We’re a Rust Belt state with a rusty mentality sometimes.
We value hard work that doesn’t exist in these hard times.
Sometimes, we’re too hardheaded to see a good thing when it’s upon us.
So, please, let’s not ditch the the tax incentive for movies just because the non-partisan Senate Fiscal Agency recently found that there hasn’t been much of a financial reward to the state yet.
Let’s stress “yet.”
We live in a new economy. Foreign competition has got us all scrambling. The manufacturing jobs our state once enjoyed won’t be back.
It will never again be the way it was.
Therefore, it’s time to give the movie business a chance.
It’s one of the only positive things we have going for us. It generates conversation. It puts our ruggedly beautiful state in movies and television shows and makes more shows set here possible.
These are good things.
If we want to see a viable, moneymaking industry grow, you’ve got to give it time. It’s only been a few years, and ditching the generous tax incentives would bring everything that’s been brewing to a halt.
The impact is immediate.
Right here in town, we have 10 West Studios, which take advantage of the legislation. When they shoot scenes here, they bring excitement to our streets -- and put bodies in hotel rooms and mouths in restaurants.
Some Republican lawmakers in Lansing, especially Nancy Cassis (R-Novi), question giving such huge tax breaks to production companies -- around 40 percent of costs.
My question is: if it was an oil company that was having trouble setting up their pipeline, would Republicans be so quick to call the tax incentives a bust? Here, I would argue is the bigger reason: Republicans don’t want to publicly sponsor the liberal, Communist, homosexual propagandists from Hollywood who want to corrupt the minds of our youths with subversive and perverse themes in movies.
The Grand Old Party of Grand Old White Guys aren’t exactly the most culturally hip.
Let’s face it, Republicans: you’re just not all that entertaining.
For the most part, you like boring old Westerns and find anything morally ambiguous unnerving.
A good flick should have clearly delineated Good characters versus Bad characters, with Good always winning in the end.
A few of the folks in the entertainment industry you have on your side of the aisle are Charlton Heston (who, FYI, is in one of my favorite movies ever, “Planet of the Apes”), Chuck Norris and, I’m guessing, Wilford Brimley.
Putting them into the scene of a movie might go something like:
HESTON
The bad guys are trying to pry my gun from my cold, dead hand!
NORRIS
No need for firearms, I’m the cowboy of karate! Hi-ya, partner!
BRIMLEY
I will charm the enemy with this bowl of oatmeal. It’s nutritious and delicious!
The point is, the people in Hollywood making the most engaging stuff are, for better or for worse, usually pretty liberal, as highly creative people tend to be.
This should not be a reason to keep a potentially profitable industry out of our state. Even if it hasn’t paid off yet.
Just because it isn’t something tough like building cars or tanks, making movies in Michigan adds to the local communities where it films.
Let’s see if the tax breaks that have lured production companies here have a happy ending.
Showing posts with label Michigan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michigan. Show all posts
Monday, October 4, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Impure Michigan: Spoofs on ad campaign display its effectiveness
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
On the flip-side, spoofing is the insincere form of flattery, the misbehaving little brother of imitation.
This week, John Kerfoot is that naughty little brother. He’s responsible for the parodies of the Pure Michigan ads that have the Internet buzzing. The fake commercials became a statewide phenomenon after the Free Press did a brief write-up about the 34-year-old filmmaker from the Detroit area and his iconoclastic shorts.
I’m sure you’ve seen the originals on television the past couple years, part of the award-winning tourism campaign. They feature the smooth and serene narration of Michigan native Tim Allen of “Home Improvement” fame over images of our fair state’s natural beauty.
They all end with Allen pausing ever-so slightly, and with dramatic flair, saying, “That’s pure Michigan.”
The billboards, radio and TV spots were enormously successful, and gained even more attention when funding became an issue -- the campaign continues, but with about half as much cash.
As we know, the more successful something becomes, the larger it becomes as a target for parody.
That brings us to Kerfoot’s own campaign.
The five fake ads he’s made have been viewed by hundreds of thousands of people. And for good reason.
They’re funny.
And while some would argue their in bad taste for their foul language and subject matter, I applaud the videos.
I have a feeling Kerfoot loves Michigan just as much as I do. And sometimes being critical about something, but with a sense of humor, is just another way to express that affection.
So, what exactly are in the videos?
