Woman and Philosophy: Another Broken Toy

©2010-2012 ~ZeTrystan---(Picture)

I want to write a short blog about this picture. I stumbled upon it a few months ago while writing my review of Run Lola Run and found it to be a very powerful metaphor.

I knew I wanted to blog about it but did not know exactly what I wanted to say until we read the latest section of Beauvoir. This drawing in a way represents what she was saying especially if we take it as losing one’s virginity. The picture could be about violent rape but it could be losing of virginity and rape—and to Beauvoir they are symbolically the same thing.

 This picture takes the romantic ideal parodied with the same symbols in the well-known film Robin Hood: Men in Tights, that the right guy is the “right fit” or even “the perfect fit”. Literally, we are obviously talking about the penis but if we delve deeper, more meaning can be found—essentially going back to the story of Aristophanes where sex is our search to find our other half—our “soul-mate”. The bloody key in this picture is a match to the key hole in the doll where the genitals normally are however, from the mood of the picture we can see that this was not the romantic “deflowering” she had in mind but painful, confusing, unexpected, and that in the process, this “toy” lost something she cannot get back. Physically this is her virginity but metaphorically, it is also her innocence and things like that.

Also the fact that the artists calls her a toy—the concept men have that women are things for their pleasure and amusement that they can “play” with and that, as with most people and their toys, will outgrow, become bored with, and\or move on to a new toy. Essentially that society (as in media and gender stereotypes) perceive women as disposable things—not people, that are transient and can easily be replaced, as the other part of the title of the piece implies—another broken toy.

What do you think of the drawing? Do you agree that these concepts are still real and present in society?

One beautiful day you will find...

The cute little doll.
A little girl easy to play with.
Beautiful little eyes. Beautiful little lips.
Her little heart beats, again and again.

You only have to use your key.
Find the keyhole and turn, turn.
Turn to hear her little voice.
Turn to hear her crying.

And then, you're bored.
You don't want to play with the little doll.
So you put her in the garbage.
Goodbye little broken toy.

...

And one beautiful day you will find...

©2010-2012 ~ZeTrystan---(Poem)

Women and Philosophy: Miss Piggy

“Forgive me for being so forward, but I'm a liberated pig.”—Frank Oz as Miss Piggy on The Muppet Show Season 1

Starting today, I will be doing a blog entry on everything that pops into my mind relevant to the course each day unless I think of nothing. This will mean shorter blogs but more frequent entries. Today’s theme is Jim Henson, the Muppets, and Miss Piggy.

As most people know the Muppets are quite on the liberal side of the fence (though their intention and function is to be enjoyed by all) and this can be said about sexism and feminism.

Now several of the male characters for most the original show made sexist jokes to her but this was a parody on how stupid sexism is. The Muppets are all about parodies and satire. However, the thing that is interesting is the character of Miss Piggy. Several of the main Muppet characters have fully fleshed out personalities just like any good character in a story and like a story there is growth and character development. What is so wonderful about Piggy is that she is the bridge the bridge between stereotypes, eras, and extremes. She is overly feminine in most of her actions—she loves make-up, fashion, acting sophisticated, and being helplessly in love with the frog of her dreams. However, the other side of her is strong, willful, independent, and determined. She knows how to defend herself and she knows how to get what she wants—and rather than use her looks and her body to get what she wants which is the typical way females in television series manipulate male characters (with sex and sex appeal), she uses her strength and her attitude. This was one of the gender stereotypes we used to hear about: men are more assertive and are more likely to get a job and a higher paying salary because they are driven and want to haggle and negotiate.

This is a wonderful message to send to young girls who watched the show and later the movies: that it is ok to be “girly” and feminine but that there are more traits other than those. People are more complex then stereotypes we all know that. Like one of the message of Citizen Kane, people are defined by their contradiction. Simply put, Miss Piggy taught the young audience, both boys and girls that it is ok for a girl to be strong and smart as well as liking glitz and glamour.

Grinds My Gears: Anxiety

You know what I really hate right now? Anxiety! It is like an inescapable vicious circle. Something causes anxiety, then you get anxious. You try to approach the thing to get some catharsis by doing it, solving it, fixing it, or confronting it. However, you are too anxious to do this—or trying to do this causes you to be more anxious and then you can’t do it. When you can’t do it you become more upset about this and start to worry about the consequences of not doing it which makes you more anxious which makes it even more difficult to do it and so on until you peak out and shut down and then this formula is applied to almost every situation because being in such a high state of anxiety for so long shorts out your nerves and cause you to become more sensitive to anxiety so now not only are you still freaking out about the original issue, that in it of itself is not that big of a thing and eventually you may have gotten it done, you are also anxious about everything else and so you can totally forget about being able to do the initial thing let alone the simplest of things like writing an email or reading a chapter. You feel you have become useless which then depresses you on top of the anxiety, which now causes in combination, panic attacks and then, in the purest definition of anxiety, you become anxious and panicked about your anxiety and panic! This depresses you more and you then become depressed about being depressed. Then these issues bleed even more into each other: you become anxious you are depressed and get depressed about being anxious—you you get more and more depressed and anxious—then you can’t do anything and now we are back to the beginning. Furthermore, most of the home remedies for anxiety are counterintuitive to focusing on what needs to be done, typically, smoking, drinking, sleeping, etc—things that boast they relax you, constrict blood vessels which simulates the effect of a hug which scientifically is proven to relax a person. However, this means less blood gets to the brain so even if you do calm yourself down with these various methods, you are still unlikely to be able to get stuff done! Then, you start to think about all this the way I am which also gets you even more anxious and depressed and gives you a sense of hopelessness. Also—since you are not getting anything done. You think about all the horrid negative consequences about this which, depending on your situation can vary from anything like getting fired from your job, failing all your classes which can mean losing financial aid and\or academic suspension, if you are spending money on stuff to distract you from your anxiety you will think about how much money you’ve wasted that you shouldn’t have, and it just goes on and on. You may ask why then, am I able to write this rant? Well the answer is simple, when you are in a state of panic and anxiety, the easiest thing to do is to talk about how it makes you feel.

Women and Philosophy: Commercials

Dr. Pepper anti-women campaign: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iuG1OpnHP8

Watch the commercial before reading this. Can any of you believe this? Well actually, I can since I hate the media and advertizing but this is a bit too far. I commented on this commercial on YouTube already and what I will say here will be slightly similar. First off, you (Dr. Pepper) are trying to market a product that, thanks to already unfounded stupid gender stereotypes about men, would not normally sell to a male audience since real men eat and drink what they like and do not give a damn about their health or physical appearance. However, I would expect this more of an older commercial since we as a society have been breaking down these gender barriers and stereotypes slowly but surely over the last several decades. It is now becoming more “acceptable” for men to try to be healthier mainly in their diet since the gay-rights movements as well as the metro-sexual movement it should not matter as much. I am going off on a tangent here but only because this commercial pissed me off so much. I understand that most “light” beverages are typically marketed towards women and that Dr. Pepper is trying to tell men that this is not true about this product. However, when those sodas started gaining popularity in the early 80’s, men drank them also, Tab is a great example. I can think of a film example of this in the case of Marty McFly from Back to the Future drinking his Tab. This movement of corporations to try to get their products to be used by all is gone about in the wrong way. Take Dove soap for example. Dove claims to be the leading soap in the area of moisturizing and repairing skin. Now typically rugged outdoor manly men are men to be rough and callous yet the recent Dove For Men commercials convince men they should take care of their skin if not for themselves then at least for their female friends sake and as corporate America still assumes the best way to a man’s pocket is thru his penis. And even though Dove For Men is the exact same soap as the regular except for the box saying men and being grey rather than white, at least these commercials don’t exclude women from buying their product. It may say “men” on the box but never “not for women”. Are the CEO’s of Dr. Pepper that stupid? To tell more than 50 percent of the population of the world that they are not allowed to consume this product? How the hell is that supposed to give them more sales? You heard it the commercial says clearly “ladies this drink is not for you” This commercial’s theme is also an insult. It may be true that most Action films are marketed towards men, the best example of which is Crank which is a terrible movie comprised mostly of large loud explosions and lots of breasts, but that doesn’t mean “the ladies” as the commercial puts it, are not allowed to watch them. True they may not be expected to watch them, but they can do as they wish since they are equal to men. Furthermore, I know several girls who love the Indiana Jones films, which are considered action and these girls range from very feminine to very masculine proving the commercial wrong. I guess the commercial would also so a man cannot enjoy a romance. Well just for the record I own both “manly movies” like Saving Private Ryan and Gran Torino but I also own P.S I Love You and Definitely, Maybe.

