Stealing

Okay, so to make this simple. I believe that stealing is bad. To steal from another human being is just so unacceptable. At the same time, when people are in poverty and can hardly eat and havent taken a bath in weeks or had a roof over there head in months, I understand.

I also want to say that I actually don't have a problem with stealing from companies as much as I do from people. When people steal from people they take away what those people worked for and what is dear to them. Stealing from ASDA/Walmart is stealing from a corporation that doesnt do jack shit for the wellbeing of the world. In my opinion. Shopping there is bad enough. I would never steal because 1. I dont believe in it really and 2. Im not so poor that I have to steal from stores.

When people steal clothing, I think its stupid. Thats just consumerist. When people steal food, I seriously have no problem. I know this sounds wrong but I dont. People are struggling man. If I was homeless and hadnt ate in weeks or something....I would steal food. Im sorry. Its true. And when its a child in the situation, I encourage it! If children are hungry and their parents are struggling, steal food. I mean, at the worst case scenario. If you have asked for it and you have tried to obtain it by other means...well shit, if it aint working, steal it.

This is a story about a young boy who was caught stealing food. http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090402/NEWS0107/304020017/1055/NEWS
He was charged, which I think is wrong! And I also think its wrong that they put him in foster care so quickly, but that is another story.

Stealing something for gain is wrong, stealing something for survival. Not so wrong. I will probably edit this post cause I had to write it quickly.

Littering

Littering is wrong because the world, the environment, is not your apartment, and neither is mine. Of course I have littered before. Actually, I just accidently did it. I was trying to bother my flatmate by throwing a piece of paper at him and then realized that the piece of paper was of course, not going to go on the ground and was going to go on the grass. Bad me. And I need to pick it up next time I go outside.

The littering I am talking about is the very intentional one. I have seen people litter..............next to garbage cans. Its like...its RIGHT THERE. Two more steps. Right there. But no, they litter. I was on the train the other day and this man, kid you not, blew his nose, wiped his nose off and all that good ish and then threw his tissue under a bench. I was looking at all of this through the window. I thought to myself, no. I mean no. Here is this business man, in a suit, with a briefcase, throwing his tissue, looking to throw his tissue under the bench. Now that isnt as bad when it is outside but I have seen people do the same.

Whats the point? Are we so lazy we have to just throw our unwanted, non-biodegradeable shit on the ground? Even the stuff that is...I mean, geez.

I think this is GREAT. The xmas fast food campaign said that littering rose 17 perceent in the last 5 years in Wolverhampton. Thats crazy. Now I am going to admit, I throw gum on the ground. Damn, thats horrible of me. How can I not consider that litter? I dont do it often, but I will say I have did it 4 times in the last 6 months or something. I dont know. But I need to do it 0 times. Now I really appreciate the feces one. I am so sorry, but I am really laughing at the picture.





LOL. That is just really cracking me up for some reason. How childish. Anyways. We shouldnt litter!

Selling "Virginity"

First, before I get started, I would like to recommend this book along with my post. I have yet to read it because I am going to buy it when I get back home to America.

This is very sad and lately, their have been a lot of stories like it. LINK

This will be very quick. This is Bad. Very bad. Not her. She's not bad. Because just like what I said in my post about Jade Goody, it goes for this woman and the alike as well. This should not be an option. A woman should not have to sell her body, so she can go to school, so she can get her family out of poverty. Women's bodies are forever for sale and available. Find me 10 articles about men selling their 'virginity' for 10,000 and up. You wont. Don't go google it, because you wont. Men who like to have sex with virgins have a few simple reasons. 1. They will always be remembered. 2. They think they will get a virgin submissive girl 3. Because 'taking a women's virginity' is the ultimate goal! Its the wowzer, the one you tell stories about. Its almost mythical. 4. They will get to break the hymen which means the vaginal will most lightly be 'tight."

