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Posts Tagged ‘IMDB’

The F-rating doesn’t give an F-word about movies

The movement towards creating explicit codes of behaviour for every aspect of life – especially the messy bits about sex –  welcomes the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), which is now using the ‘F-rating’ to signal films of a feminist type. This is “so [viewers can choose films that fairly represent women on screen and behind the camera.” It is “applied to all films which are directed by women and/or written by women and/or have significant women on screen.”

That part about ‘significant women’ opens up a few issues, not least of all when it comes to grot movies, especially the girl-on-girl sort. The F-rating might not be the best guide to family entertainment or indeed anything approaching entertainment of any strain. But, then, the F-rating is not about films; it’s about educating the masses and turning people – wonderfully complex humans – into quotas. The official F-rated website explains the vision:

‘The stories we see on screen need to be told by a broad spectrum of people to represent our diverse culture. Without change, we will train the next generation to only recognise white males as the protagonists and the ones in control of the cameras, scripts and budgets. As well as equality on screen and behind the camera, more female film critics from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities need to be welcomed into the industry so that opinion and feedback is balanced.’

It’s certainly not about viewers, many of whom are women. It’s about gender. The thinking is that female film fans go to the cinema not to seek escapism but to reaffirm their identity. You’re not watching them; you’re looking at yourself. But you’ve already got free use of Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook to gawp at idealised filmic versions of yourself, so why spend good money on watching a narcissistic film?

Note 1: If equality is the mantra, then the IMDb could look at itself. According to Wikipedia, the IMDb ‘originated with a Usenet posting by British film fan and computer programmer Col Needham entitled “Those Eyes”, about actresses with beautiful eyes.’ Col is a white male – and since he flogged the site to Amazon, a very rich one.

Note 2: Amazon is owned by Jeff Bezos, a rich white male. Amazon Inc. has 7 ‘Officers’. All are white. One is a woman. Amazon has 11 directors – 9 of whom are male. Should businesses get an F-rating, too – and if so would the IMDb warrant one?

Posted: 15th, March 2017 | In: Film, Money, Reviews | Comment


Junie Hoang: actress loses her cases against IMDB for revealing her true age

Amazon Actress Age

JUNIE Hoang lost her Privacy Lawsuit. When she was 40, the the ageing actress sued Internet Movie Database (IMDb) for reporting her real age. She’s now 41.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports:

Returning a verdict Thursday afternoon, a federal jury in Seattle ruled that the popular entertainment website didn’t breach its contract with actress Junie Hoang, a 41-year-old Texas woman featured in a number of low-budget horror movies and the upcoming television program “Exotic Dancers of Houston.”

Hoang sued IMDb and its parent company Amazon in 2011 claiming her privacy was invaded and career impacted by the release of her age. Responding to Hoang’s claim, attorneys for IMDb asserted it has the right to publish true and accurate information, and that Hoang attempted to lie about her age.

Writing the court, Hoang attorney Keith Scully contended IMDb violated its customer services agreement when it published Hoang’s true birthdate after she signed up for a “professional” membership to the service. IMDb contended Hoang invalidated the agreement she sought to have enforced when she violated its terms by lying on her profile.

Because 41 is sooooooo old. Although, Ms Hoang can act younger. And older.

Posted: 13th, April 2013 | In: Reviews | Comment


Actress Sues IMDB For Revealing Her Real Age

TO Seattle, where a law suit has been filed against Amazon, owners of the IMDB website, for $1,075,000. The plaintiff is an actress: The alleged crime: the website revealed her true age.

IMDB is owned by Amazon. The complaints runs:

The actress, who uses an Americanized stage name to avoid the “cultural disadvantage” of her real Asian name, says that the credit-card interception is the only way the company could have learned her real age. She says IMDb refuses to remove her birth date from her profile and that she has since lost work because “lesser-known 40-year-old actresses are not in demand in the movie business.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted: 17th, October 2011 | In: Money | Comment


The Oddest IMDB Biographies

THE Internet Movie Database (IMDB) is a great resource for movie matters. The facts keep coming. Who was in what. What they did. What the PR told them to write. And so on. The site has a few memorable bios in the talent’s profile pages. Here are some choice parts they played – look out for the woman who has a little accident, the old woman who doesn’t have sex and the “lesbian in a restaurant”…

imdb-profiles-1

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Posted: 16th, June 2010 | In: TV & Radio | Comment