My Thoughts On: Star Vs the Forces of Evil

Hello people of the Internet! Man has 2016 sucked! There have been so many awful events occurring during this year that I have deliberately stayed away from this blog to keep it from sounding like a fragmented suicide note.
 

Now with this flaming train wreck of an election finally over I feel safe enough to return to you readers and talk about a new hidden gem I recently stumbled upon called:
 
A cartoon created in 2015 by Disney the show's premise is based on the done-to-death anime trope of a magical princess who is forced to flee from her kingdom to the mundane, non magical, realm of earth where she teams up with an ordinary guy to fight the monsters and baddies that come after her. However the show sets itself apart do to the fact that its main character, Star Butterfly, is a hot mess.

And I mean that literally

Star didn't have to leave her dimension because she was in danger, she had to leave her dimension because she was the danger. On her fourteenth birthday Star inherited a magical wand from her mother and after abusing its power almost immediately, via setting the castle on fire, her parents decided to send her to earth so that she could learn some discipline while keeping from hurting people.

From her own dimension, the people of earth are pretty much fair game. Her companion on this new adventure is fourteen year old Marco Diaz who at first seemed like the standard "normal guy thrown into a crazy situation against his will". He's as the "safe kid" , a distinction he embodies fully yet hates whole heartily, and is desperate to rid himself of. When I was watching this show I thought that it was going to be one of those be-careful-what-you-wished-for type deals with Marco being overwhelmed at the sight of the first monster that came after Star, but I was taken by surprise yet again.


Star didn't grant Marco those fighting skills through magic, or by some ancient prophecy, he knew how to do it through years of work and you guys have no idea just how refreshing this was to me. In the last decade shows, books and, movies have been doing their best to break down gender bias by including female characters that do more than just be the damsel the male heroes need to save. Don't get me wrong, I love that they do this, but I hate it when they execute this idea by lazily making the male characters cowardly, weaker, or just plane dumber than the female ones. Like Kevin from the Ghostbusters reboot.

Words can not properly describe how much I hate this character! 

If written right I can enjoy a character who's as dumb as a box of hair but Kevin.....I don't think that he should have lived past the age of ten. To this day I am still perplexed as to why he was written like this, his presence meshed with the chemistry of the other characters like peanut butter and sour pickles and I felt like I was watching an intellectual version of black face every time he was on screen. This is why I love Star and Marco's relationship. Although they are opposites they are still equal to each other, and have enough in common to make their friendship feel believable. 

That's all I got to say on this so until my next post I hope that you Live well, Laugh often, and Love much. 

Pics and Gifs

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My Country's Deadly Addiction

People of the Internet I am heartbroken to be posting about a mass shooting that is shaping up to be the worse mass shooting in my country's history, and another thing that will change the way I see my reality. Whenever I go to the movies I no longer sit where I can see the screen perfectly but where I can get to the exit as soon as possible in case someone starts shooting. In the my colleges library I keep my belongings close at hand so that I won't have to leave them behind in case someone starts shooting. In the-now rare-instances where my family goes out in public I keep each of them in  eye sight so that we can escape together in case someone starts shooting. I am scared, sad, and beyond enraged that this is the world that I, my loved ones, and all the future generations of my family live in and I am demanding that something , anything, be done to cure my country of its addiction to lead and gun powder before its too late.

Live well, Laugh often, Love much, and Pray that better days are coming.

My thoughts on: Sausage Party

Hello people of the Internet! You ever go into something with a full expectation of what it is going to be only to be shocked when it turns out completely different? Well, I did when I watched the trailer for the newest animated feature Sausage Party.

Now this tailor appeared in my must watch box on you tube a few days back and I ignored because, going on the name, I thought it would just be another raunchy guy comedy only animated instead of live action. A bit snobbishly I just assumed that this flick would be nothing but a lazily put together boat for penis jokes, and the only reason why I decided to give the trailer a look last night was so that I could have something to rant about in this blog post. I started like this:

And ended like this:

Bravo Mr. Rogen 

I totally did not see the direction this film was going nor just how brilliant, and horrifying, it would be! Honestly I should have seen something like this coming, I mean, the most popular trend in animation now a days is to give human emotions to non-human things-Inside Out and Zootopia just to name a few-but to give it to food, and keep in the horrifying reality of it, is just mind blowing! I know Toy Story gave us an idea how much it can suck when no one thinks you are sentient, but due to the fact that the food in Sausage Party cannot express their emotions-terror in particular-to their humans adds a dash of panic and despair that those other movies seemed too afraid to address. 

