Episode 192 - Striptease: LIVE!

[tomspanks 9039]

Oh okay my b. Tone definitely gets lost in text a lot.

 

Oops, I meant I didn't think anyone here was knocking her. Yes, my tone gets lost because I forget to add text LOL.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

Oops, I meant I didn't think anyone here was knocking her. Yes, my tone gets lost because I forget to add text LOL.

Ahahaha and that time I knew what you meant!

[Cameron H. 23786]

I was part of that back and forth and definitely am not knocking on the fact that she was a secretary!

 

Oh my goodness, neither was I! I hope it didn't come off that way.

 

My point was more about how premeditated that decision was on the writer's part. As we said earlier in the thread, Law Enforcement is one of the *only* jobs that you can get fired for for being married to a criminal. The writer wanted her her get fired for that reason, but because being a former FBI Agent probably looks pretty good on a resume, he didn't want her to have any apparent advantages.

 

The writer wanted her to be in a position where she was not only fired for reasons beyond her control but also have work experience in a field that might not necessarily result in a well-paying job right away.

 

Again, my point wasn't to knock her as a secretary, but to point out the mental gymnastics it took to get his character into a very specific predicament. And if he put that much thought into that, then he must have put just as much effort into every other questionable thing that happens in the movie. Which, for me, makes the whole thing a million times worse.

 

Also, I agree with you, Taylor. Even if it were "less realistic" or whatever, I feel like it would have been more satisfying to have her solve the mystery on her own. Hell, she doesn't even need to be an agent. You could just throw in a line like, "You work for the FBI long enough, you tend to pick things up." I think she even does say something like that at one point...

 

ETA:

 

 

No, I didn't think anyone was knocking her for being a secretary. I put the quotes on "just" a secretary because that's what the movie seemed to be emphasizing.

 

God damn it...This is what I get for being too verbose.

[tomspanks 9039]

Oh my goodness, neither was I! I hope it didn't come off that way.

 

NOBODY DID

 

Again, I haven't read Striptease, but that's kind of what Hiaasen's books are like - people get into very specific predicaments, like in one book there's a very specific plot involving a species of toads that live only on one island.

 

As for solving the mystery on her own, in his books the protagonist often "teams up" with someone else, like a newspaper reporter in one book.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

Again, I haven't read Striptease, but that's kind of what Hiaasen's books are like - people get into very specific predicaments, like in one book there's a very specific plot involving a species of toads that live only on one island.

This man has too much time on his hands.

[tomspanks 9039]

This man has too much time on his hands.

 

The thing is, I enjoyed his books (and his columns too) and these specific details are what I remember most. I wrote him a letter once and he sent me a lovely handwritten postcard. If that means he has too much time, then I don't mind LOL.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

The thing is, I enjoyed his books (and his columns too) and these specific details are what I remember most. I wrote him a letter once and he sent me a lovely handwritten postcard. If that means he has too much time, then I don't mind LOL.

Aw that's really nice to hear!

[grudlian. 4725]

I just had a sudden flashback about the Striptease poster after seeing it so much on Letterboxd. I used to occasionally run the orientation at the theater I worked at and part of that was a sexual harassment video. One of the examples they used was for putting a bunch of potentially offensive posters up together. And Striptease was the example poster.

[gigi-tastic 2322]

I think Anne Geddes did the same thing for all of those terrifying baby photos.

 

Oh god your right

I had one of those baby photos as a mini puzzle for a flight going somewhere as a kid . I vividly remember it was some fucking dumb baby in a sunflower. I think I lost one of the pieces or it wasn't in the box when I opened it and I was PISSED I couldn't finish my stupid baby

[Cam Bert 8145]

I want to talk about cause of death - for the cockroach.

 

Based on the care Shad employs to place the cockroach in the yogurt, he seems to want to make it look like it died from natural causes. This makes sense, of course, as if foul play is suspected it might ruin his chances of his huge payout. As he’s probably anticipating some sort of insect autopsy to be performed, he definitely can’t use pesticides and stepping on it would leave too much physical evidence. I really like the idea that might have used a tiny garrote, but who knows, that might have trace evidence, as well.

 

So I guess my question is, do you think Shad pre-drowned his roaches in yogurt to make it look like an accident?

 

And don’t think it escapes me that, if this is the case, it mirrors the exact cause of death of Stalker Jerry.

 

This movie - it’s just wheels within wheels.

