Words Are Not Enough

So, as I have decided to start using this blog more regularly and to write longer things, I figured I should write about what I know so most of what I write about will be film as that's my favorite thing to discuss. However, being a Women and Gender Studies major with a minor in Sexuality Studies, I can't resist the chance to talk about many different theories and ideas that relate to feminist and queer theory. Specifically, my idea is to talk about different concepts or theories and theorists that might not be known by people who are not in these types of classes or are heavily involved in reading feminist literature. As I'll discuss today, I believe that what feminism is to me has been lost in everyday conversation and the media discussions of feminism. I also see that academia is seen as boring, off-putting and elitist. While that can often be true, I feel like I should use the knowledge I've gained through reading much better writers and thinkers should be shared with as many people as possible and am hoping to do that. First off, I'm going to use this post to explain my call for everybody who wishes to truly participate in feminism and overall, be a decent human being. That doesn't mean that you must identify as a feminist to be a decent human being but that some of these feminist concepts will really demonstrate the ways in which human decency can easily be lost. So take this as my introduction to what feminism means to me in my ridiculously privileged position.

My positionality in relation to feminism is not the typical voice you'd see discussing these ideas. I am an upper-class, white, able bodied, Canadian queer male which gives me far too many privileges. My ability to write this post is a privilege because many people whose voices deserve to be heard cannot be due to the societal limits their lack of privilege places upon them. My goal is only to simplify and combine many other theorists ideas and my own observations and analysis of different medias and events to spread some of these ideas through the limited audience I have. I'll try to point you in the right direction to many important theorists, articles and books in case something I talk about really resonates and to give credit to those whose ideas are fundamental to my own understanding of the world.

So...feminism. It's a loaded word that has a million definitions. But it's one of those words that everybody thinks they know what it means. I certainly don't have a definitive idea of the term but I do know what it's meant to me. However, to truly express that, I must draw on the use of some other terms.

In the same way that we all understand feminism, we all know what racism means, right? Sexism? Homophobia? Maybe patriarchy? If we've been to university, we probably know whiteness and heteronormativity? Oh and if we're evil followers of Edward Said as the shockingly popular documentary about Obama that dominated theatres this summer suggests, we probably have heard of orientalism. These terms are all revelations in a way that touch on issues of social inequality that affects our world in ways that has been discussed both by academics and everyday people with intensity. However, the issue that I have found is that while people may have these terms in their back pockets and can easily notice when something seems unequal, they often seem to have the same issue, very often in the very next sentence.

For example, I was listening to this highly pretentious podcast where they analyze art using way too many university terms but it can often be interesting so I've been listening to it. In one episode, they discussed the anniversary of the children's album, Free To Be You and Me. One of the hosts noted that one of the songs had a heteronormative ending which is wonderful, of course. Clearly, this heterosexual woman has read about heteronormativity and has internalized the concept which allows her to use it in a casual analysis of this song. However, in a later segment, the same woman agrees to the argument that a website that discusses the gender politics of texting is fine because it's normal for women to go to their girlfriends to talk about the texts that men have sent them. Personally, I would view this statement as heteronormative and deeply problematic.  In similar ways, you could have a wonderful discussion about the need for religious tolerance and in the next sentence have a dismissal of "Muslim countries" and the supposed values of that religion. Another example could be the acceptance of people with developmental delays or that exist on the autism spectrum by an able bodied person who then laughs at Ben Stiller's portrayal of these same disabilities in Tropic Thunder which is always justified as laughing at Hollywood and the Oscar race but of course, gives this person the ability to use the term "full retard" without giving in their human decency card.

Now, it's obvious that nobody is perfect and of course, the process of unlearning is a complicated process especially when it's attitudes that seemingly don't affect you due to your privilege and in this way are harder to internalize. However, my call is that it doesn't matter if you know the terms, if you have a gay best friend, don't support the colonization of the Middle East, don't dress as an "Indian" for Halloween or other forms of common decency and knowledge. These concepts are important because they affect the way people in various oppressed groups are seen in the wider culture and directly determine the way they are treated.

