"We don't know whether to cry. Or laugh. Or hope to God that..."
July 23, 2008 1:15 PM   Subscribe

 
I knew that eventually it would become clear why getting out of bed this morning was worthwhile.
posted by [NOT HERMITOSIS-IST] at 1:23 PM on July 23, 2008


*speechless*
posted by loquacious at 1:25 PM on July 23, 2008


Nope, it's just a remixed episode of ATTITUDES! Which was always so exciting and nice.

Anyone else remember Jan Hooks and Nora Dunn's parody of that show on SNL? Or just me?
posted by miss lynnster at 1:26 PM on July 23, 2008


TC;DW
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 1:27 PM on July 23, 2008


i'm still waiting for the remake: harold and maude and kumar.
posted by kimyo at 1:30 PM on July 23, 2008


Ruth Gordon was wacky and energetic. This old lady looked cold and confused. I had to stop watching.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 1:32 PM on July 23, 2008


what, was cat stevens not good enough for them?
posted by pxe2000 at 1:37 PM on July 23, 2008 [1 favorite]


Thong-k you very much for this view of the 25 yr old from behind.
posted by rmless at 1:37 PM on July 23, 2008


TC;DW

i see shit like this posted in mefi threads sometimes. i have no idea what it's supposed to mean. i assume it's one of the coder jokes that i don't get because i don't code.
posted by shmegegge at 1:38 PM on July 23, 2008


Jane, you ignorant slyt.

Also:
MetaFilter: set to Coldplay
posted by Eideteker at 1:43 PM on July 23, 2008 [1 favorite]


TC;DW

i see shit like this posted in mefi threads sometimes. i have no idea what it's supposed to mean. i assume it's one of the coder jokes that i don't get because i don't code.


Usually listed as tl;dr. Meaning, "Too long; didn't read." I'm too lazy to Google the origin. My TC;DW stands for either "Too creepy; didn't watch," or "Too (much) Coldplay; don't want," depending on your tolerance for Coldplay. I actually like Coldplay, but not Cosplay with shivering 84-year-olds. So maybe read as "(It's) Too cold; dress warmer!"
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 1:50 PM on July 23, 2008 [4 favorites]


it's one of the coder jokes...

It's one of the codger jokes. Now get offa my lawn!
posted by ericb at 1:57 PM on July 23, 2008


It's one of the codger jokes. Now get offa my lawn!

You know who else was an old codger?

aaaagh, stop hitting me!

Oh, and this video was like watching synchronized swimming at the olympics, but without the water.
posted by not_on_display at 2:00 PM on July 23, 2008


That woman in the video needs to iron her costume next time. Professionalism, people.
posted by ColdChef at 2:38 PM on July 23, 2008


I was thinking: "They should put a disclaimer at the end: No old people were hurt in the making of this video.". Otherwise, cool vid, and so that the haters have something to suck on: Coldplay rocks!
posted by Anderson_Localized at 3:00 PM on July 23, 2008


Ok. I'm no longer speechless.

That was fucking disgusting. I think that this is the worst thing I've ever seen posted to MetaFilter. I think I'm going to be sick. Yup, going be Excorcist sick. BRB, puking.

Fucking Coldplay. Why hasn't anyone stabbed them all in the head yet? They're a fucking menace, I tell you. The dancers were ok, though. Weird, but ok.
posted by loquacious at 3:01 PM on July 23, 2008


Coldplay rocks!

Come closer. I can't seem to punch you in the junk over the internet.
posted by loquacious at 3:02 PM on July 23, 2008 [4 favorites]


This melted my brain banana. Now I am crazy.
posted by Astro Zombie at 3:05 PM on July 23, 2008


I can't even watch this at work and it's only 8am and already I feel like I need a good, stiff drink.
posted by turgid dahlia at 3:09 PM on July 23, 2008


I like Coldplay. I think they're overrated, but that doesn't keep me from liking them. I also don't think it would ever have occurred to me to say that they "rock." No. But I like those six or seven songs they keep repeating. Feel free to not like them, loq, but please stay away from my iJunk. (It's all sucked up inside our my iBodyCavity from all that Coldplay, anyway.)
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 3:16 PM on July 23, 2008


That woman in the video needs to iron her costume next time. Professionalism, people.

