Transformers – Why Writers Why?

 

Transformers was a visual treat. The CGI was stunning and the action was packed and suspenseful. I caught myself literally on the edge of my seat!

 

I enjoyed it because I did not go in expecting an awesome story or some grand epic. I expected entertainment and action and Michael Bay nailed that down pat as he always does in his action films. However I was disappointed that in what seems to be a movie for the entire family there was so much shameless effort to throw in sexual innuendoes (disrespectful body camera shots, note about Sam’s pheromones suggesting he wants to mate with the female) and unneccessary effort to throw in inappropriate jokes to create laughter (mother accidently believes son was masturbating, Autobot spraying oil from his groin area). Some of these are very quick and hard to catch – “hey dad, do you want me to be the 40-year old virgin’. Also there is a general overlying disrespect of authority figures. Did anyone notice every adult in the movie is shown to be dumb and clueless?

 

Why does this bother me? Just 10 years back this kind of content were rare in the movie theater. Movies were far more cleaner and you could safely take the whole family including your children without worrying as much about what they will see and experience (or for that matter what YOU would see and experience). There was a time where sexual content and explicit language was not neccessary to create a good engaging film. What happened? Why is it that even in a movie like transformers where the movie would have been perfectly fine without such things, the writers felt compelled to insert so much sexual content. It felt so forced. Well that is easy. We eat it up. Hollywood knows that people love the 10 minute sex scenes over what used to be taboo or just implied. All Despite the fact that 99% of the time it brings nothing additional to the story.

 

I ask Bay and the Screen Writers, do we really need a child to be exposed to topics like masturbation without warning? It would have been better for the writers to focus on improving the corny one-liners, filling the numerous plot holes and the forced romance that made absolutely no sense. The movie implies that anyone is capable of finding a beautiful girl and just have everything magically work out without a single deep conversation? Where are my autobots?

 

If we all stop and really think about how forcefully these things were placed in the movie, perhaps we’ll get a better glimpse of how our culture has changed dramatically in the last decade. In all honesty though, what bothers me more about than the content is the indifference or perhaps unawareness of the people I care about. It is scary to think about how I myself am probably unaware of such things as well considering how saturated our culture has become. Food for thought.

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