There are five in all, each poking fun at a different place or aspect of our wonderful state: Royal Oak, Construction, Mackinac Island, Lake St. Clair, and Grosse Pointe’s downtown known as “The Village.”
The video dealing with Royal Oak, a northern suburb of Detroit known for its hip, trendy nightlife atmosphere, talks about the types of, uh, er, male jerks who populate the streets. Except Kerfoot doesn’t use the term “jerks.”
By the way, before I continue, don’t watch these clips with children around. They are intended for mature audiences only.
Anyone who has sat in traffic surrounded by orange barrels and sweaty workers will appreciate Kerfoot’s ode to road construction, which seems eternal on our state’s roadways.
The Mackinac Island clip is a little on the gross-out side, drawing a visual comparison between the vacation spot’s famous fudge and what the horses leave behind on the streets.
Kerfoot, who is from the Grosse Pointe area, muses about the beauty of Lake St. Clair, and the irritating, swarming fish flies that take over the Pointes each summer. The Village video pokes fun at the number of coffee shops and lack of black people in the downtown area of Grosse Pointe.
It made me wonder how Manistee would fair under such an ironic attack.
Kerfoot’s love letters to Michigan may be cynical, ribald and irreverent, but they are love letters nonetheless. I hope he makes more of them.
In any case, you can judge them for yourself. They are posted at http://notsopuremichigan.com/.
The videos also display how effective the Pure Michigan campaign has been, and why it needs the cash to continue. Tourists need to know how beautiful and wondrous our state is.
Even if us natives know it’s not always fudge.
On the flip-side, spoofing is the insincere form of flattery, the misbehaving little brother of imitation.
This week, John Kerfoot is that naughty little brother. He’s responsible for the parodies of the Pure Michigan ads that have the Internet buzzing. The fake commercials became a statewide phenomenon after the Free Press did a brief write-up about the 34-year-old filmmaker from the Detroit area and his iconoclastic shorts.
I’m sure you’ve seen the originals on television the past couple years, part of the award-winning tourism campaign. They feature the smooth and serene narration of Michigan native Tim Allen of “Home Improvement” fame over images of our fair state’s natural beauty.
They all end with Allen pausing ever-so slightly, and with dramatic flair, saying, “That’s pure Michigan.”
The billboards, radio and TV spots were enormously successful, and gained even more attention when funding became an issue -- the campaign continues, but with about half as much cash.
As we know, the more successful something becomes, the larger it becomes as a target for parody.
That brings us to Kerfoot’s own campaign.
The five fake ads he’s made have been viewed by hundreds of thousands of people. And for good reason.
They’re funny.
And while some would argue their in bad taste for their foul language and subject matter, I applaud the videos.
I have a feeling Kerfoot loves Michigan just as much as I do. And sometimes being critical about something, but with a sense of humor, is just another way to express that affection.
So, what exactly are in the videos?
There are five in all, each poking fun at a different place or aspect of our wonderful state: Royal Oak, Construction, Mackinac Island, Lake St. Clair, and Grosse Pointe’s downtown known as “The Village.”
The video dealing with Royal Oak, a northern suburb of Detroit known for its hip, trendy nightlife atmosphere, talks about the types of, uh, er, male jerks who populate the streets. Except Kerfoot doesn’t use the term “jerks.”
By the way, before I continue, don’t watch these clips with children around. They are intended for mature audiences only.
Anyone who has sat in traffic surrounded by orange barrels and sweaty workers will appreciate Kerfoot’s ode to road construction, which seems eternal on our state’s roadways.
The Mackinac Island clip is a little on the gross-out side, drawing a visual comparison between the vacation spot’s famous fudge and what the horses leave behind on the streets.
Kerfoot, who is from the Grosse Pointe area, muses about the beauty of Lake St. Clair, and the irritating, swarming fish flies that take over the Pointes each summer. The Village video pokes fun at the number of coffee shops and lack of black people in the downtown area of Grosse Pointe.
It made me wonder how Manistee would fair under such an ironic attack.
Kerfoot’s love letters to Michigan may be cynical, ribald and irreverent, but they are love letters nonetheless. I hope he makes more of them.
In any case, you can judge them for yourself. They are posted at http://notsopuremichigan.com/.
The videos also display how effective the Pure Michigan campaign has been, and why it needs the cash to continue. Tourists need to know how beautiful and wondrous our state is.
Even if us natives know it’s not always fudge.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