Hah, one old people sex joke, coming right up!
posted by Anderson_Localized at 3:21 PM on July 23, 2008


oh, god. i just clicked on a slyt. to coldplay. i'm sending myself to my room without internet now.
posted by msconduct at 3:25 PM on July 23, 2008


Yup, gonna take a good long while to get that one off of my mind grapes. More than anything I just felt sort of embarrassed for the woman, who seemed (to me at least) like she wasn't quite in on the "joke" or whatever it was supposed to be.

I'd also recommend adding tags for "thong" and "whathasbeenseencannotbeunseen."
posted by Navelgazer at 3:36 PM on July 23, 2008


Did they have to have Coldplay highlighted so prominently to mask the sound of that poor woman's bones and tendons creaking and cracking and popping?

Kudos to her, but as a nurse, all I kept thinking was, "ow ow ow ow ow ow Ow," and "how did they get through all the practice hours without her being crushed or ripped to shreds?" I guess it can be done, which gives me hope that menopause isn't solely about thinning bones.
posted by bloomicy at 3:45 PM on July 23, 2008


You know, that was pretty dang impressive. If that was my Grandma, I'd be pretty dang proud.
posted by spock at 4:44 PM on July 23, 2008 [2 favorites]


Hey, iamkimiam. Insinuating that Harold & Maude is about a physical relationship between a woman in her seventies and a boy in his twenties, is like saying that the Sweeney Sisters are just lounge singers.
posted by eric1halfb at 4:46 PM on July 23, 2008


Jeez--I hope I'm that flexible (and that fucking ballsy) when I'm 84 years old. As for "creepy" etc--I'm more creeped out by a culture that things old bodies are shameful and should be hidden away. Cool link--with or without Coldplay.
posted by yoink at 4:52 PM on July 23, 2008 [5 favorites]


Insinuating that Harold & Maude is about a physical relationship between a woman in her seventies and a boy in his twenties

Um...don't Harold and Maude sleep together in the film? It's been a long time since I saw it, though.

Or is this that "irony" thing we keep hearing about these days? I'm confused.
posted by yoink at 5:00 PM on July 23, 2008


I'm more creeped out by a culture that things old bodies are shameful and should be hidden away.

Yeah - everybody's a precious snowflake. Not wanting to see Great Grandma rock her revealing fetish-wear is shameful!

"Insinuating that Harold & Maude is about a physical relationship between a woman in her seventies and a boy in his twenties"

Um...don't Harold and Maude sleep together in the film? It's been a long time since I saw it, though.

Or is this that "irony" thing we keep hearing about these days? I'm confused.


The physical relationship between Harold and Maude, while an important aspect, is not what the film is about.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:07 PM on July 23, 2008 [1 favorite]


which gives me hope that menopause isn't solely about thinning bones.

Exercise keeps your bone density up. Dancing is probably one of the better things she could be doing.
posted by rodgerd at 5:23 PM on July 23, 2008


Yeah - everybody's a precious snowflake. Not wanting to see Great Grandma rock her revealing fetish-wear is shameful!

Well, yes. Unless you just object to fetish-wear per se. If your only objection here (as seems to be the case with most of the "ewwwww" posters) is that this is the wrong body to wear such a costume then "shameful" seems a pretty good word. I suspect that those making the "ewww" comments are ashamed and frightened by the sight of old, wrinkled flesh.

I'm not sure what the "precious snowflake" part of your riposte is about, or what part of my post you thought you were paraphrasing there. Maybe you got your cliches mixed up? Some kind of Bea Arthur joke, perhaps?

The physical relationship between Harold and Maude, while an important aspect, is not what the film is about.

Oh. So, although the film is, well, "about" that, it's not, you know, about that. Got it. Bad iamkimiam, bad!
posted by yoink at 5:37 PM on July 23, 2008


eric1halfb: "26Hey, iamkimiam. Insinuating that Harold & Maude is about a physical relationship between a woman in her seventies and a boy in his twenties, is like saying that the Sweeney Sisters are just lounge singers."

