I'm not sure about you, but I think that the way Americans approach

[MrScorpio]

Human relationships pretty childish. Especially, when it come comes to intimacy. I see alot of this in how movies from the US and from those of other countries generally portray this. Here he have this whole "PORKY'S" mentality that still permeates the entire US movie industry from farces like the entire "AMERICAN PIE" industry through the "VAN WILDER". In a lot of European movies, especially those made, the Sixties and Seventies when there was still a definable difference between the European and American styles, one could notice a much more adult approach to the portrayal of intimacy. This can be seen in movies like the Emmanuelle and Emmaunelle II. Hollywood Vanguard, Marlon Brando even tried to tap in this European mindset when he starred in "LAST TANGO IN PARIS". Very Brit born director Adrian Lyne is one of the few directors of American movies that tries to bring this European verite' style to US audiences, in moves like "UNFAITHFUL" and "Nine 1/2 WEEKS".

Moreover, to me this a reflection of American attitudes, versus a difference in cinematic styles. Americans tend to see intimacy through a veil of childish titillation, as if it was youthful indiscretion. Even the actors are most of the time young and immature, late teens and early twenties, at an age where mature thoughts and actions are rare. And as the rare portrayal of older characters are portrayed, a somewhat retained depiction of immaturity persists. Whereas, one would see in European movies, per se, characters of much older age engaging in intimacy and there situations not dependent of a slapstick plot line or just for childish titillation.

There are so many examples of what I'm trying to communicate in today's US media and I'm sure the causes are varied as well. Could it be the American quality of Puritanism, that still persists? Or is it our unwillingness to embrace a more comprehensive process in US education?

The questions are many.

But I ask those of you, who are more traveled or were raised outside of the US, is this phenomena unique to an American attitude? If it does exist outside of the US, is this because of the vast influence that US media has internationally? What else am I missing?

Anyway, I hope that you realized that I'm being serious, for once.

[Taverner]

1. Porky's came from Canada

Just sayin'

[Chan790]

2. Blame Canada!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uh5KbIOmQg&feature=related

Because sometimes the jokes just write themselves. Someone blames the downfall of intimacy in American cinema on Canada; you're almost required to post this song.

edit: better video

[MrScorpio]

3. But, it was set in Florida

It was a portrayal of Americans.

You could say it's how we are viewed or it's a result of the close proximity of US cinema styles.

More so, it falls into what I'm saying

[Skittles]

4. it's almost always the juvenile male titillation point of view too

girls/women are just objects to whack off in, on or over

[MrScorpio]

5. Exactly, thanks for pointing this out

The women in these US movies and more objectified in plenty extensive ways.

To the males, the females might as well not as be women, they might as well be pictures in a magazine, as the male characters know or even care about the females to the same extent as pictures in a magazine.

[Swede]

6. Studio movies aim at the common denominator.

Indie movies have the adult stories.

[KurtNYC]

7. Bollywood movies are like a 5YO's view of life

poor girl marrys rich prince or poor boy marries royal girl -- fairytales.

[begin_within]

8. Americans are just a bunch of babies, this becomes obvious when they try to have "relationships"

[MrScorpio]

9. Why do you think that it's this way?

What is to blame?

[begin_within]

10. It's a culture of selfishness, and it's a natural human trait that is amplified by American culture.

The conservatives/republicans realize it and they build their marketing around it, to attract more people to their party. Getting what you want does feel good, and that makes for an irresistible ideology. Sacrifice and sharing are not nearly as appealing to the human animal, so that's why liberal ideology is a much tougher sell.

[crimsonblue]

11. piss off, eurotrash.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

12. Over twenty years ago, I saw an East German movie in which the main character

was a 45-year-old divorced woman having an affair with a married man. What was striking was that she was not only 45 and being portrayed as someone a man would cheat on his wife with, but that she LOOKED 45, not a prettied-up 45.

A couple of days ago, I read a gee-whiz article about how "older women" like Holly Hunter and Kyra Sedgewick are starring in TV series. First of all, they're not that old, and second, they're still glamorized.

Contrast Holly Hunter in "Saving Grace" and Kyra Sedgewick in "The Closer" with, oh, I don't know, Helen Mirren in "Prime Suspect," where she LOOKS like an obsessive, smoking, drinking, middle-aged cop. Yet she has love affairs in the course of the seven-season series.

You're right about American romantic comedies being about beautiful young women being won over by rather ordinary-looking shlubs. If there's a supposed "ugly" woman (cf. "Ugly Betty"), she's not really ugly, just lacking in fashion sense.

The other thing about foreign TV and movies is that they're not afraid to have unhappy endings and deeply flawed main characters or to kill off major characters.

[MissMillie]

13. Let's be clear on one thing

"Porky's" and "American Pie" have nothing to do with intimacy.

They're about sex.

There's a difference.