Virginity...catch this...is a SOCIAL CONSTRUCT. A virgin is not some mythical woman who is pure and gentle and a girl. That's another creepy ass component. Some people think that its a woman's first sexual experience that makes them a woman and that's why some men who like to have sex with virgins like the whole turning girls into women. Now, get me straight. If the term virgin was only a word, possibly a medical term that was attributed to someone who hadn't had sex their first time yet (with a man or a woman) then I would say, of course its not a social construct. But the term 'virgin' comes with a whole lot else. Its about purity. Its about the idea that sex takes away from purity and we all know who have to be pure...women. Women are supposed to be pure. Virginity is associated with the virgin Mary and the birth of Christ and blah blah.

And this is crazy. I don't even want to comment on it, its so crazy.

What kills me is that people, a lot, don't know that women tend to break their hymen way before they have penetration. Especially if they use tampons during their menstruation (which is why religious people were against tampons...they turn women into whores!). Women can break their hymens riding bikes!

Bottom line is that this woman has the right to sell her social construct for 10000 euros to help her family. Its sad that that was her only option. And hear me, because I seem to get in a lot of arguments with people about this, "Ohhh well she could have worked here or there or saved up or blah blah." But name one more thing that a woman can do other than sell her body that would get her this kind of money. One, poverty shouldnt be so bad that she has to go to extremes, Two, womens bodies shouldnt be so readible (made that word) to sell. Its simple. Same as stripping and regular prostitution (This is virginity prostitution, as I call it). On top of that, what if this man is a murderer!

Point is. Patriarchy. Which goes hand and hand with religion. Purity. Virginity. Poverty. Women. Yea.

Consumerism

My link today is actually going to be a link to the documentary that I just finished watching. It is the one mentioned below with my bottled water post. LINK . Oh and I also want to link a documentary that I watched the day before yesterday. LINK. I really encourage you to watch these. And while I am at it, I saw another documentary in London called The Age of Stupid. That's good too. It is about an hour and a half. Even though I am not talking about the privatization of water or the environment per say, in this post, I am talking about consumerism which is related, closely, duh. I think these documentaries (except the Walmart one) are the best examples of why consumerism is "bad." Of course, if your anti-consumerist in America, that makes you a communist. Yea, idiotic. My point is, I can not write a post about how all consumerism is bad and how everyone who every buys anything is going to hell. That's silly.

I can hate capitalism and consumerism but that doesn't make me any less of a capitalist or a consumer. I live in a society where it is impossible to be anything else. I have watched three documentaries in the last 2 weeks that were environmental and also economical. And I say they were economical because they all tackled the issue of consumerism. The reason why we are having climate change is because people know how to consumer and not conserve. And this has been placed on western societies by companies and advertisements and oh...selfishness and prejudice and the inability to think. All of that good stuff. I am a victim of it! You will not here me say that I don't go shopping or I don't get warped into this idea that the more I have the better. We are told this everyday! Its a very difficult task to fight it but I am committed to doing so.

Even if we weren't talking about depleted the worlds resources for the smallest percent of the world population, what were also talking about is the exploitation of people. We are told to consume, consume, consume. It fucks us and it fucks other people. But yet, we continue to participate in it. Every economic system looks great in theory, I know that. I am not saying that capitalism shouldn't exist. What I am saying is that there are serious problems with it. Capitalism cannot exist without a loser and a winner. Capitalism also cant exist without rampant consumerism. It's just how it works. So, I actually will talk about the badness of consumerism in all three documentaries (that I have linked above and that you should watch).

The documentary about Walmart (Which owns Asda, so yes, your contributing) and their evils. Aside from how their employees. Actually, I think its interesting that the doc didnt even get into that, but anyways. To make it plain and simple. Walmart clears out small businesses in towns, puts up its superstore and makes suppliers compete with costs from the East. Whats REALLY ironic is that there are people that lose their jobs because of Walmart and end up havign to work an shop at Walmart because their arent any other options. Prime example, you work at a company that makes tvs. Walmart comes in. You want to supply Walmart with tvs, Walmart wants to buy them for the same price that they are buying them from China, you cant afford it, you go out of business, their isnt anywhere to work, you now work at Walmart. Now, aint that bout a bitch. And what reaalllllllyyyyyy kills me is that Walmart screams America while they wipe out American businesses and put their money in China, who America has a large ass debt too. I remember learning a year ago or so that the Chrysler building in New York is owned by China. LOL. That shit is too funny. I have to check on that to make sure it is true.