I also request that each member of the class who reads this after watching the commercial write an email to Dr Pepper telling them you refuse to purchase any of their precuts or products from affiliated companies until they agree to cease airing this commercial because if enough people do this, they will become concerned about their bottom line. I know it is “just a commercial” and I know it is meant to be a joke but if we don’t take it seriously, all it does is perpetuate untrue stereotypes and clichés that have no biological base.

I would also like to take a look at a commercial that is also a bit extreme but is now focused on women.

Summer’s Eve: Hail to the V: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxW_ZCd64tg

On a lighter note, this commercial is funny and witty but it also goes a little too far. People did not worship Cleopatra’s vagina or even worship her because she had a vagina. Also, if this commercial were fully right, then there would have been more queendoms and less kingdoms--more matriarchies and less patriarchies. I do like this commercial however even though it is saying the only thing men want and care about is sex, and therefore this commercial also perpetuates negative gender stereotypes. At least is doesn’t really exclude or damn women. In fact, this commercial is way more suited for saying this product is not for the opposite sex at all since the product being marketed is for vagina’s and so it would have made more sense for this commercial to use the Dr. Pepper model and say “guy’s, this cream is not for you”. I would like to make it clear that my problem with this commercial is really only that it is too silly and goes a bit too far but I do like it and it really doesn’t do much harm to men or women.

Women and Philosophy: Aristophanes

I would first like to apologize for the lack of any blog activity the last week and even this one I’m getting in right before the deadline. I would like to take this time to apologize for this as well as an appearance of lack of enthusiasm in the classroom and my two absences. I would like to explain this behavior as I am not a slacker or a lazy student and I pride myself in my work and want to do my best for my professors to show them the learning that is taking place. That being said, I do not want to give the impression that I am anything less than a serious student. I am about to explain this recent behavior—not excuse but explain. I have been going thru a rough time recently with a depressive episode and have been doing my very best to cope and to push forward and power thru my homework and classes trying my hardest to focus on my studies. At times, it is difficult to even read as I struggle with every word and feel illiterate. On the days, I have missed classes I was in very bad places and had I gone to class I would have not gotten anything out of it and I probably would have concerned the students around me and may have left in the middle of class anyway. On these days, I also felt I could not go to class, not just mentally, but I felt I physically could not move. Like with any severe illness I have good days and bad days and I am working with an on campus therapist to ease the burden of these feelings. This is mainly to apologize to my fellow students because the class is a discussion-based one, that includes the blogging, and when one person neglects this, the whole class suffers. My professors will receive a separate email explaining the situation in more detail. Thank you all for your understanding and I apologize again.

Now on to the blog:

This week I would like to talk about my SLAP since I did not get a chance to on Wed, however, the conversation that we did have was interesting indeed. I turn to the first paragraph on pg. 23. I disagree with her statement that the Platonic myths “take sexual differentiation for granted without attempting to explain it”. I admit that they may take it for granted but the myth she refers to does explain it in a sense. In addition, one could argue that if people did not really care that there was sexual differentiation, they might be more inclined to see the sexes as equal. The myth she refers to is a story that Aristophanes tells Plato to try to explain sexual intercourse. Beauvoir agrees with this but she feels it is only about sex while I interpret this story as being much more romantic than pure sex. One could interpret Aristophanes story to explain why people “make love” I thought of this when I remembered Robert Rowland Smith’s interpretation of the story in his book Breakfast with Socrates that I highly recommend. Smith gives a beautiful interpretation of the story as follows:

“Ever since [our bodies were cut in two], the severed individuals have been seeking to come back to their other half, defining sex—the gluing of fragments—as deep satisfaction of being once more complete. Aristophanes’s story holds no biological water, of course, but like many myths it makes up for it in psychological insight: it interprets the craving for sex as nostalgia, a desire for return to a lost paradise of wholeness and haleness, a site of familiarity and sameness. In tumbling into the exquisite comfort of a lover’s arms, you are seeking to repair your perforated soul.”

He puts it so poetically but I agree with him fully. I know that Beauvoir has a different agenda here, but she does wave her hand over this story of sex as if it does not do as much as it should or that the philosophers were not focusing on the real issue at hand—which may be true. Do not get me wrong, I agree with pretty much everything she has to say, which makes it difficult to make a SLAP being in such agreement.

However, shouldn’t this class talk at least a little bit about male and female relationships? Especially since most of the complaints of either sex are directed at the opposite one as a direct result of relationship problems. Most of the clichés and stereotypes and genders and sexes are based in the differences that cause problem in log term relationships—most sitcoms that deal with couples focus most of their attention on this subject such as Home Improvement and Everybody Loves Raymond, as well as others. The only problem here is that usually the issues refer back to straight couples, as does Aristophanes story, although he never specifically mentions that when the humans were split one-half looks male and the other female, it is almost certainly implied.

Moreover, since ALL types of relationships and gender\sex differences are equally valid, it may be a waste of time for our class to discuss these issues, which seem to be on a different level than our class. This was all just some food for thought and since that, it was these blogs are for I hope I sparked some thoughts about the nature of intercourse at the very least.

Women and Philosophy: Double Standards

I am extremely off my game today and I apologize in advance—it has been a long and strenuous week. Today I am doing a short post on double standards. Oh, how I hate double standards. Let’s start with the most obvious: sex.

It seems that as long as forever, it is not only no surprise when a man sleeps around but it is also expected and usually encouraged. At the same time however, women are meant to “guard their flower” How do people expect this to work? If all the men are meant to be having sex with as many women as they can while simultaneously, women are supposed to save it for the right one or just for love or just for the one they marry. This is like the statistic about drivers I’m sure most have you have heard esp. if you have been in a statistics class: 80%\of all drivers report that they are better than the average driver—you see how this doesn’t work. Even when safe sex is involved, the stigmas and stereotypes are still there. If someone finds a condom in a guy’s wallet he is just being responsible and prepared, however, if someone find birth control in a girl’s purse, she is a slut. Even worse is when the religion gets involved. In both Christianity and Islam, it is widely considered a sin to have sex before marriage. However, if a guy does it he is just being a guy “boys will be boys”—it is still a sin, society just doesn’t care. If a girl has done it though, parents throw a huge fit. Even worse still in Islamic culture, if a girl has sex before marriage she is used goods and no lager fit to be anyone’s wife. Even if she was raped or she rode horses when she was, young it is still her fault and she is cast out. WTF?!\Logic? None to be seen. As i said it is still a sin for a guy to do it but there is no physical evidence of it afterwards so no one is the wiser, except the girl that he “ruined”. This explains why there is great popularity with one of the latest plastic surgeries: hymen reattachment.

