to critique what might otherwise seem to be harmless romance.

Hagedorn offers some stunning insights into how prevalent these stereotypes are in American film by highlighting seemingly endless numbers of examples for the particular stereotypes she sees as occurring most frequently. Through this process, her reader is unable to read such a critique without having seen at least one or two of the films and recognizing how prevalent these stereotypes are. However, by the mere act of identifying such inadequate, narrow portrayals of any gender of ethnic group, we can begin to overlook (and even criticize them ourselves) as they appear with stunning frequency. In a film such as Memoirs of a Geisha, one would be hard-pressed to be swept away by the romance after reading Hagedorn’s assessments and see this as another incredibly limiting and even damaging film in terms of adequate, representative versions of Asian femininity.

Related Articles

Women, Science and Professional Limitations

Issues of Gender and Generation in the Film “The Graduate” (1967)

An Extended Definition of Bollywood Cinema

References

Morris, Narrelle. “Innocence to Deviance: The Fetishisation of Japanese Women .” Intersections: Gender, History and Culture in the Asian Context Issue 7March 2002 7 Dec 2008.

Narumi, Hiroshi. “Fashion orientalism and the limits of counter culture.” Journal of Postcolonial Studies 3(2000): 311.

Drugs and music have also long performed the function of bringing people together, either through a sense of recognition based on common interests and experience, or because of the powerful potential of expression that both mediums offer to their users (Fuller, 2000). Borrowing a phrase from Aldous Huxley, both drugs and music ultimately provide access to “‘culturally uncontaminated’ levels of thought,” and they do this not only by creating an entry point into another world, but also by contesting the reality of the world in which we live (in Fuller, 2000, p. 79).

Although many contemporary musicians, their listeners, and cultural critics recognize that there is a close relationship between drugs and music, the long history and the specific quality of that relationship often gets cheapened and obscured in the lyrics and the promotion of modern music. Unfortunately, this confusion has created the widespread misperception that some types of music—namely psychedelic 1960s and 1970s tunes, rap, and grunge rock, among others—promote maladaptive drug use. While it may in fact be the case that the lyrics, the sounds, and even the marketing material used to promote these genres seem to promote illicit drug use, a more plausible explanation is that the relationship between drugs and music is the same as it has been for centuries: music itself serves as a drug, an antidote to the pain and frustration of living in an imperfect world.

The history of the human use of drugs and music, as well as the relationship that has been forged between the two, extends far into the past, and possibly even as early as the dawn of human history itself. Throughout the world, notes Fuller (2000), many cultures that differ from one another in notable ways have all used drugs and music as a means of “altering an individual’s state of consciousness in such a way as to ‘tune’ individuals into an alternate reality” (p. 9). The use of drugs such as peyote, datura, and tobacco among Native American groups has been documented extensively, for instance (Fuller, 2000).

These drugs were used—and, in some cases, are still used—in ritual practices and performances that are intended to “assist individuals in their vision quest” (Fuller, 2000, p. 9). Music, especially drumming and the use of flutes, has also been an important part of that ritualistic process, and performances typically occurred in conjunction with or in the context of drug use. African tribes have also been documented as having maintained a close and companionable relationship between drugs and music, used for many of the same reasons as the Native Americans (Fuller, 2000). The careful maintenance of the relationship between these two aspects of social life served to “provide a specific context in which the resulting ecstasies are understood to have spiritual significance” (Fuller, 2000, p. 9).

In the early days of human history, then, the relationship between music and drugs was rarely a problematic one. Neither was stigmatized; in fact, both were elevated as important components of cultural life and of specific communities, as both music and drugs—often in combination– had a meaningful role to play in the advancement and protection of social beliefs and norms (Fuller, 2000). What is important to emphasize and understand is that these early societies had a clear understanding of why and how both mediums of expression and transcendence were to be used. Furthermore, both drugs and music were administered by specific figures within the culture and the use of each was controlled, not to prevent indulgent excesses, necessarily—that idea would emerge much later in human history—but to demonstrate that these two aspects of social life were so important that they needed to be entrusted to a wise elder figure, or someone who had otherwise been trained or qualified to recognize the power of the mediums and to use them appropriately for the purpose of advancing social values and fostering community identity and cohesion (Fuller, 2000).