Then we have flow. That talks about the privatization of water. I wont go into too much detail about this because I think you should watch it. I will say...how in the hell does anyone own water? Water is a natural resource that people will die without. What really gets me, is that these companies will plop down on land, take the water for free, bottle it and then sell it back to the people in which the water really belongs to. And people just buy that water up like Jesus handed it down himself.

This is why consumerism is bad. Because people don't think. People don't believe in being smart consumerists. And I dare say that if you really want to argue consumerism, being a smart one doesn't exist. I can decide never to drink Dasani because its bottled water and it steals water but as soon as I pick up a Coke or a Sprite or High C Orange, I am paying Coca Cola to make fucking Dasani. You cant be a 100% smart consumer. But a little bit helps. Supply and demand. Stop using something, less will be made, price will go up, hopefully less people buy it and so on and so fourth. But consumerism exploits people. The countries where water is being privatized are brown. Yes, their stealing water from America but they are PRIVATIZING water in fucking Ghana, Thailand, Ecuador, seriously. This is too fucking much for me. Next thing you know, somebody gonna ration out the sun for a unreasonable price.

I feel like I am all over the place here. But it makes me so angry. We are ruining the world in so many ways. So many ways. If we continue to consume, we will speed up climate change and run out of resources, but I guess its good getting a start on privatizing water, because then the people who have money will buy it and those that don't, wont. And then that will solve the problem of who gets the rest of the resources. And apparently, it will solve the problem of non-white third world countries by wiping them out.

Oh heres another LINK. It's about consumerism and its effects.

I love this statement.
"I can imagine it, therefore I want it. I want it, therefore I should have it. Because I should have it, I need it. Because I need it, I deserve it. Because I deserve it, I will do anything necessary to get it."

This is how people think. And the last part is the one that really fucks everybody over. It doesn't matter who you exploit, whose resources you take away, what you do to the environment, you need that new purse or that new toy or that new whatever, that was made in China for 2 cents a fucking hour, that Americans lose jobs over, that workers in China cant demand better wages for, that isn't biodegradable and that you wont have longer than a month. Seriously. It's crazy.

Okay, this is disorganized and long. But I don't care. This is a uk org about consumerism. http://www.enough.org.uk/

I need to figure out, everyday, something I can consume less of. I don't think anyone can be perfect and I don't think all consumerism is bad. Buying a shirt because you like it and want a new shirt is fine. Buying 10 new shirts, everyday, because you feel pressured to be like everyone else in a culture in which everyone is like everybody else, is problematic. My problems with crazy consumerism is more than the environment and more than the economy, (and lets not forget the people it exploits) its also about people. I think today, more people get their self worth from the things that they own than who they really are. And that's why consumerism is perfect. Tell people they need more so they can be perfect, when perfect isn't achievable, so then they'll never stop buying. Crazy.

Drinking Bottled Water

So I have known for some time now that drinking bottled water is not good for the environment. I have limited my usage but I still feel bad. I need to stop it completely. It is bad for the environment for a number of reasons. It creates more waste, plastic bottles, that go unrecycled most of the time. Sometimes it is just water from the tap being resold (this, I guess, is just an ethical issue).

Apart from environmental reasons, its just plain disrespectful. Im sorry. It is. It is so so so so so disrespectful. It is a slap in the face to any person struggling in the many countries where clean water is not available. When I hear someone go "Ohhh, noooo, IIIII, dont drink water from the tap. Its gross. It tastes weird. Its not fresh enough." I want to smack the shit out of them. I want to pull them by their ear, dragging them to a computer, so I can show them the millions of people drinking water from streams where oil has been dumped and fish are dying, from puddles in the woods, from wells that have fecal matter in them, and the list goes on. How fucking dare you? Its such an asshole, western thing to say. It really is. How quickly we forget our privileges! Im telling you.