There are many other double standards that affect women but what about the few that affect men? These problems are still technically about women and I was thinking on these today. The first is that whenever there is a couple fighting, usually the guy is always blamed even if the girl is the abusive one in the relationship, which does happen, if people get involved in the argument they usually side with the girl. Another one that people fairly think about is if a guy is watching children play, the first place a lot of people’s minds go is that he is a child-molester. However, a child is equally likely to be stolen by a woman. Woman who are infertile or lost a child may, in the right mind-set, steal someone else’s child and raise them as their own—but no o e ever thinks about that when a woman is watching children somewhere.

Film Reviews: Simon Pegg Week: Day 5: Run Fatboy Run

“Sorry. I went for a run this morning in my trunks...and I think I've got a bit of a rash...you know, down there in the, uh...scrotal zone.”

Yesterday with Paul, we lost Wright and today we lose Frost and Park. However, we still have a film co-written by Pegg. Run Fatboy Run is a fantastic serious romantic comedy that anyone can enjoy.

Pegg plays Dennis Doyle (“from downstairs”), a man who left his fiancé, Libby, pregnant at the alter—he just ran away for reasons later revealed. The plot of the film is Dennis trying to maintain his relationship with Libby and their son, Jake. However, things get more complicated when Dennis meets Libby’s new American boyfriend, Wit who right off, the audience can tell is not a nice guy (even though he acts like one). Dennis has always run away from all the uncomfortable situations in his life and has never finished anything he starts—he is a quitter. However, when he finds out the Wit is a marathon runner and is signed up for an up-coming race, he decides to show Libby that he can change and that he can finish something. Problems arise when he cannot find a way into the race since the dead line was several months ago. His good friends are there to support and to push him, motivate him, and essentially force him into running the race. Will it be enough? Can he change? Does Libby still love him? Is he running for the right reason?

There are so many things that I love about this film. First and foremost, the way it is set up and the flow and mood of the piece. On the surface it is just another romantic comedy but it is more serious than most of the one’s I have seen. It has a mood not unlike the film Definitely, Maybe that is funny but also serious. Run Fatboy Run is very hilarious but has a message and a theme to get across about facing ones fears and committing to ones responsibilities, which the film articulates wonderfully. The first time I saw this was in theaters when it first came out on a date with my first serious girlfriend. After seeing Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, I just had to see this. When I did see this I laughed my arse off for most of the film but there were several moments when I teared-up and at one point cried. This film pulls at all the right heartstrings. Simon Pegg is a brilliant writer.

 In addition, writing for this film is Michael Ian Black who wrote the original story. I know him best for his comedic work on the short-lived television show, Stella. Directing Run Fatboy Run is David Schwimmer who most people know from Friends. Schwimmer and Pegg had co-starred together a year earlier in Big Nothing which formed their relationship and created this great film. However, I was not impressed at all with Big Nothing. In fact, I think it is by far the worst Pegg film there is. It is not the fault of Pegg or Schwimmer, the film just sucked and I have been debating on reviewing it or not.

Anyway, semi-co-starring in Run Fatboy Run is Dylan Moran who played David in Shaun of the Dead who is most known for his hit comedy show, Black Books which also starred Bill Bailey (Spaced, Hot Fuzz). Also, the voice of the television commentator towards the end of the film is none other than Peter Serafinowicz (Spaced, Shaun of the Dead).

Run Fatboy Run also has a phenomenal British soundtrack. Seriously, check it out. Each song works perfectly with the scenes they are behind. The film is also a great look at areas in London such as Canary Wharf and Hamsterheath Park.

There are a few things to point out. One is that in the scene when Dennis is snogging his reflection in his mirror, if you look closely, you can see the crew reflected in the television screen on the left. Schwimmer was aware of this but since they were on a time restraint and it really was the best take, he used it anyway. However, the scene is so engaging that I did not notice it until I watched the DVD commentary and he pointed it out. Also, the flashback scene when Dennis is on the bus was never scripted and was added much later. It is a wonderful and important scene and I am glad they decided to add it.

In the scene where Wit is intimidating Dennis with his penis, he is really powdering his balls—talk about a method actor.

Finally, something that blows my mind is how great of an actor they have to play Jake. Matthew Fenton is a brilliant child-actor and he never forgot a line not even once. He makes the film that much more believable.

Run Fatboy Run truly is a gem. It has many hilarious moments juxtaposed with very serious content, the acting and writing is brilliant, and the theme of the film is great. I was going to give it 4.9 out of 5 because I do slightly enjoy Shaun and Fuzz more but since the difference is negligible, I might as well give Run Fatboy Run 5 out of 5 stars.

Film Reviews: Simon Pegg Week: Day 4: Paul

“This is America. Kidnapping a Christian is worse than harboring a fugitive”

Alright. He we are: Day 4. The last film to be made by Simon Pegg and co. After this, all that are left are simply films he has starred in.

Paul is the third film made with Pegg, Frost acting, and Park producing. Edgar Wright wasn’t on-board this time which may explain why this is my least favorite out of the three films—it is certainly one of the funniest but it just doesn’t have the Wright feel to it (and yes, that pun was indented). Instead, this film was co-written by Pegg and Frost instead of Pegg and Wright and it was directed by Greg Mottola who directed Superbad—this might explain further, why I was not that impressed by Paul—I did not really like Superbad all that much.

Pegg goes back into a nerd-dork role that is even more dorky and nerdy than Tim from Spaced. However, he does take-up Tim’s old carrier of graphic artist so there is some reference to Spaced. If you pay attention, there are a few more nods to this. For example, the guys (Jim and Jason) that did all of Tim’s drawings in Spaced also did Graeme’s drawings in Paul. While on the subject of art, you may, notice that the t-shirt the Ruth is wearing has a comic that is drawn by the same guy (Oscar Rights) who did Danny’s flip-book cartoon in Hot Fuzz and the art for the continuity holes for Shaun of the Dead on the DVD.

Graeme (Pegg) and Clive (Frost) are on holiday from England to go to comic-con in San Diego and then take a road trip down the Extraterrestrial Highway to visit all the alien paranormal hotspots such as Area 51, the Black Mailbox, and Roswell.

The film starts with a spaceship landing on a little girl’s dog named Paul in Wyoming in 1947 (1947 was also the year of the Roswell crash and the year Pegg’s mom was born). We then cut to comic-con (not the actual comic-con). The Orcs in the street are actually the real Orc costumes borrowed from Peter Jackson (Pegg makes friends everywhere he goes).

While on their road trip, driving one night a car starts to speed up behind them blaring its horn and flashing its headlights. They think it is couple of rednecks they pissed off back at a diner but it turns out to be just someone in a hurry. Once the car passes them, the driver loses control and the car flips off the road. When Graeme and Clive go to investigate, it turns out to be an alien called Paul.

Paul is being chased by secret agents done up to look like “men in black” and the film essentially becomes a “road-trip’ movie with aliens. It’s mostly a comedy but does have action and suspense. I guess the best way to describe it is a cross between Race with the Devil, E. T, and National Lampoon’s: Vacation.

Just a couple of side-notes. While the filming of Paul was taking place, Park was also producing Scott Pilgrim and Pegg became a father.

Paul, like Spaced, references tons of science-fiction films and Steven Spielberg films in general. There are references and nods to Star Wars, Star Trek, Alien, Aliens, Predator, Back to the Future, E. T, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jaws, etc. One of more subtle but great references to look out for is the scene at the bar and the bluegrass band is playing the cantina theme from Star Wars. At one point Paul talks to Spielberg on the phone and it really is Spielberg talking.

A few location shots are also references back to great movies. For example, the town the group stops in where Paul is dressed as a cowboy (at this point it is not a CGI Paul but the stunt-coordinators son dressed up in a Paul costume) is a very famous location. The town is Las Vegas, New Mexico and on the very block, that Paul is filmed is the diner from the scene in Easy Rider when Jack Nicolson is first introduced. In addition, it is where the car is blown up outside a pharmacy in No Country for Old Men. There is a scene from Red Dawn that is shot here also.

