Fight Club

This film, though it came out in theaters here, I had never seen it before. It was kind of weird and creepy but I guess I got the whole idea behind the movie. Edward Norton, plays the narrator and can't sleep for months due to his illness of insomnia. His doctor advises him to go to group therapy meetings, where he cries, and somehow these meetings are the only way he can sleep at night; that is, til he meets Marla Singer, who is a faker at these meetings just as much as he is.
Through this weird encounter with Marla Singer, they decide to split up the group therapy meetings so they don't run into each other anymore, they exchange numbers to keep in touch though. Norton, then "meets" Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), a soap salesman, on a business trip, Durden just happens to know how to make homemade dynamite. Norton comes home, to an apartment that was just blown off the 15th floor. Norton calls Tyler asking for a place to stay, Tyler takes him in, and they start to have this little bromance while living together.
These two men start the Fight Club, which happens to just be a bunch of men, with simple rules, fighting everything out of them, when it's done, it's done and that's that. To me, the Fight Club kind of represented the average joe, constantly being pushed down by society, looking for an outlet of excitement and a sense of belonging to something bigger than themselves.
Tyler who seems to be the brains of the whole operation, kind of preaches to the men, about how they are the ones doing the "dirty" work, they are just the average man being dominated by those that are part of the upper class society. They try to go against every concept of the matrix of domination, but the weird thing is, they're all men, the only woman in the film is Marla, who is constantly being taken advantage of and shunned everytime she comes around.
I felt like this was the perfect portrayal of the problem with male masculinity. In the end, we find out that Tyler Durden doesn't really exist, and that Norton just created him in his mind, as a sort of more manly portrayal of himself. Tyler does all the things that Norton wouldn't have done. Tyler seems like the new, upgraded version of Norton.
Eventually Fight Club turns into Project Mayhem, none of the men have names, and they go against "the man" in other words all the norms of society. These men feel an insecurity of some sort, that they have to prove themselves to one another through membership of Project Mayhem. They only find satisfaction in pleasing one another and going by the rules of Project Mayhem.
Though this film was kind of weird, it turned out that I liked it. The fighting was brutal and it seemed everyone was in some state of disillusionment, but I guess that's how we are when we just function and set into our niche in society. The Fight Club was trying to go against that niche and against all forms of consumerism.

The Topp Twins

First off, I'd like to say that The Topp Twins was a great movie, I loved it. I think the best part of the movie was the humor and laughter that came along with it, making it sentimental and funny altogether.
This true story about Jools and Lynda Topp, both twins from a small farming town in New Zealand is very inspiring. They had a great impact, not only in their own community but pretty much around the world, using music and laughter to grab everybody's attention.
Jools and Lynda, lesbian twins, admitted that it was hard for their parents, but in the interviews throughout the movie, their parents loved them the same. The Topp Twins, used their talent of music and their natural humor to become activists for the LGBTQ community in New Zealand. They learned how to make everything dealing with issues in the LGBTQ community very light and funny, but made sure it was brought to the people's attention, along with nuclear weapons in New Zealand, and the rights of the Maori people. They used their status and popularity to defend what they believed in, and everyone loved the manner in which they demonstrated their beliefs.
This movie clearly demonstrated how media can have such a big effect on the minds and opinions of people in any given society. The twins wanted to show that they were normal, affectionate people, just like everyone else, with a plus, they were corky and talented, qualities that seemed irresistable to the people of New Zealand.
They fought for Gay and Lesbian rights, especially through their music and comedy acts. I thought it was wonderful how they supported the Maori people, the people that are oppressed in their own land, like Jools said in the beginning before the movie, it's not our land, we just live there. They demonstrated respect for the culture and the peoples' land.
This was my first time ever attending any type of film festival and it was a great experience. This movie was definitely a good one to start out with. It was very inspiring and just plain funny.

