I haven't done much with this blog all month. Hey, even Jane Austen had a gap between her juvenile writing and her adult novels. Several years, actually. So what if I seem to be in the middle of a dry spell motivation wise. It may eventually pass.
After some deliberation, I did join an organization called Soldier's Angels, where I will be eventually writing letters to deployed soldiers. I signed up for a care package first and once I get that out I'll join the letter writing team. This may seem strange to those of you who know my feelings about war in general and this one in particular, but the people over there are still miles away from friends and family and in a bad situation.
Years ago I thought briefly about writing a book entitled what would jane austen do (then one came out anyway obviously not by me). These letters would have been something in that category. She wrote many letters to friends and family, and at least one of her brothers was in the navy.
If you are interested there are several sites available. I chose soldiersangels.com because one of the projects, called Ladies of Liberty, was developed in a womens studies class at a North Carolina university and focuses on supporting female soldiers.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Ms. on Iron Man 2
Reprinted and shared from the Ms. blog: http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2010/05/11/gender-101-from-iron-man-2/
Gender 101 From Iron Man 2
May 11, 2010 by Natalie Wilson · 40 Comments
It’s right there in the title: Iron MAN, not meaning “human” but male. As I sat watching the movie with my 13-year-old son (and cringing at the overt sexualization of females), I realized that Iron Man 2 is about the glory of males, the fact they are indeed “iron” and that, with their strength and ingenuity, the world will be saved.
A number of other significant gender lessons are imparted in the film.
First, on men and masculinity:
1. Men don’t cry, they scream, as Ivan (played by Mickey Rourke) does when his dad dies.
2. Men like power tools, technology, welding and weapons. Talking, not so much.
3. Men are big wheels and lone gunmen. They may say, “It’s not all about me,” as Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey, Jr.) does at the beginning of the film, but, really, it is.
4. Men need to leave a legacy and build a better future. The best way to do this is via weapons, wealth and womanizing
5. Men’s hatred of women is cute and humorous–or as one blogger puts it, “Tony Stark’s privileged sexist playboy antics are hilarious,” teaching viewers that “Men’s sexism is funny and endearing, as is their greed.”
6. Men are fabulous at business–so fabulous that they can successfully privatize world peace.
7. Real men (aka Tony Stark) think the “liberal agenda” is boring.
8. Men will always need to be in the theatre of war. As such, they might as well turn their bodies into weapons.
9. In fact, the male body is a weapon. Literally, figuratively, metaphorically. Man is iron. Or, as Andrew O’Hehir’s naming of the Iron Man suit as “impenetrable iron-dong costume” in his Salon review suggests, the iron suit allows for the fulfillment of the male body not only as weapon but as walking erection–hard and ready all the time.
Secondly, on females and femininity (these lessons are longer, you see, because females need a lot of teaching):
1. Women are for dancing, either around poles or on stage as props. Wherever they are dancing, they should be scantily clad. Note to cameraman: Shoot women dancers from behind so as to get maximum amount of booty shots, as in the opening scene of Iron Man 2 where our gaze is directed to numerous bent-over butts in red spandex hot pants. As O’Herir points out in his Salon review, there is “no irony” in these “loving, loop-the-loop tracking shots of these dancin’ hoochie-mamas with their spray-bronzed legs and perfect Spandex asses.” Rather it is, as this blogger aptly names it, “a vomit-inducingly sexist scene involving various swooping close-ups of womens’ body parts as they gyrate.”
2. Women are objects. When Tony is shown his new car, he makes a joke about the woman standing next to the vehicle: “Does she come with the car?” In other words, women, like cars, should be sleek, good looking, fast and expendable. Tony assesses new female character Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johansson) using the same parameters: Her intelligence, multi-lingual skills and martial arts training don’t seem to matter; he uses Google to find her old modeling pictures. As Froley of ReelThinker notes, she is put “in her underwear just for the hell of it” and her character is no more than a “near-cameo.” This incites Froley to assume that director “Jon Favreau must be some kind of chauvinist dog, because he takes every opportunity to objectify women.”
3. Women need to have good make-up know-how. Both Stark’s assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow)and Natalie are not only beautifully made-up themselves, but also have the skills to mask Tony’s various bumps and bruises with foundation. This skill, along with their ability to take precarious, mincing steps on incredibly high heels, frames femininity as a performance that benefits males.
4. Women’s most important asset is their bodies. Even when they are in full-on battle mode, they should remain hyper-vigilant about their bodily display. They don’t get to wear “iron man” suits, but really tight body suits. What fun would it be if their boobs and butts were hidden under metal?
