Dear Stupid Ass Questions: Why do movies always feature hard-partying men and uptight women who learn to love? Why not hard-partying women and uptight men?
DANA: Let’s use Tom Hanks’ movies to help answer this question.
In 1992, Tom Hanks played the ‘hard-partying’ Jimmy Dugan, manager of the Rockford Peaches in A League of Their Own, a movie about uptight women ‘learning to love’ playing baseball. Well, Madonna’s character wasn’t uptight. But, Madonna doesn’t count. Ever. In the movie Philadelphia, released in 1993, Tom Hanks played Andrew Beckett who had AIDS. There were no uptight, hard-partying men or women characters featured in this movie. However, Andrew Beckett still had AIDS. Fast forward one year, to 1994, when Forrest Gump was released. In Forrest Gump, Tom Hanks played the uptight lead that fell for hard partying Jenny who eventually contracted AIDS. In a League of Their Own, Hollywood followed the AIDS – free formula. Feature a hard partying male and some uptight women who learn to love. In Philadelphia and Forrest Gump, characters died of AIDS due to carelessness about what and what not to feature. Movies have learned their lesson about AIDS, especially Tom Hanks’ movies.
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