But I'm A Cheerleader

But I'm a Cheerleader was kind of creepy,with the overboard campiness, though it was probably used to exaggerate or really put out how heterosexist our society really is. I think that camp was used to shed light on issues with sexual orientation we have in our society. The fact that our sexual orientation, depending on what it is, can totally change our social experiences and our relationships with one another.
When Graham says, " You are who you are, the trick is not getting caught!" is kind of schocking in that there's still a lot of truth to it. Though we think we've come really far from the 50's when apparently men were "men" and women were "women", truth is; we have not.
The first few days of Megan's stay at True Directions, was very shocking as she begins to realize parts of her identity. Graham, I feel like, was the only one who was being real, she was the only one who took on the social identity model, that she wasn't the problem, the problem was society and how they were being percieved as freaks who needed fixing. Graham knew they couldn't "be fixed", except I felt like she kind of betrayed her identity towards the end, til she ran away with Megan. This process for Megan was very different, it was liked they moved in opposite directions to meet in the middle, and end up together.
The approach taken to "treat" these young teens was totally outrageous and DOES NOT seperate sexuality and gender what so ever. The image to the right, provided by salon.com, is an example of the "treatment" used to head in the direction of becoming a heterosexual. The process of socialization of gender roles was used to treat these teens, so as if they learned how to be a man or woman, people would percieve them as heterosexual as long as they fit into that extremely small box of standards defining a man or woman based on gender roles and perceptions from other people. The fact that if you're a woman, you should constantly be cleaning your house or changing your kids' diapers are ridiculous definitions used to describe "womanhood" so to speak. Then again, I know that was part of the campiness of the movie, but keep in mind, we still sometimes, unconsciously, believe this.
The boys in the movie were training to chop wood, fix cars, and play football, all things that our society puts under the definition of male. Again, a very small box that society tells us EVERYONE should fit in, if not you are deemed as "the other".
Really, this True Directions camp in the movie, is like our penal system in a way. You go in to get fixed, but you just come out with more issues. These teens didn't need fixing, they come out with more issues, in that they internalize the stereotypes about themselves, and they feel that they absolutely have to assimilate into society or else the people that are supposed to love them won't any longer if they go on being themselves. This just goes back to what Graham says, being who you are is pretty much a social crime or down.
Just when we think we've changed, we really haven't, we haven't come far at all, in terms of all the class concepts we've discussed. The institutional system of oppression still stands, and it affects our lives in and out of our own homes, something that we all must realize so we can make a change, even if it takes longer than our own lifetime to see it enforced.

Ableism, Heterosexism, and Sexism: Sharon and Karen

The story of Sharon Kowalski and Karen Thompson told by Joan L. Griscom from Race, Class, and Gender in the United States, by Paula Rothenberg, was a perfect and clear example of how intersectionality involves our experiences in the institutions set up in the United States. Although we'd like to believe that these institutions are in place to regulate and protect everyone in society, this obviously is not true.
Griscom gives evidence to how the "failure of the medical system was consistently supported by the legal system". Sharon did not recieve the proper care and facilities needed to make the fullest recovery possible, and as this kept happening under the medical system, we must keep in mind that the legal system is in place to regulate it. Kowalski's father obviously didn't have Sharon's best interests in mind, he just wanted Karen to stay away from her, even though Karen was the best thing towards Sharon's recovery process.
This story pretty much just pisses me off. The fact that no matter how much Karen did and proved that she was what Sharon wanted and needed, the institution was not set up in their favor; it was against them.
The three modes of oppression, that Griscom refers to, plays a big role in these women's experiences, but it seems as if this case had to happen for everyone outside of LGBT to realize how much our institutions need some reevaluating. It's important to know how these three modes of oppression worked against the couple. Ableism, Heterosexism, and Sexism, all three seem very invisible in society, but that's only because it was set up that way, in favor of able bodied, heterosexual, men (i.e. Sharon's father). That's why he won guardianship over Sharon, because the institutions were and are designed in his favor. He did everything to slow down Sharon's path to recovery, all to make sure Karen could not see her, why? because these two women, were lesbians in love, and he believed that his daughter was not able to communicate what she truly wanted.
Why, in the state of Minnesota or anywhere else does a women absolutely need a man to be accountable for her? Why does she need a guardian to be a man? If this had been a heterosexual couple, the legal battle of guardianship would not have even happened. Nobody would have said anything in opposition. Why? because as long as a man was there to oversee Sharon, she would've been fine right? WRONG. Sharon knew what she wanted, and she knew how to communicate it, but everyone in opposition just assumed she was incompetent, she no longer held any intelligence.
What can we do to change our institutions and systems? We need to know now, how they affect us in our everyday lives, and we need to make it known. Like Karen in the past Griscom tells us that Karen originally believed that our social institutions are basically fair and that their problems were merely personal problems. What is fair? Does it even really exist in the U.S.?

