Disney's "Frozen" was a huge box office hit with an Oscar for Best Song. So who knew that it's part of Hollywood's plan to make men look like fools. This morning, Steve Doocy exposed what's behind Hollywood's castration crusade
Steve Doocy, who is a fool and plays one on TV, began by citing how *some are talking about the "frozen effect" which isn't about cold weather but, supposedly, the nefarious agenda of the movie "Frozen" which has "turned men into fools and villains." Doocy urged his viewers to take a close look at scenes, from "Frozen," which purported to show this feminazi agitprop. (they didn't) He asked what message this is sending to kids.
Doocy introduced his guest, Penny Nance, Fox fave [here, here, here, here, here, here, here] and head of the rightwingnut group Concerned Women for America. He immediately set the propaganda message with the popular right wing claim that evil Hollywood is depicting men "as evil, cold, and bumblers." Nance, who thinks that marriage equality is destroying our nation, said that "it isn't just Disney."
In keeping with the Fox/right wing hatred of Hollywood (despite Papa Murdoch owning a big chunk), she whined about how Hollywood sends a message that men are dumb asses which, according to Penny, isn't true and "isn't good social science." She whined about how movies like Frozen can make little boys feel uncomfortable and "we want them to feel that they're essential." In keeping with the Fox/right wing meme that nasty feminists are emasculating men, she said that "we want to raise heroes, we want to raise real men that will stick in their families and make great dads, providers, and husbands."
Doocy speculated that if Nance articulated her concerns, Hollywood executives would say that they were just trying to have some fun. The banner asked if movies, like Frozen, are "hurting our males." Sweet lil Penny whined that while it's good to want women's empowerment, "we don't want to empower women at the cost of tearing down men." The banner reinforced the agitprop as FOX FACT: "Why Do Movies Empower Girls At Boys' Expense?"
Articulating the basic credo of the homophobic, Christian right, Nance said that she would tell Disney that we should be honest and admit that "in a family it's important to have both a mom and a dad." In whining about the importance of men, she recounted the story of how a man, during the Aurora theater shooting, threw his body over his girlfriend and saved her life. She expressed her desire "to raise real men" (That leaves out Doocy) and "encourage," not "villainize" masculinity. She added that her group loves "real men." (In 2011, she wanted them to "grow up!") Doocy concluded that "it would be nice to have more male figures in those kinds of movies." (In the real world, Hollywood is still a man's world!)
Once again, Fox News was able to combine two popular right wing/Fox memes - emasculation of men [here, here, here, here, here, here] and Hollywood as out of step with Christian American values [here, here, here, here] - in one tidy package. Score another point for the patriarchy!
*He didn't specify who is talking about this and, in googling the phrase, I couldn't come up with anything.
Anyone recall Al Bundy from “Married with Children?” What about Frank Burns from “MASH?” Or Gilligan from “Gilligan’s Island?” Or Jethro Bodine from “The Beverly Hillbillies?” Or Tim Taylor from “Home Improvement?” Or Barney Fife from “The Andy Griffith Show?” Or Herman Munster from “The Munsters?” Or Joey Tribbiani from “Friends?”
The thing is that men being depicted as such is fine since men have been the ones wielding most of the power and using them for humor is acceptable. When you have a show (or movie) featuring a “bumbling” or “foolish” woman (or minority), you run the risk of being, well, mean-spirited. That’s a basic rule of comedy but also works well with drama. You never make fun of the powerless in a comedy and you never boo the powerless in a drama. (Even if your show or film is an all-female cast or all-minority cast, you make sure that at least one of the cast is shown to be sensible since the powers that be tend to be kind of NOT all-female or all-minority. Look at the show “Good Times,” for instance. J J was typically the fool, the buffoon which was fine, since the rest of the cast provided the “sensible” balance—even J J’s mean-spirited barbs directed at Thelma were generally minimized because Thelma gave back as good as she got.)
Doocy is just being a douche.
Totally ignoring, OF COURSE, that the idiot firing rounds at innocent people was also a ‘man’. I wonder if he was one of those “real men” Nance refers to.