Personally, the greatest example as I can give as somebody who identified as gay for many years is those who are allies to gay people. Cool, great, human decency is always wonderful. However, if you are going to fight for gay marriage and the removal of Don't Ask Don't Tell and then participate in hetoronormativity and tell me there is nothing wrong with that because that's how the majority of people are, I don't really want you as an ally. It's not enough to tolerate other people and to accept them for who they are. What is necessary is self-reflexion and unlearning of the values that come along with heteronormativity and various other terms. Heteronormativity is based heavily in patriarchy, so we must also erradicate sexist attitudes to truly support equality of sexual difference. Heteronormativity tells us that society depicts it as less than normal and not part of the norm. This means that it must be treated as something as natural as heterosexuality and that we must challenge our points of view.

The process of unlearning and constantly trying to create new knowledge that allows for oppressed groups to become less oppressed is a requirement for getting your human decency card in my book. So, for me, feminism is about social change and the process of unlearning and accepting other's difference. Through accepting other's difference, we can often learn a lot about the attitudes we have ourselves and reach new understandings of ourselves which is necessary for social change. We must recognize the privilege these terms denote to us and then work through our own attitudes to try to remove the effects of this privilege.

I Love New York

Hello! So I've had this blog forever but rarely use it and have decided it's a better place to store my long posts about both my life and actual relevant things to the world than the tumblr I use. So I just recently took a trip to New York City for the first time which has been a dream of mine for like ten years and now I'm going to tell you the three best parts of my trip.

• The highlight of the first day of my trip to New York was most definitely seeing The Heiress on Broadway. I was in the perfect spot with the plot where I had seen the movie a year or so ago, meaning I still knew the general scheme of things and recognized a lot as it happened but there was still enough surprises to keep me interested. But the real reason for this part of the trip was that Jessica Chastain was in the cast. Also Broadway is just such a dream of mine so it was a requirement of my first time in the city. I loved the play as Chastain used her somewhat unique style of acting to bring just the right amount of drama and power to this wonderful character. The arc of the character is shocking if only because women do not always receive such wonderful character arcs and Chastain wonderfully displays the changes of her character and surely should be noticed by all for this powerful performance.
• On the second day, we went to the most entertaining place I've been in such a long time, Dylan's Candy Bar. I'd definitely seen a segment on one of those E! shows about how the rich and famous live that highlighted the store and since then I've always wanted to go. It looked like the fun and playful version of youth that people always tell me should exist in my memories. It really did sell that though. There was every kind of candy you could imagine and it all looked so cool and was just a delight to be in. Shopping can be really tiring I find and my legs never seem to enjoy it but I could have stayed in that candy store for so much longer. Such a wonderful idea and a fun way to spend the day.
• The last highlight of the trip and the entire reason I went to New York City was to see One Direction perform at Madison Square Garden. I've been a fan of the group since the very end of 2010, right after their season of the X Factor had finished where I was too obsessed with Cher Lloyd to pay proper attention to any of the other contestants. It was my third time seeing them but they just have me so obsessed that it is always worth it. The concert was pretty routine and not too far off from their Up All Night tour, at least in terms of set list. I found this odd considering the brand new album they could be promoting but the inclusion of C'mon C'mon and Kiss You made up for it. It's always fun to see them and although they could bring a bit more to the stage, they always are great vocally and bring a fun experience. Ed Sheeran was the "surprise" opener although I definitely had a feeling he'd be there and he sang the songs of his that aren't as bad although he really went on for a bit on some of the songs. But not bad for somebody who doesn't get me too excited. It felt really special to be there on what they kept calling the best night of their lives and it was so lovely to see them come so far that it got me emotional a couple times. Can't wait to see them again next summer woo!

So those were my personal highlights of my trip to NYC and I just loved the city and hope to go again soon!

Pariah and Queer Femininity

After delaying it for a long time, I finally watched Dee Rees' Pariah and it blew past my high expectations. It's the tale of a teenage girl who comes into her own sexuality and deals with the issues she encounters on this journey. The girl, Alike, is African-American and this further complicates matters as Rees delves into what it is like to be a minority within a minority.