Although the true nature of the relationship between drugs and music has remained relatively constant across the course of human history, musical expression itself has evolved considerably, as has drug use, the latter with respect to the variety of drugs available and the increasing diversity of reasons for their use. By examining these evolutions, it is possible to arrive at an understanding of how the relationship between drugs and music has become so misunderstood. In dramatic contrast to the value that drugs and music had in early human societies, over time, both music and drugs would come to be stigmatized, and the closeness of the relationship between the two would become subject to profound suspicions and even paranoia. Music would be accused of fostering drug use and drugs would be fingered as the culprit for the emergence of musical genres that were deemed socially deviant and which seemed to threaten the very foundations of social order.

The basic idea behind Wonderpets on Nick Jr. and Noggin hinges on the lives of three pets who are kept in a preschool. Once the children leave for the day, the “phone” rings (the phone is actually a tin can) and a baby animal of some kind requires being rescued. At this call to action, the Wonderpets suit up for action and Ming Ming, Linny, and Tuck are off to whatever habitat the animal in trouble hails from. They put on their superhero gear, and through the use of teamwork (this is another theme in the Wonderpets song and the subject of one of their regular songs) they put together the “flyboat” which allows them to sail through the air in order to reach their destination.

As a result of the storylines of many of the episodes of The Wonderpets, children in this age group learn about baby animals as well as different environments and geographical areas. Oftentimes, the rescue mission involves a behavior that is specific the baby animal in question. For example, in one episode of the Wonderpets on Nick Jr. and Noggin, the Wonderpets had to go on a mission to lead a lost baby camel to an oasis. This helped children learn about desert environments, as well as the definition of oasis. Children in this age group who might have seen this episode of Wonderpets on Noggin or Nick Jr. would also learned unique things about the camel, such as the way it stores water in its humps.

The Wonderpets is, quite possibly, one of the best shows for kids between the ages of 3 and 4 on Nick Jr. and Noggin. Because the language and introduction of new words is geared toward this age range and because children of this age group like to learn songs and be able to sing them, children between 3-4 will love the Wonderpets on Nick Jr. and Noggin. Children in this age group will also adore the characters on the Wonderpets, including “Ming Ming” the duck who often talks about how things are “sewius” (serious). If you feel your children can watch a little television an you’re looking for a half hour that will be beneficial to their language skills as well as their ability to recognize different animals and their environments.

Related Articles

How to Have a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Birthday Party

Reasons to Pack a Lunch Versus Buying

Childproofing Checklist : A List of Often Overlooked Details

10 Tips to Make Moving Easier on Your Children

Why Family Dining Is So Important?

Three Stallone movies that caused more fans to run from the movie theater instead of to it are as follows below:

Rhinestone (1984)

In 1984, some tiny, disembodied little voice whispered in Sylvestor Stallone’s ear and told him that it was high time for him to “expand” his talents by writing and starring in a film comedy.  Instead of telling that voice to go away and mind its own business,  Sly foolishly agreed to its suggestion.

The result was the abysmal “Rhinestone.”

The plot is about a bosomy country music star named Jake Farris (Dolly Parton) who bets her manager (Ron Leibman) that she can turn anybody he chooses into a country singing sensation.

Well, as luck or lack of luck would have it, the manager selects Nick Martinelli, a New York cabbie played by- you guessed it!- Mr. Sylvester Stallone.  Jake takes him out of his element to the hills of Tennessee to turn him into a genuine country crooner in just two weeks.  The painful process is supposed to make us roll in the aisles, as we witness Nick’s ineptitude and tuneless warbling.  Of course, you know that a romance is going to develop, but the sparks between Stallone and Parton are anemic at best.

At the conclusion, Jake wins her bet when Nick finally embraces his inner redneck and successfully performs a country music act.  It’s a wonder that Stallone wasn’t burned in effigy by the country music industry in Nashville after this picture came out!

As for Sly’s fans, they were not amused, something that should have made him realize that comedy was just not his forte.

Over the Top (1987)

“Over the Top” had Stallone back in an action film again, with a plot that gave him a chance to flex something muscular.  He plays Lincoln Hawk, a long distance truck driver who fathered a son by a woman who is dying at the start of the movie. (This gives you an idea of how awful the rest of this thing is going to be).  Her last request is for Hawk to meet and get close to his son Mike (David Mendenhall), so he picks the kid up from military school and they go on a trip across the country in Hawk’s big ole truck.