Agreed.
posted by iamkimiam at 5:43 PM on July 23, 2008


Thanks for the Coldplay warning.
posted by tmcw at 5:43 PM on July 23, 2008


How'd this just surface now? The YT video was posted 2 years ago.
posted by desjardins at 5:50 PM on July 23, 2008


OK I've watched this twice now. 1st viewing I was amazed at the woman's aged athleticism, but confused by the post's "Harold and Maude" mention (as soon as I saw the dancers (yes I get the age thing but, hello?) ) and further confused by Coldplay. But it is clear evidence that exercise is the key to staying lively as you become ancient. KEEP DANCING, OLD PEOPLE!

But NO to the to "hostesses" - they were scary.
posted by mkim at 5:51 PM on July 23, 2008 [1 favorite]


That woman in the video needs to iron her costume next time.

that wasn't a costume. that was her skin.
posted by quonsar at 6:29 PM on July 23, 2008 [1 favorite]


How'd this just surface now? The YT video was posted 2 years ago.

I didn't want to sound all "Dude, this is old! I'm cool so I saw it YEARS ago!" and ruin people's fun if they hadn't seen it before... but I'm actually shocked that you guys haven't seen it before and that it wasn't a way old double. Because, well, I'm cool and I saw it years ago. Better late than never, though... a cliche which applies here to both seeing this video (despite Coldplay) and to having the guts and ability to publicly perform synchronized dance routines with a 25 year old guy in a speedo. :)

By the way, this was actually the official video for the song. From Wikipedia:

The music video for "The Hardest Part" was shot on 3 March 2006 in St. Petersburg, Florida at a yacht marina. The video is similar to Weezer's video for Buddy Holly, in that it uses a clip from a short-lived 80s program "Attitudes" on the Lifetime network, and has the band digitally inserted. The band essentially plays beside a stage where an 84-year-old lady and her 25-year-old male friend put up an incredible act of athleticism, despite her age. Actress Linda Dano, who played "Felicia Gallant" on the soap opera Another World, is also featured via the Attitudes footage. The video was directed by Mary Wigmore. Another version of the video features a cameo from Chris Martin's father, Anthony Martin, but was never broadcast. It premiered on Wednesday, 22 March at 11:05 p.m. on Channel 4 in the UK.

posted by miss lynnster at 6:30 PM on July 23, 2008 [2 favorites]


thanks, miss lynster, that explains a lot.
posted by mkim at 6:44 PM on July 23, 2008


Christ, that was awful 'dancing'. I mean.. you see better from the rejects on So You Think You Can Dance.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 7:02 PM on July 23, 2008


I HATE seeing stuff like this on MeFi because the fucking idiot brigade always comes running to tell us how EWWW GROSS OLD someone is and how OHMYGOD GONNA BARF an aged body looks to them....

How 'bout you guys just SHUT THE FUCK UP and keep it to your clever selves, hmmmm?
posted by tristeza at 8:28 PM on July 23, 2008 [2 favorites]


that wasn't a costume. that was her skin.
posted by quonsar at 6:29 PM on July 23 [+] [!]


you are so fucking tired, it's just amazing. shut it.
posted by tristeza at 8:38 PM on July 23, 2008


....

er, tristeza, you ok? We're just watching a video and poking some fun. Unless you're the limber octogenarian here featured, I think you should chill.
posted by Avenger50 at 8:45 PM on July 23, 2008


I wanted to point out that the squick factor to me is entirely Coldplay + awful dancing + smarmy, idiotic hosts - and not the storied and talented dame in question. Beyond the fact she looks a bit confused and reluctant to even be doing this stage show.

Though Rocky Horror in the spandex briefs isn't exactly helping much either. He just needs a bowl cut and a little more tan and he'd be a perfect stand in for that sunless vatgrown sexboi.
posted by loquacious at 8:59 PM on July 23, 2008


tristeza: If anything quonsar is pointing out the crassness of the comment he's referencing.