What would it be like to wake up in the morning and not be able to drink a glass of water, brush my teeth, wash my face. As a matter of fact, its even more disrespectful than I thought. Not only do people that drink bottled water say fuck the environment but they also damn near mock anyone not getting access to clean water. I gots to stop drinking bottled water.

And from a western point of few. How in the hell do you resale something that is free. This people are selling us water! Water people. This doesnt make any sense. The article I linked ya too talks about how you can even see that coca cola and pepsi are marketing water even more now a days because pop gets such bad press for it's unhealthiness.

When does consumerism stop? Okay, thats it. I am writing about consumerism tomorrow. And I need to stop drinking bottled water, I need to be a responsible consumer...if there is one. Oh yea, ill talk about that tomorrow.

LINK

I NEED TO SEE THIS DOCUMENTARY

Eating Cats and/or Dogs

Oh yes I did put a picture up of my cat. And no I wouldnt eat her. She is just too adorable. I would never eat a "pet." But that is my topic of today's blog.

Okay, I want to start writing but I cant stop looking at that cute little face. Tabitha Sammantha is her name. She is my love. Shes getting fat too!

So. Now. Where was I? Yes, is it okay to eat cats and dogs?

To me that's just asking if it is okay to eat Animals. Which I think I will save for another post, eating animals in general. This time I will just write about eating cats and dogs. The idea of eating pets.

Its pretty simple though. All animals are animals. Just because we can "domesticate" some doesnt mean that they stop being animals. I love how western cultures like to look down on many eastern cultures for eating dogs and cats. Its like "Oh no, cats and dogs, no no. But pass me some pig." Pigs are animals and actually YOU CAN have them as a pet. And we have fish as pets but we eat those.

I think its so convienant for the west to make judgements about the east. Partly because of racism. Its us and them. People who eat cat and dog are the OTHER. It's ridiculous. Anything that any other culture does that the west doesnt do just seems to be gross and savage and whatever. But the fact that (I dont know if British do it) American meat markets cut the feet off of young cows to make their meat good enough to veal, doesnt seem all that superior?

I think its interesting. Because I think countries that ate cat and then stopped did so because of the stereotypes and hatred placed upon them in the west. In some Asian countries it is seen as western and hip and a sign of being of wealth to have pets because having pets isnt really common. On a side note, I think that a lot of people actually think that pets are common here. Like if I just had Tabitha and one day said I was hungry and killed her and ate her. It isnt like that.

Also, if your dirt fucking poor and you aint (yes, aint) ate in days and you see a lil fido or snickers walking by...you gone eat. Thats it. Im sorry. If you are hungry and poor and on the streets, and you have some kind of access to a frying pan. You would eat a cat.

I wouldnt eat a cat or dog because I love em too much and I have been socialized not to. But that doesnt mean I am going to racially stereotype people for it or look at them as if they are some savage nonhuman creature. Let's get a grip! The West is not the right and everything the wrong. Some people need to take their heads out of their asses and get a world view, not an euro/ethnocentric one.

THIS IS A GOOD ARTICLE> ACTUALLY READ IT!

Bad Comedy

I am just going to write about this now because we just had our class on Bad Comedians. Paul McDonald is my professor for American Literature. He's pretty funny. And his whole hand fart thing is distractingly funny as well. I like this class, it was probably my favorite or I should say the one I learned the most in perhaps. I like the questioning on humor and making jokes. Apparently there are different theories on jokes.

I don't believe that people should be censored. I don't really believe in censorship but I will boycott a comedian or make known my disgust and discomfort with comments made my comedians. I guess, in a way, that is censorship but I would only do it on a one comedian at a time basis. It's important that people can control their own image. Jokes that are made at the expense of the minority, who can not control their own image is what I can not handle. Because I do not think that jokes in themselves can never be prejudice. I think that is the incongruity theory. That's stupid. The point of a lot of jokes is that they seem true. And if that was the case, people would be okay with telling these jokes to everyone and not just their circle of friends.

