I had three different signs I’m getting older this week.

1.  Got helped walking across the ice.  Not because someone was flirting and wanted to hold my hand, but because they really thought I was going to fall;

2. I fell asleep at 8:30 last night.  After one glass of wine;  and

3. I don’t get this ad.

Actually, let me rephrase this.  The ad is to the point, but, as soon as I spied it I heard my dad’s voice in my head, “is this what passes for wit and talent these days?’ And then, “maybe it’s me…is this what appeals to the younger generation?”  Or, “is this what old people thought the first time the word ‘groovy’ was used in advertising?”

It did not  make the Advertising Slogan Hall of Fame, and on second glance, it’s for condos costing $150,000 to $340,000.  Doesn’t strike me as (if I were going to create a stereotype of a younger person, to defend my age) being targeted to a “man this sucks” kind of purchaser.

Oh, wait, maybe it’s just a bad ad.

Remember the 1958 film The Blob, with its big red amorphous goo rolling and taking over the town, absorbing the minds of young people who were not strong enough to resist?  Of course the “BIG RED BLOB” was none too subtle a reference to the Red Scare and fear of Communism taking over the US. 

Russia’s our friend now, so in Furry Vengeance, it’s the big bad Asian and Indian business people who heartlessly come in and tear up our natural resources and values in the name of the almighty dollar.  When I pointed this out to Dillon (okay, I should have waited more than 3 minutes after the movie ended to point out my theory) he said exasperated, “can I just enjoy the movie first?”

But the stereotypes were just too over the top. 

With the Asian-American businessman, Neil Lyman of Lyman Industries (played by actor Ken Jeong), he’s obviously USAmerican, and his role has nothing to do with being of Asian descent, and yet he inexplicably goes into some sort of Chinese, Japanese, Karate, English Gibberish rant when enraged, as in “aii yaaai yowie you stew-peed.  He then ads some fake karate tae Kwan do preparation moves in defense.

The Indian investors are fairly quiet, but when Brendan Frasier as the dad makes his impassioned plea “if you sign you’ll kill all the baby animals” Lyman counters with “but you’ll make oodles of money,” to which he completely unaffected says “give me the pen, where do I sign?”

Finally, in a purely gratuitous swipe at the elderly, the only character in the entire movie over 40 is constantly forgetting what she is saying and trying to get everyone, including even the raccoon, to paint pine cones.  Clearly there are no OLD PEOPLE in Utopia.

So maybe I’m overreacting, I thought.  What did others think?  In the blogosphere—right there with me on the awful stereotyping.  On the more mainstream media—only one star, but mostly for simply not being that funny.  And then I read the Chicago Tribune movie critic’s review:

“A bit player exaggerates his Mexican accent, and the Korean American doctor-turned-comic Jeong bursts into shrill, sing-songy Korean chatter on his cell-phone. Kids are never too young to find foreign languages funny.” 

Thank you, Mr. Movie critic, for pointing out kids are never too young to mock other cultures and laugh at racist stereotypes.

Well, at least they may take away a positive (albeit 2 dimensional pound-you-over-the-head-with-it) message about protecting the environment. 

Oh, and my 9 year old son liked the movie–there are potty scenes and skunk scenes and getting sprayed with water to look like you just did youknow what…all around general humor that will appeal to a child.

Oh, and we’re still talking about it and how cultures are represented or stereotyped in film almost a week later. 

So, in the end, perhaps the laugh is on those who created the stereotyped characters in the first place. 

What movies have you seen lately?  How do you balance letting your child enjoy it, while also opening discussion for learning?

When I first caught a glimpse of an ad on TV of Mother Nature trying to wake up someone who was sleeping, I thought it type-cast women with an out of date image:  Women can’t do anything when their “little gift” comes each month.

Seeing the vibrant Serena Williams, who is African-American, perfect as a dynamic, young recognizable athlete known for her drive to succeed no matter what, is an immediate visual contrast.  The five second take-away is strong women empowered today, not like the “olden days” characterized by Mother Nature’s dated sytle, when all activity basically stopped for a whole week, every month.

Plus, how else do you dress a perfectly fit woman in a teeny white dress without objectifying her!  It’s less about sexy and more about strong, offering wide appeal for a product exclusively sold to women.

For those of us on the more “prudent side” of what’s appropriate in public, the beautifully packaged red gift with the big pink bow is well-chosen, capturing sarcasm, subtly and euphemism all in one simple image.  Do I really need to listen to two women talk graphically about bodily functions in front of my son to get a point across?  Apparently not!

The generational contrast is done well without alienating ‘older’ target clients, but using an archetype, Mother Nature, rather than just, well a mother…who might be a potential customer,  too. 

Both are solidly in character as they challenge each other in a “game on” approach, athlete vs. nature, in the series.

I wouldn’t mind staying as active and strong as Serena Williams all the time.  See you later, Mother Nature!

Walking in to teach aqua aerobics this morning, I looked across the sea of blue hair, wrinkles and skirted suits and remembered the ladies at the swimming pool at my Grandma’s apartment complex in Miami Beach:  “Don’t splash honey” they would say, plastic bags covering their freshly teased hair.  I was 5…how do you swim without splashing?

So I started off easy, until midway through the class when when of the ladies yelled “can you pick up the speed a little?!”

Afterwards, she said “I guess you saw a bunch of old ladies and thought we couldn’t move!”

Who me?  The one who is constantly reminding everyone about the danger of making assumptions based on superficial characteristics of difference?  Yes, that would be me and unconscious bias number 632.

Luckily for me there was not so much at stake, I’m sure I will be asked to sub again.  But there are a few good lessons learned as a parallel, to remember perhaps for the next business meeting where intercultural communications do matter:

1.  Beware of making assumptions about people based on physical characteristics:  race, ethnicity, age, ability, gender, etc. (Apparently that can’t be reiterated enough!)

2.  Do good research in advance.  In my defense, I did ask for the usual format, and once class started asked for feedback, but the former source hadn’t actually taken the class before, and once the class was going, most felt uncomfortable speaking up or saying something directly to me that might be considered negative.

3.  Welcome feedback as a gift.  Thanking someone for his or her suggestions is a great way to solocit ‘insider’ knowledge.  Once you say thanks for the insight, he or she may be willing to share more.  When a business deal is at stake, that could be just the ticket to your success.

It seems my assumptions about the abilities of seniors, however, are not isolated, as seen in this humorous German spot (posted below) by Grabarz & Partner (found via Adfreak) for Volkswagen’s parking-assist feature.  As in, it’s so easy even an old granny can parallel park it, or can she?  “In the middle of the process, the plucky senior morphs into a stubbly-faced young guy in a granny wig, then changes back again,” says Adfreak’s David Gianatasio.

Have you checked your assumptions lately?

Top Photo Credit:  Parafield Gardens Swim School