MEDIA MEDITATION #2: This Blog is an "Easy A"

"A is for Awesome." -Olive Penderghast from the movie "Easy A"

"Easy A" earns an A in my book for a hilarious teen comedy! Surprisingly quirky and clever, the movie is a loose 2010 adaption of the famous literary novel "The Scarlet Letter". And when I say loose, I mean loose in every sense (wink wink).

Essentially, the story is about this young girl (Olive) who lets loser boys around school tell people she had sex with them, in exchange for gift cards. She does this a) because she feels sorry for the losers and wants them to stop being picked on and b) because she went from a nobody to a talked-about-somebody after she lied and told her friend she lost her virginity. I suppose she was going for the idea that 'Bad publicity is better than no publicity at all'. At least she was a somebody now.

Now, the Scarlet Letter (which I remember reading in high school) is about a young maiden who committed adultery and was forced to shamefully wear a red A on her chest to symbolize her impureness. Olive, who loves the attention her bad reputation is getting her, ends up sewing a red A on all the scandalous lingerie-like tops she bought to over-emphasis her promiscuity. You can just imagine Joan Jett's Bad Reputation playing in your head, can't you? (rock out your limbic minds by clicking on the link!

"So, what's with your new look? It's very whore couture."

--Olive's friend Brandon from Easy A, commenting on Olive's new taste in clothes.

If that explanation of the movie wasn't enough for y'all, check out the "Easy A" trailer below.

The format of the movie is interesting. As you can see from the trailer, Olive is vlogging about her story via webcam in a movie! Oh convergence, you sneaky tactic you. It certainly was a clever way to narrate the story.

In the movie, cultural shift is certainly represented for privacy to surveillance is a define issue. Within seconds of Olive telling a lie, the rumor spread like wildfire in a sequence of texting teens. I suppose high school wouldn't be the same in my memory without high tech ways to spread rumors and information! There was actually a very funny part in the movie where a teacher complains about facebook status updates, stating:

"I don't know what your generation's fascination is with documenting your every thought... but I can assure you, they're not all diamonds. "Roman is having an OK day, and bought a Coke Zero at the gas station. Raise the roof." Who gives a rat's ass? "

--Mr. Griffith, "Easy A"

haha, hilarious! Now, I don't want to give too much of the movie's plot away in this blog post, so I'll just say this: Some things went down, some lessons were learned and in the end I left the movie satisfied. There was a little romance, a random song and dance sequence (in which the limbic brain appreciates), and a lot of humor. In my mind, that is the makings of a great movie, in terms of brainless entertainment. Time just seemed to fly by when I was fully engaged in the movie from the moment I sat down, popcorn in hand---and I have Flow to thank for that!