'Cause the dude is like mountain-old, fat and bald as a rock and as far as I've ever read from him, he's the last one in this whole packet of peanuts I'd ever expect to make a mere, shallow observation on aesthetics.

No, seriously. Just ask him.
posted by loquacious at 9:04 PM on July 23, 2008


Beyond the fact she looks a bit confused and reluctant to even be doing this stage show.

Though Rocky Horror in the spandex briefs isn't exactly helping much either. He just needs a bowl cut and a little more tan and he'd be a perfect stand in for that sunless vatgrown sexboi.


These were the things that got me at first, too. First time through, watching on a small monitor with a pretty choppy video feed, Rocky threw me off because I thought that his partner was similarly dressed, and because she looked to be grimacing and shivering. It looked like she was being exploited for the LOLs, wow look at granny in the sexy outfit, ha ha, and I thought it was pretty tasteless, so I stopped watching. Second time through, after coming home and watching it on a much better monitor, I decided that there was more cloth to her outfit than I thought at first, and that she was possibly smiling, or at least looking determined, so I watched the rest and decided that my first impression was probably wrong, and that she was just dancing for the pleasure of dancing, which is as good a reason as any, I suppose.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 9:16 PM on July 23, 2008


I personally feel that this video has universal appeal–there's just so much to love! Granted, we all have different motivations...some love to hate, some are inspired, some just saw a horror flick, some have just enjoyed their favorite band; its all there, from the commentators to the costumes to the Coldplay. A modern day rorschach, no?
posted by iamkimiam at 9:16 PM on July 23, 2008


To be honest, when I first saw this video I thought Barbara was only wearing suspenders over her nips and crotch...I didn't see the skin-toned spandex. And then when she threw her cape on the stage and I saw how much the wind was blowing I was worried she might just drift off with it. But she didn't let me down on both counts.
posted by iamkimiam at 9:20 PM on July 23, 2008


that wasn't a costume. that was her skin.

Jealous.

'Cause the dude is like mountain-old, fat and bald as a rock and as far as I've ever read from him, he's the last one in this whole packet of peanuts I'd ever expect to make a mere, shallow observation on aesthetics.

Yeah, well, he found God and hates "Darwinists" and fags, now.
posted by dirigibleman at 9:40 PM on July 23, 2008


Well, yes. Unless you just object to fetish-wear per se. If your only objection here (as seems to be the case with most of the "ewwwww" posters) is that this is the wrong body to wear such a costume then "shameful" seems a pretty good word.

My objection was to what looked like stunt costuming to me. Or as iamkimiam just put it on preview: "To be honest, when I first saw this video I thought Barbara was only wearing suspenders over her nips and crotch...I didn't see the skin-toned spandex." Exactly. So - If Barbara is into a fetish lifestyle, that's one thing. If someone dresses her up in a fetish outfit just to be incongruous or even mocking, that's something else altogether. As I just explained above, my second look has convinced me that she was wearing a simple onesie, not the barely-there fetish-wear I thought I was seeing the first time around. Her dance partner's "costume" threw me off. But even if she had been wearing what I thought she was wearing, my reaction really changed when I got a better look at her face and decided she was proud of what she was engaged in.

"The physical relationship between Harold and Maude, while an important aspect, is not what the film is about."

Oh. So, although the film is, well, "about" that, it's not, you know, about that. Got it.


Got it? I’m not sure you do. The film is not "about" that or about that. Hell, their relationship in the film isn't even "about" that. Sex is something that happens in the film, it isn't the point of the film, or even the most important thing that happens in the film. It isn't even the defining point between Harold and Maude. The movie is about a dying woman who is full of life and a morbid young man who thinks he wants to die. It's about the fight against conformity and it’s about embracing spontaneity and beauty and love and life where you find it. The movie wasn't revolutionary because Harold and Maude had sex. It was revolutionary because Harold and Maude fell in love. It was revolutionary because in the context of the film, the sex wasn’t shocking at all, but rather a natural extension of something far more dangerous to the status quo: honest emotion outside the established lines. Connecting with outsiders. Loving unconditionally. Living without apology, and dying without denial. All of that, and it managed to be damned funny, too. Not preachy or trite. The sex wasn’t a stunt, as is so often the case in movies today. It wasn’t there to shock or titillate. It was there because it made sense in the context of the movie, which in a strange way makes it almost conservative by current standards.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 10:10 PM on July 23, 2008 [3 favorites]


TC;DW

i see shit like this posted in mefi threads sometimes. i have no idea what it's supposed to mean. i assume it's one of the coder jokes that i don't get because i don't code.


