Statistics, Doggos, and Mansplaining in Book Four: Ichi-no-Tani 2017

Statistics:
Cracked.com did a good Reader Submitted Photo Entry about how relationships in Hollywood are different from relationships in real life. Of course, they bring up the one I (tend) to fixate on… because my world is damned bloody full of the Hollywood type.

Except… my parents met in Junior High School, started dating in High School, and have now been married for (at least) 41 years. My brother? Met his wife in Junior High School. Granted, they didn’t start dating until he was in the Navy but… met in Junior High, ridiculously close friends in High School, started dating, have now been married for 12 years. The director of the film I was in… I helped introduce him to this girl when we were in High School… they started dating… they’ve been married ever since. The “sexy short stud” that I used to play Cello with? Met his girl in Junior High, they dated for years, got married… have been happily married for a decade with 3 lovely children. The Mime I wanted to date in High School? The guy she went with instead of me… they got married and are still married. And many of my friends who did not meet or date their spouse in High School… surprise surprise (little did they know) went to high school with their current spouse. So… yeah. My life is filled to over flowing with “Wait, dude… you didn’t marry someone you went to High School with? Woah.”

DOGGOS:
I love dogs. Sometimes, I think that in a past life, I was a dog. And so, with that in mind… I played a thought game with myself today. If Dog Self looked at Current Self life; how would he discuss it. This is what I came up with:
Christopher is an acceptable human and good with fellow dogs. He seems to have difficulty discovering his place though. He trained to be a Show Dog but when other dogs, more naturally preferred breeds, would win consistently more often; he felt discouraged. So he trained to be a Herding Dog. He trained well and had a natural affinity for it; but you could tell he wished he’d get petted more. Now, he is in practice to be a Service Dog. I see that he is struggling as so many do when they try to be Service Dogs. It also does not help that he is older than many service dogs when they start their work. I don’t see it as a role that will provide him petting or kibble, at least not in the abundance he wants, but hopefully it works out for him. If it doesn’t… he might become one of those sad dogs in a kennel. Too old to adopt; withering away with no new toys, nobody to pet him, and nobody giving him walks. No dog should be treated like that.

MANSPLAINING:

Here, again, is a Facebook thing that I share here because… I don’t want to be harassed on Facebook. My cousin (Mexican, Chicago) is up on her high horse again being anti Wonder Woman.

Actual Facebook Post “As a brown woman, I can’t. Every time I look at Gal Gadot, I am reminded this movie is NOT a triumph for all women. But go on, keep shouting down all critism from other (not white) women. Your western centered feminism is showing. http://missmuslim.nyc/wont-seeing-wonder-woman/”

And… I just… I bite my tongue because I am so tempted to try to man-splain to her how war works. And, as terrible to many as it may seem… The Fight For Equality works on War-Like Principles in many ways. Which is funny since the big NO WONDER WOMAN push in the shared article is the fact that Gal Gadot is Israeli (thus was required by law to fight in the Israeli Army). This legal requirement and how Israel is Evil Against Palestine and Muslims is why the article writer will not be seeing Wonder Woman. Arguable in its own right. But my cousin? Not Muslim, not Arabic, but… upset with this movie because she is “a brown woman.”

Wonder Woman is a battle. It is a battle for ground that has been fought for, and lost, many times before. Super Girl… it was treated poorly, given a bad script, and handled like a joke. But when it failed in the Box Office, DC used it as an excuse for why they were not going to do Female Stand Alone films. Exactly 20 years later (1984 to 2004), Halle Berry’s Catwoman came out. It was treated poorly, given a bad script, and just an AWFUL AWFUL film. But when it bombed in the Box Office, DC used it as an excuse for why they were not going to do Female Stand Alone Films. Now… 13 years later… Wonder Woman comes out. It is treated with respect. It is the first Super Hero Movie directed by a woman. It is a good script and handled like a blockbuster. Its success shuts down DC/Warner’s tired bullshit of “No Stand Alone Female Films.” This is the biggest triumph for Gender Equality in the DC Cinematic Universe period. I don’t mean the modern universe; I mean the DC Cinematic Universe including the old Serials from 1943!

Should intersectionality be considered? Obviously. Every movie should have characters of multiple ethnicities, genders, sexual preferences, and abilities (referencing able bodied versus disabled people.) But should you shit over a successful battle because it didn’t win the war? Uhm, fuck no. And fuck you for shitting on a successful battle. If you can’t cheer the success, take heart at forward progress, then roll your sleeves up to continue the war… you aren’t a warrior. You’re a self-centered whiner. You use the little victories to propel the troops forward until the war is won. The Battle of Normandy did not end the second world war. It did not end the war in Europe, it did not end the war in the Pacific Theater. It did not end the war. But it was a hell of a battle. It was a turning point of the war and a successful battle that is still celebrated. Because one well fought, hard won battle… can be essential to winning the war. Did Eisenhower bitch about the battle because there were more British Commanders than American Commanders? Did Bradley refuse to take part because he was relegated to a second chair back bencher in some respects? Fuck and No. If you are a feminist woman ragging on Wonder Woman because it didn’t “do what you wanted it to”… get some perspective.

And none of this will I say publicly. Because I am not suicidal; physically, emotionally, or politically. But… honestly? Christ, man. If “social progress” only counts for those who fit your exact “self descriptive phrases”… that isn’t “social progress”… that is self-absorption. I celebrate Wonder Woman. If Batgirl is done well, I’ll celebrate Batgirl. If they do a Kamala Khan movie, and it is done well; I’ll celebrate that, too. Standing in one spot demanding the world come to you; and the world come to you now… is just… childish.

Last updated June 08, 2017