The movie also features a very famous cast and the film is very well acted.

However, it still was a letdown after seeing Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Paul does not have the clever blend that gave the other films humor. Paul mostly relies on running gags, references, and essentially, for lack of a better term, ‘potty-mouth’ humor. It is a hilarious film, I will give it that, but I feel it could have been so much better had Edgar Wright been working with them like the last two times. Perhaps it also had something to do with the fact that this time it was intended more for an American audience, I really can’t say why it wasn’t such a hit with me as the his previous works. However, that is not to say that films starring Simon Pegg are always worse without all his friends working on it as well, for example, Run, Fatboy, Run is a great movie and it has only Pegg and no Wright, Frost, or Park.

I like the movies pace and I like how it accesses more than just laughter from the audience. The film does have intense and serious moments as well as a few adrenaline fueled scenes that seem to be out of an action movie, but overall, it is just not as great as the movies that came before. Paul gets  4 out of 5 from me.

I will say one fantastic thing about this film is Paul himself. The detailed CGI animation is the most realistic I have seen in many films. It is brilliantly animated and I bow down to the huge animation team that made this possible. Watch the film, the look of Paul is really spectacular and I truly admire the work of these animators. The film gets an extra .5 stars just for the work that went into the CGI for Paul. That doesn’t seem like much, but that is a huge percentage of quality to dedicate to only one aspect of an entire film. So with the work on Paul, the film gets 4.5 out of 5

 

*!SPOILER ALERT!*

I thought I would throw this in here because of something in Nerd Do Well. Throughout the movie, there is the mystery of who plays the boss of the secret agency. We know she is female from her voice. Now most of the super-sci-fi fans will probably pick up on the voice and figure out who it is. The people who like to feck with surprises will check imdb. I am assuming those of you reading this part knows whom it is. In Pegg’s book he talks about how when he was a kid he had a huge crush of Diane Keaton and at one point fell in love with another actress for a brief time. He wrote poems when he was younger and wrote one for Diane Keaton and one for the other actress. Here is that poem: it can be found on pg.263 of Simon Pegg’s book Nerd Do Well published by Gotham Books in June, 2011:

Sigourney

You make me feel…

Like countless innuendo

You drive me round the bend

Oh Sig!

What will I tell Diane?



Women and Philosophy 2: Self-Reliance

I wouldn’t care if i lost the ability to use my phone. I have never been big into the “nonsense news craze” by this i mean that people are constantly telling other people everything they do of do every minute of every day

When I left class yesterday, I began having several musings, which I plan to put into blog posts in the next several days. I will start with Self-Reliance.

Self-Reliance is a very old concept but really was discussed in detail as an important part of life when R. W. Emerson wrote an essay on it. I really love Emerson and I especially love this essay. Even though he is mostly referred to as an essayist, I see him as a philosopher.

Yes, his language is dated and so when he talks of people in general and humanity as a whole he uses the terms “man”, “men’s”, and “mankind”. However, it is easy to look past this.

Most people know what it means to be self-reliant. For those who do not know, to sum up, it means one must be able to take care of oneself without the help or aid of anyone else. Now for Emerson’s friend Thoreau, he took this literally, believing that everyone should go off on his\her own, which is what he did. However, Emerson was not against relationships as much as Thoreau was. In fact, Emerson believed relationships were important and that it is okay to be co-dependent or interdependent, so long as, that, at the end of the day, if that other person were to disappear, one could still take care of oneself. This philosophy obviously gets rid of the problem of slaves quiet easily. However, what does this all have to do with women?

I believe is self-reliance and its core message and at its core it focuses on egalitarianism (if you really think about what Emerson says). The best way to explain is to focus on marriage.

Even in Emerson’s time (late 19^th-early 20^th century), we all know that marriage was still important and expected—more so in the case of women. Let’s look at a hypothetical:

Let’s say you are a woman, and you have been nurtured to be prissy and ditzy. What happens if you don’t or can’t get married and can’t rely on daddy’s money any more (this scenario is taking place in Emerson’s time just to be clear)? Can you split a log? Provide for yourself? Manage your finances? Etc. Let’s now assume you are a man in this situation. Can you sew your coat or shirt back together? Can you prepare a meal that is not just some camping\cowboy feast of grits and beans? Etc.

I know I am playing with real obvious stereotypes her but you get the point. Take this to the modern world: regardless of your sex or gender, you should be able to (get ready for more stereotypes) fix a flat tire, check the oil in the car, chop wood, mow the lawn, start a fire, and stitch\sew, clean dishes, do laundry, cook\bake a multitude of things, talk to your son and\or daughter about sex and their body changes. You should be able to put up a fight and defend yourself and also be there to comfort and console the people close to you.

In addition, today the best and most obvious examples of people who are in situations in which they are self-reliant in several of these ways are single parents.

The logical conclusion from this experiment is that all the tasks I listed are things one can learn which means they are not gender or sex exclusive one way or another.

Therefore, these stereotypes are fully unfounded and that the sexes and genders are equal obviously. (That is where the egalitarianism comes in).

I know this all seems rather obvious but as I said, I am a big fan of being self-reliant. Ask yourselves if you are self-reliant. I mean this not judgmentally, but that for one reason or another that do not necessarily relate to sex or gender, you may not be skilled in all the areas I listed. For example, I cannot sew and I plan to learn. It is not because I am male that I never learned, I just never needed to because I always had someone to do it for me.

Film Reviews: Simon Pegg Week: Day 3: Hot Fuzz

"I may not be a man of God, Reverend, but I know right, and I know wrong, and I have the good grace to know which is which."

Today I review the second movie made by the knock out team of Edgar Wright (director\writer), Simon Pegg (writer\actor), Nick Frost (actor), and Nira Park (producer): Hot Fuzz.

Hot Fuzz is a brilliant film—just look at the trailer. Hot Fuzz follows the character of police officer Nicholas Angel. Angel is play of those action flicks that have the ‘ultimate character’ the quintessential ‘infallible character’. This character is a staple in the old westerns but also seen in action films, the perfect soldier, the greatest sheriff, etc. These characters excel in every area of their field. Angel is the perfect cop. However, the movie’s plot is centered on the theme of what if you throw a character like this into a more real-life world. The answer is no one wants to deal with him. Essentially, he is go great he is like Batman if he patrolled the city with the lowest crime rate. Angel is making all the other cobs look bad so the chief inspector (played by Bill Nighy who played Shaun’s stepdad) has him promoted to Sergeant of a small-town with a record for having the lowest crime rate in all of England.

It looks like Angel is going to be pretty bored and the film plays with the old theme of “country-mouse-city-mouse”—having a character totally out of his\her element. However, strange accidents start occurring and the film enters the territory of mystery\thriller. The film over all is an Action-crime drama-mystery-suspense-gore film, which is fecking amazing.

Angel eventually seems to figure out what is going on and fits all the pieces together to form a very diabolical plan that boils down to money which is the typical goal of most antagonists in actions and crime dramas. However, it turns out that the truth is far more sinister and psychotic pulling the film deeper into the thriller and ‘actionsploitation’ genre (the few scenes of heavy gore help with this also.

Hot Fuzz brings in elements from all sorts of action films. There are guns, guts, explosions, chases, and even a scene that is a parody of a ‘giant-monster battle’—I’m not joking. Also, let’s not forget that Hot Fuzz also adds in that age-old joke of action films of taking the supposed peaceful character and turning him\her into a violent person, like the derringer-totting priest (this is also seen in Machete).