I believe that people have the right to make jokes about their own group, whichever they belong to. Its hard for me to accept people that dont belong to a certain culture, making certain jokes at it. For instance, Blacks can make fun OF Blacks without being seen as racist. I feel like if you are Black and you know the experience of being Black and marganilized and discriminated against, you have the right to make jokes at that experience. Youve gone through it. The same for Jewish humor. I love Seinfeld, which makes a lot of jokes at the Jewish faith and culture but its okay because a Jewish person does it and controls the joke and how it is performed.

Chris Rock is my favorite comedian. Sometimes he goes a bit far for me. But he is seen as "Bad" because of his use of the N word and his cursing and all of that. I think he is halarious. I also love Family Guy, which has left NO GROUP out to offend. They have made fun of every single group of there. They even have jokes about God. Even God is offended by Family Guy. lol.

I think the shit that is the funniest is the things that are wrong. Like murder and shit. My links are going to be youtube clips.

Chris Rock on Relationships. Oh gosh. So Bad. So Funny. As a feminist, it is really hard for me to laugh at some of these jokes...okay, im bullshitting, this shit is so damn funny. But I try not to take it serious.



This is Chris Rock on rap music. It's so crazy because its so dang true. I dont like rap music. I hate it. And Chris Rock is just halarious at explaining why you cant even defend it nowadays!



My favorite Family Guy cutaways. I mean, I cried when I first say them. I thought...nooo. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.





This is of Stewie beating the crap out of Brian. Its so wrong because Stewie is a baby. And he beats up the dog for not having his money.

Comments

This is in response to Margje Wittenberg's blog on Susan Boyle:

A lot of talk has been about the fact that she is famous right now is because point blankly, people did not expect it of her because of her appearance. People just saw her and thought...oh this old fat lady who is unattractive? What can she possibly have to offer? And its sad. And unfortunately, I think thats why everyone is in awe of her. It's really sad. When she came out the camera went to everyones disgusted faces. Anyways, theres some really good articles about it:http://www.feministing.com/archives/014975.htmlhttp://jezebel.com/5215015/susan-boyle-has-come-to-save-us-from-our-shallowness

This is in response to Miss Demeaners blog (I dont know her name) on Prisons:

Most people reoffend because prison ONLY keeps criminals off the street. I hate that people think "oh well, take criminals off the street and put them in jail. They will learn their lesson!" In my opinion, if you take criminals like robbers, thieves, or what not, or domestic violence abusers or fighters, you have to change their condition in society and the way they think. And yes, a lot of people are leaving shitty conditions and going to prisons/jails where they are way better. Thats inevitable. Most people that commit crimes arent living lavish lives. In order to make conditions so bad that they would never commit another crime..well I just think you would have to make prison inhumane. Which is another conversation.

As far as pedophiles, yes, they are repeat offenders. Its sad. Once again, because just putting someone in jail doesnt change their problem. Pedophiles need psychological help. Throwing them out on the streets and making them live away from children wont do it. And they have rights. Everyone has rights. We cant just say...oh well pedophiles should never be let out of jail and they shouldnt be able to live in neighborhoods...where in the hell will they go? Pedophiles maybe should get stricter sentences, and so should rapists in my opinion. I agree that we need to do something else with pedophiles though because this cant continue, but no one knows what to do.

And the commenter above said perhaps tougher punishments would leave us to feeling safer and such. No, criminals will always exist. Especially when your talking about thieves because our society is capitalistic and consumerist. I think that actually has a lot of do with the rise of robbery and stealing. As a society (Britain and America) we value things much more and people steal when they dont have. Just my theory.

