Monday, April 12, 2010

Bucher - Harold and Kumar Post

Just as earlier actors Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong did, Harold and Kumar set a standard with their first movie appearance as typical stoners catering to a teen, drug-using audience. However, their second attempt at the big screen, Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, offers slightly more food for thought. Of course, the producers didn't hire Ernest Hemingway's for screenwriters to line the story with clever metaphors and allusions to get their message across, it slaps you directly in the face. The message is clearly that stereotypes and racial profiling lead to unjust accusations and trouble. The central conflict of the film is a direct consequence of racial profiling and overreaction to a simple misunderstanding (most likely blown out of proportion because of Kumar's ethnicity). Throughout its entirety, the film is littered with allusions to this central theme mostly by poking fun at racial stereotypes and classifications commonly made in current society. The enforcement of this motif is not through the teasing however, but the "debunking" of stereotypes. Whether it be the nice home of the hunter and his wife in Alabama, Kumar's concerns with education (considering a popular stereotype for Indian peoples is the commitment to schooling), or the African-American neighbors willing to fix the crashed car of Harold and Kumar.
Many may see this film as merely entertaining and full of marijuana and sex jokes. Although this does not create a combination of a great film, one must look into the actual message being sent and find something to take away. If one is to simply shake off this sequel as a dumb, Hollywood cheap laugh film that is fine, but he or she must also applaud the efforts to purvey something relatively important to its viewers.

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