"Zoolander," a Hilarious Film that Comments on the Benefit Fashion Labels Make off of Child Sweatshops

            “Zoolander” follows a concrete personal and exterior storyline, subtly plants a ticking time bomb in the first scene, and makes a spectacle of well-crafted characters. This comedy does an excellent job at expressing hilarious dialogue; the actors don’t deliver it in a funny voice, but in a serious tone, making it even funnier! The personal storyline follows a male model at the decline of his career, while the exterior storyline shows him being used as a pawn in keeping child labor. The movie builds intrigue immediately by planting a ticking time bomb, and what’s at stake for the villain, in the first scene. Even though the characters feed into the “dumb model” stereotype, that doesn’t stop them from being three-dimensional.

            Derek and Hansel depict ridiculously good-looking models that have no substance, but abundant style.  These empty-headed characters’ incredibly self-centered personalities add comedic scenery to the ride the story takes you on. Derek Zoolander is a good guy that just happens to be really handsome and incredibly stupid- but still a good guy.

We’re introduced to him at the top of his career, yet this new model comes along and knocks him off his thrown. The lead character tries going back to his roots, a small town, but arrives in a crocodile skinned suit. Derek is so use to being the center of attention, that he even wears all white to his roommates’ funeral. 

            Even though the film is a comedy, it does a great job at commenting on how top designers find sweatshops a lucrative business. Will Ferrell steals the show as Mugatu; his facial expressions, body movement, wardrobe, hair, and acting brought to life one of the most hilarious villains ever.

        Each scene gives a better understanding as to who the characters are, besides a model, a journalist, and an evil fashion designer. There were hardly any filler scenes, and if there were, they were hilarious and thank God they kept them. To make a long story short, “Zoolander” is hilarious. Please watch this film- and if you’ve already seen it, then watch it again, it only gets funnier the second time. And remember, not all successful films need a sequel ;) 

 

Speaking about fashion, have you ever noticed how all fashion tv shows tend to be a competition, but never a platform where they're working together towards something mutually beneficial? There's actually a website that's being built for that, basically the "LinkedIn" of fashion. People that design, or sew, or whatnot, can all come together and make money while building credibility as a professional. The website is still under construction, but they need help, I left the link to their kickstarter, feel free to donate a dollar or three, it all helps. 

http://kck.st/2qptz33

"Top 5 Teen Slasher Films"

 

#5 "The Final Girls"

“The Final Girls” is a slasher-comedy about a teen attending a screening of a slasher film her late mother was in. Within the first act, her and her group of friends are transported into an 80’s cheesy slasher flick. The screenplay was written by Joshua John Miller, Miller’s inspiration came from seeing his father, also an actor, die on film. He plays with the idea of what it would be like if he had a second chance, but this second chance was inside the movie. The film does a great job at poking fun at slasher films, where sexually promiscuous teenagers get murdered one by one.    

#4 "Freddy Vs. Jason"

            Okay, this film might not have the strongest writing or the best cast, but it has the original Freddy, Robert Englund- AND JASON VORHEES! The film has blood, guts, and sharp objects being thrown around, but it probably works best as a comedy-horror. The characters are pretty basic, which may stop the audience from forming any emotional attachment, leaving us not caring for who dies next. This movie has cool fighting scenes between Jason and Freddy, making it beloved by horror fans, giving us hope for another crossover, maybe Jason Vs. Michael?

  

#3 "Scream"

            Wes Craven reinvented the horror genre a second time with “Scream.” Other films came along hoping to imitate its success like, “Urban Legend” or “I Know What You Did Last Summer.” An interesting fact about this film is that it was rated NC-17 when first presented as a horror, but Craven was told it was too scary. “Scream” was later re-submitted for rating, but as a comedy, and was rated R this time. This film acknowledged other horror film Icons like, Freddy and Michael Myers, giving it a more realistic vibe. The scream trilogy gave us the last scream queen, Neve Campbell, and for that, we’ll be forever grateful.  

 #2 "A Nightmare on Elm St."

            Freddy Krueger- that’s all you need to say when presenting this movie. This film gave many of us nightmares, I mean, can you imagine knowing someone wants to kill you, and not being able to sleep on top of that? I don’t know if I would make it to the end, I need my sleep. A Nightmare on Elm St. spawned a franchise featuring this iconic villain. In the late 70s to the mid 80s, more than 100 men died in their sleep according to Vanwinkles.com, being named the “Asian Death Syndrome.” All the victims were Asian men, young and healthy, who went to sleep and never woke up. These strange deaths along with testimonies about sleep paralysis were the base inspiration for this movie.

 

 

#1 "Halloween"  

            A classic that had to be on this list is “Halloween.” This successful 1978 horror film, not only gave us horror icon, Michael Myers, but the memorable scream queen, Jamie Lee Curtis. On a budget of $300,000, the movie grossed $47 million at the box office in the U.S. and $23 million internationally, making “Halloween” a profitable independent film. If you haven’t seen the 1978 version, and have only seen the Rob “I’m gonna stretch the fuck outta' the beginning” Zombie version, please do yourself a favor and watch the original, then apologize to humanity afterwards. 

"Dear White People" Calls out Modern Black-Face Parties Thrown by White College Students

            "Dear White People" breaks away from the negative Black youth stereotype cultivated by Hollywood over the years. Every individual storyline is incredibly well crafted. The three dimensionality of each character leaps off screen. The exchange of dialogue expressing heavily opposing viewpoints is delivered, written, and portrayed on screen eloquently. The social commentary is worthy of being praised. This film is a powerful contemporary satire, and if it spurred outrage in people because of the title, or the portrayal of white people inflicting daily micro-aggressions on minorities, well, maybe that was the point? Do yourself a favor and watch this modern classic!    

            This successful independent film, that happened to be funded entirely by fans, delivered strong performances, criticizing modern “black faces.” This story narrates the racial tension building up between Black and White students in a predominantly white Ivy League University. Each character has an interesting backstory, one self-deprecating, another of a mixed race questioning her race identity, or a young writer who doesn’t fit any of the stereotypes his counterparts expect of him. “Dear White People” questions why every character in a Tyler Perry movie that’s college-educated is inherently evil, or consists of black women suffering the entire time.   

            The micro-aggressions depicted in the film like, confusing two people just because they’re of the same race, or asking someone who looks ethnically ambiguous what they are, are such an eye opener. 

            Here we are, in 2017, and people are still throwing parties with racist themes like, University Of Florida’s 2012 Blackface party, or Arizona State University’s 2013 MLK Black Party. “Those invitations, whoever sent them, should have been met with derision and outrage, instead, a hundred people- your students arrived with posters, decorations, and costumes they had prepared for such event… showing us exactly where we’re at.” I’ve seen this movie so many times, yet I’m always finding new underlined meaning behind each dialogue exchange. If this comedy makes you feel anything, speak up! In order for us to grow and move on from such an antiquated mentality, we have to take different people’s perspective into count. So, please watch this movie, you won’t be sorry!