The film really touched me on an emotional level. As a white gay male living in an upper middle class neighbourhood, my experiences with coming out and discovering my sexuality were clearly much different. However, this is both integral and irrelevant to the success of the film. The film connects with the viewer on an emotional level by demonstrating the feeling of isolation and ostracization that any person in any minority often feels and even those within the majority. While my journey has been a lot different and better than Alike, I still felt connected to her tale and it reminded me of feelings and events in my own life. The film succeeds because it tells a story that is not often seen on film. While many films are made on coming out, few are made about women and even fewer about people of colour. The film becomes much more important in the cultural context for addressing these issues and will remain important due to the level of emotional depth it displays and the beautiful talent displayed by all of the actors.

While thinking about how few films are made about queer females, I realized that it's not just a narrative that is lacking in cinema but in our culture as a whole. This fall on network television there are two new shows that depict gay male couples and both happen to be sitcoms. This is what most in the gay community would consider a big step for equality as it demonstrates that we are so far along that being homosexual is no longer the entire punchline but allows homosexuality to exist along comedy as opposed to being the comedy as it has been since the inception of comedy films. While this is a big step, this demonstrates that there is still a huge lack of queer females being depicted in the media.

The lack of demonstration of queer females does not demonstrate a lack of queer females but a sexism that exists within gay rights movements. When gay rights are discussed, the general opposition appears to be the straight males whose masculinity is threatened by the possibility of queer masculinity existing within them. It's a narrative that has been expressed countless times. However, the opposite is never discussed because straight females are generally viewed as being accepting of the gay community. The lack of discussion about gay females hints at a lack of comfort existing within the strongest allies to the gay community, straight women, with the idea of queerness existing in their own sexuality. Queer femininity also threatens straight males as it demonstrates that the women can be independent and survive in the world completely without the need for males to satisfy them. Rees clearly displays this in her film in a scene where a man confronts an androgynous female about her sexuality. While queer masculinity also threatens the heteronormativity that we all participate in, it has been more easily accepted as sexism is still prevalent within our society and limits the choices that women are allowed to make.

It's important for films like Pariah to continue to be made and to continue to allow audiences to connect with these stories. Representation of queer femininity need to exist to allow the women who struggle with their sexuality to see their struggles exist within the media and to allow a greater understanding among straight females and males of their struggles and to allow us to connect to each other on a human level, as art so often allows.

Golden Globes Predictions and Favorites

So the televised movie award season basically starts on Sunday with the Golden Globes and there’ll be lots more guild awards after that leading up to the Oscars so it’s fun all around. I will now give you my incredibly informed(I read far too many Oscar blogs) predictions on who will win and who I think will win.

Best Film, Drama:

• Nominees: War Horse, Moneyball, The Descendants, The Ides of March, The Help, Hugo
• Will Win: This one is a bit of a toss-up and will tell us the biggest competition for the current frontrunner(The Artist) but I’m gonna say it will be The Descendants.
• Should Win: I’ve seen all of these except War Horse(really should just see it already) and Hugo is definitely the best.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama:

• Nominees: Glenn Close(Albert Nobbs), Rooney Mara(The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo), Meryl Streep(The Iron Lady), Viola Davis(The Help), Tilda Swinton(We Need To Talk About Kevin)
• Will Win: It’s either gonna be Viola or Meryl and whoever wins will get a huge boost for the Oscars. I’m gonna say it’ll be Viola.
• Should Win: I haven’t seen Glenn or Meryl’s performances but otherwise, the best is Rooney Mara.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama:

• Nominees: George Clooney(The Descendants), Brad Pitt(Moneyball), Ryan Gosling(The Ides of March), Michael Fassbender(Shame), Leonardo DiCaprio(J. Edgar)
• Will Win: It’s gonna be George. Could be Brad but that’s doubtful.
• Should Win: I’ve seen all of these for some reason and it is clearly Fassy who gives the best performance. If Ryan was nominated for Drive, it might be a different story.

Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical:

• Nominees: 50/50, The Artist, My Week With Marilyn, Bridesmaids, Midnight in Paris
• Will Win: The Artist. That’s not even a question.
• Should Win: Also, The Artist and I’ve seen all of them.

