I really enjoyed this film! I thought Cheryl Dunye was very captivating as both an actress and a filmmaker. In our class discussion we talked about the difference between the fiction aspect at the end compared to the film Daughter Rite. As upset as I was with Daughter Rite, I did not feel the same way about this film. I think that while The Watermelon Woman is not actually a real person, her story line could easily be interchanged with a real actress from that time period.

I like how the film also included parts about Cheryl’s life. The relationship between her and her bestfriend was very interesting. One thing that I’d like to touch in is some of the comments her best friend made. We always talk about in class how a woman doesn’t nee a man to be successful, or to be happy. I think sometimes this gets bogged down in only hetero relationships. I think this film shows it happens no matter what. Maybe it has to do with being a woman no matter the sexual orientation. Cheryl is constantly being set up on blind dates, and being told to find someone. Cheryl seems content with being independent. We often see this in other films too. Overall, I think it is interesting that, despite the sexual orientation, women are always being told they need a partner.

I just had a conversation with one of my male friends. I was telling him about our class. He proceeded to say how he “would kill himself if he was in a feminist class”. After getting into a heated argument… this was his counter. “What do you expect. Men have been in power for hundreds of years. They’re not just going to give away their power.”

I don’t even know where to begin. Unfortunately folks, sexism is still very relevant, and there are plenty of ignorant people in the world.

Well this couldn’t have come at more perfect time. This article is shocking.

http://damemagazine.com/2014/11/10/hbcu-president-slut-shames-female-students-%E2%80%A6-his-convocation-speech

So I know at some points throughout the class we’ve talked about the sexualization of young girls in the media. The girls in this video are 13…

So I have to say I really enjoyed the film we watched on Friday. I thought it was captivating, and I found the material very interesting. I am wondering though, in terms of content, if anyone else picked up on the double standards that were directed at the females? I know it applies to more than this movie, but I feel as if every feminist conflict can be looked at in two ways.

So let’s take these pageants for example. On one hand you can look at it as an empowerment to women. They are taking control of their bodies and self image. Furthermore, they are preparing themselves to express their femininity in a way that will be beneficial in the future. On the other hand, you can look at it as exploitation. These women are being paraded around being judged mostly on their looks. My response to this though is, aren’t the women choosing to do this? However, is this the only way they can be somewhat successful?

I think the film does a good job of showing both sides. You have the view of the contestants, who find the programs to be a positive for women. But, they also have the view of other people outside of the competition.

Came across this video today, and I think it’s pretty great. I’m also attaching the link to the article I talked about the other day in class.

https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=A0LEVjXD.kZUKr8A1RMPxQt.;_ylc=X1MDMjExNDcwMDU1OQRfcgMyBGZyA3locy1pcnktZnVsbHlob3N0ZWRfMDExBGdwcmlkA2N4Z0hJTFBhUUZ1bUpxLl9YaTZraEEEbl9yc2x0AzAEbl9zdWdnAzAEb3JpZ2luA3VzLnNlYXJjaC55YWhvby5jb20EcG9zAzAEcHFzdHIDBHBxc3RybAMEcXN0cmwDMjkEcXVlcnkDZmNraDggdmlkZW8gd2l0aCBsaXR0bGUgZ2lybHMEdF9zdG1wAzE0MTM5Mzc4Njg-?p=fckh8+video+with+little+girls&fr2=sb-top-us.search&hspart=iry&hsimp=yhs-fullyhosted_011&param1=yhsbeacon&param2=f%3D4%26b%3DChrome%26cc%3DUS%26p%3Dmcyahoo%26cd%3D2XzuyEtN2Y1L1QzuyB0Azz0AyD0D0AtCtG0F0BtA0EtGyDtDtAtAtGzzyDzytCtG0B0Bzz0CtA0BtCyB0ByCyE0AtN1Q2Zzu0StCtDtDzytN1L2XzutDtFtCyE1HtN1L1Czu%26cr%3D1821740816%26stype%3Dmcy_dnldstr_14_41_ch%26a%3Dmcy_dnldstr_14_41_ch&type=mcy_dnldstr_14_41_ch

and her’s the link to the article

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lea-grover/this-is-what-sex-positive-parenting-really-looks-like_b_5516707.html

So I’m waiting to talk about filming desire with the rest of the class before I post about it because if I’m being 100% honest it made me extremely uncomfortable. I’m curious to see what other’s reactions were. However, I do have something to share. I know I talked the other week about yoga pants being banned in high schools, but I came across this article, and it’s even better.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/15/all-the-items-of-clothing_n_5989098.html

This is the article I was talking about the other day in class!

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/distracting-yoga-pants-banned-officials-north-dakota-high-school-article-1.1962380
After re-reading this article and watching the video, I did a little bit of research. I discovered that this is a major issue amongst many high schools around the country. I feel its ridiculous that adults are blaming men for “not being able to control themselves”, and women for “dressing provocatively.” I know this is on a much smaller scale, but stories like this are still a reason for rape culture today. Instead of understanding the victim, and simply stating that rape is not ok, we spend our time analyzing the situation in order to find a reason why it may have been the woman’s fault. What else would you expect when you are starting this belief from such a young age?

Ok, 99% of the time, female characters in film piss me off. Perfect examples would include She’s The Man, Tomb Raider, and even Cinderella. Why does Amanda Bynes have to play the final soccer game with her hair down? No one plays soccer with their hair down. Why does Angelina Jolie have to be wearing a tight tanktop and pants in order to defeat evil? I don’t know about the other girls in the class, but if I knew I was going to be battling zombies, I’d choose a sports bra and leave my Victoria Secret Push-Up for another time. Why is the entire point of Cinderella have to revolve around her ending up with a man that she has literally known for three hours?

After reading the articles for class the other day, I think the author has a good starting point for the fundamental building blocks of female characters in film. The dominatrix, rape avenger, mother, daughter, or amazon. While I do agree that these are a good starting point, I don’t think it is possible for a female character to fall under only one category. Furthermore is something that disturbs me even more. How sad is it that after all the years of making movies, it is still near possible to place every female character into only 5 different categories?

After taking a course in psychology, and now reading this article, it is true that Freud is as weird as ever. I am still trying to understand the notion that from birth a child’s first love and fixation is on their mother. I am also curious to talk about the idea of competition between children and their parent of the opposite sex. In relating this back to The Help. I am wondering how this compares to competition with the maids and mothers. If the maid is the one who is tending to the child more than the biological mother, does this mean that the maid becomes the object of love for the child?