Greg Motolla’s 2007 film Superbad is one of the quintessential examples of a sex comedy, which is simply a genre of comedy where the main focus is on sexual themes. Sure, there are other key elements within the film which follow the standard guidelines of any teen movie: alcohol, peer pressure, social awkwardness, etc. However the film is very sex-centric, what with the whole plot being driven by Jonah Hill’s character wanting to fornicate with Emma Stone’s. Fun fact, both Michael Cera and Emma Stone were 19 years old as of filming Superbad, but Jonah Hill was 24. I get that all their characters are supposed to be the same age or whatever, but still, that one is still a bit odd to me.
Anyway, the film treats sex as a final objective, as if sex will suddenly propel Hill’s character into perpetual bliss, as if finally having sex will cement his stardom, even if it is only truly from a personal standpoint. This ties in fairly well with the themes explored in the writings of Freud and Lacan. Since the film’s protagonists are two young, horny males, the phallus is treated as just a standard plot point, while the ultimate goal (ie, Emma Stone’s vagina) is treated as the One Ring as seen in the The Lord of the Rings franchise. The journey to achieve the goal is arduous, and puts long time friendships into possible jeopardy in search for this distant but all-encompassing power.
I truly cannot believe that I just compared Superbad to The Lord of the Rings, but here we are. Ultimately, in overhyping these aspects of sex, drugs and partying, while also retaining themes of camaraderie and brotherhood, the film succeeds in being raunchy and fantastical while still remaining grounded in a very relatable and believable coming of age reality.
Ah, yes. The Office . A delightful slice of life comedy that nearly everyone is familiar with, to some extent or another. Centering around the presumed-mundane lives of the workers in a failing paper company, The Office presents such unique yet realistic scenarios and characters that is is nearly impossible not to fall in love with it. Each episode remains so timeless, and given the amount of times that I have viewed the series in its entirety, I do not believe I could get tired of reading about it, as Logsdon claims I may. So let us address his reasoning as to why exactly The Office , as awkward and niche as it would seem to be, manages to appeal to such a widespread audience. Citing the scene in “Stress Relief” in which Dwight sets fire to the workplace was definitely a great choice, in terms of both getting the point of the blog post across as well as simply being a personal favorite of mine. Highlighting the dynamic of the main and supporting characters in the office is defin...
That's a really excellent connection to Lacan. This movie definitely shows what it means to say that the phallus is the symbol of castration-it signifies the way that having to live up to something--whether it is being a man or our reputation--in a sense constitutes a burden and drives us further away from satisfaction. And of course, the fact that it is only 24 year olds who can play teenagers for some reason--common in many other shows and movies as well--just indicates that the fantasy of teenage years is something never achievable in the moment.
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