Cursing, Swearing, Profanity, etc

What is wrong with curse words? In my opinion, nothing. They are just like any other word. But people go crazy if you use them in public. It is seen as impolite. I will admit, I do not like to hear random cursing. But I do not believe that cursing is something that is so horrible. Words are words. Its the meaning behind them that counts. If I say...what the fuck is going on here? You will think...oh boy, she just said fuck. But if I say...what the freak is going on here...you will say, oh well its good that she didn't curse. It's stupid. I just said the same thing with the same meaning behind the word.

The argument against cursing really bothers me if its a religious one. Because a curse word, as I just said, is just a word. Christians are not supposed to curse, because its seen as dirty and unchristian like and hateful and blah blah. But Christ didn't want words spoke out of anger. So in my above example, I just cursed both times. If I say...I hate you or I hate this or I am so angry! By biblical standards I am cursing. It doesnt matter. It's about the intent of the word not the actual word. If I call you a beep and you know good and well that means bitch, I mind as well had just said bitch. Thats what tickles me about people that use replacement curse words. Its like...same thing buddy. Same thing. But to please people in society, I suppose we should just stay away from words that have been traditionally bad. Or...we could stay away from hateful language. Oh, what a thought!

If I said Oh bullocks in America....people would be like...what in the fuck is she talking about? Huh? What? What is a bullock and that sounds corny and okay, whatever. But apparently this is a curse word here. I was watching a documentary and they kept bleeping out bullocks (which is funny cause I obviously know what he was saying so why like bleep it?). So its just another curse word. Or wanker. Wanker just sounds funny to me. Everyone knoes wanker is penis, even Americans so if you said it to insult someone, its considered a curse word I suppose. Piss. I hate that piss is a curse word. I like to say "So and so pissed me off." OR "I have to piss like a race horse." The last one is my favorite but I guess I can be a bit vulgar.

Anyways, if it offends people, dont curse. If it doesnt, go for it. If your Christian, dont speak out of anger at all. Hmm..which begs the question, can you curse out of happiness as a Christian. One day I shall go to church and say. I totally fucking LOVED today's service. Whooppeee! And my pastor will probably have a chat with me afterwards. lol. I will admit though, I am trying to stop cursing. After all I just said, I just dont like it. And I think its because I rarely curse when I am not angry but sometimes it just feels so needed. It's like salt, bad for you, but necessarily in certain situations. Malcolm X said that only people with a lack of vocabulary curse. I think people with a lack of vocabulary and lazy people curse. I am the latter. But I love that quote. And I also like to insult people intelligently. That's really fun as well. I should probably work on that as a Christian though...yeaaaa.

This is a really great article on cursing. At first it talks about the Recession and how people are cursing more. Well duh, like I stated above, sometimes its just necessary for the moment. But then it goes into what kind of people curse and in what kind of moment. I love the Christian Bale link. That man will never live that tirade down. Its bad to verbally attack people...but can I admit that Christian's Bale's tirade was the funniest *bleep* I ever heard in a long *bleeping* time for *bleepin* reals.

Procrastination

So...I thought that I would talk about procrastination. Since I have being doing it with this blog. I cannot believe that I have been procrastinating. I need to make at least 6 more comments and 15 more posts. I just found out that this assessment is done on May 7th so I actually caught it right on time. I have JUST enough time to make a post every single day and now I can still get an A. Whew. Good catch Ash. Yes, I just talked to myself. Hmm..Talking with ones self. Ok. Ok. Procrastination.

Alright. Let's start with a joke.