Best Performance by an Actress - Comedy or Musical:

• Nominees: Kate Winslet(Carnage), Michelle Williams(My Week With Marilyn), Jodie Foster(Carnage), Kristin Wiig(Bridesmaids), Charlize Theron(Young Adult)
• Will Win: Michelle Williams. She’s the only one with real Oscar traction.
• Should Win: I haven’t seen Carnage yet but otherwise, I’m definitely giving it to Charlize.

Best Performance by an Actor - Comedy or Musical:

• Nominees: Jean Dujardin(The Artist), Joseph Gordon Levitt(50/50), Ryan Gosling(Crazy, Stupid, Love), Owen Wilson(Midnight in Paris), Brendan Gleeson(The Guard)
• Will Win: Jean Dujardin, the only one with a possibility of an Oscar nod.
• Should Win: Jean Dujardin but Ryan Gosling was definitely the best part of the mess that was Crazy, Stupid, Love(I know I’m the only one with this opinion)

Best Animated Feature Film:

• Nominees: Rango, The Adventures of Tintin, Arthur Christmas, Puss in Boots, Cars 2
• Will Win: Rango? Could be Tintin but will they go for motion capture?
• Should Win: Winnie The Pooh. Beyond angry it’s not a nominee. Otherwise, I’ve only seen Rango and it was fine.

Best Foreign Language Film: 

• Nominees: A Separation, In The Land of Blood and Honey, The Skin I Live In, The Flowers of War, The Kid With A Bike
• Will Win: It's gonna be A Separation for sure.
• Should Win: I've only seen The Skin I Live In but I loved it so I'm fine with it winning.

Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture:

• Nominees: Berenice Bejo(The Artist), Jessica Chastain(The Help), Octavia Spencer(The Help), Janet McTeer(Albert Nobbs), Shailene Woodley(The Descendants)
• Will Win: It'll probably be Octavia.
• Should Win: I haven't seen McTeer's performance but otherwise, I love Chastain in The Help although this is a super strong category.

Best Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture:

• Nominees: Jonah Hill(Moneyball), Christopher Plummer(Beginners), Albert Brooks(Drive), Kenneth Branagh(My Week With Marilyn), Viggo Mortensen(A Dangerous Method)
• Will Win: Christopher Plummer with the possibility of a Brooks surprise.
• Should Win: I haven't seen Mortensen but I have to go with Plummer with Brooks a close second.

Best Director - Motion Picture:

• Nominees: Woody Allen(Midnight in Paris), Michael Hazanavicius(The Artist), George Clooney(The Ides of March), Alexander Payne(The Descendants), Martin Scorsese(Hugo)
• Will Win: Michael Hazanavicius for The Artist, possible dissapointments with Payne and Scorsese
• Should Win: Scorsese's movie is gorgeous and works wonderfully as a piece but Hazanavicius has much better pacing and a novel idea. Both are good choices.

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture:

• Nominees: The Artist, Midnight in Paris, The Descendants, Moneyball, The Ides of March
• Will Win: Sadly, it'll probably be The Descendants or Moneyball even though I consider them horrific scripts.
• Should Win: The Artist

Best Original Score - Motion Picture:

• Nominees: The Artist, W.E., The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, War Horse, Hugo
• Will Win: This category could go in many directions but I'll settle for War Horse or Hugo or The Artist if it really sweeps.
• Should Win: I haven't seen W.E. or War Horse so I don't know their scores and while The Artist is gorgeous, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo's score is a highlight of a supremely underrated film.

Best Original Song

Madonna is nominated. Nothing else matters.

I'd do the TV ones too but I don't watch many of the shows nominated. Big hopes for Enlightened, Mildred Pierce, Laura Dern, Madeleine Stowe and Kate Winslet.

Comedy through the Ages

Last week, I watched one of the most acclaimed comedies of all time and some even call it the original romantic comedy. Of course, it comes from the silent film star with the longest legacy, Charlie Chaplin. In City Lights from 1931, Chaplin is in familiar territory as he takes his character of the Tramp through a series of slapstick gags all the while maintaining a romantic storyline with a blind girl. The film ends with a beautiful scene where the romantic leads encounter again after many years and although the girl doesn't believe the man who helped to fix her sight could be the poor, homeless Tramp, she finally sees that he's the one who saved her.