The boy doesn’t warm up to Daddy right away, but what draws him closer is when Hawk starts competing in and winning…drum roll, please!…arm wrestling contests.  I kid you not. Large sequences of this film consists of watching Sly arm wrestle men who look like the kind of guys Jeff Foxworthy writes jokes about.

Anyway, there is a brief period of time when father and son are disconnected again, but love triumphs and all ends on a high note, when Hawk wins a national arm wrestling competition in Vegas.

Unfortunately for Sylvester Stallone, this movie did not inspire a worldwide craze for arm wrestling and not too many people were cheering for “Over the Top” Either.

Sly’s acting was not at its best here, the whole premise of the film was ridiculous and the kid who plays his son was extremely irritating.

To say that this movie was a vast disappointment is an understatement.

Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992)

One would have thought that Stallone would have learned the error of his ways from his earlier attempt to star in a comedy, but, alas, that stupid voice came whispering in his ear again 8 years later and darned if he didn’t listen to it.

In the humorless clunker, Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot, Sly plays Sgt. Joe Bomowski, a macho police detective whose diminutive, overprotective mom Tutti, played by the late Estelle Getty of “Golden Girls” fame, comes to visit him and ends up being an annoying pain in the rear.  She tries to baby him, does stupid stuff like washing his gun and spends her time interfering in both his professional and personal life, until you wonder when he’s going to get so irritated that he has her carted off to a home.

The plot is much too predictable to dwell on here, but, as you’d expect, everything ends up with Mom saving the day by showing her tough side and rescuing Joe from the bad guys.  JoBeth Williams has the thankless role of Gwen Harper, a fellow cop and sometime girlfriend of Joe.  A waste of great talent! Understandably, this turkey was savaged by critics and audiences avoided it like contact dermatitis.

If anything good can be said about this movie at all, it’s that it finally convinced Stallone to stop appearing in comedies.

Related Articles

Three of the Worst Moms in Movies

Review of Asian Women in Film: No Joy, No Luck

The Three Worst Films of Sylvester Stallone

Bad Movies of the 1990′s: An American Werewolf in Paris (1997)

Three of the Big Screen’s Best Moms

Five Horror Movies You Must See This Halloween Season

Oh, I don’t mean that I know him personally or have ever met the guy face-to-face, but I have become familiar with him, via the endless sea of commercials he appears in.  What makes Billy Mays stand out from his peers is that he promotes every single product he is pushing by yelling at you about them. He helps sell everything from OxiClean to the Sweeper Vac to the Vidalia Chop Wizard and several other intriguing gadgets by shouting out every detail about them.  It’s like being around your elderly Uncle Finster, who yells everything he says whenever he forgets to put in his hearing aid.

Billy Mays got his start pitching products in Atlantic City, New Jersey and went on to do traveling home shows, where he was discovered by the guy who founded Orange Glo International.  The man apparently thought that Mays’ screaming technique was just what was needed to successfully promote his line of household and cleaning products, so he brought the burly pitchman aboard.  Television commercials and eardrums have never been the same since.

Do you ever wonder if Billy Mays is the same way in his personal life?  I can just picture the deer-in-the-headlights expression on the face of his wife, as she has to endure his endless bouts of yelling, day after day.  My guess is that she has probably given serious consideration to hiring a hitman.

I’m pretty sure that the people who chose Mays to promote their company’s merchandise knew that his voice was loud, piercing and annoying, which is exactly why they use him.  We may loathe the sound of his voice, but we remember the products he pushes.  I have to admit that I even bought a Vidalia Chop Wizard, after listening to a Mays’ commercial about it several times.  I did not buy it because of him, though, but in spite of him, which makes a vast difference, in my way of thinking.

Still, I guess I must resign myself to the fact that Mr. Mays is going to keep making commercials and shouting at the millions of folks who watch them. Like a reoccurring rash, he is not going away anytime soon.

