The Flip Flop Girl

Flip Flop Girl: Another Pop Culture Snapshot

Hello there, I was just thinking again about the mess we seem to be in regarding our collective mindset, full to the gills with pop culture, at least in western society, specifically American. Still pondering poor Anna Nicole, the latest victim of our tabloid nation feeding frenzy. Good that we have artists that help us see the big picture. A perfect example is Charlie Chaplin who remains quite relevant in his world view.

I just saw a film that seemed to put our perpetual pop culture circus in its place. It is A King in New York. This was Charlie Chaplin's last film in which he also stars. I take this straight from Wikipedia: "A King in New York is a 1957 film directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin in his last starring role, which presents a satirical view of certain aspects of United States politics and society. The film was produced in Europe after Chaplin's exile from the US in 1952. It did not open in the United States until the early 1970's."

How interesting that this film wasn't allowed into the US until 1973. It took that long, a whole generation, before the United States was ready for the sort of satire that Chaplin delivered which is not heavy-handed but quite sensible! Nice how a mild approach can still sting some people! And those same sorts are still among us today--just take a look at the Bush White House and the right wing blogosphere! Basically, Chaplin is asking for tolerance and understanding during the McCarthy Communist witchhunt. What makes this film so beautiful is that he is also doing so much more than that!

Get this: The plot really takes off when Chaplin's character, the exiled King Shahdov, is the victim of a reality TV prank!

King Shahdov is forced to leave his country after a revolution and makes it to New York only to find his assets have been stolen. Broke and desperate, the king is forced to become a spokesperson. Clumsy and befuddled, his mistakes make him more and more popular to where the public will buy anything he endorses.

To look good for television, the king is willing to try plastic surgery which distorts his features and leaves him unable to form real expressions. Lucky for him, the procedure is reversible and he gets his old face back!

Meanwhile, Americans are caught up in a patriotic frenzy that leaves them suspicious of each other and vulnerable to government and media manipulation.

As a leader of a small and struggling nation, the king feels that atomic energy might prove the key to improving his country's fortunes but he is forever being suspected of actually wanting to create weapons of mass destruction.

Despite it all, the king is still optimistic about America and can see a time when the balance of power will return.

What do you think?! See this film! And totally as an aside, there is even a little scene where Chaplin is engaging in a little foot play with Dawn Addams! Very cute.

Labels: blogs, Bush, Charlie Chaplin, Communists, criticism, film, foot fetish, journalism, marketing, McCarthyism, media, politics, pop culture, reality tv, right wing, sex, terror, war, witchhunts, Writing

The Regular Guy with a Foot Fancy

It would seem that portraying someone with a foot fetish has a way to go in film, at least in major motion pictures. I put an emphasis on major motion pictures because they're like any major media: they are the last to get a new trend and the first to make the general public aware of it. T had brought up some interesting issues with his greatly appreciated feedback to my last post. He found the guy with a foot fetish in Babette's Feet to be a stereotype that reinforces a negative image of a guy with a foot fetish. I lean more towards it being harmless fun. I think the movie does convey, for the most part, a sympathetic view but, for entertainment value, I do agree that this guy does come off looking odd. I have to say, though, that admiring women's pretty feet from afar is not necessarily going to be a pretty picture. Often, in art, you're going to see people do whatever the hell they want to do, whether it's ugly or not--something to consider.

Having said all that, I understand that there is a need for bringing things out more into the open and continuing to chip away at the stigma. Thinking about this dislodged another memory of movies with some foot fancy. This may be the healthiest depiction yet--very matter-of-fact. In the 2005 film, Rumor Has It, Mark Ruffalo makes an offhand remark that Jennifer Aniston has some "hot feet." Talk about progress! Here's a truly regular guy saying he admires a woman's sexy feet. No steamy sex scene, just a little comment without a French accent or leering eyes. Interesting how it is Mark Ruffalo who gets to dine on Meg Ryan's feet in her bad girl film, In the Cut. This actor is a whole New Modern Man of Film wrapped up in one person. It's also interesting that Rumor Has It is a Rob Reiner film. Reiner is responsible of Sleepless in Seattle, among other films, that try to tap into the zeitgeist. I'm not saying that Rob Reiner is particularly hip to what's going on but he tries. It is hilarious to imagine him seeing his sweet Girl-Next-Door leading lady from Sleepless having her toes munched on in In The Cut. In fact, I can't help but think Rob Reiner is simply making a direct reference to that film when he has Ruffalo say that Jen has "hot feet."

Labels: feet, film, foot fetish, movies, pop culture, sex

Flip Flop Girl Focus on Babette's Feet

There are films which make reference to feet and/or a foot fetish and then there are films that are completely devoted to feet which is very cool.
Thanks to Jay for making all of us aware of this gem and for all his other movie finds.

Now, what I really love about Babette's Feet is how very gentle and understated it is. That is the approach I like to take with feet. Often, less is more. This is an elegant little film, very intelligent and very honest. Here's a guy to loves feet and we get to see him sneaking looks at girls with pretty feet. But he's not just some foot freak. Harold is a lawyer and he's on a quest. He thinks he's searching for the perfect feet--but maybe he's also searching for something more.

In the end, he meets Babette who is on a search of her own!

