Revolutionary Road and Imdb.com Trollery

Note: SPOILERS AHEAD


The movie is about a young suburban couple in the 1950s, who dream of something beyond the tedium of their daily lives. Kate Winslet's character, April, is getting an absurd amount of hate on the forums. Because she yells at her husband instead of being properly grateful to him for...uh...being weak-willed. For cheating on her. For telling her to keep the child neither of them wanted. For putting his masculinity/power ahead of his partner's happiness. He's not the Antichrist, but he does suck quite a bit.April is a dreamer, but she is willing to work to change things. She suffered from what Betty Freidan called 'the problem with no name'.

If you've studied 1950s history, you'll know that this was virtual pandemic of severe depression among women (normally housewives). Hell, if I had to stare at a white Formica table and service some entitled douchebag for the rest of MY life, I might go off the deep end too. Suppression of a dream can really fuck with you. Yeah, I know---you have to be realistic too, but there is always some kind of balance to be found. That is something I truly believe. It is within all humans to find this balance. But these comments drive me bananas! My personal fave is the thread about why women and girls are so bitchy, only wanting what they can't have and being shallow and...(wait for it!)make the poor menz work for EVERYTHING.

Did you know guys are entitled to sex at all times? I didn't. Maybe that explains why I've been dumped twice. But yeesh, the level of misogyny present was horrifying. I kinda feel the need to shower after that experience. I know where I'M not going again! *shudder*

Oh yeah--people on this forum ask why April was so irrational. Why she wasn't grateful. I suspect that some people still have this pipe dream that people were DIFFERENT (read: cleaner, nicer, whiter) back then. They weren't! They were just like us, only with fewer options--and way more crippling social backlash if they tried to create their own.Which is essentially April's fate.

That's another thing--she tries to abort (abortion was still illegal then), which is something else the trollfolk seem to believe damns April. I honestly don't agree. First off, the insinuation that this desperate woman somehow deserved to die is sickening. This is why abortion is legal now--no, not because we want to kill teh preshus babeez---we want to save WOMEN. Because sure, their fetus might turn into the next Barack Obama. But my question is this--why does this same logic not apply to the woman in question? Could she be destined for greatness? Why is she worth less? That's one question I've never had answered to my satisfaction.

Girls hate comics. I know because a guy told me!

After Thera Pitt's post on why we need female superheroes, I was thrown into confusion. But...but...girls don't like comics! They're for BOYS, everyone knows that! Women all are supposed to watch Sex and the City like good little girls, never looking beyond or wanting anything different. Obviously, all women think EXACTLY the same way! I bet you didn't know.

So thank goodness for Josh Tyler! In his infinite wisdom, he posted this article, titled “Why We Don't Need Female Superheroes”. Phew!

Thank you, Josh! All this time we wimminfolk were thinking WE knew what we wanted. And THEN we had the gall to think that we're, y'know, individual people with varieties of interest. Fortunately, Josh has told me that I am not in fact a man (because I have no acquaintance with my own body, obviously!) and that I should only be interested in romance.

I love romance. But...but...I fantasize about kicking ass all the time! Occasionally in costume! And...oh God, so do nearly all of my female friends! Every girlfriend on my comics forum! Oh Josh, please help! What's wrong with me??? Why oh why am I continually drawn to the creations of Joss Whedon? Why am I obsessed with the 'magical girl' genre of manga? Why do I own the Underworld movies and fantasize about owning my very own leather duster and Berettas? And most importantly, why am I dying for the Wonder Woman movie to get made already???

I am so grateful to you, Josh! As we all know, we women are an impossible-to-understand gender. Thusly, only men are capable of speaking for us! I'm really surprised that you even had to write this article—isn't it common knowledge?

Back off, girls! Josh Tyler is MINE! :D

...............

/end sarcasm>

I know. I am evil incarnate, but damn if it isn't fun.

....this guy is a sexist asshole. “Women aren't interested”? How the fuck would he know? Check your pants, Tyler. Do you see a vagina? Then the phrase “Women aren't interested” should never, ever leave your lips.

