For seven weeks, What We’re Watching has been taken over by the Paley Center’s Teen Transmitters internship cohort! Each week a different pair of students share their thoughts on the 2021 media landscape along with personalized recommendations. This week we hear from Marian Caballo, a senior at The Bronx High School of Science, and Oscar Darmawan, a junior at Aviation Career and Technical High School. We hope you enjoyed this unique opportunity to hear directly from young voices.

As always, if you have any questions, thoughts, or ideas, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at eduny@paleycenter.org.

With things going back to normal and people looking towards the future, we’ve been looking towards our past. Last year, the pandemic birthed a wave of retrospective consumption, as viewers turned on '90s radio and silent black-and-white films. Some psychologists say that we look to the past to bring ourselves peace of mind as we look to simpler days in a time of crisis. In a study that cataloged the effect of COVID-19 on entertainment choices, over half of the participants found comfort in revisiting childhood TV and music.

Here, you will learn about some of the movies that we loved, and also some of the problems we have with the movies we watched growing up.

George Chakiris in West Side Story (1961)

With Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story coming out soon, it brought me to rewatch a childhood favorite of mine, the original West Side Story. It’s a movie I love very dearly: a 1960s version of Romeo and Juliet set in New York City, who can’t love that? The story revolves around two faultless lovers who can’t be together. But the movie doesn’t come without its own faults. Only one question could describe my thoughts on rewatching it: “Is that blackface?” In the film, the Sharks were a gang of Puerto Ricans who were mostly played by Caucasian men and women who had tan face paint put on them. This is just one of many problems with Hollywood—the underrepresentation and misrepresentation of minorities. Although we’ve come a long way from a Greek man playing a Puerto Rican, we still have a ways to go. But all in all, I still do love this movie wholeheartedly, and I would put it in my top four favorite movies of all time.

Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) & Rose (Kate Winslet) in Titanic (1997)

This theme of Romeo and Juliet movies continues into James Cameron’s iconic 1997 film Titanic. Yes, the origin of “I’ll never let go Jack!” and “I’m flying Jack!!!” I don’t know what it is with me and social hierarchy, but it’s a topic I always go back to. Even to this day I still watch movies about it like Snowpiercer and Parasite. This movie taught me one of my first lessons about love: it’ll take you to places you’d never expect, even into an iceberg… But this movie is iconic for a reason. From the instrumental soundtrack, to Celine Dion’s theme, to Rose confronting Cal, this is one of the few movies that made me an emotional wreck. I love the buildup of the movie, and if you don’t feel something by the end for Rose, you just simply aren’t human. The movie went over budget, over schedule, and cost James Cameron his earnings from the movie, but even he will attest that it was worth every penny. Every night in my dreams… Okay I’m done.

Carl & Russell in Up (2009)

But speaking of movies that made me an emotional wreck, the first twenty minutes of Up made me so sad. You’ve probably seen it, but the lesson that it’s never too late to pursue passions is a lesson that I take to heart. Pixar movies are something I love and I also enjoy going back to. I love the bright colors contrasting how Carl feels in that moment of time, and the different characters representing each part of his life. This was a complex children’s movie about coping, staying true to yourself, and making the most out of bad situations. The soundtrack was just the icing on the cake. I still listen to the Up theme on occasion and it makes me emotional. That just goes to show how well done this movie is. Even years later, it still makes me feel the same way I did when I first watched it.

I’m currently getting sad thinking about Up, so I will talk about a comedy I loved growing up. This is for mature audiences, so you have been warned: Ted. I genuinely wonder what the pitch deck for this movie looked like. For those who don’t know, Ted is the story of a dirty-mouthed talking teddy bear (yes you read that right, talking teddy bear) and the relationship between him and his owner in their later years. The plot is about as predictable as it gets, but it’s absolutely hilarious. As a pre-teen, I’d rewatch that movie for a good laugh. It’s a movie I keep very close to my heart. Now enough rambling, I will pass it on to Marian.

When I think about movies that made me, I’m immediately taken back to early childhood afternoons spent watching Spider-Man (2004), which is the first movie I remember watching ever. Rumors of multiverse cameos in Spider-Man: No Way Home (coming this winter) are sure to cause a resurgence of popularity for Sam Raimi’s original three films. The power of nostalgia is clear —anticipation for the trailer has been like nothing else I’ve seen before, and bizarre new fan theories sprout every day. In the waiting period, fans have been indulging in other media, like the Stan Lee documentary With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story, free for viewing on YouTube Movies.

Many afternoons were also spent watching movie musicals from (what I call) the Barbie cinematic universe (the BCU). This film series came to life after Mattel suffered financial hits in the toy market and sought to transform Barbie’s deteriorating image into one of fashion, fantasy, and fun. Since then, over 110 million DVD units have sold. Dozens of them are currently sitting in my closet. Barbie’s ballet adventures in Barbie and the Nutcracker and Barbie’s Swan Lake pushed me into weekly dance classes, where I grew to love dance. (Learn more about ballet training with Disney+’s On Pointe a docu-series which captures life at the School of American Ballet!) It was because of these movies that I also had my mom buy me tickets to the New York City Ballet and the American Ballet Theater’s iconic Lincoln Center productions of the Tchaikovsky ballets! After a year of touring across the country, both companies will be returning to an in-person season this fall. Watch the ABT’s summer celebration here!

These movies, weirdly, were also my first informal introduction to musical theater (cue Journey to the Past from the musical adaptation of the 1997 animated musical Anastasia.) While these movies aren’t peak cinema, and the animations are dated, they’re still fun to watch sometimes; the animal sidekicks and villains are hilarious, as are some of the plot lines. Whether you’re looking to get into the BCU or are just fascinated by the cultural phenomenon, there is a slew of Barbie-related content out there for your viewing pleasure. Production companies are picking up on the general public’s love of nostalgia. Ergo, get ready for a new wave of toy-related movies, shows, and projects as we emerge from the pandemic into what the New York Times has dubbed Hollywood’s “Barbie Moment.”

The first live action Barbie movie—directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie—is slated for release in early 2023. Hulu documentary, Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie explores Mattel’s story and the doll’s cultural impact. Retellings of some other nostalgic and beloved toys, like Lena Dunham’s Polly Pocket movie, a Hot Wheels film, and an action-heist based on the game Uno are on the way. Interestingly, thirteen of these films are part of Mattel’s efforts to recover from financial turbulence, which you can read more about here.

These are just some of the pieces of media that made us who we are, although our identities are always evolving. As we continue to focus on the future and change as humans, it’s always good to look back on where we started, and stay true to ourselves.

●   A Night at The Opera (1975) on Spotify

●   Atlas Series (2013)

●   Future Nostalgia (2020) on Spotify

●   The Holiday Movies That Made Us (2020) on Netflix

●   The Movies That Made Us (2019) on Netflix

Additional Reading:

●   The End of Forgetting

●   Mattel Execs on Toy Film Franchises: We Create Experiences

●   The Surprising Power of Nostalgia at Work

●   "What the Coronavirus Has Taught Me About Nostalgia"

Thanks for reading,

Photos—Titanic: Twentieth Century Fox; Up: Pixar; West Side Story: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer; Swan Lake: American Ballet Theater; Greta Gerwig & Margot Robbie: Vanity Fair

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