5. Women are petty and jealous. Make fun of their jealousy by telling them “green doesn’t look good on you,” as Tony says to Pepper when his ogling of Natalie is obviously bothering her.
6. The female body is weak. Pepper, after being saved by Tony near the end of Iron Man 2, says “I quit…My body can’t take this stress.” After two hours of watching Tony’s body take bullets, bombs, electric shocks and poisoning, we hear that poor Pepper can’t take the stress–of being a CEO for a week.
7. Women are very forgiving. Ignore her, lie to her, bring her the one food she is allergic to as a gift and make it known that you are a lifelong womanizer: None of that will matter as long as you kiss her at the right moment. Or, as Kyle Smith gleefully notes, “The Gwyneth Paltrow character is comfortable with being Tony Stark’s assistant instead of judo-chopping and blasting away at bad guys herself, in the somewhat silly manner of virtually every female lead in action movies these days.” Yes, it’s soooo silly when we act as if females want to be part of the action! As one blogger put it, “If I were Gwyneth Paltrow and I just played the role of a stiletto-heel-wearing submissive secretary cleaning up after some rich white chauvinist asshole, I’d send back my Oscar.”
Finally, the film provides lessons in racism and homophobia:
1. Tony Stark explains his desire to no longer making weapons with, “I saw Americans killed by my own weapons in Afghanistan! I can’t put it better than this blogger: “Do I even need to mention how stupid and racist it is to say that he was OK with his weapons being used to kill all those other non-Americans?” In this same vein, as noted in my earlier post, various Others are framed as “evil terrorists,” namely Middle Easterners and North Koreans.
2. Black actors are exchangeable. Swap Don Cheadle (Iron Man 2) for Terrence Howard (Iron Man 1). No one will notice.
3. Organizations which discriminate against homosexuals deserve huge donations. In the sequel, Tony donates a modern art collection, which Pepper has collected over 10 years, to the Boy Scouts of America.
Bonus note: The sexist message of the Iron Man films spills off the screen and into our fast-food culture, with Burger King offering “four lifestyle accessories for girls and four action-packed toys for boys.” Girls, get busy accessorizing! Boys, take action!
For this feminist, one thing’s certain: I won’t be stepping out in my non-high heels in order to see the sure-to-follow Iron Man 3.
Gender 101 From Iron Man 2
May 11, 2010 by Natalie Wilson · 40 Comments
It’s right there in the title: Iron MAN, not meaning “human” but male. As I sat watching the movie with my 13-year-old son (and cringing at the overt sexualization of females), I realized that Iron Man 2 is about the glory of males, the fact they are indeed “iron” and that, with their strength and ingenuity, the world will be saved.
A number of other significant gender lessons are imparted in the film.
First, on men and masculinity:
1. Men don’t cry, they scream, as Ivan (played by Mickey Rourke) does when his dad dies.
2. Men like power tools, technology, welding and weapons. Talking, not so much.
3. Men are big wheels and lone gunmen. They may say, “It’s not all about me,” as Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey, Jr.) does at the beginning of the film, but, really, it is.
4. Men need to leave a legacy and build a better future. The best way to do this is via weapons, wealth and womanizing
5. Men’s hatred of women is cute and humorous–or as one blogger puts it, “Tony Stark’s privileged sexist playboy antics are hilarious,” teaching viewers that “Men’s sexism is funny and endearing, as is their greed.”
6. Men are fabulous at business–so fabulous that they can successfully privatize world peace.
7. Real men (aka Tony Stark) think the “liberal agenda” is boring.
8. Men will always need to be in the theatre of war. As such, they might as well turn their bodies into weapons.
9. In fact, the male body is a weapon. Literally, figuratively, metaphorically. Man is iron. Or, as Andrew O’Hehir’s naming of the Iron Man suit as “impenetrable iron-dong costume” in his Salon review suggests, the iron suit allows for the fulfillment of the male body not only as weapon but as walking erection–hard and ready all the time.
Secondly, on females and femininity (these lessons are longer, you see, because females need a lot of teaching):
1. Women are for dancing, either around poles or on stage as props. Wherever they are dancing, they should be scantily clad. Note to cameraman: Shoot women dancers from behind so as to get maximum amount of booty shots, as in the opening scene of Iron Man 2 where our gaze is directed to numerous bent-over butts in red spandex hot pants. As O’Herir points out in his Salon review, there is “no irony” in these “loving, loop-the-loop tracking shots of these dancin’ hoochie-mamas with their spray-bronzed legs and perfect Spandex asses.” Rather it is, as this blogger aptly names it, “a vomit-inducingly sexist scene involving various swooping close-ups of womens’ body parts as they gyrate.”
