world cinema blog

Cincinnati World Cinema

« Back to blog

Oscar Shorts survey results and DVD winners

Please click on the link below for Oscar Shorts 2010 audience survey results and DVD winners.

http://www.cincyworldcinema.org/download/Oscar Shorts 2010 Audience Survey Results.pdf

Larry asked what the odds are of winning something in the CWC survey drawings.  Well, this time we had  responses from 556 individuals.  Minus those without names and/or contact info, the net population was 504. With 4 DVDs to distribute that means the overall odds are 1-in-126 of winning.

 

 

May 05, 2010
Martha Viehmann said...
Reading the survey results for the Oscar Shorts sent me to Tim's post about his favorite short. I posted a comment there. Here, I want to talk about why I like "Afternoon Delight."

While "Afternoon Delight" was not my favorite animated short, I loved the way the child's naivete leads us to see the hooker and all her paraphernalia differently and to discover the "heart of gold" in the prostitute in a completely different kind of plot. Those unexpected elements--and the mother's predictable horror when she realizes this is no clown entertaining her daughter--make the film funny.

Whether director Michael Varnum intended it or not, the film also poses an interesting question about the sexualization of girls (see Tim's post below about the favorite movie in America). The hooker arrives wearing pink and purple (and maybe some glitter?). These are the absolute favorites of the girl tween and under set (take a look at the Fancy Nancy series of picture books for a quick primer on girl tastes in the early 21st century). We can then read more into the mother's horrified reaction. It's not only a "what have I done" moment but also a taste of the future battles. Why is it cute when preschool girls wear make-up, boas, and high heels but trashy when a 12 year-old does it? Just this morning, I saw a tubby 10 year old in a t-shirt that read "Vamp It Up." Let's not. Can we leave the makeup for Halloween and stage appearances? Not easily, but that question makes "Afternoon Delight" worth a laugh and a ponder.