If you know me, you know I see a lot of movies.
Recently, I've noticed a new movie credits trend that kind of bothers me.
So many movies now require that you stick around for some kind of Easter egg bonus, like Samuel L. Jackson's quick cameo in Iron Man, or the Thor reference in Iron Man II, or the Dirk Benedict cameo in The A-Team. Some times it's a quick funny one-liner, like Ferris Bueller's "Go home" quip, and sometimes it's funny outtakes, but whatever the reason, I find myself having to add an extra 5 minutes to my viewing time.
Most of the time, I try to glean what I can from the credits. Perhaps I am looking for a name I recognize or some sort of information on filming locations, but recently, I noticed an addition to the 'disclaimer' section of the end titles.
Most, if not all films carry a seal of approval from some sort of animal protection group, like the ASPCA or the American Humane Society, assuring the audience that 'no animals were harmed in the making of this film.'
The latest 'seal' to make an appearance in film end credits is a 'green' label approval. This means the movie's producers or studio are trying to reassure the audience that the movie passed some sort of environmental litmus test, I suppose.
In short, the movie's producers are saying, "The environment was not harmed in the making of this film."
Really?
Labels apparently mean a lot, but do they really guarantee anything?
This reminds me of a scene from Tommy Boy, in which Tommy explains to an auto parts dealer why a guarantee doesn't really mean anything unless you know and trust the source of the product.
It's not like I'm sitting in a theater at the end of a film wondering to myself: "Sure the action was great and the performances were top-notch...but what how big was Iron Man II's carbon footprint? Oh, wait, it has a "green" seal of approval...whew, I was worried there for a second."
Labels have become kind of silly. It's like the episode of Seinfeld where Kramer refuses to wear the yellow AIDS awareness ribbon, and is cajoled beyond belief by do-gooders of New York. It's also reminiscent of the furor over President Obama's removal of the American flag lapel pin.
Like Tommy Boy said, a label is just a label, and it's what's really inside that counts, no matter how you feel about the environment, animal cruelty, AIDS, auto parts or the president of the United States. In Obama's case, I'm truly more concerned about how he governs than his attire.
In short, if individuals want to get behind a cause or show patriotism, I think actions speak louder than stamps or lapel pins.
Incidentally, no animals were harmed in the writing of this blog. Just wanted you to know that.