The film also draws on elements from Shaun of the Dead and shows us the emerging style of Wright and Pegg. Like Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz uses the clever blend of foreshadowing, puns, and irony as the vehicle for most of the humor. Hot Fuzz even references back to the ‘short-cut’ scene from S.o.t.D. In addition, if you notice, the same arcade machine is in the village tavern that was in the Winchester.

Though the film is playing on the action-crime genre, it also tries to go for an element of realism, which just adds to the laughs. There is a fast-paced-adrenaline fueled montage about paper work! Paper work! Hot Fuzz relies more on these montage scenes that Shaun of the Dead did as it pertains more to the style of action than horror.

Hot Fuzz also has a kick-arse soundtrack! It is flipping fantastic and each song works cleverly with what is going on in the film. It is mostly a rock-based soundtrack but has a few exceptions. Also, the movie has its own theme song! This was seen with detective movies of the 70’s and 80’s and with monster movies of the 60’s, most notably The Blob.

There is also a great use of images for metaphors. When Angel loads up with all the guns and has the shotguns sticking out of his backpack, they look a bit like wings, which plays on the character name, Angel.

The cinematography is also quiet effective.

The relationship between Danny (Nick Frost) and Angel has some sexual\romantic subtext that like with Shaun and Ed and even with Tim and Mike, seems like a joke. Pegg, talks about this in his book, Nerd Do Well. With Shaun and Ed, it is more of a joke and both Shaun and Ed are to be considered straight. However, in regards to Angel and Danny, it is more hinting at sexual tension and less like a joke. If any time Pegg and Frost’s characters had potential for a relationship between each other, it is in Hot Fuzz.

Another character from Spaced has a role in this film, Bilbo (Bill Bailey), Tim’s boss at the comic shop, is one of the cops at the front desk in the small town. It is also worth mentioning that both him and Timothy Dalton (Mr. Skinner), most known for his brief carnation as James Bond, have appeared in Doctor Who, like almost everyone who works with Pegg.

And if you want to talk about six degrees of separation, Martin Freeman and Bill Nighy were both in Shaun of the Dead together and are also both in Hot Fuzz as Angels superiors inn London. What is funny about this is between Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, both Martin Freeman and Bill Nighy both starred in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Even more amusing is that the whale in THG2TG is voiced by none other than Bill Bailey, who we know was in both Spaced and Hot Fuzz with Simon Pegg! Furthermore, all of them have appeared in Doctor Who except for Martin Freeman.

Hot Fuzz is another flawless production by Simon Pegg and co. Again, I have to give it 5 out of 5 stars. These guys really know what they are doing.

Also check out the disc art on the DVD, it is done exactly like the art of the Point Break DVD seen in the film or at least my copy looks that way.

This is last film made with Wright, Pegg, Frost, and Park all working together. They did make a fake movie trailer for when Grindhouse came out for a movie called “Don’t” which is a play on the whole ‘don’t’ horror-movie-sub-genre. I would love it if this film got made. Everyone keep their fingers crossed and write in or tweet to Pegg and\or Wright requesting it get made. You can see the trailer here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VLe8sVRumw

 

Zombie Movie Review (28) of the Week: Simon Pegg Week: Day 2: Shaun of the Dead

“How’s that for a slice of fried-gold?”

Shaun of the Dead. To put it simply, this is a fecking masterpiece! There are those out there that think Pegg made this film to make fun of Romero movies. Quite the contrary. I admit that it is a parody and a satire but to paraphrase the great Mel Brooks “to truly parody something you must love it” And Simon Pegg loves George Romero and especially loves Dawn of the Dead (1978). He even has several chapters in his book Nerd Do Well mostly about zombies and Romero.

Shaun of the Dead is about a slacker and his companions trying to survive a zombie infested London. Shaun is for all intents and purposes essentially the same character as Tim from Spaced. In fact, he could have easily written the movie as part of the show with all the same character. The film is produced, directed, and for the most part, stars, the same people who produced, directed, and starred in Spaced. Shaun=Tim, Ed=Mike, Yvonne=Daisy, Pete=Dwayne. Peter Serafinowicz is just great at playing dicks. His words, not mine, but I have to agree with him. He does a great job as Dwayne and Pete.

Shaun is not having the greatest of days. His girlfriend of five years as just left him, his best friend only holds him back and is usually the cause of all Shaun’s problems, and he is stuck at a dead-end job.

The film uses a clever blend of irony, foreshadowing, and puns to give the film a nice circular feel and comedy about it. For example, the night before the shit really hits the fan, Shaun writes down all the things he needs to do the next day which are to go visit his mom, get his girlfriend (Liz) back, and sort out his life. Funny enough, because of the zombies, he accomplishes all these things; mostly protect the ones he cares about. Also part of this blend relies heavily on dialogue; lines certain characters said to another are used in reverse later in several situations.

Shaun is not actually a hero. Well, he is and he is not. He would have been more successful if Ed did not keep fecking up everything, and really most of the causes of death can be related back to some of Ed’s earlier selfish actions. Even Pegg says it in his book, that Shaun is not a hero per se, just a guy, trying to do the best he can with what he has and trying to protect the ones he loves. He is not the smartest guy, and he is certainly not the strongest or trained in any field of survival of combat and yes, by this description, Shaun is not a Hollywood action or horror hero. However, to my mind, all the qualities make him a true hero because even though by all rights he could have been killed at any time, he tried his hardest and did some very brave things.

Shaun of the Dead also has a really nice look to it. Wright is great with directing. The film uses quick montages as in close up flashes of related things such as getting ready in the morning, giving it an action movie feel.

Despite it being primarily a comedy, the movie is still a horror film. Now most people will not be ‘horrified’ as such by the film but (!SPOILER!) likable characters do die and the zombies are really fecking realistic esp. compared to other zombie films that came out around the same time. In fact, I would go so far as to say that I prefer the look of the Shaun of the Dead zombies to the look of the zombies in Romero’s Land of the Dead, and Pegg’s zombies are based right off Romero zombies.

This is why this film is more of homage to Romero rather than an insult. This is essentially Pegg’s love letter to Romero. The zombies are only ever as fast as Bill Hinzman (the cemetery zombie) is in the original Night of the Living Dead, which is also the rule that The Walking Dead uses. The make-up in Shaun is fecking fantastic! These are some of the best zombies I have ever seen next to The Walking Dead zombies.

The film also references Romero’s films constantly, taking elements from Night, Dawn, Day, and the 90’ remake of N.o.t.L.D. The music that opens the film before the camera cuts to the pub is from the scene in Dawn of the Dead where they land the helicopter at the airfield. Shaun’s mother is named Barbra and when Shaun and Ed call her to tell her they are on their way and she argues with them, Ed yells into the phone “We’re coming to get you Barbra” referencing that famous line from Night of the Living Dead (1968). The music that plays during Shaun’s rescue-run-through is the fighting music from Dawn of the Dead. Later when Shaun and Ed start throwing stuff at the zombies in their yard, the end credits music from Night of the Living Dead (1990) plays in the background. Then towards the end climax of the film when they all are acting like zombies, Shaun acts like ‘Bub’ from Day of the Dead, which is in fact his favorite zombie ever. Finally, at the end of the film when Shaun is flipping thru the channels and gets to the game show about zombies trying to grab meat, the game music is mimicking the Gonk music that is from Dawn of the Dead.

There is also a reference to Spaced when they are running from the apartment; the music playing was used several times in Spaced. Of course, that could just be because they already had the rights to the music.

When Pegg was growing up he loved movies, and he still does. When he first saw Dawn of the Dead, he fell in love with it. It was the European cut version so there was not much gore but he would later see the U.S version as well as Romero’s other films.