 

I know people mocked him for using the clamp and tweezers to place the insect into the yogurt but if you think about it the beetle has tiny fragile parts. You're right in him wanting to place a whole intact insect into his yogurt so of course you have to use the tweezers to delicately put it in so all its limbs and antennas are intact and contained within his yogurt. This does not really explain why he immediately shakes up the container after placing it inside. The only logical conclusion is that he wants it to be in an awkward position like it struggled to get out of the yogurt before ultimately drowning. Also, finger prints people! Not only does he have the brute strength to accidentally crush the thing but what if the yogurt people decide to dust it for prints? It worries me that Shad and his lawyer put this much thought into this aspect of the crime but not really the other areas.

 

What it comes down to is this, Cameron and I are opening our own law firm. Cameron and Cameron Attorneys at Law and we specialize in all forms of insect law.

[Cam Bert 8145]

This also feels like the right time to point out the fact that the temp clearly does not have any kind of insect or prop insect on her spoon when she eats the yogurt.

[Cameron H. 23786]

What it comes down to is this, Cameron and I are opening our own law firm. Cameron and Cameron Attorneys at Law and we specialize in all forms of insect law.

 

Um...that should be Cameron and Cameron Attorneys at Law you narcissist.

[gigi-tastic 2322]

 

I know people mocked him for using the clamp and tweezers to place the insect into the yogurt but if you think about it the beetle has tiny fragile parts. You're right in him wanting to place a whole intact insect into his yogurt so of course you have to use the tweezers to delicately put it in so all its limbs and antennas are intact and contained within his yogurt. This does not really explain why he immediately shakes up the container after placing it inside. The only logical conclusion is that he wants it to be in an awkward position like it struggled to get out of the yogurt before ultimately drowning. Also, finger prints people! Not only does he have the brute strength to accidentally crush the thing but what if the yogurt people decide to dust it for prints? It worries me that Shad and his lawyer put this much thought into this aspect of the crime but not really the other areas.

 

What it comes down to is this, Cameron and I are opening our own law firm. Cameron and Cameron Attorneys at Law and we specialize in all forms of insect law.

 

If they were to dust for prints though it would make sense for Shad's to show up on the yogurt if he was the one who opened it and "found" the roach in his yogurt. It would be weird for there to be NO prints on the yogurt cup. I feel like he over planned this. I'm not sure how they could prove he tampered with the seal of the container ( if he found a roach that would belong in the same plant as his yogurt) except by doing an autopsy on the roach in question to find out when it died and when that yogurt was made.

How else would he know there was a roach in his yogurt unless he opened it and broke the seal? When Cameron and Cameron Attorneys at Law opens I assume you will have an in house insect autopsy guy right?

[Cameron H. 23786]

How else would he know there was a roach in his yogurt unless he opened it and broke the seal? When Cameron and Cameron Attorneys at Law opens I assume you will have an in house insect autopsy guy right?

 

Of course! We'll be hiring only the best! The ideal candidate will be an entomological expert with a stable job history in the field of in arthropod and insect forensics. They should be weird and a little nerdy, but in a quirky sort of way that's endearing. The kind of person you're not too sure about at first, but kind of grows on you after a couple of seasons over time. They'll check lividity, perform toxicology reports, and be an expert on all the major shoe treads.

 

"Cameron and Cameron Attorneys at Law: We'll Bee on your side!"

[Cam Bert 8145]

 

"Cameron and Cameron Attorneys at Law: We'll Bee on your side!"

 

"Cameron and Cameron Attorneys at Law: They mite make you a millionaire!"

[Cameron H. 23786]

 

 

"Cameron and Cameron Attorneys at Law: They mite make you a millionaire!"

 

“Paying too much for your bug attorney? You’ll appreciate Cameron and Cameron’s locusts”

[paultab 225]

....so I don’t know if I’ve missed the taping of the mini-episode, but I submit:

 

If the screenwriter already had Monty Python on the brain, it’s not a far leap to think he named Urbana Sprawl for her “huge tracts of land.”

 

I’m as disgusted by this as you are.

[kjbleu 7]

I am with Paul, Pandora Peak's breasts look 100% natural to me! If you don't believe me look at this quote from IMDB: 'Her famously enormous chest began to develop when she was in the fourth grade.' (https://www.imdb.com...?ref_=tt_cl_t14)

 

And 'Pandora Pizza' has to be the next HDTGM T-Shirt!

[Cam Bert 8145]

“Paying too much for your bug attorney? You’ll appreciate Cameron and Cameron’s locusts”

"Cameron and Cameron: Fighting for the rights of cli-ants."

[Cameron H. 23786]

 

"Cameron and Cameron: Fighting for the rights of cli-ants."

 

Man, I had some HILARIOUS insect word play all lined up ...and then Earwolf had to go and fix their forums.

 

Now how am I going to work involuntary Mantis-slaughter into a conversation?

[Smigg. 509]

Man, I had some HILARIOUS insect word play all lined up ...and then Earwolf had to go and fix their forums.