Women are not considered the majority of comic book readers because we are not an acknowledged part of the demographic. This has never made sense to me, but seems to make perfect sense to all of those 18-34 menfolk IN the demographic, who are puzzled as to my anger at having nothing to read.

Hey, guys? Can you look beyond your own privilege for just a second here? That would be juuuust greeaaaaaat.

The fact that women are not the demographic, gents, is a lazy-ass argument. And I have no intention of tolerating it anymore. I've heard it so often I'm considering making a drinking game out of it. (Sorta like this game of Anti-Feminist Comics Bingo. Hey, don't knock it! Bingo is badass, yo.)

What I wonder is why women are not widely considered as even part of the demographic. It's pretty stupid—women embraced Wonder Woman with open arms during the feminist movement of the 1970s. That she was created by and essentially for men didn't matter. We made her our own, and still consider her to be so. The reason that Wonder Woman is so crazy popular even today is because her appeal was universal—both men and women alike adored her.

That said, why aren't there more like her? I really don't get it---if comic book writers worked harder at making their creations more unisex, they'd make twice the money! And if they marketed creations for and by women, why, they'd appeal to the 'invisible' demographic of women, aged 18-34, who are willing to eat up anything sent their way. They could be making like twenty times the money they do, even in the middle of a fucking recession. Thus, the argument that female comic fans don't exist or are a minority is rendered officially stupid. Just because you don't acknowledge somthing doesn't mean they don't exist.

If I refuse to acknowledge Tyler and his moronic views, do they cease to exist? Based on my attempts, the answer is probably not.

As has been noted in the past, I don't handle stupidity well. Or Josh Tyler's amazing condescension. Nothing annoys me more than stupid people who act like they're smarter than me. Hey Josh—you're not all that smart. A truly smart person has the ability to pull their head out of their ass and see beyond their own interests.

So Josh, you just keep using your head as a buttplug. Once you wash the santorum from your hair, you might try taking some other points of view into consideration, rather than just dismissing them as you have been doing, based on the responses to your article.

Please note the success of Buffy—not just the TV show, which was hugely popular in its heyday—but the spinoff comic books. Guess who that appeals to?

Our pal Josh claims that Buffy isn't a superhero. I guess because her powers aren't the result of radiation? (Oh, sorry—genetic engineering?) Or because she doesn't wear a costume, maybe?

Buffy isn't a superhero to Josh because he did not deem her as such. It is only a fact if it comes from HIS mouth. His responses to the comments under his article are testament to that.

A note to Josh and all his ilk—if you want to express your privileged position as the target audience, fine. But don't EVER tell me—or any other woman who craves a female superhero to relate to—that it's because we don't know ourselves
or what we want.

You don't know us. You don't speak for us. You have absolutely no right to claim that you do.

Fuck you.

Sometimes, I have no words

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2008/12/galveston_false_arrest.php

And sometimes, I only need three. WHAT THE FUCK???

This poor kid. I don't feel qualified to talk about the racism a young black girl faces growing up in Texas, but as a human being I can't help but be revolted by this.

Growing up, we all learn to call the police when we're in trouble. They exist to watch and protect us. But who's watching them? I wonder sometimes.

Questions I Have for the Galveston, TX Police

1. Are your undercover police officers blind? I don't see how else they could mistake a twelve-year-old black child for an adult white woman. What was this, the Helen Keller division?

2. Since when does wearing short shorts equal practicing prostitution? Prostitutes do wear pants, you know. And skirts, even. Also, I might point out that many types of everyday exercise wear (like bicycle shorts and yoga pants) are also tight-fitting. Also, it's fucking TEXAS. You should at least understand the desire to wear as little as possible to avoid dying from the dry heat.

3. If Dymond Milburn had actually been a prostitute, would that have justified the violence used against her? Do most prostitutes require three men to bring them downtown? If so, is it like in Sin City where the prostitutes have machine guns, throwing stars and katanas?

