It's Not That Serious

Because people seem to have gotten rather mindless as of late, I feel like I shound make some announcements.
 

-NaNoWriMo does not challenge you to do anything but write fast. Completeing a novel in under a month does not make it a good novel, nor does it make you a talented writer.
-'Twilight' is not that great, actually. Like the Harry Potter series, it tells a story that some people find enjoyable. It is campy, not true to vampire legends, and does not tell the reader anything new or enlightening. The movie will not be good by any standards. Edwards hair looks like a boob.
-Gas prices are not falling because Obama was elected, regardless of what you tell me.

Nya~

This journal is friends only for the time being, but if you friend me I'll totally add you back. <3

Updating to look for salmonz~

...Haven't slept properly in three days. I don't know if it's stress over finals or what, but sleep just not happening. Twice now (in my brief, 2 hour long naps before I wake up and start studying again) I've had dreams about someone I used to be friends with, but had a big falling out with later on (from here on refered to as M)...In the first one Zack and I are in M's room with M and her sister...we're just having a normal conversation, but when I wake up I can't remember what it was about..in the second one Zack, myself, and another friend (known as K here) are on a beach, talking about something. M is in a kind of lighthouse nearby, listening to me, Zack, and K talk. K says something like "I wish M would stop following us around...you know she has a crush on you, right?" and I kind of laugh. All of a sudden K has run off and me and Zack are in the light house with M..she says she does have a crush on me, and asks if I'll go out with her.
The whole thing is profoundly weird, because I haven't given M any thought whatsoever in the past couple months...I live right down the road from her, so I guess driving past her house everyday nags at my subconcious or something? But our relationship now is no more or less signifigant to my relationship to any of my other neighbors.
The only reason I'm even thinking about it is that M and her sister were(I don't know if they're still interested in it) way into silly things like love spells and tarot cards, and some weird paranoid part of me is wondering if she isn't doing some weird voodoo on me...Maybe thats why I can't sleep?

I went with nikki today to help him buy dressy clothes so he could look nice for job interviews...and on our way home we stopped at a toy store. And they had the limited release original six My Little Ponies. They're basically ponies in the weird, chubby molds hasbro used back in the 80's. But they were supposed to be a one-time thing through hasbro.com, and they only made so many of them...and of course they all sold out in about six hours -rolls eyes- but for some reason the toys r us in douglasville had them~. I'm really starting to like that place...they had the new scented ponies before anyone else did, too. So, yeah that pretty much made my week complete~ -dances around with weird plastic ponies-

I like Disney, probably more than I should. There are some things I disagree with-for instance, Disney Princesses follow a standard of skinny, white, fluffy beauty that I hope never to see reflected in my children. But those standards are part of our culture, not just part of Disney. The whole system represented by the Skinny White Girl Beauty Standard needs to be overhauled. (for the record, I still think Nala is prettier than any of the princesses) But outside of that, there isn’t a whole lot about Disney films I have a problem with. The host of Anti-Disney Coalition (http://www.angelfire.com/pq/psychonymph/adc.html) obviously doesn’t feel this way.

She cites her reason for disliking Disney as follows: “I live in West Virginia, surrounded by welfare moms who trade in food stamps to buy Disney toys at ridiculous prices for their underfed children, to feed them with inaccurate history, racist themes, and sexual content, all of which are prevalent in every single *recent* Disney movie.”
First of all, I hardly see how its Disney’s fault these women don’t have jobs. I also don’t see how its Disney’s fault that they choose not to feed their children. Lastly, I don’t know why anyone would ever consider a cartoon movie a valid portrayal of history. I can’t recall any sexual content in a Disney movie, and the only Disney movie I can remember having any remotely racist references is Breyr Rabbit. Which never made it to video.

So, today’s rant is my response to the Anti-Disney Coalition.
 

Mulan
Mulan could NEVER have saved China--she wouldn't have even been able to walk without a cane. Why? For centuries in China, small feet were considered beautiful. When a girl was about 5, mothers would take their feet, soak them in hot water, and massage the toes under the foot, until the foot was about half its size. Then the feet would be bound in satin. Toes would fall off, and if the satin ribbons were ever taken off, the circulation in the foot would have caused extreme pain. So women couldn't run, dance, walk a lot, or walk at all without a cane. And Mulan being a princess or whatever she was (I didn't see the movie) would definitely have had this done to be married off.