Romero clearly appreciates the film that Pegg and Wright made. Although he was not aware that they might cameo in Land of the Dead, when asked at a press conference if he was considering it he just said something like “sure, I guess, why not?” Which goes to the laid back nature of Romero who is always open to suggestion for his films—he loves input. So, the nest time you watch Land of the Dead look out for Pegg and Wright. They are the zombies a person can get their picture taken with and Pegg got to use the mold that made Bub’s mask which made him ecstatic. In addition, Romero had Pegg do a voice cameo in my personal favorite of his zombie films, Diary of the Dead; listen closely to all the various newscasters throughout the film and you will spot him.

The Winchester pub is actually based off the tavern Pegg used to always hang out at and formed a relationship with the owners whose names were John and Bernie which are the names for the characters who own the Winchester. Shaun also mentions the pubs weekly quiz in the film, which is also taken from the real-life pub

Coldplay has a cameo in the movie as the band that is working with “Zomb-Aid” and in fact, Pegg did work with Coldplay for a little while.

Finally, there is a great message in the film. The film goes back to one of Romero’s old messages about how we are essentially zombies anyway. Watch the beginning of the film and look at all the people you see. They all end up as zombies you see later on but it is filmed in a way that they already look or act like zombies. The famous line from the 90’ remake of N.o.t.L.D “they’re us and we’re them” or the whole monologue in Dawn about how people are drawn to a mall. So, this horror-comedy comes with a philosophical message which makes it even more awesome

I give Shaun of the Dead 5 out of 5 stars. This movie turned me on to Pegg and kick-started my journey into zombie obsession.

Film Reviews: Simon Pegg Week: Day 1: Spaced

“Life just isn't like the movies is it? We're constantly led to believe in resolution in the establishment of the ideal status qua, and it's just not true. Happy endings are a myth. Designed to make us feel better about the fact that life is just another thankless struggle.”

Spaced is a fantastic show. It is sort of like the British equivalent of the Big Bang Theory if you use Douglas Adams logic as if it is like the other show in the sense that they are entirely different. Both shows are about for lack of a better term—nerds. The difference being that Spaced is more focused on the “slacker-nerd” group more common in the late 90’s. I like Spaced a hell of a lot better and it has little to do with the fact that I think Simon Pegg is fucking awesome. Spaced\was the first time that Pegg, Frost, and Wright worked together. Most of you are probably more aware of their first film, Shaun of the Dead.

I also like Spaced better than BBT because I like the references more. Spaced mostly references great films first and foremost. The rest of the references are from video games, some comics, and a few TV references.

Firstly, I highly recommend, if you like Simon Pegg’s work and would like to learn more about him, to read his recently published book Nerd Do Well. It goes into his life as well as his career in more detail than I will. I will add some facts that I learned from his book but if you really want to know everything about all his work, read the book. It is an easy read and entertaining

Before doing Spaced, Pegg had done a few sketch shows such as Big Train, which is almost like a more modern Monty Python’s Flying Circus. He also worked with Edgar Wright and Nick Frost before. The three of them are an unbeatable team who has made three fantastic and flawless films together so far.

Jessica Hynes (Jessica Stevenson) is also a wonderful actor—she like the others, is really dedicated.

Spaced was written by Peg and Hynes who also star as Tim and Daisy who are essentially based off Pegg and Hynes. Pegg’s Character Tim Bisley is a reference to a comic book artist whose name is Simon Bisley. Tim is also a graphic artist and since Simon Pegg plays Tim Bisley, it is also a pun and a reference.

There is just something about Spaced that makes me happy every time I watch it. Maybe it is the nerd in me.

The other characters along with Tim and Daisy have something to do with it. The acting on all accounts is superb and the characters are fully fleshed out.

Nick Frost’s character ‘Mike’ is based off a character idea that he always had.

Martha’s character is based off the voice of the actor’s old landlord and off this drunk woman she met in Greece. Martha is just great

The character of Brian and Tyres I can easily sum up with clips from YouTube.

Brian: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhUMRgZjKr8

Tyres: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y54jev1Uyao&feature=fvst

Also, let’s not forget about one of many people’s other favorite characters, Colin. Colin is the miniature-schnauzer owned by Tim and Daisy, played by the dog, Aida. Pegg loved Aida so much that he now has a miniature-schnauzer of his own called Minni.

The show also has a great feel to it. Though it is essentially a comedy, like real life it does have serious and down moments to it. And even though it is a comedy I would not call it a sitcom like Big Bang Theory is. First off, Spaced has no audience laugh tracks. Secondly, since it is filmed in Britain, it is not censored.

The show has a great soundtrack bringing in pieces from everywhere that perfectly fit the tone of each scene and the same goes for the sound effects.

Edgar Wright is a brilliant director and like so many great director’s, he is a perfectionist. Pegg and Wright are a great team and Frost adds more greatness to them. The cinematography is Spaced is amazing as well—Wright knows what we wants out of a shot.

Also, there is a character that appears in only one episode who, for those of you who enjoy British comedy might recognize, Vulva is played by David Walliams who later will go on to do Little Britain

Most of Pegg’s fellow actors are usually in several of his films along with him—even in the films that Wright and Frost do not do with Pegg, (they always work together when Pegg has a story in mind), and you will see people from Spaced and previous films. Also almost all of them have appeared on Doctor Who including the actors who play Shaun’s parents.

Overall, Spaced is a fantastic work of art that all nerds, geeks, and dorks will enjoy as well as cinemaphiles. I highly recommend it with a 5 out of 5 rating.

Check out the DVD documentary Skip to the End to find out where Tim and Daisy are now.

Film Reviews: Run, Lola, Run (Lola Rennt)

“Did you run all the way here?”

"The breathless pace of Run Lola Run is positively exhausting, stimulating and inspiring." (filmsondisc.com)

Dedicated to Paul Nnodim

Hello. I am back. I know it has been awhile since my last review. I took a break during winter vacation and then when I got back some stuff happened and I did not really feel like blogging but I am back

The first time I heard about this film was about three years ago when, bored one day, decided to watch I Love The 90’s, and there was a segment on this film. However, I wouldn’t see it until a year later in my German Philosophy course.

Run Lola Run is one of my favorite films of all time. The actual title is Lola Rennt, which translates as ‘Lola Runs’. RLR is a German film that came out in 1998. It was written and directed by Tom Tykwer and is his masterpiece. The film stars Franka Potente as Lola and Mortiz Bleibtreu as her boyfriend Manni. Filmed on location in Berlin.

The essential plot of the film is that due to a series of unfortunate events, Manni is potentially in a heap of trouble with an organized crime syndicate. Lola didn’t pick him up at the meeting place because her moped was stolen and so Manni took the subway where he lost a bag full of money that he was delivering to his boss and he now has only 20 minutes to find 100,000 Marks ($60,000) or else he is dead. The rest of the plot is Lola desperately trying to acquire the money to save her boyfriend.

However, though this is the plot, it is essentially not, what the film is about. On the surface, this seems to be a crime thriller or action flick but that is far from the case. In truth, the work is an existential film focusing on the nature of time and second chances. The films creative story draws on three films. One well-known classic that the other two films also draw on is Rashomon. This story we have all seen in some form—one story told from several perspectives suggesting that the nature of truth could be subjective. The second film is Blind Chance, which shows the same story happening three different times with slight differences that affect the outcome greatly. Finally the film Sliding Doors which came out the same year as RLR (though RLR is exceedingly better) which shows the same story from essentially two different universes.