Procrastination is looked at badly in society. It's also looked at as a joke. But if you have a job you are expected not to procrastinate. Some people actually work better under the pressure. They don't do anything for the time period they have to get something finished and then they do whatever they have to do at the last minute. Like for instance, the fact that I now have to make a post every single day because I didn't stay on top of the game. Which seriously, wasn't intentional. I assumed that the freakin assessment could be done until you know, end of semester. Oh well. I can do this. Anyways. I also have a friend that started working on one of his essays...today..and yes, it is due today, at five. So I think that procrastination can be a great tool for some people but it can be deadly for others, like me. They say that some people procrastinate because there is too much stress or pressure on them to do well and they are scared to do it. To be honest, this has happened to me before. It actually happens more often than I like it to. But some people just cant relax. These people are perfectionists. I procrastinate because I want to be perfect and if I think I cant be perfect with something (like this fucking film class. who told me to take a film class?) I don't want to do it so I procrastinate. That's different from the person mentioned above. Everyone cant procrastinate. I think its an art. But whats sad is that you just cant help yourself sometimes. My final verdict is that if you get er done (yes, Southern American joke) then whatever. But if procrastination leads you to failure or poor markings, don't do it!

Okay, so this is a website that a man made to talk about structured procrastination. I think some of what he is saying is true but some of it totally isn't!

http://www.structuredprocrastination.com/

Oh, and here is one that will make you feel bad. LOL

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/index.php?term=pto-2711.html

Ohhhh wait. I just thought of something. That first man may be right...Because I didnt want to read for my film class...and I did this instead. It needed to be done but wasnt the most important thing on my list of things to do today...OOOHHH SNAP!

Bad Cinema

Lets talk about Bad Cinema.

No one's artistic vision should be hampered with. But this concept is not uncomplicated. The movie industry is male run and male oriented. Movies are made for white men by white men. Of course, once in a while, we get movies that are made for women (but still, of course, by men) like Sex in the City. But usually if the woman is in the lead, she is meant to be an object. She is there for the male gaze. Women's issues are rarely taken seriously in cinema and when they are, their of course independent and not mass produced.

I felt like I needed to say this before I started talking about "Observe and Report." A new Movie by Jody Hill (male) with Seth Rogen and Ana Farris. It is a movie about a fucked up guy played by Seth Rogen. I wont get all into it. But in one of the trailers, they show the scene of Seth having sex with a passed out Ana who wakes up to say "Why are you stopping motherfucker." On my regular feminist websites, feminists have shown their outrage. Date rape is not funny. People have debated whether the scene is date rape or not. Which is idiotic. If you don't/cant give consent, then its rape. Its simple. My question is, is it okay to make jokes at serious issues? Issues that affected so many women EVERY DAY.

Many people are outraged because date rape is something that is so common. I forget the exact statistics but its the worst on college campuses. I hear that the biggest issue is that in the movie, Ana Farris, is slut shamed. Slut shamming is when women are shamed for partaking in sexual activities. She's a common character that shows up in a lot of movies, majority. And if your a slut and you get drunk and then your date raped...well you asked for it?...Yea, fucked up but that's how a lot of people think. Especially the demographic for this movie. That's why many people are outraged. It only feeds into the already fucked up beliefs this particular demographic has on women and women's bodies.

But does that mean that it shouldn't be shown in the movie. I hate it. I hate the thought of it. I am hoping that when I see the movie, it will be (like some people who have seen the movie are saying) a situation that is supposed to add to the disgusting nature of this character. I hear that they are marketing the movie wrong, that it is a very dark comedy. But I dont know. Date rape is something that is serious and many people need to understand this. It's nothing to joke about. But does that mean we have a right to tell people that they can't put it in their movie. Can movie makers only show date rape in a serious light? I mean, their are so many questions that go with censorship. When is it okay to put date rape in a movie? A part of me is screaming NEVER. Not until it stops. Not until women's bodies stop being violated. Not until the movie industry isnt male dominated and male oriented. I know what your thinking too...are you going to see this movie? Yes, because I want to see the scene in its entire context. I need to know for certain if it is meant as a joke or not.

Bad cinema is such a complicated topic. Because it always brings up censorship. Argh. But as a feminist movie lover, I know how much the film industry affects society and reinforces patriachy. ACK.

http://jezebel.com/5204177/is-date-rape-funny-seth-rogen-explains-it-all-for-you

http://jezebel.com/5206917/critics-observe-and-report-seth-rogens-dark-comedy-is-disturbing

Comments

Response to Tipper, Alexandra on her/his blog entry about smoking:

But if you know smoking is addictive, why would you do it? Why start smoking? Being an alcoholic is not like being a smoker. It is pretty much inevitable that people will become addicted to cigarettes, but not everyone is an alcoholic. I can't seem to feel bad for people who use "smoking is addictive" for an excuse when they knew what they were getting into in the first place. You dont have to stop if you never start. Alcoholism is an entirely different situation in my opinion.