2. Women are objects. When Tony is shown his new car, he makes a joke about the woman standing next to the vehicle: “Does she come with the car?” In other words, women, like cars, should be sleek, good looking, fast and expendable. Tony assesses new female character Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johansson) using the same parameters: Her intelligence, multi-lingual skills and martial arts training don’t seem to matter; he uses Google to find her old modeling pictures. As Froley of ReelThinker notes, she is put “in her underwear just for the hell of it” and her character is no more than a “near-cameo.” This incites Froley to assume that director “Jon Favreau must be some kind of chauvinist dog, because he takes every opportunity to objectify women.”
3. Women need to have good make-up know-how. Both Stark’s assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow)and Natalie are not only beautifully made-up themselves, but also have the skills to mask Tony’s various bumps and bruises with foundation. This skill, along with their ability to take precarious, mincing steps on incredibly high heels, frames femininity as a performance that benefits males.
4. Women’s most important asset is their bodies. Even when they are in full-on battle mode, they should remain hyper-vigilant about their bodily display. They don’t get to wear “iron man” suits, but really tight body suits. What fun would it be if their boobs and butts were hidden under metal?
5. Women are petty and jealous. Make fun of their jealousy by telling them “green doesn’t look good on you,” as Tony says to Pepper when his ogling of Natalie is obviously bothering her.
6. The female body is weak. Pepper, after being saved by Tony near the end of Iron Man 2, says “I quit…My body can’t take this stress.” After two hours of watching Tony’s body take bullets, bombs, electric shocks and poisoning, we hear that poor Pepper can’t take the stress–of being a CEO for a week.
7. Women are very forgiving. Ignore her, lie to her, bring her the one food she is allergic to as a gift and make it known that you are a lifelong womanizer: None of that will matter as long as you kiss her at the right moment. Or, as Kyle Smith gleefully notes, “The Gwyneth Paltrow character is comfortable with being Tony Stark’s assistant instead of judo-chopping and blasting away at bad guys herself, in the somewhat silly manner of virtually every female lead in action movies these days.” Yes, it’s soooo silly when we act as if females want to be part of the action! As one blogger put it, “If I were Gwyneth Paltrow and I just played the role of a stiletto-heel-wearing submissive secretary cleaning up after some rich white chauvinist asshole, I’d send back my Oscar.”
Finally, the film provides lessons in racism and homophobia:
1. Tony Stark explains his desire to no longer making weapons with, “I saw Americans killed by my own weapons in Afghanistan! I can’t put it better than this blogger: “Do I even need to mention how stupid and racist it is to say that he was OK with his weapons being used to kill all those other non-Americans?” In this same vein, as noted in my earlier post, various Others are framed as “evil terrorists,” namely Middle Easterners and North Koreans.
2. Black actors are exchangeable. Swap Don Cheadle (Iron Man 2) for Terrence Howard (Iron Man 1). No one will notice.
3. Organizations which discriminate against homosexuals deserve huge donations. In the sequel, Tony donates a modern art collection, which Pepper has collected over 10 years, to the Boy Scouts of America.
Bonus note: The sexist message of the Iron Man films spills off the screen and into our fast-food culture, with Burger King offering “four lifestyle accessories for girls and four action-packed toys for boys.” Girls, get busy accessorizing! Boys, take action!
For this feminist, one thing’s certain: I won’t be stepping out in my non-high heels in order to see the sure-to-follow Iron Man 3.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
100 Best Novels (Really?)
Today I checked out the 100 Best Novels list (whatever, I was watching Ellen too) to see how many I had read and if there were any I still wanted to read. As I was perusing the list I started to realize I was seeing the same names over and over again. Very few were women. I counted the books written by women and didn't have to use my toes. Out of 100 novels, only 10 were written by women. And none were by Jane Austen.
What?!
Overall, I've either read most of the books or something else by the authors represented. I did find three books to check out:
THE DEATH OF THE HEART by Elizabeth Bowen
UNDER THE NET by Iris Murdoch
THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE by Muriel Spark
Someday I'll write my own list. And instead of waiting til number 15 to include a book by a woman, the top 10 will all be by women. Or maybe I'll make a list of the top 100 books written by women and leave men out entirely. The reader's list of the top 100 (opposed to the "official" list) had 6 of the top 10 books written by the same woman: Ayn Rand. I don't actually like her writing. I purchased Atlas Shrugged years ago, read 10 pages, and accidentally left it on a bus. I didn't call lost and found. I figured someone else would have a better use for it. And though her books are considered novels, they are actually loosely veiled philosophy.
