New Years Media Messages: Packaging Boyhood Meets The Hangover

From Amy Jussel, Shaping Youth

Dec. 29, 2009 Last night I watched ‘The Hangover’ rated R, which I’d heard described by several YOUNG teens (meaning unable to buy a ticket unless sneaking in via diff. multiplex theater) as ‘hilarious,’  and ‘over the top’ and wanted to see where the kid appeal was coming from and try to ‘relate’ to why this movie was a ‘favorite’ on many a Facebook page.

I’m not here to summon Dana Carvey’s SNL ‘Church Lady’ character from yesteryear or count the number of 100+ “f-bombs” or ‘That’s so gay/REtard vs. reTARD and paging Dr. Faggot‘ slurs are in the film…

However, today’s our last Tuesday of featuring Packaging Boyhood for our Packaging Boyhood book drawing 12-31 (just leave a comment to enter to win) and The Hangover is absolutely ripe for media analysis on how they’ve chosen to ‘package’ manhood (as boyhood).

The Packaging Boyhood authors might view the movie’s plotline  as a mashup of their Chapter 5 (”Wanna Play? What Boys Do”) and Chapter 6 (”Rebel, Resist & Refuse“) as it’s got all of the elements and then some…

Toss in the segue to New Years celebrations and ‘par-TAY’ cues, plus the film’s dvd release and it’s exceedingly timely. Yes, yes, it’s a given that the movie is NOT remotely for kids, yet it’s also self-evident that they’re its biggest fans, given the ‘tender ages’ of KIDS reviewing the film on Common Sense Media’s user-generated forum alone. Similarly, any bachelor party-Vegas theme is bound to have ‘X-treme’  excuses for stupid/silliness and debauchery, after all, it’s a Todd Phillips film, (Road Trip, Old School, etc.) not a high brow Academy Award nominee. (more…)