Response to Denis, Alexandre R. on her/his blog entry about hooliganism:

I never heard the term 'hooliganism' until I came to the U.K. I think that this happens everywhere. Their are always going to be idiots who take sports way too seriously. I went to a high school that has a 100 year rival history with another high school. It's so serious that you can make bets on the game in vegas and they usually show it on cable tv. Its the Massillon Tigers vs Mckinley Bulldogs. It is high school football (Amercian football, not soccer). People fight about this game so much. People have even gotten jumped! And its high school for goodness sakes. Teenagers. I think its idiotic but I think people just identify with a team so much they lose themselves in it. I don't think it will ever stop. Some people are just way too aggressive (which I think is reflective of the game itself) and they dont know what to do with it.

Response to Kumar, Sudareth on her blog entry about drugs and addiction:

I know I hear the argument that people feel more creative when they take certain drugs (ive heard this less of alcohol of course). And I do believe it for weed or lsd or something. But I can see the other side of the argument. But I do feel everything is the way it is supposed to be. I think that some of my favorite writers/artists are my favorite because they were troubled. It almost sounds sick but I really feel connected to dark souls. People that can't really identify with the world so they take drugs to cope. It's not that I wish that for people, but I understand it. And I think it adds to the authenticity of certain authors writings. And I feel the same way about them dying early. I think its sad when people die early from unnatural causes but I think that it was just their lot in life. It is how they were supposed to go. I imagine that some of the authors that you talked about wouldnt even be famous if they hadnt had the death that they have. Our society has an obsession with untimely deaths. So I dont know. But as you mentioned some of the authors didnt die early and their addictions hampered their creativity. But that's what addictions do, they help you at one point and then ultimately cause your death if you don't stop. I guess it just depends on the individual.

Jade Goody

So the professor gave us an idea to write on and I thought I would take the opportunity. Ok

Since I am American and just got here, I don't know anything about Jade Goody before she was sick. I just came and their were all these magazines with her face on them.

She had cervical cancer and she passed away from it. She got paid from magazines to be able to have right over pictures and such. She did it so her boys could have some money. But this drives me crazy. We don't know this woman. People keep saying that she really brought attention to cervical cancer which is true, but this woman was not someone in society that we had given any merit. She was a celebrity, with no actual talent, just a celebrity from being on Big Brother. And I believe before she got sick she wasn't well liked. She was accussed of racism and acted like an ass in the house apparently. That's one of my biggest problems with reality television celebrities. We praise nothing. They are there for us to critique and love and hate. We're emotionally invested in people we never meet. And usually, we like to see them crumble before our eyes. Their like toys. They subject themselves to this for the money and the fame and we gladly welcome it.

It's great that she caused society to look at cervical cancer. But we have to come up with a better way to do that. I don't know this woman and I feel extremely uncomfortable knowing that I never seen this woman a day in my life but yet..I have seen her DYING. And now she is gone. Something about it doesn't feel really good (soul wise). I feel voyeristic. Even commenting on it is making me feel a lil uneasy. I just think our society has a unnatural, unhealthy investment in peoples lives in the media. We make people celebrities just to watch them stumble and fall and to hate them and to like them and whatever. We get so invested in their lives we hardly look at their art (especially reality tv stars because they technically dont have one). I say we cause I have did it. and I think its dangerous.

But I also need to clarify. She did it so her boys could have money and I certainly don't judge that! It's one of those things where I can't say "oh well shame on her" because it's not the fact that she did it, it's the fact that it was an option.

And just in case you don't know what a cervix is (shame on you) here's a picture.