I have downloaded the ereader software from B&N, the same stuff in the Nook. I'm in a bit of a quandary. I like the experience of reading the book, and I like carrying the book w/ me (as long as I don't leave it on a bus). The portable readers are too expensive. I did purchase one book for the ereader on my computer, and it is saving room on my bookshelf. While I enjoy my mysteries, I don't necessarily need to have the physical book cluttering up my apartment. And the hardcovers are much cheaper in ebook format. I do feel strongly about supporting the publishing business, but the ebook format is actually easier for lesser known authors to break into. So there's my dilemma.
If I decide to purchase the three books off the best novel list I will probably purchase the actual book. They would be worth owning. They can join the multiple copies of Jane Austen's novels on my shelves, the ones that should have been on the list.
What?!
Overall, I've either read most of the books or something else by the authors represented. I did find three books to check out:
THE DEATH OF THE HEART by Elizabeth Bowen
UNDER THE NET by Iris Murdoch
THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE by Muriel Spark
Someday I'll write my own list. And instead of waiting til number 15 to include a book by a woman, the top 10 will all be by women. Or maybe I'll make a list of the top 100 books written by women and leave men out entirely. The reader's list of the top 100 (opposed to the "official" list) had 6 of the top 10 books written by the same woman: Ayn Rand. I don't actually like her writing. I purchased Atlas Shrugged years ago, read 10 pages, and accidentally left it on a bus. I didn't call lost and found. I figured someone else would have a better use for it. And though her books are considered novels, they are actually loosely veiled philosophy.
I have downloaded the ereader software from B&N, the same stuff in the Nook. I'm in a bit of a quandary. I like the experience of reading the book, and I like carrying the book w/ me (as long as I don't leave it on a bus). The portable readers are too expensive. I did purchase one book for the ereader on my computer, and it is saving room on my bookshelf. While I enjoy my mysteries, I don't necessarily need to have the physical book cluttering up my apartment. And the hardcovers are much cheaper in ebook format. I do feel strongly about supporting the publishing business, but the ebook format is actually easier for lesser known authors to break into. So there's my dilemma.
If I decide to purchase the three books off the best novel list I will probably purchase the actual book. They would be worth owning. They can join the multiple copies of Jane Austen's novels on my shelves, the ones that should have been on the list.
Monday, May 3, 2010
The Jane Austen Maids Foundation: Animal Farm
Well, spring term is over. Thank goodness. This one was pretty bad. And I never want to talk to another financial aid office. Which, unfortunately, isn't possible.
Oh well.
So I'm back in time for the first donation for May. Like I promised, it will be on behalf of all the pets I've had and animals I've known. This is the second official donation by the subsection of the Jane Austen Maids Foundation known as the Jake and Lars (etc.) Foundation. I know I wrote earlier that I was going to donate to pet rescues this month, but I can't ignore the disaster going on right now in the Gulf. It's already impacting animals. Whales suffocating as they come up for air, turtles already covered in oil. It's been a long time since I bought gas at BP, mostly because there is not one convenient to me. Thank goodness.
I looked around online and found the Louisiana Wildlife Rehabilitator Association, http://www.lawraonline.com/. They have a fund to support local wildlife rehabilitation and maintain a list of approved wildlife rehabilitators in the area and will have a support line for found oiled wildlife.
Lars was sitting on my lap when I found the site, and I showed him the site and asked him if he wanted to donate money to help save the turtles and birds. He agreed. Thank goodness. And thank goodness for the goodness of the people who care enough to clean oil off of animals.
Oh well.
So I'm back in time for the first donation for May. Like I promised, it will be on behalf of all the pets I've had and animals I've known. This is the second official donation by the subsection of the Jane Austen Maids Foundation known as the Jake and Lars (etc.) Foundation. I know I wrote earlier that I was going to donate to pet rescues this month, but I can't ignore the disaster going on right now in the Gulf. It's already impacting animals. Whales suffocating as they come up for air, turtles already covered in oil. It's been a long time since I bought gas at BP, mostly because there is not one convenient to me. Thank goodness.
I looked around online and found the Louisiana Wildlife Rehabilitator Association, http://www.lawraonline.com/. They have a fund to support local wildlife rehabilitation and maintain a list of approved wildlife rehabilitators in the area and will have a support line for found oiled wildlife.
Lars was sitting on my lap when I found the site, and I showed him the site and asked him if he wanted to donate money to help save the turtles and birds. He agreed. Thank goodness. And thank goodness for the goodness of the people who care enough to clean oil off of animals.
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