***Spoiler Warning***

Tom Everett Scott plays Andy McDermott, an American who is traveling through Western Europe with his buddies, Chris (Phil Buckman) and Brad (Vance Vieluf). Their goal is to experience the biggest thrills of their sophomoric lives by doing daredevil-type stunts, like bungee- jumping from the top of the Eiffel Tower. While Andy prepares to accomplish that goal, he and his friends see a beautiful girl (Julie Delpy) obviously intent on committing suicide. In an act that totally defies the laws of physics, he jumps from the tower at the same time she leaps and manages to grab her before she can become a big, splattered mess.

She runs off, but he wants to find her again and when he does, they go out on a date. Later he and his friends get invited to an underground club called La Lune, where they naively think a wild party is being held, not realizing that it’s a social gathering place for werewolves and they are on the main menu. While Brad is killed, Andy gets off with a bite, but you know what that means. Before you know it, Andy also becomes a werewolf.

It turns out that the distressed French miss he saved is named Serephine Pigot and she is supposedly the cursed spawn of the American werewolf who was killed in the first movie and the English nurse he became involved with. She is one of many werewolves in Paris and the rest of the film revolves around Andy and Serephine battling the”bad” werewolves and trying to keep them from getting hold of a special serum to start a big revolution and other stuff you could care less about. Without giving away more of this, one of many great eighties movies, let’s just say that, in spite of all the special effects, everything turns out relatively predictable. As difficult as it may be to believe, this movie actually makes werewolves boring.

Watching characters morph into hairy critters is supposed to be horror-inducing, but here the animatronic werewolves are not as effective as intended. The first movie used far less special effects, but was a lot more frightening. Also, call me a purist, but a horror movie set in London just seems more fitting than in Paris. Werewolves who live in a city that worships Jerry Lewis are not as terrifying, frankly. Basically, what An American Werewolf in Paris lacks is the charm of the film it is supposed to be a follow-up of. Director Andy Waller fails to capture the style and pace of the original. An American Werewolf in Paris doesn’t possess wit or romance or, frankly, even horror. You’d probably be more scared if a kid wearing a cheap Halloween mask jumped out of the bushes and yelled, “Boo!” than taking part in any of his movies.

While you actually liked David Naughton’s character in An American Werewolf in London and hoped beyond hope that he would somehow survive, Tom Everett Scott’s character in the sequel doesn’t draw you in the same way. Scott, whom I enjoyed tremendously in That Thing You Do, is wasted here. The way this move is though, you don’t care as much about him and his dopey friends, because everything is played too much for laughs. Delpy is a beautiful woman and a competent actress, but this is not one of her best film roles and there are zero sparks between the Andy and Serephine characters.

In the end, An American Werewolf in Paris places far more emphasis on impressing audiences with all the special effects than it does in creating a riveting storyline and, because of that, this film comes up short.

Three of my favorite examples of the big screen’s “baddest” mamas are:

Regina Giddens

Bette Davis plays Regina Giddens in the 1941 film version of The Little Foxes. The story takes place during the turn of the previous century.

Regina Hubbard Giddens is a manipulative, conniving Southern woman, who obviously married her husband Horace (Herbert Marshall), because of his fortune. Her scheming ways have caused her spouse to live apart from her. She rules her gentle daughter Alexandra (Teresa Wright) through intimidation, trying to maneuver her into a loveless marriage to a despicable cousin. Regina comes from a family of human “leeches,” whose biggest goal is to cheat and deceive others to attain wealth, rather than work hard to earn it themselves.

Regina uses bullying to bend Alexandra to her will and even tricks her into getting Horace to come back home. The purpose, of course, is to have her now ailing husband back under her control. There is no more chilling a scene than the one in which he collapses on the stairway and pleads with Regina to go get his medicine, only to have her respond with an icy stare, as she stands there and watches him expire.

At the end of the picture, of course, Regina gets what she really deserves. A wised-up Alexandra realizes what her mother has done and moves out. Regina is then left in the midst of all the wealth her greed has amassed, but she is all alone, without the one person left who truly loved her… Alexandra.

Bette Davis’s genius was that she could play reprehensible characters, yet make you feel some strange sense of pity for them. Even though her Regina is cruel and calculating, you can’t help but feel sorry for her, when she finally understands that all her schemes have gotten her is loneliness for the remainder of her life.