Yeah...... it's the internet nerd-snob factor that keeps this site alive. That's what you get for paying $5.
posted by Liquidwolf at 11:00 PM on July 23, 2008


Thanks, It's Raining Florence Henderson. That's, more or less, what I was getting at. The "sex" is also not even present in the movie, but heavily implied by one seconds-long shot of two people in bed, bare from the shoulders up. Talk about "conservative."
posted by eric1halfb at 6:20 AM on July 24, 2008


What's with the Coldplay hating? What memo did I miss? I was going to buy their new album and now I'm not going to be one of the cool kids anymore.
posted by desjardins at 6:39 AM on July 24, 2008


Got it? I’m not sure you do.

Well, thanks for the little lecture about the film (nicely put, if condescendingly framed). You missed my point, though, which was just a little joke about the problem with the term "about." You were leaning entirely on "about" as a placeholder for "the entire gamut of meanings, implications, symbolisms etc etc."--whereas it's equally valid to use "about" in the sense "what are the events that this work recounts?" Is Macbeth "about" a man who kills a king on the urging of his wife? Well, yes, that's what the play is "about"; although it is also clearly "about" a great deal more than that. Harold and Maude IS a film "about" a young man and and old woman who have sex. It's also, clearly, "about" a great deal more than that.

All that said--this video clip wasn't about a couple having sex either, so I'm not quite sure how the poster WAS supposedly implying that Harold and Maude boiled down to being "about" that.

I'm glad you rewatched the clip and realized that you were wrong about it. I think quite a few of the people expressing condescending pity and/or contempt for the woman in the clip hadn't actually watched it far enough to realize what an amazing performance she gives.
posted by yoink at 7:35 AM on July 24, 2008


Hey, I'm the poster and so I feel qualified to share exactly what I was thinking when I made the Harold and Maude reference! See, he's 25 and she's 84. That's about it.

Oh, and I suggested 'the musical' because they're dancing to music!
posted by iamkimiam at 8:41 AM on July 24, 2008


And I'm the commenter, so I feel compelled to say that my original comment was innocent enough in intent. Not even a criticism, really.

iamkimaim, it was obvious enough that your reference to Harold & Maude wasn't any deeper than "See, he's 25 and she's 84." Which is exactly why I posted my first half-hearted comment to say, essentially, "Hey, that's a pretty superficial reference to a movie which I happen to adore, and which is far more substantial, thematically speaking, than a story about a transgenerational sexual relationship."

For the record yoink, it IS NOT "a film about a young man and an old woman who have sex." Even from the most reductionist angle, that doesn't accurately describe "what the events are that this work recounts," as the whole sex bit is such a tiny part of the overall plot.

I suppose I was also reacting to the general tendency to use well wrought and substantive works as a sort of cultural shorthand. It invariably does a disservice to whatever is being referenced by reducing it to a touchstone for whatever it's about, without requiring whomever is making the reference (or interpreting the reference, for that matter) to actually know what the work is really about. If you know what I mean.

And while we're at it, can anyone tell me what that video has to do with the Coldplay song?
posted by eric1halfb at 1:16 PM on July 24, 2008


And while we're at it, can anyone tell me what that video has to do with the Coldplay song?

According to miss lynnster's post (above) it's the official Coldplay music video for the song ("The Hardest Part").
posted by ericb at 1:22 PM on July 24, 2008


Yep, it's the official video. From this Coldplay fansite:

"Tour Journal: "Hardest Part" Video Shoot...