 

Now how am I going to work involuntary Mantis-slaughter into a conversation?

 

That bad timing was a moth-erfucker.

[Smigg. 509]

I don't know what it is about Demi and HDTGM, but there always seems to be poultry talk.

 

- Striptease, and Paul equating turkeys with boobs

- LOL, and the infamous chicken.

[JoelSchlosberg 352]

The limo driver reading the L. Ron Hubbard book jumped out to me to me as well. Except I am here to tell you that was no L. Ron Hubbard book!

 

He was reading the 9th (out of 10) books in the Mission Earth series. My friends and I read the series in high school. They are extremely pulpy sci-fi. Dumb fun that should only appeal to a boy in high school. They were mixed with a healthy dose of his Dianetics views which I didn't know at the time. The cover art made a big deal throughout the series that it was going to be a giant 10 volume masterwork. It is said to be the last thing Hubbard finished before he died.

 

I was the last in the group to read them and my friends warned me that Hubbard didn't actually finish them. He died first and because the Church of Scientology wanted the shine from him having written this 10 book series they brought in a ghost writer to finish them. This was my friends' own pre-internet theory based only on having read the books. I thought they were full of crap until I read for myself. Half way through book 8 it slams into a brick wall. It goes from being good bad writing to just extremely bad. Books 9 and 10 are an absolute slog to finish. Whoever they brought in was hired only for their ability to keep a secret and writing ability was a distant second.

 

I haven't figured out yet how this ties into Striptease. Maybe a message from the 2nd unit director about who should really get credit for the movie.

 

By complete coincidence, this week I've also been reading The Dreams Our Stuff is Made Of, a book by science fiction writer Thomas M. Disch about his love-hate relationship with his genre. It's not surprising that he deals with L. Ron Hubbard as one of the more infamous personalities in the field, but I was still startled that he actually does bring up the issue of whether Battlefield Earth and the Mission Earth series were ghostwritten! "As a believer that genius is induplicable, even inverse genius, I am inclined to believe they are his."

 

[ChunkStyle 1160]

 

By complete coincidence, this week I've also been reading The Dreams Our Stuff is Made Of, a book by science fiction writer Thomas M. Disch about his love-hate relationship with his genre. It's not surprising that he deals with L. Ron Hubbard as one of the more infamous personalities in the field, but I was still startled that he actually does bring up the issue of whether Battlefield Earth and the Mission Earth series were ghostwritten! "As a believer that genius is induplicable, even inverse genius, I am inclined to believe they are his."

 

I don't think this guy read to the end. I am standing firm. Until Miscavige sends me a cease and desist forum post. Then I'll back down since I have nothing riding on this.

[Cockney Mackem 514]

God, June fuckin NAILED it on her criticisms and did an excellent "This Week in Feminism."

 

This "movie" is fucking disgusting in every single aspect. From the judges ability to scoff at a single mother who doesn't currently have a job, to the way she scoffs at dancing as a profession, to the way every man turns into a gd Tex Avery cartoon the minute she walks on stage, to Jerry being written off as "harmless" when he full on stalked her (and later we discover built a shrine to her), to Ving blaming Demi being on edge on her fuckin period, to Burt Reynolds referring to her as a creature, to literally every scene in this movie. I can't even go through everything that made me cringe because I'll basically be posting the whole script and highlighting the parts where the other dancers have each other's backs because that's literally the only good thing this movie shows, but then June is right in that not even Demi sticks up for the girls because she is seen as "above" them. I'm so fucking sick of these fucking types of movies that posit themselves as liberating women when they do nothing but shit on them for 2 hours. Yeah I feel super duper liberated now...

 

So with all of that said I have a few questions:

• What did Terminator 2 even do to get her fired? Why is it her entire career as a secretary hinges on what this asshole's criminal record is like? Did he do something through her job? Like did he steal something that he wouldn't have gotten hold of if he hadn't been married to the FBI's secretary?
  
• She mentions how impossible it seems to get $15,000 for an appeal in 6 weeks, but she also says this is already 8 weeks in to working at the Eager Beaver. Has she not already made some money? Is that the additional money she needs now that she is already so much in?
  
• If she truly did not want to be an erotic dancer, then why is she? I understand the hopelessness women can feel and understand that many women do not feel they have a choice when it comes to becoming a dancer or a sex worker, but we don't actually see that kind of hopelessness here. She goes from court to 8 weeks later without the audience being clued in to the fact that she tried to get any other jobs. I know they want us to accept that she felt this was her only option (and I believe she says to the detective that this is the job that will pay her enough in such short of time), but this all just goes back to how fucking awful this movie is to women and to erotic dancers.
  

 

Fuck this fucking movie.

 

And yet, believe it or not, the novel it's based on is good