Comedy is one of the most popular genres throughout film history and especially in modern times. The latest release from a favorite comedian can drive audiences to multiplexes in droves. However, comedies rarely receive critical acclaim, or at least that is the perception that mainstream audiences have when they watch the Oscars and popular comedies like The Hangover or Superbad don't sweep the awards. The Golden Globes have always offered a different approach to awards by dividing their categories into drama and musical or comedy. As this honoring of comedy approaches, I've decided to look at a few comedies throughout history that have gained critical acclaim and try and link them and Chaplin's City Lights to the some of the films getting attention in the Comedy or Musical category.

The biggest comedy this year was by far, Bridesmaids. The ensemble comedy about a woman whose best friend is getting married and the reflection this forces her to have on her own life and the relationships around her has brought up the question that somehow still exists, are women funny? The question only seems so ridiculous because it's been proven consistently throughout film history. In the screwball comedies of the 1930s and 1940s, women generally played a more dominant role while the man was slightly incompetent. In Bringing Up Baby, one of the most famous screwball comedies, Katharine Hepburn is the character who receives the most laughs and her chemistry with Cary Grant generates all of the film's success. In various teen comedies, especially those satires of youth culture, such as Mean Girls and Heathers, women have also played a key role in creating the comedy and, in the case of Mean Girls, a woman was responsible for writing all the jokes too. Even in the films of Woody Allen, who is receiving significant attention for his nominated film Midnight in Paris, women play an important part and can help lead the comedy even if they are always designated to work off the stand-in for the famously neurotic director. For example, Annie Hall would not be half the movie it was without Diane Keaton's fantastic portrayal of the titular character and although Allen gives himself most of the jokes, her character still brings humor to the film. It is rarer to see women be given the opportunity to be funny in the way that Bridesmaids is through gross out humor, although I would argue it is a much smarter movie than the few gross-out gags imply. The question of women being funny is completely ridiculous and film history demonstrates that women can be funny when they are given the chance.

This year, cinema has been especially nostalgic even in the comedy or musical category. The Artist is the smash hit of the year that audiences were not prepared for. An ode to silent cinema similar to classics, such as Sunset Boulevard and Singin' In The Rain, it is a charming cinematic experience that has slowly spread through audiences to become beloved. My Week With Marilyn similarly takes advantage of a nostalgia for Old Hollywood by detailing the period of Marilyn Monroe's life where she was filming The Prince and the Showgirl. Marilyn was an actress who was heavily associated with both comedies and musicals, such as, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Some Like It Hot, although her career was not limited to these types of roles. These films can be related even to Chaplin's City Lights which arrived during the Great Depression and helped to charm audiences into feeling better about their lives if only for two hours. These nostalgia trips also help to give joy to audiences and are a reminder of a time when life was seemingly better than it is in the rough economic climate of our current day.

Chaplin's comedic influence can also be seen in the final film being considered for the Best Comedy or Musical award at the Golden Globes, 50/50. This last film is a comedy that addresses the serious issue of cancer when the lead, portrayed in a nominated performance by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, finds out that he has the disease and has to try to live through the treatment. While cancer is not a topic that is usually approached with such a comedic and realistic take, the idea of using comedy to address serious issues is one that features prominently in Chaplin's work and has been used throughout the history of the genre. Chaplin used this technique most famously in The Great Dictator where he plays a dictator who is similar to Adolf Hitler, who was in power at the time. Chaplin uses comedy to address the issues and fears that are within the world and helps the audience to realize that no problem is too big to overcome and that keeping a smile on your face is sometimes the best medicine. 50/50 shares this attitude and portrays cancer in a more realistic and less satirical way than Chaplin does with Hitler in The Great Dictator, however, it still maintains the comedic tone that makes the film much easier to handle than a serious drama about the subject.

It's not currently known to us if any of these films will be talked about in 10 or 50 years like the classic screwball comedies of the 1930s and 1940s or the fast talking theuroputic approach to comedy that Woody Allen uses in Annie Hall, among others. However, this year's field of comedies, some with a few musical elements, is very strong and offers some wonderful candidates that fit well into the canon of great comedies.