I'm excited to see more of this movie and I hope you will too, but until my next post I hope that you Live well, Laugh often, and Love much

Gifs & Video:

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Why I hate soul plane

Hello people of the Internet! Let's talk about Soul Plane.

Created in 2004 the movies stars Chris Rock, Tom Arnold, Snoop Dog, and a whole other sleuth of black comedians as the crew and passengers embarking on the maiden flight of the hip-hop concentric airline, NWA. When I first saw the movie I thought it was funny, but looking back on it as an adult all I can do is this:

The reason for this shift in opinion is that I now know the difference between a comedy and a parody. Sure both genres are designed to make you laugh, but they do so in a different way. In comedy the humor comes from the character's suffering. I know that may sound sick, but if you think back on all the things that have really made you laugh you will realize that they contain some amount of pain. Comedies also tend to exist in a universe similar to our own, in that the reactions to the situations are congruent to what they'd be in real life. For instance if a character were to walk into a restaurant and be so mesmerized by how good their date looks that they trip and fall on their faces the people around them would be surprised, concerned, and maybe even find it funny. Because again comedy is about suffering.

Loudly

This is not the case for parodies. In that world even if that character were to take a swan dive into another guest's soup they would probably continue to eat as if nothing had happened. This is where the humor come from; an utter unacknowledgment of the craziness and bazaar.

The problem with Soul Plane is that it doesn't seem to know if it wants to be a comedy or a parody. It has the exaggerations found in parodies-just take a look at the plane-but the reactions are way off. For instance the main character, played by Kevin Heart, seems like an ambitious likable young man who wants to create a legitimate business that would better cater to the African American community. However when he gets on the plane he doesn't freak out over the fact that it is designed in a way that would make it unqualified to be even on a runway, but that the captain was in a middle eastern prison.

Also because this flick has no idea what mood it wants to set the jokes that would be acceptable in a parody, and edgy in a comedy, come off as so racist I'm surprised their wasn't a rally in response! Especially this scene, https://youtu.be/t0vICOySZfs. I am shocked by how this movie with so much comedic talent could go so wrong!

That's all I have to say so until next post I ask that you Live well, Laugh often, and Love much.






Gifs from:

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In My Opinion: Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined

Hello people of the Internet! Do you guys remember Twilight? That 2008 young-adult-vampire-romance novel that spawned a money making franchises, created countless jokes and memes that will haunt all those involved with it to their graves, and led to the making of a BDSM erotic novel so ridiculous that it would have the gimp from Pulp Fiction going:

He did what with the tampon?

For those of you lucky enough to dodge this pop-cultural bullet I suggest you hit the deck because in honor of the series's ten year anniversary Stephanie Myers has created another book titled  Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined.

As horrifying as this must be I can assure you that it only gets worse. For instead of being about Edward and Bella's lives after Breaking Dawn, or even about one of the secondary characters, this story is a retelling of the first book only with the genders of the characters-except for Charlie-swapped.

Just pretend that the child is your mental health

As you can tell by the gifs I'm not really much of a fan of this new book, not because what it is about, but the reasons why it was made. You see according to interviews the reason why Myers decided to create this "story" was because she was under the impression that changing Bella into Beaufort-I swear on my grandmother's gave that is really the name she went with-would stop the world from seeing her as a damsel in distress. Please use the following ellipsis as a moment to allow this to sink in.

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..........It hit rock bottom? Good, on with the post! 

Now the most obvious thing wrong with this is that Mrs.Myers is implying that the damsel in distress is a roll that can only be played by female characters which is completely false. At first damsels in distress were actual damsels because their stories were reflecting the idea of the time in which women were thought of as helpless plot points that turn into a reward for the hero. But like with other aspects of our world this idea has changed with countless books, TV series, comics, plays, and other forms of media having damsels that are not only male but have different ages, social statuses, and even species; go here if you want some examples https://youtu.be/SE7FK9H8gGE. Hell, even the hero of the series can be a DID.

The reason why this is possible is because a damsel in distress is not an role defined by what a character is but by what they do in the story, and needing to be saved by the hero does not mean they are to be hated by the fandom. In fact some of my most favorite fictional characters are the ones whom tend to get tied to the train tracks more than they should. The reason I don't find them irritating  is because they have personalities that are likable, developed, and don't revolve around their archetype. Take for instance Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane from Spiderman.

