The Boomerang Hammertoe Effect

The warm weather is finally here!  The sun is shining, the grills are going, women are wearing sandals, and the line for pedicures at your local nail shop is out the door!  This is a great time to discuss The Boomerang Hammertoe Effect.

The Boomerang Hammertoe Effect is a phenomenon that I have been aware of for some time.  It has nothing to do with the wooden tool/toy (although . . . well maybe).  It is really a reference to the movie Boomerang starring Eddie Murphy.  You remember, in the movie Eddie’s character makes a point to check out a woman’s feet before he will decide if he can date her.  The woman could be PERFECT, but if she’s got bunions, blisters and hammertoes (Hammertime in her shoe as he calls it) she’s outta there.  Funny, right!

Boomerang Movie Poster - 1992

The interesting thing  is  . . . this became a requisite part of the mating practice for a time.  I know I am showing my age here, but as the former Queen of the First Dates, I remember guys would check a girl out and intentionally add her feet and toes to the equation, especially in the summer.  Not necessarily a deal-breaker like in the movie, but it was definitely a factor.  It wasn’t something I minded terribly.  I didn’t fare too badly, as a rule I have always tried to make sure my lil Yabba Dabbas are up to par.  Foot care should always be a necessity. 

My toes in aqua. Very hip, very now.

But, there was a boom.  The BH Effect is real.  Everywhere you went, you heard people discussing foot care like never before. Foot spas & nail shops popped up everywhere you looked – and I do mean everywhere.  Pedicures were no longer a posh service at a day spa. It was no longer for the well-heeled and the wealthy.  Even we common, ashy foot, females from the hood could now get a pedicure in nearly every mall or strip mall – right after we picked up the groceries. 

Ok, ok so there might have been other factors that contributed to the rise in nails shops on nearly every corner, but the truth of the matter is that there is something to be said about how we consume media and how it becomes a driving force for fashion trends, for social phenomena, and how it sometimes becomes an instruction manual for our culture.  Working with teenagers, I see it every day. 

The Upside of The BH Effect

·         Over the years there have been many articles, studies and surveys conducted on the influence of the iconic sitcom, The Cosby Show.  They portrayed a positive example of a married, professional couple raising healthy Black children albeit quirky and imperfect.  People who didn’t have the Cliff and Clair prototype in their home could look at the show as an example of what is possible – many did and still do.

·         Movies like School Daze and shows like a Different World had everyone wanting to go to college. Not just a black college - Any college.  My friend Sean often credits these two for helping to plant the seed about college for him and some of his peers.  Today, he is successful in television and media, has earned two Emmy's, and can speak first-hand about its power to influence youth. 

·         And let’s not forget Love Jones.  When this movie came out EVERYONE of a certain age with a modicum of talent (and even those none at all) thought they were a poet!  Poetry sets were a staple of the single's scene in the late 90’s and they were packed with women looking for their Darius Lovehall ready to be “the blues in [their] left thigh and tryin’ to become the funk in [their] right”!

·         Today, movies like ATL and Love and Basketball, have all my students wanting to move to Atlanta and hoping to find success and love on the basketball court.  And thanks to shows like Law and Order, CSI, NCIS, etc. they all want be a police detective or forensic scientist (even students who don’t like science)!!! Each year I have to try to debunk myths about the profession without killing their desire to pursue it.  I put together a Law Enforcement Career Panel for our students, and it was by far the most crowded of all the Career Panels we hosted this year.  It was full with students wanting to know how much their REAL careers were like what they see on television.

The Downside of The BH Effect –

·        There is no denying that Black films in the 90’s gave us a glimpse into the lives of people in hoods all around the country – particularly Los Angeles – and there was an effect.  Films like Boys in the Hood and Menace to Society featured things like drive-by’s and carjacking that were common in LA.  These things existed in Chicago but they didn’t really have a name.  I can remember when I was 12 a friend that lived across the street was shot and killed by people driving by.  It was what happened; it didn't have a name. We didn’t call it a drive-by.  After those films, for us it now had a name and  unfortunately we began to hear of it happening more and more.

·        Let’s also include Any Movie with Gabrielle Union! She is often portrayed as the quintessential successful Black Woman who can’t find a man, will steal your man, and in the process will be a royal BIATCH!! These films and these characters have helped to perpetuate the idea that Black women in positions of authority have to be BIATCH, and a lonely one at that. Sorry Gaby, it’s not you it’s the characters – we know you gotta work, girl. 

·         Today psychologists are studying the effect of shows like Bad Girls Club, Real Housewives of . . . . , Basketball Wives, Teen Mom, etc. They are studying the link between these shows and levels or aggression and incidents of violence among young girls.  Well, I ain’t no researcher . . . but um . . .  the link is pretty clear to me! When I hear young girls quoting the cast members, making references to their conflicts on the show, and talking about “what they would do” in that situation, it’s pretty clear to me that there is a link.

So maybe the connection to the actual wooden boomerang is more apparent than I initially thought.  Life definitely imitates art and what we put out there inevitably comes back to us – the good and the bad. The Boomerang Hammertoe Effect is real - media has always and will always have the power to affect change in society, not just with film and television, but music too.  But, I’ll save that discussion for next time.

It has been nearly 20 years since Boomerang was in theaters, and nail shops are still crowded with women trying to get their feet right for summer. Every nail shop in America should really have Eddie’s picture up to pay tribute. Because of him, no woman wants to be caught dead with “Hammertime in her shoe”. 

Peace,
C

Now tell me.  What film have you seen start a fad or social phenomenon? Did ya love it? Did ya hate it?