2013's Cultural Winners and Losers
Let's assess the winners in losers in American culture for 2013. Our first obvious winner is "Duck Dynasty" and its Phil Robertson. He's a winner for standing by his Christian principles after some inartful remarks about homosexuality.
A&E suspended him and put the usual statement that they are "champions" of the gay agenda -- and proceeded to start running "Duck Dynasty" marathons. Mark Steyn put it just right: the gay-left blacklisters insist "espousing conventional Christian morality, even off-air, is incompatible with American celebrity." Robertson has successfully shattered intolerance of the anti-Christian left.
Winner:
Universal Pictures, for "Despicable Me 2." This cartoon feature came in
third in 2013 at the box office ($367 million), beaten only by two
other much-anticipated sequels, "Iron Man 3" and the second "Hunger
Games" film. But in December, it shattered records for DVD sales for an
animated picture, grossing an amazing $80 million in its first week of
release. The previous record was held by....the first "Despicable Me."
There were three animated family films in the top ten hits, with G-rated
"Monsters University" in fifth ($263 million) and "Frozen" in tenth
($204 million after five weeks and climbing).
Loser: Universal Pictures, for "Kick-Ass 2." The ultraviolent first installment featuring a 12-year-old "Hit Girl implausibly killing tens of villains at a time grossed $48 million at the box office, a figure that shouldn't inspire a sequel. The second edition grossed only $28 million. Entertainment Weekly found the immoral thrill of actress Chloe Grace Moretz killing and swearing like a sailor had vanished. At 16, she "can't manufacture the same that's-so-wrong jolt she managed the first time around. Back then, it was hilariously taboo to see a little girl spout arias of profanity." Boston Globe film critic Ty Burr nailed it: "Kick-Ass 2 is a special kind of crap: the kind smart people make for audiences they think are stupid."
Winner: Rockstar Games, the makers of the video game "Grand Theft Auto V," which smashed six world sales records, including the highest revenue generated by an entertainment product in 24 hours and the fastest entertainment property to gross a billion dollars. They sold over 11 million copies in its first 24 hours and hit a billion in sales within three days.
Loser: "GTA 5" is a perfect example of the amoral and ultraviolent products that are never, ever advertised as such. Chris Suellentrop of the New York Times, fan of the game, explained the latest version is "still an action game about hoodlums and thieves; we start with an extended bout of cop killing and proceed to a series of increasingly ambitious heists." There are three villains you can choose to become, like "Trevor, an oddly lovable psychopathic meth dealer and gun runner." This is not "Breaking Bad," a series aimed at an adult audience. This is a game bought by children.
Winner: Melissa McCarthy. This comic actress led the year's highest-grossing R-rated movie, "The Heat" (alongside Sandra Bullock), grossing almost $160 million, and "Identity Thief," which grossed over $134 million. It is unfortunate that her humor needs to be laced with so many profanities (they counted 269 in "The Heat") that the ratings cops felt forced to give it an R.
