Word: suburbanitis
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Perhaps one problem is the image of the stay-at-home parent. What do we envision when thinking of a mother at home with her kids? Classic suburban life, station wagon and picket fence, husband returning to a clean house and dinner on the table? Instead of asking ourselves whether or not to work, we need to decide how we can make the combination of work and family possible. Many parents, like my mom, can work from home--I always figured that was why fax machines were invented in the first place. Some husbands and wives have worked out schedules...
...lieu of the hoopla surrounding American Beauty, the suburbs seems to be the hot choice of mise-en-scene for current American cinema. The trend seems to stem from Hollywood's contemporary writers and directors, who are the first generation who grew up in the decline of the suburban dream, the promise of two-kids and white picket fences. This modern American film landscape transforms the suburbs into a movie metaphor of malevolence underlying the pretense of normality. The Virgin Suicides, Sofia Coppola's directorial debut, although not a modern-day investigation of suburban life, explores this theme of banality...
...although beset by structural and character issues, is an ambitious and mildly successful film. There are poignant and touching moments in this movie that speak of the awkwardness of adolescence and teenage sexuality. It is re-assuring to see a film that takes a serious look at youth and suburban culture, rather than the usual teeny romantic comedies that flood the cinema. The soundtrack, also uncharacteristically not the usual litany of teen bands, is completely produced by the French band Air, and adds a moody and nuanced touch to the film. Although falling short of its potential, The Virgin Suicides...
...moral purists, between presenting himself as a man of conviction and bending to public opinion, and between his vision of an expanded federal government and a strong position on state sovereignty. "For Bush, the challenge is to maintain his current position as popular among southern conservatives while attracting the suburban centrist vote," says TIME political correspondent John F. Dickerson. "It may seem that he has the conservative vote sewn up, but if they feel he's abandoned them, they can always stay home at the polls...
...there seems to be a contradiction between his saying leaders should stand up for what's right and not taking a stance on the flag issue. This could certainly hurt him with African-American voters, but more importantly, it has the potential to hurt him with independent and suburban voters who tend to notice issues of tolerance...