And, oh yeah...prostitutes are human beings as well. In case y'all didn't know down there in Texas. And guess what? So are black people! How bout that!

The most sickening part of this is that they're charging the VICTIM. I want to throw up. I am so outraged I'm literally sick with it. This makes no sense, and yet these officers will likely get away with it. Because their victim is young, black, and a girl. And she's in Texas.

Why didn't we let the South secede again?

Abomination? Try OBAMA-NATION!

http://community.feministing.com/2008/12/prop-8--the-musical.html

This is just plain hysterical. I can't believe how many famous people are in this. Jack Black, Alison Janney, John C. Reilly, Sarah Chalke...just to name a few. And a surprise guest at the end! :D I'm not gonna tell--you'll have to see for yourself.

Now you see it, now you don't

So Prop 8 passed in California. Remember how gays finally got the right to marry, as was their right to begin with as human beings and American citizens?

Well, that right is gone, baby, gone. This is truly disgusting. What the FUCK is this all about?

Gays want to 'redefine marriage', I've heard. Um...GOOD. You know how high the divorce rate is these days? I don't, but I know it's pretty fucking high. What's the matter, all you straight, God-fearing people? You scared the gays will be better at marriage than YOU are? Ooooh.

I was at a wedding recently where the priest went into 'people wanting to redefine marriage'. I almost threw up in the aisle. This was a hateful act, completely discriminatory--but it was inappropriate to boot. The priest had no right whatsoever to impose HIS ideology on two people who loved each other.

Neither does society. Neither does the government. And then need to suck it up.

The ancient, lost-to-the-ages definition of marriage was basically ownership of a woman by her father, then transference of said ownership to a husband. This was done for dozens of reasons, few of them having anything to do with love.

My married (or soon-to-be-married) friends will probably kick my ass for saying this, but it's true: that's why women are pressured to take on their husband's last names. Engagement rings? Ownership symbols. Yeah, I went there.

It's not overtly intended to be ownership ANYMORE. (I still think it is, though. Sorry, brides and brides-to-be of my acquaintaince.) We've changed the definition of marriage from ye olden days. Unfortunately, these people in the religious right? They still think of marriage as a (white) man owning a (white) woman.

Oh, they don't SAY that. Usually. It tends to be covert, but it's there. They don't want their masculinity challenged--thereby their power--and ownership--and control. THAT is what this is about. The scaredy-cat realization that maybe, just maybe, NO ONE should control ANYONE ELSE. EVER.

I'll let Keith Olbermann make the point much better than I just did:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVUecPhQPqY

Keith is the fucking MAN, yo.

Wow, trippy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRB2wFhXIPs

I'm relatively certain that even if I understood Japanese, this still wouldn't make sense. But it's freakin' hilarious.

Japanese pplz 4 Obama! They sure put out some obnoxiously catchy music, don't they?

Wow. Just wow.

Barack Obama is the President-Elect of the United States. I'm still a bit shell-shocked. After eight years of guarded cynicism, I finally see a glimmer of hope.

America had a choice: fear or hope. For the first time in eight years, America no longer has to be defined by fear. Now we're free of that fear, and I for one feel liberated and exhilarated.

But the greatest victory is the racial barrier that has prevented African-Americans from holding the highest office in the nation. It has come crumbling down, and thank God for that! Of course, racism isn't dead--there's still plenty of it in Washington--and pretty much everywere, really.

However, bear this in mind--once, black people were considered three-fifths of a person. Now, a black man is President of the United States, and leader of the free world.

I am grateful that I got to be a part of this great victory, and I hope it will be the first of many!

This brought tears to my eyes:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuO5iXefghd1jpdSy4cngBYSaVBso4Wyfya9je5osBBZjOKgW7WG3rdq6qe1AjU7CntDcOu7dx_CFszt5A7rLDRQmsfzkgcwZ6FONN9x-6KdMO8Sc-lx8KqRcqJLTGtLN1DTIEVcEZsrk/s1600-h/ta081105.gif