Labels: feet, film, flip flops, foot fetish, pop culture, sex

Flip Flop Girl's Big List of Films with Footsie

The beautiful foot has made its way into some significant films. Here is a list of major motion pictures that have included some footsie in one form or another. At first, I struggled to readily recall too many movies which included feet in a provocative/sexual way. I wasn't even sure I'd find ten really good examples. Now, I have twenty to share with you. I also wasn't so sure I'd find anything past 30 years ago, let alone anything from silent films--but I have! The Merry Widow, from 1925, actually revels in the foot fetish theme but it could be lost on someone who is not aware of foot fun. I don't know when I'll get a chance to see it since it doesn't seem to be available to the public in VHS or DVD. Swept Away definitely looks interesting with the twist of the woman kissing the man's feet. A horrid remake was made with Madonna but it could be fun just to see her kissing feet. Great Catherine sounds very naughty with Peter O'Toole being forced to kiss the princess's foot and having his bare chest rubbed with her feet. And then there is perhaps the best foot film of all, without really trying too hard, The Big Lebowski. That film is a classic on so many levels.

Here is the list. I will write reviews for each film and delve into the foot-related scenes with great depth. I'll just go with the flow and see how this develops and what other issues and topics it could bring up. This is a very good start. There are certainly other films out there and some where the foot reference might be more subtle or obscure. There's one western I'm am trying to recall where the young woman is barefoot and she steps on the boots of her man to kiss him and the camera lingers on her feet. That sort of thing I think is worth exploring too. But let's see how things go. But, while still on the subject of film feet on the periphery, I'd have to say that The Thief of Bagdad, 1940, has quite a lot of barefeet to the point of being sensual. And maybe Some Like It Hot would fall under the peripheral category but when you've got Marilyn Monroe's feet coming into contact with Jack Lemmon's face, I think you've definitely crossed the line, don't you?

1. The Merry Widow 1925
2. Some Like It Hot 1959
3. The Diary of a Chambermaid 1964
4. Great Catherine 1968
5. Swept Away 1975
6. The Coca-Cola Kid 1985
7. Sid & Nancy 1986
8. The Last Emperor 1987
9. Bull Durham 1988
10. New York Stories 1989
11. War of the Roses 1989
12. Mermaids 1990
13. Malcom X 1992
14. Boomerang 1992
15. From Dusk till Dawn 1996
16. Lolita 1997
17. The Big Lebowski 1998
18. The Polish Wedding 1998
19. Babette's Feet 1999
20. Charlie's Angels 2000
21. Here on Earth 2000
22. Road Trip 2000
23. Miranda 2002
24. Kill Bill 2003
25. In the Cut 2003
26. Rumor Has It 2005
27. King's Ransom 2005
28. Shortbus 2006
29. Tenacious D 2006

Labels: feet, film, foot fetish, movies, sex

Flip Flop Girl Flip Flops Some More with Films

Still thinking about movies with any form of footsie theme going on. I recall a few comedies but can't quite place them. I'm pretty sure that War of the Roses has a scene where Danny DeVito is in a boardroom and this girl wants to give him a foot job and he gets angry and says something like, "I haven't been into feet in years." Or am I hallucinating?

There's another movie which I'm totally blanking out on and it definitely does not have Danny DeVito in it. No, it's some character actor, a tall bald guy, and he is so enthralled with this pretty young woman that he abruptly goes down and kneels by her feet, slips off her heels, and started sucking away at her toes. The girl, I think, is a well-known actress, somebody like Kelly McGillis but not her. It's driving me nuts. Does that ring a bell for anyone? Probably early '90s. What is so strange about this is that I happen to have been at a family gathering and the television was on and it was this comedy and then, out of the blue, you have this toe-sucking scene while you have a house full of mixed company. No one really noticed or seemed to care. Maybe they didn't want to notice. I feel pretty jaded but that got my attention. I don't think it really registered with everyone in the house. I suppose that was so strange that I nearly blocked it all out of my memory but now I would like to know what movie that is!

Labels: comedy, film, flip flops, foot fetish, pop culture

Flip Flop Girl's Ten Best Lists: First Attempt at Film

Feet, Foot Fetishes, Flip Flops, Film. It all makes sense in the end, doesn't it? OK, your favorite Flip Flop Girl is working hard to put together a series of lists. We're going to tackle film at the moment. I'm going to keep this simple and at a rough draft, no pressure stage. I want to be able to at least name ten films right now that include some form of foot love, be it daring or subtle:

1. The Last Emperor Remember this one? I'll have to go back and date all this properly. 1985?
Steven Spielberg. One truly amazing toe-sucking scene, very decadent, between two women.
2. The Coca-Cola Kid Greta Scacci sucks on the big toe of Eric Roberts. This, btw, is probably Eric's shining moment. What happened to him?
3. From Dusk til Dawn Very blatant, very hipster scene: Tarantino sucks on Salma's toes while she's on stage in the middle of a hot performance!
4. Kill Bill The first Kill Bill, I think. Uma's toes!
5. In the Cut 2003 Michael Nuccio sucks on Meg Ryan's toes! Meg, who knew?!
6. Oh God, I'm drawing a blank. There's a couple of comedies.
7. That other comedy
8. Foreign Film goes here
9. Probably another foreign film goes here
10. Sid & Nancy Sorry guys, that's the best I can do at the moment. But I've been wanting to post something, anything to get the ball rolling!!

Don't even ask me to start on my top ten books lists! Although, I will tell you that a very interesting reference sticks in my mind in Stendahl's The Red and The Black.

Labels: film, flip flops, foot fetish, pop culture