Pain Beauty and Why we wear what we do.

The anatomy of a female includes many curves, and imperfections, whether we like them or not, they exist. The clothing that we choose to wear can either enhance or diminish our natural structure. Everyone’s sense of fashion is parallel to their body type and what’s in style at the time. Have you ever thought about the little things we wear, though painful as they are, as long as they increase our sense of sex appeal to the opposite sex, we willingly put ourselves through it.

The high heel, stiletto, or pump, are all shoes designed for women, by men to pinpoint areas of the female body. These shoes are designed to make us feel uncomfortable, but make it pleasing to the male eye. Wearing any heeled shoe makes a woman’s posture completely change into a very awkward position. It’s designed to make our chest stick outward, arching our back, and pushing our bottom outward in the opposite direction. Not only do the shoes cause us foot problems, as far as blisters, pinched Achilles, and just plain aching feet, this almost every part of our spine, from our neck to our toes.

Why do we wear these shoes? Why did men design these shoes? Well duh! Since they accentuate the parts of our body that men love best, (i.e. our butts, boobs, legs, and pretty manicured toes) we love to wear them when it comes to the attention that it brings to us.
I’m not going to lie, I’m a sucker for cute colorful pumps or just plain sexy black ones, but every time I wear them, the whole time all I can think about is how I can’t wait to get home and take them off! They kill my feet, my back, my hips, EVERYTHING!
Why is it so important to us to feel attractive and sexy when it comes to the opposite sex? So much that we willingly put ourselves through pain, because PAIN=BEAUTY. These days, they’re making heels as high as five inches! Why, I don’t know, do we really need another five inches to the top of our heads? No! Who’s going to actually wear those without feeling like a complete and total idiot in pain?
Another aspect of female fashion I would like to shed some light on, is the thong, low rider jeans, and the boy shorts. Again, who designed the thong? Why? The first types of thongs were worn by men, otherwise known as the loincloth. The first modern thong was introduced by a man, Rudi Gernreich, who designed the monokini, a topless thong swimsuit. Thongs did not become popular in the U.S. until the late 90’s.

There is a whole set of criteria and standard of women’s underwear, it’s kind of ridiculous. There’s the ‘granny pannies’, known as something that of course, your grandma would wear, the boy shorts (to the left), made to be cheeky and show a little more of our; yeah you guessed it; butt cheeks, and of course the thong. What else goes better with thongs then tight low-rider jeans and miniskirts, complemented with a nice high pair of stilettos?


We wear all of these things, designed by men, for men, and worn by women. No matter how uncomfortable or displeasing it is to our body’s natural form, we wear it. The picture above, displays how most thirteen year old girls wear these thongs. Now, I’m going to say this again, I have underwear designed to be hidden, but in this case, it seems designed to be flaunted and flattered. The issue of twelve and thirteen year old girls wearing these skimpy things in the locker room, is another issue somebody else has probably written a blog about already. This is all connected to the want of sexual attention from the opposite sex, but girls that age shouldn’t even be thinking abou that to begin with.
All these accessories are made for us to emotionally feel sexy and attractive, and benefit the eye of a man. Duh! That’s why they made them. I mean, I honestly didn’t even think about the issues behind a simple pair of underwear or shoes, but there are a lot of social stigmas behind them, we just need to point them out more often then not.