First of all..that’s now how foot binding works. Second, Mulan wouldn’t have had bound feet. Khan invaded China in 1264, and foot binding did not become popular with the upper class until the 12^th century. Even then, a woman whose family didn’t own servants (and if you’ve seen the movie, you’ll remember Mulan’s family doesn’t) wouldn’t have had their daughter’s feet bound, because the daughter would need to help with household chores.
sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot_binding, http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/chinese.html)

  The Little Mermaid
The little bitch died. She turned into sea foam. It hurt her to walk. Another thing, if Eric had found Ariel, he (in real life, being a prince) would have cast her away. She was a scruffmuffin. ANOTHER thing, it took place in the Caspian Sea, which is in Russia. What kind of names are Eric and Ariel? Also, I went to see that movie when I was eight with my parents. Do you know how awkward it is to sit through a cartoon in a movie theatre at age 8 with your parents when you're staring at breasts bigger than your head?

Ariel’s breasts come up again later in the site. I’ve never considered them to be that big. Given how sexually-repressed the author comes off as, I’d think she’d appreciate that Arial’s breasts are covered, instead of exposed the way mermaid breasts generally are. The first three statement the author makes lead me to believe she’s read at least one of the story versions of The Little Mermaid. She should therefore understand that there are a variety of ways to interpret a story, and a variety of ways to retell it. She doesn’t seem concerned that The Lion King isn’t an exactly carbon copy of Hamlet. She should also known that the Prince loves the Mermaid for her beauty and her grace, regardless of her being a ‘scruffmuffin.’ And that the Prince marries someone else, because he thinks she was the temple girl (who he thinks was the Mermaid) who saved him.
the whole story is long and complicated, and even reading the wikipedia entry on it made my head swim. I’m pretty sure Disney just changed the story so it would compress neatly into an hour-long movie.
‘Eric’ is a Scandinavian name. Scandinavia is adjacent to Russia. Ariel is, however, a Hebrew name.

 (sources: http://www.babynames.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_little_mermaid)

        Beauty and the Beast
Beast isn't supposed to turn into a handsome prince. The point is that looks are only skin deep, not, "Under the ugly skin there might be a hadsome prince who was made ugly by a witch for some sin he comitted." In the fairy tale, Beauty had to live with this beast because her father had snuck into the Beast's garden to pick a rose. The Beast was mad. The Beast wanted the man's most beautiful daughter. That's how the story goes...

I’ve only read one version of this story, where the Beast is an Arabian Prince, transformed into a lion, for not properly sacrificing a camel. Being a lion would kind of suck if you didn’t want to live as one. You’d have a hard time holding a fork. I could see how there would be drawbacks. The Beast can only break the curse by finding a woman who loves him (this is consistent with the Beaumont version, which seems to be the more commonly told variation) despite his appearance, which is why he wants Belle to live with him. Not because he was mad.  Saying that the beast isn’t supposed to turn into a prince implies that there is only one correct interpretation and meaning of the story..and since we don’t have the original author on hand to tell us his, we can’t know for certain. Interpretations that take into account the time period in which the story was written suggest the story is meant to reflect an arranged marriage. The ‘beast’ is an older husband. A young girl married to a man her father’s age probably would find it pretty bestial. But once she learns to love him despite his appearance, like Belle does for the Beast, they can live happily ever after. It could also be interpreted as a story about sex. To a girl who is content with her father’s love, sex would seem dirty and animal like. It isn’t until she finds someone she loves that sex becomes human and acceptable.
(source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/beauty_and_the_beast)

Aladdin
Jasmine shows an awful lot of skin. Wouldn't she be considered a whore and undesireable?

This seems to imply that Agrabah was an Islamic city, which we don’t know for a fact. The two piece belly dancer costume is an American invention…how fitting, a character in an American movie targeted at American audiences would be dressed in an American costume.

