Haven't seen Corpse Bride yet. But I did see the trailer. It was not surprising to me that the film is not called "Corpse Groom." We do not associate men with the body, nor do we sexualize their images in the same obsessive way that we do images of women. In his review, Kenneth Turan describes the bride as "bony yet buxom" and warns us "(don't ask)" about this bizarre fact. Well, no offense Kenneth, but ASK! ASK! ASK! How can we sexualize images of dead women? How can we be bony yet buxom? Why do we have so many freaking images of dead women? What do these stereotypes mean for living women and girls? How can we enjoy our media if we constantly see ourselves degraded and objectified and undermined and humiliated and DEAD?

On the same page in the LA Times was a review for Reese Witherspoon's latest vehicle "Just Like Heaven." Well I don't need to see this one either to tell you about it. She's an impossibly wonderful pretty blonde woman/girl. Whenever a film begins with this character I always know she's toast. We don't let the impossibly good women live in our narratives. They die, tragically, so some man who is left behind can learn the true meaning of life. See "Sweet November, " "Autumn in New York," "The Long Walk Home," "A Walk to Remember," "Love Story," "My One True Thing," hell even "Finding Nemo." I could increase the list ad infinitum. Feel free to contribute titles. We can create a shrine and let them all rest in peace.