Corrections and Amplifications
In the comments on my last post, two issues arose that I would like to address:
1. Secret Brother Tom wrote in to point out that I seemed to slight the Northeastern Quadrant of the U.S. in my previous post. What I meant to say was this: "Hank and I are just beginning to think about beginning to think about trying to figure out whether this is even feasible, and the extraordinarily generous librarians of the Northeastern Quadrant have made us feel that their portion of the country is, at least, potentially perhaps possible."
2. Even more distressingly, mundane4life writes: "I think you're great, but the fact that you even went to SATC you've fallen a few notches." Oh, my sweet dear Lord Jesus. I did not see the movie. I read a plot summary of the movie on a web site. (Also, I did not spoil the movie in my post. To say that they get married is the equivalent of saying that Indiana Jones survives the new Indiana Jones movie, or that the Transformers do not successfully take over the world, or that the Titanic sinks.)
Soon (today? tomorrow?), I will post a helpful guide to the Veepstakes. For now, I would just like to congratulate Senator Obama on
And congrats also to Sen. Clinton, who is an excellent candidate, and would have made a good President. It sucks that someone has to lose a race this close.
posted by John Green @ Tuesday, June 03, 2008
11 Comments
11 Comments:
I voted for Hillary Clinton in the PA primaries (you know the one she won). And I want my vote back. Is there anyway to get my vote back?
TITANIC SINKS?
INDIANA LIVES?
My world has gone upside down.
I always thought Jack and Rose lived and had lots of babies and are actually the King and Queen of my country.
Looking forward to the veepstakes. American elections fascinate me :)
HEY!
My opinion of you actually went down specifically because you trashed SATC. I did see it (full disclosure) because I watched and enjoyed large swathes of the series (not that I don't also find large swathes kind of reprehensible/icky-- like the rampant and ceaseless materialism it seems to advocate), but that's not why I'm offended. Your glancing comparison here to Indiana Jones is a telling parallel. Both movies were the object of equal hype and both undoubtedly contain an equal amount of superficiality and bad writing. Why is SATC singled out for your public disdain? Simply because it favors ostentatious weddings over unnecessary explosions, and fetishizes designer shoes instead of outdated racial stereotypes? Is it actually more damaging/insidious/deserving of your censure?
I didn't love the movie, but as a woman, I was happy to put down my $10 to see it, just as I was happy to put down my $10 for Baby Mama, (which was also a mixed bag)-- because I want to teach Hollywood that, contrary to the popular opinion, female stars CAN open movies, and movies about women are worthy of being made. However, when female-centric movies/literature/life are made targets for this kind of derision by males, expecially ones as intelligent as you are, it sends everyone the opposite message.
It *is* a gendered issue, and not just from the perspective of taste.
The nomination's "secured" at the party convention, when delegates officially cast their votes. Until then, BO is the presumptive nominee.
I'm disappointed in the outcome, but I'll do everything within my power to help reclaim the White House, unite our country, and restore peace throughout the world.
Answers to your comments in comment form rather than blog post form:
1. Newport2Newport is right that Obama is the presumptive nominee, not the nominee. Edited to reflect that.
2. Margaret: I have to tell you that I don't think the Indiana Jones movie _was_ bad writing. (I think it was bad dialogue, maybe, but not bad writing.) Oh, and I loved Baby Mama. (Although yes, not perfect.) I like a lot of movies that star women. I just think that SATC is unusually bad, partly because it is often held up as being in some way reflective of something that is inherently true about all women. (I have precisely the same problem with the Die Hard movies' understanding of what constitutes manhood.) So I still don't think my revulsion toward that movie is about gender, although I'll acknowledge I might be wrong.
Sex and the City is fabulous.
Sex and the City: The Movie is horrible.
But honestly, I read your opinions in your previous post about the movie, and in this post you said you didn't even see it. How do you honestly know that the movie is bad if you didn't see it yourself? I think it's unfair to take a stand on something that you really haven't experienced.
Sorry John, I agree with you, but I don't agree with how you formed your opinion.
When I was younger SATC was pushed around like all women would be able to relate to the all female, all white, wealthy cast. While there are definitely problems with the show, I'm still happy that there was finally a place for a female cast show, albeit not the best show ever, but it did put more women's issues in the public eye (abortion episode, anyone? Hell, just women's enjoyment of sex.) then any other show out there at the time, and unfortunately we haven't see a show as open since.
Now, it also often talks incessantly about shoes, so there are definitely huge gender issues with it..
They did though bounce from shoes/accessories to important topics, and they were all successful women in their own right, so it helped to show that enjoying things like fashion isn't mutually exclusive from being intelligent. I think for lots of folks it was just nice to know that a door was opening a bit in Hollywood.
That said, if someone doesn't like the writing, someone doesn't like the writing, no big deal to me, really. I just hope that people can see it as more than a completely pointless movie/show even if they don't watch it.
I'm not accusing you of anything, John, hah. Thought I should point that out. I didn't feel you take a position on anything, just kind of threw a random comment out at the end of a post.
I guess the topic is just fresh in my head as my father was complaining about the show yesterday when talking of a man who had commented that it was the "best movie" he'd seen that year. My dad went on to say that it was just for women..and "what is he, gay?"
Ugh.
Anyway, I can see how your comment could be taken offensively maybe, but I don't think you were pitching for the patriarchy when you made it. Of course, it's hard to tell when you grew up in the confines of a patriarchal society. Blah, anyway, if I don't stop talking about that this will change directions completely.
In other news. Love your writing style, can't wait for my pre-order to get here. Good luck with the brothers tour!
Did you two ever make rules about the design contest?
Thanks for responding John-- and I should admit, I haven't actually *seen* Indiana Jones, so I oughtn't have been commenting on its writing quality in the first place, you may be right about its comparative quality. I guess I just get frustrated because I feel like a lot of things I legitimately enjoy-- Sex and the City and Bridget Jones (the book)-- even PRIDE AND FREAKING PREJUDICE-- get unfairly maligned by the general public simply because they are created by women, for women.
Obviously, that wasn't your intention here, nor do I think the movie's female-ness is the motivation for your critique, as you're right the movie's writing was particularly noxious*, and the way some fans treat Carrie Bradshaw as a role model is indeed troubling, but I felt like it was still important to point out how those arguments can be unfairly biased, and I knew this was a safe and receptive environment for the discussion. Because you're smart and awesome and generally like women.
I can't wait for you to visit the Northeastern Quadrant's libraries!! Or for Paper Towns!
*again, full disclosure, I may or may not have told the movie theater attendant, upon leaving the handicapped bathroom, not give me any crap because women "may as well be handicapped when THAT'S the kind of shit Hollywood makes for us."
In a similar vein, I think we should read The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks for the blurbing book club's next book. So brilliant! Some many astute observations about how sexism expresses itself! So much fun to read!
It left me thoroughly turbed.
I'm glad the nomination fight is FINALLY coming to a close. I think The Daily Show's, The Long Endless Bataan Death March to the White House accurately sums it up. Now it's just time to focus on getting him into the White House (I'm spending my summer as an Obama fellow to do just that!). I mean, I respect John McCain to an extent (he's better than most Republicans and he's been relatively good about the environment) we just need to move in a new direction so desperately that we can't afford another 4 years of Bush's Economic and National Security Policies.
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