 I admit I see why Peter Parker is willing to dive off of sky scrapers for Mary Jane: She's pretty and seemed to be the only non-related female character that didn't treat him like garbage in the first two films, however if I were a superhero I wouldn't give her the same attention. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't sit back and watch her get roasted in a house fire but I wouldn't make her the eternal object of my love and undying affection because she doesn't offer anything about her to love or be affectionate about. I am sorry if she is not like this in the comics, but the first introduction I had to her character was in the Raimi films and in those movies the majority  of her scenes involved her needing to be saved from some type of threat, messing around with the relationship between her and Peter, or showing why the aforementioned relationship would not be able to function in the real world!

The relationship between Gwen and Peter doesn't have this problem; she is someone I would bend over backwards for even if she was just my friend. Not only does Gwen get into less trouble in the Webb films, but the times she does is usually because the threat is too much for her to take care of on her own and/or she was helping Peter beat the bad guy. And her contributions actually lead to their demise! Also while she does love Peter enough to disregard the wishes of her dead father to stay away from him she isn't too devoted to the point that she wouldn't break up with him when the relationship threatens her goals or emotional health. And even though she does take him back it is only after they both agree to make compromises that  they are both satisfied with. Like real, and believable, couples do. 

Stephanie Myers this is what a believable attraction looks like!

Unlike other Hero/Love interest parings I honestly thought that Gwen and Peter could have had a happy future together which was why it broke my heart when she died. Sorry for anyone who didn't see the Amazing Spider man 2 but not only does Gwen Stacy die she dies because Peter fails to save her. Combined with the fact that they had a real connection it is understandable  why Peter would become horribly depressed over her passing.

Why couldn't it have been MJ?!

But even after she is gone Gwen still manages to give Peter the support of a caring girlfriend by reminding him that he should continue on with his life even though she's not going to be in it. Well that is if cloning or magic is not going to be a possibility in the next film. This type of selfless love is something that both Raimi and Myers failed to portray and cannot be fixed with an overused fanfic-trope. 

That's all I got to say so until my next post I ask that you Live well, Laugh Often, and Love much.


Pics and Gifs courtesy of:

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In My Opinion: Why Donald Trump shouldn't be president

Hello people of the Internet! I don't want Mr. Trump to become our next commander and chief because of something I don't like about him but because of the thing I do like about him: How strongly he believes in his opinions. You can call him alot of things-sexist, racist, painfully archaic in his world views-but you have to admit that Donald Trump is a man who mostly says what he means and means what he says and will go to any lengths necessary in order to accomplish a goal; which is a refreshing and rare quality in todays politicians. One of my greatest pet peeves about the government is how a group or person can be willing to die fighting for a cause one second and then wiling to die fighting against it the next.

I'm talking to you democrats!

Even when his opinions are beyond wrong it would be a snowball's chance in hell for Mr. Trump to go back on them....which is where the problem arises. While this type of stubbornness works in the corporate world from which Mr. Trump hails from that is because the final say in a company's fate rest solely on the decision on the person who created and/or owns it. There are ways to make change happen, but the majority of them involve getting the boss to change his mind which is not the case in the American government. 

Although I believe our founding fathers have literally written us into a political corner on some issues they also made sure that the only way any one could change them-be they the president or a simple college blogger-is if they gather, or convince, enough people to agree with their opinion. We're not a direct democracy but we are a society that strongly believes that the views, opinions, and beliefs of all its citizens have a right to be listened to as well as respected which is something that Mr. Trump has yet to show he can do. Like with most opinionated people-myself included-Mr. Trump has a hard time accepting criticism be it constructive or spiteful, and has reacted to it in a fashion that is not only in bad taste but can be down right bratty.

The US has preached about the merit of people choosing their leader so strongly we are often judge as a whole based on the actions of our elected leader. This means that they can't give out the personal numbers of their rivals, or decline to attend a meeting they deem "is not worth their time", or make offensive and racist generalizations on a whole group. I'm not saying that they have to be complete push overs but a president must know when to fight and when to let things go since their reaction can be the only thing standing between the well being of their people and war. 

That's all I have to say so until next post I ask that you Live well, Laugh often, and Love much.

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Back to school

Hello people of the Internet! This is just a quick post to inform that I am back in college and am so far doing well. I registered for a mandatory power stretch class to get me to the gym, and purchased three physical calendars to make sure I don't get tripped up by "surprise" assignments and papers. On the downside I think I might be getting depressed again since finding out that I had brought the wrong calculator today was enough to bring me to tears. I didn't cry though which makes me hopeful that this is just some lingering traces of homesickness, and the stress of being in a twelve bedroom dorm again. However, unlike last year, there are four other people who do not like a game of tag-literally some of the girls were playing tag-at eleven pm so hopefully I won't have to be the one to put her foot down for some quiet. That's all I have to say so until next post I hope that you Live well, Laugh often, and Love much.