The Little Foxes is a somewhat ignored masterpiece that showcases the great Bette Davis at her best…

“Mama Rose” Hovik

The 1962 musical Gypsy, is based upon a Broadway musical that is based upon the real-life story of the late burlesque queen- Gypsy Rose Lee.

Rose, played by Rosalind Russell, is a monstrously ambitious stage mother, whose two young daughters, June and Louise, are forced to go on the road to perform in vaudeville, in a child troupe that Rose has put together. At the start, it’s clear that all of her hopes for “making it big” are penned on the pretty, blonde June, who does have genuine talent. Poor Louise (Natalie Wood) is virtually given second-class status by her mother.

Eventually, an older June gets tired of her mother’s restraints and runs off to marry one of the boys in their troupe. Devastated, Rose then decides to put her focus on Louise, becoming obsessed with turning her into a star. Unfortunately, Louise doesn’t have her sister’s musical abilities, but she does eventually find her “niche” , quite by chance.

When Louise’s act is bumped one night at a questionable theater, Rose overhears that they need a girl to go on, in a vacated spot. This spot, however, happens to be for a stripper. Rose’s horrified fiance Herbie (Karl Malden) protests the idea of subjecting Louise to this, but the ever ruthless Rose pretty much kisses him off and makes Louise go on the stage, telling her, “Remember, be a lady!”

Things are awkward at the start, but, eventually, Louise develops more confidence, literally turning from an ugly duckling into a swan and becoming popular burlesque star-Gypsy Rose Lee. She fights to break away from her mother’s control, which angers Rose, who fancies herself being the real reason for Louise’s success.

When she sings “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” in an empty theater, you realize that Rose’s real motive has always been about her own frustrated dreams for glory, never truly about her children.

At the end, Louise/ Gypsy seems to resign herself to the fact that her mother is always going to be domineering and accepts that reality, without allowing herself to be intimidated by it anymore.

Rosalind Russell chews up the scenery as the selfishly aggressive Rose, willing to sacrifice the happiness of her daughters, in order to achieve fame through their success.

It’s well worth watching Gypsy, just to see her performance. Russell isn’t as remembered as she should be nowadays, but this movie proves that she still deserves respect for her talents.

Beverly Sutphin

If June Cleaver and Charles Manson had mated and had a child together, she would probably have turned out like Beverly Sutphin, the suburban wife and mom in “Serial Mom.” You can pretty much expect any film directed by John Waters to be over-the-top and this 1994 movie does not disappoint.

Beverly (Kathleen Turner) is married to a dentist named Eugene (Sam Waterston) and they have two kids, Misty (Ricki Lake) and Chip (Matthew Lillard).  They seem like the perfect upper middle-class family unit and Beverly seems like the ultimate “supermom”, until you realize that there is a much darker side to her than even her family knows.

Apparently, she cannot stand anyone who offends her or her family members, so she deals with them the only way she can…by murdering them. She kills her daughter’s boyfriend, an annoying neighbor who cut her off in traffic and a host of other individuals who simply irritate the heck out of her.

When the cops finally figure out that she is the culprit and catch her before she can continue her murderous spree, she becomes a media superstar when her trial is held and gets off scot free.  You know, as the movie ends, that she is going to just pick up right where she left off. It may be difficult to believe that something so macabre could be funny, but “Serial Mom” is and it is largely due to Kathleen Turner’s hilarious performance as the dangerous suburban matriarch.

Since she hasn’t had too many film roles in recent years, people may not remember that there was a time when Turner was a huge box office star.  Watching this movie will give you a glimpse at how skilled she was as an actress.

Related Articles

The Neurological and Behavioral Consequences of Maternal Smoking

Breastfeeding and the Facts: Toward a More Balanced Form of Advocacy

How to Avoid Post-Partum Depression

Safety and Effectiveness of Sucrose for Infants

Keeping Your Kids Germ Free at the Playground

Stella Martin “Stell” Dallas

The 1937 tearjerker Stella Dallas stars the inimitable Barbara Stanwyck as a socially coarse ,working -class girl who falls in love with wealthy Stephen Dallas, played by John Boles. When she fails to measure up to his impossibly high standards, he leaves and she must raise their baby daughter Laurel (played as a teen, by Anne Shirley) on her own.