3rd March,2006

The guys are making the video for "The Hardest Part" today. We arrive at the shoot early in the afternoon. The "Talk" video was shot in a grey warehouse in West London. Todays shoot, is far more glam, being located in a yacht marina in downtown St Petersburg. Its a more performance based video than the last one, but, without giving too much away, there's a pretty major twist.

I spend most days in arena basements or buses, or in hotel rooms (yeah, yeah, I know boo hoo....), so I get more sunshine today than I've had in most of the last six months combined. It's surely impossible not to have your mood lifted by a good dose of sunshine and a day by the ocean, and everyones beaming...

The "twist" to the video requires some movie magic, particularly in the last shot of the day. The shoot is relying pretty much on natural daylight, so time is limited by the fact that the sun in sinking. Getting the shot wrong will make the job impossible for the effects whiz who will be creating the magic later in the week. Taking too long thought, will mean missing the shot entirely and is simply not an option. Things get tense as Avid computer loses power, the cameras and band need to position themselves precisely (and more importantly, stay there, which for the ever hyper Mr Martin proves difficult).

Finally though, the shoot is wrapped. We watch the sunset over the marina and blag a ride to the hotel in one of the bands limos. Cant wait to see the finished item."

posted by miss lynnster at 1:38 PM on July 24, 2008


Cool. I agree with you eric. Both of you. Or should I say 1.5 of you? I'm really confused here.
posted by iamkimiam at 1:51 PM on July 24, 2008


For the record yoink, it IS NOT "a film about a young man and an old woman who have sex." Even from the most reductionist angle, that doesn't accurately describe "what the events are that this work recounts," as the whole sex bit is such a tiny part of the overall plot.

If you're talking to someone and they say "Harold and Maude--what was that movie about again?" do you jog their memory by saying "Oh, you know, it's that movie that stretches our definition of "romance" in novel ways; you know, the one that asks us to think about the significance of death in a culture obsessed with youth; you know, the one that's about living life fearlessly in the face of prejudice..."?

If you do that, your friend will think you're being an asshole. No, you'll say "it's the one about a young guy who falls in love with a really old woman" or "you know, it's the one about that guy who keeps staging suicides." Is that what the film is "about" in the sense of "is that ALL its about" no. Is it what the film is "about" in the normal way we use that word. Yes.
posted by yoink at 1:59 PM on July 24, 2008


Um, yoink, at the risk of feeding the fire a bit, which I assure you, is NOT my intention, let me just say that I (kind of, sort of) agree with you. However, I think there is a - perhaps fine - distinction between, "What was that movie about, again?" and "What happened in that movie, again?"

In other words (and please, I'm just having fun with you at this point), if I were to say, "Harold & Maude is a movie about a young man and a much older woman who fall in love," then that would be an adequate reply to the question, "What was that movie about, again?" Whereas, if I were to say, "Harold & Maude is that movie where this young guy and a much older woman have sex," it would be an appropriate reply to the question, "What happened in that movie, again?"

But, if the preceding were a reply to the question, "What was that movie about," it might imply that these two characters, disparate as they are in age, have a lot of sex in this particular movie, the movie being about the sex that they have. However, if someone asked me, "Oh, The Graduate, what was that movie about again?" then - in the context of your purely utilitarian interpretation of the word "about" - the reply, "It's about a young man and an older woman who have sex," would be entirely satisfactory.
posted by eric1halfb at 5:32 PM on July 24, 2008


What was this argument about?

It was about "about."

What can argue about about "about"?

You'd be surprised.
posted by yoink at 7:41 PM on July 24, 2008


Harold and Maude, wasn't that the movie where they both ate plates of beans?
posted by desjardins at 7:45 PM on July 24, 2008


No, they didn't actually eat 'em. They just sat there, cold and lonely in piles on plates at the table, while Harold and Maude were off having wild buttsex in the bedroom.
posted by iamkimiam at 9:15 PM on July 24, 2008


Oh. Why didn't you just say that we were talking about the "Cold Beans N' Buttsex" version of Harold & Maude?
posted by eric1halfb at 9:02 AM on July 25, 2008


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