I really do not want to give too much away because I could easily break the film down scene by scene and explain its genius, however, that could potentially spoil it for most who have not seen it. I will go into further detail though. The film is 80 minutes long and those 80 minutes are broken down into sections. The first is the opening credits and introduction along with the set up of the plot. Then there are three 20 minutes segments, which are the same twenty minutes in time with different outcomes. In-between these segments are flashback scenes filmed in red to distinguish them as well as express the importance of love as a factor in the film, which are about 1-2 minutes each. Finally, there is the conclusion and credits, which make up the final six minutes.

The film’s point is focused on the cliché of ripples in the pond, the butterfly effect, etc—that the littlest of things can make the biggest differences. Lolo tries to get the money and save Manni three times which means she obviously fails the first two times (I’m not going to disclose if she is successful in the end). However, unlike Blind Chance or Sliding Doors, Lola remembers each of the twenty minutes and the film hints at this in a few subtle but important ways. For Lola, the entire film is linear and so it has been an hour for her, but for Manni, it has just been twenty minutes, which is similar to a later film the most likely was inspired by RLR, Groundhog’s Day.

Tom Tykwer does some wonderful things with the cinematography. Run, Lola, Run has almost every artistic style of camera work thrown into it, each for something particular. All the flashback scenes where Lola and Manni are explaining what happened in the beginning are all in black and white to make a distinction in time. Certain crucial scenes are shot in split-screen to emphasize and build tension. Digital camera are also used for a few scenes to show that they are not part of the main story but are important in affecting the main story and the eventual outcome of the 20 minutes. For the rest of the film 35mm cameras are used. During many scenes, Tykwer uses snorkel camera, which gives the scenes a great movement effect. There are also a few birds-eye-shots. Tykwer also uses still photography for future events and outcomes. Each time Lola goes through the 20 minutes she encounters a few characters that she affects. Despite only touching their lives for less than five seconds, their lives are significantly altered. Tykwer ends the film with this photograph effect but only shows us the first picture rather than showing us what is now in-store for Lola and Manni.

The sounds to the film are also a component of the overall effect of the film. For example, when Lola is running through all the people she could go to for help in the beginning and thinking about who would be best, if you pay close attention, we hear the sound of a roulette wheel, which is symbolic of her choosing a person, but also is very significant to the events in the third 20 minutes. The main soundtrack is mostly sung by Franka Potente, which gives us a bit of insight into Lola’s thoughts as she is running because even when we are panicked our minds are never on just one thing. The music also has a panicked and adrenaline feel to it which fits perfect for the pace of the movie and really gets your heart beating in sync with Lola’s.

There are a few things to pay attention to. A few events do not change for any of the segments. These are fixed either points that happen without Lola doing something different, or things that cannot be changed. Try to spot them. One of them is very important. There is a further sub-message about the passage of times in regards to a woman outside the bank in the first 20 minutes. At first she is blurred and in the distance and she is played by a young woman. However, once she is next to Lola, we see she is played by an elderly woman. One final thing to pay attention to that few people ever make the connection, is that the man who in the beginning stole Lola’s moped is the man on the moped in the third sequence and the theme of Karma is introduced which one could suggest is another theme of the film.

One more thing, the credits at the end go from top to bottom rather than the standard bottom to top which is cool and could further be a critique on time and space

Run, Lola Run is a flawless film. It is aesthetically pleasing, it sounds great, and the sound, camera work, and everything else, line up perfectly with each other to form a genius work of art. The film is so straightforward despite its not entirely linear plot, that the dialogue is essentially unnecessary. That is not to say the script is written badly—the script is also fantastic and the love scenes are especially dependant on dialogue and that dialogue is important to the overall film. What I mean is that if you watch it without subtitles or dubbing you can still fully understand the films plot and message. Speaking of which, if you ever buy the DVD use the subtitles and not the dubbing because the dubbing sound ridiculous. The voices do not match the bodies at all in the right way and the dialogue is changed in stupid ways that I feel takes away from the film. I love the existential heavy message of the movie. The acting is phenomenal and there is nothing one could argue was ineffective in the film or lacking. Even though it is not mathematically possible, I give Run, Lola, Run 6 out of 5 stars!

P.S be on the look-out for Simon Pegg week!

©2010-2012 ~ZeTrystan---(Picture)

Women and Philosophy: The Beckdale Test

Welcome all to the first edition of a new philosophic category on my blog. Like with music and philosophy, this too is for a class. However, instead of music, I will be discussing women. Anyone who reads my blog knows I am a fan of film and the genre of film is a great medium to discuss not only philosophical points but also women and so today’s blog is about film.

Rather than be a about a particular film, I will be discussing the issue of the Beckdale test. The Beckdale test was first created in a comic called Dykes to Look Out For and the first film they mention that passes it is Aliens although Alien also passes.

Here is how the test works: watch a movie, any movie, or even a particular episode of a television series, and then see if it fits the following criteria:

1)      There are at least two female characters that are credited with actual names so it does not count if they are called “female officer 1” or “girl at diner”.

2)      Any two named female characters must then at some point in the film have a conversation with each other.

3)      This conversation must last at least 45 seconds…

4)      …and it must be on any topic other than boys, men, or males in general.

It is in fact quite scary to discover just how few films pass this test. This test does not prove that a movie is bad or sexist, chauvinistic, or anti-feminist. There are plenty of masterpiece films that do not pass the test simply because the plot never allows for it. However, it is a very each fix. Some films, but not all could easily switch the gender roles of characters and it would be fine. This of course only applies to films where the gender of certain characters really does not matter. Although that raises the question of “should it ever even really matter?” The real problem is not that every film passes this test but that films are made typically centered around male characters and male stories and plots. Even certain films in which the main title character is female and the film for the most part follows her around, fail the test. Take for example Run, Lola, Run (which coincidentally will be the next film I review. I promise I will start doing zombie films again also). RLR is a fantastic masterpiece of existential and empirical bliss. I can honestly say it is in my top-five-favorite-movies-of-all-time-list. However, it fails. Of course, Lola never talks to any character really for more than five minutes and the film is not exactly dialogue driven but the fact still remains. Again, the point is not that these failing the test makes these films bad or anything like that—it simply makes one think a bit more about popular culture. There are dozens of films where this problem could be erased by switching roles of minor characters or just adding an extra character or something and none of this would ruin the feel fo the film. Some films must fail the test simply because of their plot, theme, and message like the film No Country For Old Men—another fantastic film. If a scene or character was added or a role was reversed in this film, it might take away from the films mood. I am not saying that women in films take away from the film—all I am saying is that in a film about middle-aged men that is a work on middle-aged men encountering certain plot points, it would make little sense to change it. You can even watch it and decide. An example of a great film that I love that fails the test but could have passed it if it wanted to is Dawn of the Dead 1978. In one of the opening scenes when Fran is in the television newsroom, she interacts with many characters and none of the dialogue refers to men. The best way to fix it I can think of it when the one of the crew tells Fran they are shutting down later so it is okay if she leaves, the cameraman could easily be changed to a female and then given a name with simple dialogue like Fran responding “You sure Jen?” or “ok Ruth” or something simple like that.

What can we do about this? We can always make a few more female centered films, which would not only solve this problem but the simple bigger problem that not many films still today are female centered.

In addition, I challenge you to:

Go watch your favorite film and see if it passes

If you are a film lover like me, own a ton of DVD’s that you have seen countless times, and think you can remember without re-watching them if they pass, go thru your collection and see how many out of how many pass.

Determine which films that fail, regardless of how great they are, could not be altered to pass the test such as NCFOM.

Feel free to report back with your findings and leave them in your comments.

Music and Philosophy: Book Review

Douglas Adams Existential Philosophy: The Restaurant at the end of the Universe

Introduction

For my book review, I chose the second book of three in his six part series, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. I could write a book on all the philosophical messages in this series but I chose this book because it touches on the subject of music and Adams philosophy on music. His books are all existential works if one is willing to look past all the science fiction and comedy that they are known for. Like Doctor Who, the laughs and the science are merely vehicles to convey philosophical points. Restaurant has many various philosophical messages that I will discuss in this paper but I will start with his critique of Music and the arts, specifically the case of Hotblack Desiato.

