I had been excited to see Brave for a while, especially after realizing that it features Pixar's first female protagonist. I had some pretty high expectations going into the theater, as I was honestly hoping for the most feminist animated film I'd ever seen. While it didn't meet those expectations, Brave was a great movie, and in many ways has several stand-out feminist messages for kids.
****There are spoilers here, in case you haven't seen the movie.****
So, when you watch something on Hulu, you get to see the same commercial over and over. That can get pretty annoying with sexist commercials like this. So...where do I start? First of all, the mother and daughter in this commercial are not only crying uncontrollably in public over the fact that the daughter is moving just a few miles away, but apparently they are so hysterical that you can't even understand what they are saying. We need subtitles! Not only does this make the women seem irrational, overly-emotional, and incomprehensible, but they also clearly have severe dependency issues. I also find it irritating that the salesperson is male, because it further implies that women are irrational and hysterical, while in contrast, men are rational and even-tempered.
Also, I find it strange that the mother is worried that her daughter will get lost, again, simply because she is moving just a few miles away. Seriously? Ugh. I think if the commercial were advertising the GPS feature to men, that there would be no implication that it is useful if you "get lost." In fact, I doubt it would stand alone as a specifically noteworthy feature at all.
This commercial was actually for Mother's Day. I'm sure mothers everywhere felt well-respected and represented with the sentiments of this crazy-crying lady. Or, maybe not so much.
Today I was listening to some lectures about the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. In them, the professor mentioned that an important aspect of Nietzsche's philosophy was that it was jarring, that it called many people's preconceived views into question and forced them to think about them again. Nietzsche believed that we must be willing to risk losing friends and experiencing isolation in the pursuit of fully expressing our own truths. I couldn't agree more.
Naturally, I know I have much more of myself to discover and share. Ralph Waldo Emerson believed that, "We but half express ourselves, and are ashamed of that divine idea which each of us represents." I have often wondered what fraction of my truth is communicated to my family and friends. I consider myself an honest and independent soul, but a private one. When I reflect on the parts of myself that I keep secret, or for which I am ashamed, I pity the image of myself "half expressing"...anything, especially my heart. I need more boldness in my life!
I've decided to start reviewing movies! It will be a good chance for me to check out sexism on the big screen. Plus, it will be an excuse to get myself to the movie theater more regularly. I don't go nearly as often as I'd like. Yesterday, I thought I'd venture off to the theater to see The Avengers...but I decided to see The Raven instead. If you know much about me, that will totally make sense.
I heard about this movie in my English class this past semester. Someone was explaining that it was about a serial killer whose murders were inspired from the stories of Edgar Allan Poe. "That's a great idea!" I blurted out enthusiastically. "For a movie..."
Yeah, I guess I don't mind if people think I'm crazy. Anyway...
Recently I heard a man say that women are taking over the world. They are illogical, wild, and entirely incapable of handling power. Furthermore, he claimed that women only want to hear lies, they have no patience, no love, and are evil. The worst part about it was that this man claims to speak for Truth, and for God. He claims to be a Christian. This man was Reverend Jesse Lee Peterson.
Here's his sermon, "How Women are Building a Shameless Society":
If you saw a little boy playing with a doll, would you think it odd? Would you feel the need to say something? Would you actually call up his parents and ask them why they allow their son to play with a doll? Well, it happened to one of my professors years ago, when she took her young son to church with a doll he wanted to take with him. After she got home, she was surprised to get phone calls inquiring as to what her parenting philosophies were, and why she would let her son play with dolls. She was pretty shocked. Why would anyone really care that much?
For Feminist Theories, we were asked to collect images that inspired us and create a collage, video, or other project to display our collection. Now, some years ago I simply loved making collages. I think I got pretty good at them too. But I haven't made any in a few years. So, I certainly considered making one again for class, but I don't really have a lot of images on hand that are inspiring to my Feminist Self, so, I decided to try a Youtube video.
Last week I was listening to The Crüxshadows, a band whose lyrics, lead singer, and violins I simply love, and I knew I heard the right song. My video addresses women's pain and isolation as a whole, but the heart of the video is most specifically about my desire to know more about my Heavenly Mother. My religion teaches that our spirits are literal offspring of Heavenly Parents. While Heavenly Father has a clear doctrinal position as God whom we worship, pray to, make covenants to, and whom we are commanded to learn of, and love, our Heavenly Mother is an almost entirely absent figure in doctrine. I don't know the reason, but I wish for the day when we will know more. I truly, truly do. I don't think it is an unrighteous desire, or an insignificant pang.
