"Babies": Is this movie tailor-made for the Whole Foods crowd?

[Writer]

Okay, I'll admit babies are cute, and it's interesting to view the entry of life into four distinct cultures.

But really - what's the point of the movie "Babies?"

A few specifics after viewing the trailer: The morning sun always seems to hit the faces of these children - a pale, golden idyllic light under which these children can be free! Loved tenderly by their parents! Tossed in the air like Simba! All the while, world music - a mix of undefined native voices and drum beats - stirs in the background. It's truly a "global village."

I then realized that the American baby, a blue-eyed blond, is from San Francisco. Of all American cities - San Francisco. No, the director couldn't show a baby trying to make it in inner-city New York or playing in Iowa corn fields. Liberal San Francisco had to do.

Then there's the fact that the children shown in the trailer aren't doing anything unique. They're babies after all, so the wonder we are supposed to feel seems purely aesthetic.

So what is this movie about? To me it looks like a postmodern screed filled with "one worldism" to appeal to the Whole Foods crowd. If that's the case, this sort of target marketing leaves me feeling a bit nauseous. Sure, it's my group - my friends are starting to have children, and my husband and I shop at Whole Foods - but the pandering is too much. Is Hollywood so desperate that they have to create these purely aesthetic, soft-cultural appeals to earn our money?

Honestly, I'd prefer to watch the "Life" series. At least the animals featured are doing something interesting.

I'll qualify my movie snobbery with an: "Eh." :shrug:

[Kookaburra]

1. Either that or the so called "pro lifers"

Or maybe Whole Foodies that they want to convert? Or fundies who fancy themselves eco-conscious? Or all of the above?

I have to admit that I haven't seen the trailers for this one. I saw one commercial and thought the fundies would love it.

Kind of a "see what you're giving up if you have that abortion?" thing.

[Writer]

2. Honestly, if the director - or the studio - wanted to appeal to fundamentalists...

all the babies would be American, and any "ethnic" baby would be from a wealthy, lighter-skinned family.

I'm not kiddin'.

[Kookaburra]

3. Yes, you have a point.

[arcane1]

4. Two questions:

1. What's wrong with the American baby being from San Francisco?

2. Why blame Hollywood for a film that was made in France?

:shrug:

[Writer]

9. Okay...

1. I am remarking on the child being from liberal San Francisco. I argue, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, that it's pandering.

2. Hollywood is still DISTRIBUTING the film to American audiences, as many foreign films typically are.

[Nikki Stone1]

5. WTFC?

?

[Writer]

6. Here we go... n/t

[Electric Monk]

7. the Whole Foods crowd?

Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded - Yogi Berra

[Writer]

11. That's where we buy our $4 organic lettuce and $10 cheese.

:P

[Electric Monk]

19. So you include yourself in your stereotype? re: "we"

[Writer]

20. LOL - Of course!

As I said, my husband and I are a part of this crowd.

[VMI Dem]

8. Whats the point of any stinking movie? Did you derive great meaning from The Dark Knight?

LOL.

[Writer]

10. Actually, I did thankyaverymuch.

I thought The Dark Knight was brilliant on many levels.

;)

[VMI Dem]

18. Welcome to the 1980's.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

12. Howard Stern summed it up pretty well

"Lemme guess......the American kid has a great life and the other kids from those horrible places have shitty ones?"

I'll be sticking with Iron Man 2.

[mainer]

13. cute quote from the Mongolian baby

(quote is as I remember it -- may not be accurate)

I read it in an interview with the director. The kid's now about five, and he finally sees the film. And he says, "This movie is about the sky and me and how my brother always beats me up."

Some things are universal. And that's gotta melt peoples' hearts.

[Bluenorthwest]

14. This is a French Documentary

Hardly a Hollywood product. Not sure what 'voice' you are trying for here, but the one I'm reading is not your sharpest. Whole Foods? Hollywood?
Not the sharpest. Strikes me as xenophobic, America-centric, and worst of all, it is a criticism of a film you have not seen, a crime against cinema that is usually left to the Republican right, not mere moderate centrists.

[Writer]

17. I think you've just about summed me up quite well.

How could I have been so blind? I've never imagined that someone who has never met me could have been so clairvoyant! And so kind, too. It's like reading a note from a dear friend. The sweetest. The peas to my carrots.

[tkmorris]

24. And yet, you got clairvoyant about a movie you haven't seen

You might not appreciate the posters tone, understandably, but I have to admit I also found your OP to be presumptuous and a bit wide of the mark, especially as the film in question is French. No big thing really, we all miss the mark sometimes. On the other by posting this publicly you invited opinions upon it, you can't very well complain that you received them.

[Writer]

25. Actually I'm not looking for opinions about the substance of my OP. Defintely not that.

I'm looking for brilliant observations about my character by those who have never met me, quite frankly. So - go on, please tell me what you think.

[fishwax]

15. I'm skeptical about how good the movie will be, but it's tough to do get at the film itself based

only on trailers. You might have an argument about how it's packaged as a product for a specific crowd, but I think that's different from being tailor-made for a specific crowd.

The thing I find odd about the ads I've seen for it is the "if you loved March of the Penguins you'll love Babies" line. Something about that comparison just seems odd to me ...

[Writer]

16. It's probably because it's also a documentary with a clear narrative.

And yes, you make a very good point about the purpose of a trailer versus a movie. Likely, the studio did keep in mind the target audience more so when putting together the trailer. However, I don't want to pay the $10 to sit through the movie, honestly. I'm very turned off by the concept.

[DBoon]

21. Do any of the babies die in a frozen wasteland? (nt)

[Webster Green]

22. Whole Foods sucks!

I've been boycotting that yuppie shit-hole for a decade or more.

I've had two friends injured because of unsafe working conditions in their kitchens. (two different locations)

Whole foods fought tooth and nail to deny them proper treatment and compensation for their injuries.

They're pigs. They will never get another dime from me.

[d_r]

23. I think it looks absolutely fascinating

[Writer]

26. It might be... but that would mean I'd have to watch the movie.

And I don't think I'm going to do that.