        Pocahontas
Have any of you ever heard that song by Jill Sobule that goes, "Margaret, back in junior high...Margaret developed first..."? Pocahontas was 12. Ever notice how when she dives from that huge waterfall, she doesn't kill herself, and her breasts don't fall out? How could she run like that without a sports bra anyway? John Smith kissing her? How indecent! John would be, like, 40, she was 12. Pocahontas didn't love Smith. Courtesy my history book: "[Smith] had been kidnapped in December 1607 and subjected to a mock execution by the Indian chieftain Powhatan, whose daughter Pocahontas had 'saved' Smith by dramatically interposing her head between his and the war clubs of his captors. The symbolism of this ritual was apparently intended to impress Smith with Powhatan's power and with the Indians' desire for peaceful relations with the Virginians."* In addition: I live in 1998 in a very modern community, in a modern society. How come her legs are smoother than mine?

What is with this woman and breasts? With ‘Pocahontas’ Disney is making the same point that Powhatan did-delivering a message of peace, love, brotherhood, and good things like that. Historic accuracy would have gotten in the way of that message.
I’m also mildly offended that the author assumes there is something wrong with a forty year old man and a twelve year old girl loving each other. But that’s another rant entirely.

        Hercules
He killed his family in an insane rage. He wasn't a good guy. The only way he could get off scot-free were by doing some favors. I didn't see the movie so I can't talk about what else was incorrect, but I know they're there.

The Disney version of Hercules is pretty much not related to the myths as we know them today. Anyone with access to a library can find that out pretty quickly. That doesn’t make it a bad story. As a matter of fact, it makes it a really freakin’ great new spin on classic mythology.
Also, Hercules killed his family *after* completing the twelve Labors, not before. According to ‘Homosexuality and Civilization’ by Louis Crompton, it was the death of his armor bearer that really set Hercules off.

And that does it for the targeted movies. That pretty much sums up the entire site…there’s just one other passage I’d like to share.
Why do all the chicks look like sluts? Is this the example we want to be setting for all the little girls in the world? "Look like a whore and Prince Charming will love you!"”

First of all, I hate the word ‘chick’. It implies baby chickens, as if to say women are immature animals. I also hate the word ‘slut’. Without fail, the word ‘slut’ is hurled as an insult at anyone who is prettier, more popular, or more confidant than the speaker. It is part of the rabid ‘me against them’ mentality that has kept patriarchy in business for so long.

new color scheme, since my current headguest has decided to stay. w00t.
um. intelligent thoughts of the day.......
there really aren't any. I need to make friends on here.
Intelligent thoughts later.

Consider, if you will, Christianity. It’s a religion that is based on the life and teachings of a zombie with magical powers. But most people don’t think of it in those terms. Why not? Jesus came back from the dead, he gave sight to the blind, made the lame to walk, and walked on water. Sounds like a magical zombie to us. But those aren’t the words Christians use to describe their take on those events. And most people are polite enough not to challenge them on it. Hell, a lot of people have actually benefited from convincing themselves they’ve surrendered their soul into the service of said magical zombie. If faith in a magical zombie is enough to help people get off drugs, stop beating their kids, or doing other things that hurt themselves or others, how is the belief wrong? Its not. But doesn’t it come off as being a little crazy when I call Jesus a magic zombie? If fact, if someone told you that giving your life over to their undead master could help you, wouldn’t you want to get away from them?
Its only when this belief crosses over into fundamentalism that it becomes ‘bad’. When a Christian does something harmful..say, bombing an abortion clinic, other people regard that individual Christian as being crazy. Outsiders recognize that one person’s use of the Zombie Lord’s words to justify an act of violence does not necessarily mean that everyone else who follows that religion is a blood thirsty lunatic. Just that one person.
there’s strength in numbers, though. People who hear about that abortion clinic bombing probably know other Christians to compare the bomber to. If they know their neighbors are good people and also Christians, then they know that not all Christians are as radical as that one person. They have a Basis For Comparison.
This is what the little fringe communities like furries, otakukin, plushophiles, Pagans, Satanists, otherkin, and so on need. They need that same Basis For Comparison.
How do you do that? Go to college, get a good job, work hard, take care of your family, wear your fursuit on your days off, put the family altar in the living room, get your past-life otakukin self tattooed where only you can see it. Keep a close hold on reality. Sometimes its not as good as fantasy, but you’re the one who’s got to make it better.