What “Stell” lacks in class, she more than makes up for in the amount of love she bestows upon her child.. She clearly wants the best for Laurel and realizes that she can never offer the things the girl deserves. She makes the ultimate sacrifice by sending her to live with Stephen, who ,by now, has married a woman more fitting to his “station”, who will be the kind of mother Laurel can be proud of.

At the end, “Stell” watches in secret, outside of her ex-husband’s home, as Laurel marries into wealth and a privileged life, never knowing that her mother has given up the right to ever see her again. 

Stella Dallas is pure soap opera, of course, but I doubt that even the most cynical person alive can fail to be moved by Barbara Stanwyck’s superb performance. I personally go through half a box of tissues when I watch this.

While Boles’ performance is respectable, it is Stanwyck who shines brightest.

Martha Hanson

Sadly, I Remember Mama is a film that doesn’t get the kind of respect it deserves and many people have never even heard of it, but it remains a beautifully crafted film. The story revolves around a Norwegian immigrant matriarch, whose quaint ways dismay her more Americanized daughter Katrin, played by Barbara Bel Geddes.

Martha Hanson or “Mama”, played by Irene Dunne in the 1948 film, is a practical, but loving mother. She strives to look out for her sometimes kooky extended family members, while also desiring the best of her adopted country’s opportunities for her children, especially Katrin, who dreams of becoming a writer. Everything takes place in San Francisco during the early 1900’s.

Dunne gives a convincing performance as the financially-struggling, but proud “Mama”, who makes sacrifices her family will probably never appreciate until years down the road. Dunne’s biggest glory days as a film star had been during the 1930’s and early ’40’s., Although she continued to act in movies after that, her popularity had lessened, by the time I Remember Mama was made. This movie proves that her talent was still intact.

This is a very sweet, uncomplicated movie and a sentimental reminder of a more innocent era.

I venture to say that I Remember Mama will probably be more appreciated by “Boomers”, because we can relate to the sentimental aspects of it a little better.

“Rusty” Dennis

“Rusty” Dennis, played by Cher in 1985’s Mask, is far from the model mom depicted in past “mother-themed” movies. She’s a motorcycle babe who drinks hard, gets high on drugs and lives in the fast lane. She also has an incredible son- Rocky (Eric Stoltz), who has a severe facial deformity.

Look beyond appearances, though, and you find that,despite all of her personal demons, Rusty is a loving mom, who encourages Rocky to be the best, which he is, academically and personally. He’s a wonderfully sweet kid who manages to get classmates and others, initially turned off by his appearance, to accept him.

It actually seems as though Rocky is the parent sometimes and he gets impatient with Rusty’s self-sabotaging life choices. He hates her drug use and the way she rebuffs Gar (Sam Elliot)- a biker who loves her. Sometimes her good intentions are misplaced, such as when she pays a prostitute to sleep with Rocky for his birthday. He manages to turn an awkward situation into something beautiful, however. Instead of having sex, Rocky and the girl only talk, as he describes his dreams of traveling across the country to her and she, like everybody who gets to know him, is charmed.

Eventually, Rocky goes away to be a counselor at a summer camp for blind kids and he falls in love with Diana (Laura Dern), a blind counselor, who returns his affections. He feels totally accepted by her, because he knows that she judges him by his heart, not by what he looks like.

When he returns back home, it seems as though things are looking hopeful. Of course, you know something bad is on the way and Rusty walks into his room one morning to find him dead. The scene where she expresses her grief with rage, then quiet acceptance, is tremendously poignant.

While Mask is every bit the tearjerker that Stella Dallas is, it is touching, without being cloyingly sentimental. Cher’s performance was amazing. Her character is tough, yet vulnerable and loving.

This one will have you turning on the waterworks, too.

Get Out the Hankies!

Let’s  face it. Most of us have a tender spot for all things Mom-related. .

So, pull out the hankies and take a look at these memorable big screen mothers and you may well appreciate your mom even more.

Related Articles

Three of the Worst Moms in Movies

Review of Asian Women in Film: No Joy, No Luck

The Three Worst Films of Sylvester Stallone

Bad Movies of the 1990′s: An American Werewolf in Paris (1997)

Three of the Big Screen’s Best Moms

Five Horror Movies You Must See This Halloween Season