This is a short rant. And there are some minor spoilers in it from the new movie “Toy Story 3″, none of which should stop you from enjoying it. And I do recommend it; it is a lot of fun, with poignant moments and one of the best third acts ever put into a movie franchise. There is something there for child and adults alike.
But let’s talk about the adults for a bit.
A while back, the cool folks at Wizzard Media decided that my Ropecast was doing well enough that it deserved its own iPod app. Like Polyweekly, listeners could access the podcast directly from that app, as well as bonus materials – PDFs, pictures, wallpapers, etc. I did my part to generate some content, and Wizzard did their part to get the pieces together, and we submitted it to Apple.
Our timing couldn’t have been worse. That was exactly the time that Apple pulled their infamous “purge” on adult content – well, most adult content. An app that would show a pair of covered breasts jiggling was inappropriate; on the other hand, the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit app was apparently totally fine. In fact, recently the Sun was released as an iPad app – yes, that’s right, the home of the frequently-Fleshbotted Page 3 Girls. Of course, quickly the Sun decided to cover the women in bikini tops…which apparently makes it all ok.
I actually spent .99 to get the Playboy app, to see how “age appropriate” it really was – and true, there was no “pink” in any images. Of course, the link at the bottom ( a big shopping cart) took you directly to the Playboy website via the iPornPortal (aka “Safari”). So yeah, some hypocrisy there.
But when I saw Toy Story 3, I became even more upset. Without spoiling too much, there is a complete FemDom takedown, negotiation, rope bondage and interrogation scene between consenting “adults” (ok, they’re toys, but notice how none of the toys are actually children?). And that should cheer me up, right?
Well, no. Aside from the dangerous precedent of no hard point (with a resulting accident – you’ll see) it also means that at some point there were creatives in Pixar – Steve Jobs’ brainchild – sitting around a table, brainstorming kinky bondage scenes for a rated-G movie. I would have loved to see the sketchbooks and ideas that preceded the finished product.
But more than that, I’d love for them to realize that if they can put shit like that in a kid’s movie, it is probably ok to put it into a device intended for adults.
And I’d like a pony with rainbows and a case of 12 year Laphroaig and an iPad, too. Somehow I don’t think any of that’s likely. So I rant, but I know, I know…it’s just a movie.
Grr.
Meanwhile, things like this make me feel a little better:
– Mildred