Music: Hotblack Desiato

“The Universe…1) Area: Infinite: bigger than the biggest thing ever and then some. Much bigger than that in fact, really amazingly immense, a totally stunning size, real, ‘wow, that’s big’ time. Infinity is just so big that by comparison, bigness itself looks really titchy. Gigantic multiplied by colossal multiplied by staggeringly huge is the sort of concept we’re trying to get across here…6) Art: none. The function of art is to hold the mirror up to nature, and there simply isn’t a mirror big enough—see point one.” (Adams, 1980)

            The above quote sums up Adams view of reality—a cynic, a critic, but hopeful and hilarious. There is no music-technical theory in this work and so neither will there be in this paper, only existential question and attempt to answer. Hotblack Desiato is the creator of the ‘plutonium rock’ band, Disaster Area, from the Gagrakacka Mind Zones. The band is “generally held to be not only the loudest rock band in all the Galaxy, but in fact, the loudest noise of any kind” (Adams, 1980). Essentially, Disaster Area is the polar opposite of John Cage. Part of the bands artistic style is to, at concerts, fly autopilot spaceship into a star, which then explodes. Their songs also reflect this, they “mostly follow the familiar theme of boy-being meets girl-being beneath a silvery moon, which then explodes for no adequately explored reason” (Adams, 1980).

            The music is so loud that the band remotely controls their instruments from a ship orbiting a different planets while the audience is typically situated in a concrete bunker thirty-seven miles from the stage.

            Is this music? Is this art? What is Douglas Adams trying to say about music? To begin with, when Adams is talking about Hotblack Desiato & Disaster Area he also mentions that the band is seen as one of the worst in the history of the galaxy and that because of this, they are also one of the most popular. It is clear what Adams means by this—it is a critique of what society declares as good and popular. This view of Adams is similar to Danto’s idea that in order to judge art properly, one must be educated about art, the history of art, various creative forms and styles, and the  artists own background. This is also similar to a much older concept dating back to the days of Plato, who said that to truly be a philosopher; one must be at least thirty years old so that they will have had enough life experience and education. Funny enough, this is the typical age that people graduate with a PhD. Adams is simply suggesting that the public at large does not understand what good quality music is. Adams concept of Disaster Area is also a critique of the first days of metal and punk, which were beginning to creep up when he wrote this account of Desiato. Music that is extremely loud and includes random explosions

            The band’s performances are certainly artistic, the audience has found the perfect way to listen to the music, albeit it is 37miles away in a concrete bunker, but there is a specific perspective to listening to Disaster Area. I therefore conclude that at the very least it is sound art—and the spaceship crashing into a star and then the star exploding, though expensive and a bit excessive, is still a statement, a statement on what, I’m not sure but regardless, the performances of Disaster Area are art. The next issue to tackle is whether or not it is music. It is at least musical and it is widely accepted as music. With the limited description of the band and everything that we have learned over the semester, I would say that the stylings of Hotblack Desiato are in fact music. I would say it is bad music but that is just my opinion and the opinions of most of the fictional galaxy of Adam’s works. I can safely say that Adams does like classical, jazz, and rockabilly as indicated throughout the rest of the series.

This all being said, I am not fully convinced that Disaster Area’s sound-art is music, it is a question, which should have further debate. We have discussed the question of how long can pauses in music be before it ceases to be music as well as silence as music, which we determined as not music—but what about volume? Does music cease to be music at a certain volume? Should there be a limit on how loud music can be to be considered music? If the answer to these questions is yes, then at what point is music too loud to be classified as music?

The Dish of the Day: An Ethical Quandary

This next philosophical endeavor is unrelated to the field of music, however, since this is a book review for a philosophy class, I feel that this, being the other philosophical statement in this book should be examined While the main characters are at the restaurant (at the end of the universe), they are asked if they would like to meet the dish of the day—to meet the meat. People got so tired of the bickering of animal cruelty that they genetically engineered a bovine like creature that is specifically bread to be eaten. This animal wants to be eaten; its only purpose in life is to be consumed. This raises a huge existential and ethical question. It goes back to the problem of ignorance with the question ‘is a slave a slave if they don’t know they are enslaved?’ Essentially, it refers to the main philosophical message of the Matrix film series, which goes back to Plato’s Cave.

Douglas Adams has this great way of introducing a potential solution to a problem but adding something extra. As it stands now, the argument for the exploitation of animals, is, as we have said in class, they are failed humans and therefore have less intrinsic value than people have have and therefore, humans can do whatever they want to them. This argument is founded on the principle that animals, though sentient, are not as self-aware and intelligent as people are. If people could prove that a certain species of animals say, chickens, for example, actually wanted to be eaten and that furthermore, people could prove that chickens are meant to be eaten by people and that is their sole purpose in life, the debate, at least in the case of chickens would be settled. However, the problem with the ‘dish of the day’ scenario is that the bovine-like creature depicted in The Restaurant as the End of the Universe is in-fact relatively close to the average intelligence of a so-called higher-thinking being such as humans. This animal can not only express its intense desire to be killed and eaten, but also can articulate this in a very sophisticated manner and therein lies the conflict.

We are left with the question of is it any more or less ethical to kill and cook (actually in the books scenario the beast kills itself after assuring the patrons that it will be very human about it) an animal if it can articulately express how much it desires to be dinner but at the same time, is also as intelligent as a typical person without a survival instinct or a will to live. Is it ethical to kill anything for consumption in the first place especially when it is not necessary to ones actual survival? The book actually makes the joke that vegetables are extremely intelligent but have no way of expressing it so in fact it is more ethical to eat the beast that wishes to be eaten. What do you think?

Conclusion

            Douglas Adams was a wonderful man who is certainly missed. His works were all very philosophical as well as having socio-political significance. Like Monty Python, which he worked with, all the meanings are done with satire and laughs and like Doctor Who, which he also worked on, the vehicle used to get these messages across is science fiction. I believe that comedy and sci-fi both work well to convey certain ideals, which is why novels and shows like these are so successful. We may never have a decent definition of music or art but we will continue to ask these questions because, as Adams pointed out repeatedly, philosophers constantly ask these questions knowing they will never get answers, and that is why they all still have jobs.

In Loving Memory:

Douglas Adams

March 11^th, 1952 – May 11^th, 2001

Sunday, December 18^th, 2011 3:40 PM

Edited: Wednesday, December, 21^st, 2011 12:10 PM

References\Citations\ Bibliography

Adams, Douglas. The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide: Five Complete Novels and One Story. New York: Gramercy, 2005. Print.

Bowie, G. Lee., Meredith W. Michaels, and Robert C. Solomon. Twenty Questions: an Introduction to Philosophy. 6th ed. Australia: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2007. Print.

Colfer, Eoin, and Douglas Adams. And Another Thing--: Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Part Six of Three. 1st ed. New York: Hyperion, 2009. Print.

Hamilton, Andy. Aesthetics and Music. London: Continuum, 2008. Print.

Hardcastle, Gary L., and George A. Reisch. Monty Python and Philosophy Nudge Nudge, Think Think! Chicago, IL: Open Court, 2006. Print. Popular Culture and Philosophy.

Hinman, Lawrence M. Contemporary Moral Issues: Diversity and Consensus. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006. Print.

The Matrix. Prod. Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski. Dir. Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski. By Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski. Perf. Keanu Reeves. 1999.

Newman, Sydney. "Doctor Who." Doctor Who. Prod. Verity Lambert. 1963-2011. Television.