Sharknadoooo!
Sexism in the media is alive and well.
I didn’t really tell people when our little family watched Sharknado
all together.
It didn’t seem like my best parenting decision, what with a 5- and an 8-year-old involved. We’ve got the full trilogy under our belts now, and I’m no longer ashamed.
Through the hours of epically cheesy bad graphics and nonsensical plot twists, we have learned some crucial life lessons. I mean, you know.
1. Believe the Impossible
Sharknado 3
has an especially unique moment when a human baby is born by being cut out of the side of a shark.
Don’t ask questions, there’s nothing to explain. Sometimes you just have to go with it.
My boys and I are overly thoughtful — Sharknado
gives us a chance to turn off the logical parts and just roll with the punches.
2. Embrace the Cheese
Sometimes things are so bad that they become awesome.
Think cardboard box robots from 1960s movies. Even think of family dance parties: Everyone onboard with going berserk, over-the-top, no talent at all.
Life is a lot more fun if you can just believe that Ian Ziering is the only hope.
Or Luke Perry (mostly Luke Perry).
3. Family Wins
That’s the underlying message, right? Not that Tara Reid should never be on screen (also true) or that global warming is somehow affecting sharks.
You do what you've got to do for family. If it takes chainsawed shark guts to teach my kids this, so be it.
They’ll thank me someday. Hopefully without the use of a chainsaw.
4. Low Budget Usually Can’t Be Hidden
Quality means something. If you do a task half-assed, it shows.
So it goes for the film industry and the science fair. Sharknado
somehow gets lower-tech with each incarnation.
No one would confuse these made for TV ‘films’ for anything else. If you want to seem high-class, you have to put forth the effort. People can tell.
5. Sexism in the Media is Alive and Well
My kids may get tired of it, but everything we watch on a screen deserves conversation.
So when Past Love Interest shows up in Sharknado 3
looking like she misplaced her shirt, I brought it up. “Isn’t it weird how only the girls are half-naked?” I probe.
My 10-year-old, Cole, is pretty adept at media analysis and pointed out other similar instances.
I could probably make my husband and sons learn all of these life lessons through other means. You know: books, study, religion, world travel.
But for some ridiculous programming, we’ve gotten pretty far with the strange world of Sharknado.
