(no subject)

[green_queen]

WHY YES DOM IS IN TOWN and I'm not stalking him. See how good I'm being? And it totally has nothing to do with the fact that I have no idea how to go about it.

I was planning on posting the Eliza spam tonight but Image Shack crapped out on me and I'm tiiiiired. We had a garage sale here today. I waited for a couple of hours for Mitchell and his entourage to show up (I told them it was early!) and then when they didn't I went back to bed...only for them to arrive, naturally, less than half an hour later and disturb my slumber. I hung out with them some (Kyle fell off a chair and hit his head trying to take a photo of Mitchell - I think he's fine, but Mitchell is panicking) and watched Captain Planet (!!!). Then I went to the movies with Melissa.
Yesterday I went to a barbecue at Melissa's where I was anti-social with the boys and watched Veronica Mars. I kinda wanted to socialise, but at the same time...they kept talking about losing weight and exercising and that was fine the first time but I got bored after a few. Also, there were teenage girls, and I don't do well with teenage girls.

I think that's my news? Oh yes, went out Friday night to see Puppy off. It's a shame he's leaving, he's a hottie.

Okay, I haven't seen the new Supernatural episode properly yet, but I've sort of flicked through it (I can't say I'm living spoiler-free for this show. I don't care enough.) If you haven't seen it, you won't want to click this link that fueled my new rant about the show (or, more importantly, the fans.) It doesn't matter that much, the post itself isn't what irritated me (it does, in fact, give good argument and have a perfectly valid point). The comments are.

A few people appear to be of the opinion that, since the writers, casting people, and various others involved in the show aren't intentionally sitting around rubbing their evil hands and twisting their evil beards and thinking up new and vile ways to be sexist and racist, that somehow that makes the slightly insidious sexism and racism that has been on the show (up to this point, current plots notwithstanding) okay. An oversight. I mean, they didn't INTENTIONALLY make Jake, Henrickson and Gordon black, they were just the best actors who came in for the part. They're not intentionally sexist to women, it's just that they girls don't tend to get much play since the show's about the boys, and all the women on the show serve a certain purpose. Let's ignore the Cassie thing and say that's true. Isn't that PART OF THE PROBLEM? I don't think anyone who's ever argued that the show has serious social problems is sitting at their computers thinking that the writers are doing it on purpose. The fact that they're not is just as disturbing - and that goes for every other show too: Heroes, Lost, Buffy, everything (the sexism bit just bothers me more on Supernatural because there are so few girls and the fandom is nearly ALL female, and girls should know better.) The writers aren't conscious of the stereotypes they're portraying. They didn't write the line 'Could you be any more gay?' thinking about its homophobic content, just about Dean teasing Sam. They don't write characters like Cassie thinking about the difference between now and then and how much more black people are accepted now, and isn't that wonderful? They DON'T think about how Jake, Henrickson and Gordon are all kinda similar, morally borderline, and black. And, worst of all, they just don't think about creating female characters who have more than one dimension. They don't NEED them, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't have them. They need to start thinking about how they portray people, and how that might be read, because as television writers they have a responsibility to do so. They're sending messages about the show through their ignorance on these matters as much as through their attention to detail in other areas, and their narrow way of thinking comes through. It's insidious and implied, and that's what's really dangerous.

Now, affectingly brought up the extremely good point that if Dean and Sam were real people, they would probably be quite sexist and possibly misogynists. It's true, and if the writers wanted to have them spouting sexist comments, I wouldn't mind that so much if there were some strong, interesting female characters to counterbalance it. If they had a real, three-dimensional recurring female character (no, I don't think Ruby or Bela counts) who was there to show up the boys' talk as the stupidity sexism usually is, then fine. The sexism isn't just in the dialogue, though, it's in the very fabric of the show, and that's where my real issue lies.

So, whatever, tell me I'm over-thinking it (it's still fandom we're in, right? Isn't that the name of the game?) or that I'm being oversensitive. I majored in film and gender studies, hell, I probably am oversensitive in regards to this sort of thing. Doesn't mean I'm not right.

Happier things! dryope posted Season 4 Battlestar Galactica promos.

Apparently they're adding an original scene to Half-Blood Prince. I don't like that it's set at the Burrow, I don't think it's a place that should be violated. We'll see, I did like a lot of Alfonso Cuaron's...err, embellishments.

Random cool thing: Hollywoof blockbusters are Russian fairy tale illustrations.

Check out dekolette's I miss Piz picspam! Jamie and Mitchell are just now getting into Veronica Mars, and they're making me nostalgic.

corellianjedi made super cute Lost icons, as did ack_attack with bonus Supernatural.

Today I saw Charlie Wilson's War

Wow, I thought this movie was really good. My only gripes are minor: I found a few shots jarring, I didn't like the attempted blend of real footage from the war with their faked footage, and I feel a bit like even thought they addressed the current problems in Afghanistan, the responsibility was kind of shifted away from Charlie too easily with a couple of pat scenes.

Now, the good bits! It was a really intelligent movie that didn't sugarcoat the issues or the characters involved, but still made them really enjoyable and likable. That's a tough sell, and I'm sure at least one of the reasons this movie has been overlooked come awards season and by the States is that it's hard to watch a movie where your sympathies lie with the guys in turbans with guns, because in our time that image immediately means 'terrorist.' This problematises the whole way America is portraying the current war, and it does so cleverly, with witty lines and Republican characters and pretty, saturated footage. It's funny and it makes you think. Yes, Aaron Sorkin is good. Shut up Melissa.

All the performances are really strong, even Julia Roberts, which I didn't so much expect somehow. I thought she'd be phoning it in, but she kind of radiates strength and sex appeal. Tom Hanks is good, and Philip Seymour Hoffman is outstanding (isn't he always?) His character was one of the best on the screen. I also loved the ever-adorable Amy Adams.

4 out of 5



Thank God for the Beef
Green Queen