After watching the film in class on Wednesday as well as
talk about sex and alcohol, it got me thinking about the movie Knocked Up, one of the
very few movies that gives a realistic portrayal of what can happen under the influence of
alcohol and the consequences of having unprotected sex. As we’ve talked about before, media
doesn’t usually show the use of condoms in such situations. Isn't this basically promoting unprotected sex? If we are trying to prevent this, wouldn't the use of condoms be displayed more in the media? While Knocked Up did attempt to take precautions, due to being under the influence of alcohol it didn't pull through.
It all began with Alison (Katherine
Heigl) meeting Ben (Seth Rogen) at a bar one night. It was obvious that Alison
was not interested after their first encounter, however after some drinking and getting a little lose they began connecting more and next thing you know they end up going back
to her place and hooking up. In this scene, Alison is being very impatient
while Ben is getting out the condom and tells him to “just do it already”,
therefore, Ben says forget the condom and “just does it already”.
This whole
scene demonstrates how the use of alcohol caused Alison to feel more “into” Ben
and not take the precautions before having sex with him. Ben was also
influenced by also not fully going through with the protection and condom use.
I feel this answered quite a few of
the questions that were asked on the Alcohol quiz we took in class last week.
The ones if feel relate most to the film were:
- Less likely to use birth control
- Less likely to take precautions before having sex
- Less likely to talk with a sex partner about whether s/he has a sexually transmitted disease, like AIDS or gonorrhea.
- Less likely to use, or ask a partner to use, a condom.
- Have sex with people whom I wouldn’t have sex with if I were sober
- More sexually responsive
Now switching directions a little
bit, I found this movie also go against what was talked about in the Segrin and
Nabi reading on “Does Television Viewing Cultivate Unrealistic Expectations
About Marriage?” In the reading it states “media may be cultivating unrealistic
beliefs about what marriage should be like” and “by “idealized images of
marriage” we mean portrayals that include, for example, a great deal of
romance, physical intimacy, passion, celebration, happiness, “love at first
sight”, physical beauty, empathy, and open communication” (Sergin&Nabi,
2002, p. 249). Throughout this film, the relationship between Pete (Paul Rudd)
and Debbie (Leslie Mann) does not make marriage up to be a beautiful thing like
this reading suggests. In fact their physical/sexual/romance drive is
nonexistent in the earlier part of the film, happiness isn’t expressed between
the couple and there is a horrible lack of open communication. The following clip shows a little bit of this "unfunny, tense version of Everyone Loves Raymond. That doesn't last 22 minutes...it lasts forever":
Overall, I thought this film was a good mix of showing
the realistic-ness of life and relationships as well as the realistic
consequences of drinking alcohol and unprotected sex.
I think you make some good points in your analyis, this film does seem to pay a little more attention to those less glamorous consequences of risky sexual behavior. These popular, contemporary, film stars may lend even more credibility to this message, as the younger intended target audience might likely identify more closely with familiar personalities, such as these.
ReplyDeleteI wonder however, could the context in which these messages are conveyed, unintentionally function in a contrasting manner. While consequences of irresponsible sexual attitudes are characteristic throughout, perhaps there are other factors that might potentially detract from or obscure the the potential weight these portrayals carry. Initially, the news of the unexpected pregnancy is earth-shattering, signifying the end of the characters previously held aspirations and socialization rituals. However, by the end of the film, this negativity and resentment give way to new found sentiment and generally optimistic outlooks surrounding the adventures of parenthood that lie ahead.
Our "16 and pregnant" assignment posed questions of a similar nature. In that instance we considered whether or not this kind of media attention actually desensitizes viewers to the full impact of the intended message, going as far as even glamorizing the phenomenon, as some claim. Could the events in this film potentially function in a similar context? Why or why not?