@Zwiebel: Agreed! For me the turning point in my depression, which I still contend with, was when I finally got the energy to do laundry and I looked in the washing machine and all I saw were pjs and gym clothes. I realized then that I was spending way too much time in bed (20+ hours a day) and was lying to myself by thinking that if I just ate and went to the gym I was okay. From that day on I made the conscious decision that I would not spend my days in the clothes I had slept in (except for cold/flu) and that I would do at least one more thing than go to the gym. It was hard and I didn't always succeed but it marked a turning point in my recovery. And when I'm tempted to just lay in bed all day, I think about that washing machine, and I get up ... it may take an hour or two, but I get up.
I also want to address the point that "IT IS A DISEASE IN MY BRAIN" which is absolutely true, but it doesn't mean that you can't change your brain through cognitive psychology, medication, therapy, etc. I accept that I have a disease but I have worked damn hard to fight that disease, and making a point of getting up and changing is not a magic cure but it helps me get on with my day and onto other things, ie. work, socializing, thinking through and combating destructive mental patterns, that really do help significantly. Just like those who struggle with chemical dependency have to work very hard to stay sober and they don't always maintain sobriety, but they have a disease that they have to fight damn hard against, and sadly not everyone makes it and that fact should not attract judgment, but just a reflection of how insidious the disease is. Nor should those who do manage to stay sober have the tools that they use belittled or have the extent of their disease diminished.
I hope that this comment doesn't attract feedback snarking about how their depression is/was worse than mine - because a) I'm not willing to disclose to anyone but my closest friends how bad it got and for how long, and b) it's not a competition. I'm simply trying to say what helped me in the hopes that it may help others. If you don't think it will help you that's cool too.
I also want to address the point that "IT IS A DISEASE IN MY BRAIN" which is absolutely true, but it doesn't mean that you can't change your brain through cognitive psychology, medication, therapy, etc. I accept that I have a disease but I have worked damn hard to fight that disease, and making a point of getting up and changing is not a magic cure but it helps me get on with my day and onto other things, ie. work, socializing, thinking through and combating destructive mental patterns, that really do help significantly. Just like those who struggle with chemical dependency have to work very hard to stay sober and they don't always maintain sobriety, but they have a disease that they have to fight damn hard against, and sadly not everyone makes it and that fact should not attract judgment, but just a reflection of how insidious the disease is. Nor should those who do manage to stay sober have the tools that they use belittled or have the extent of their disease diminished.
I hope that this comment doesn't attract feedback snarking about how their depression is/was worse than mine - because a) I'm not willing to disclose to anyone but my closest friends how bad it got and for how long, and b) it's not a competition. I'm simply trying to say what helped me in the hopes that it may help others. If you don't think it will help you that's cool too.
@AngriestGeek: @Ms. Crankypants:
Sorry - last comment was too cranky ... even for me
Sorry - last comment was too cranky ... even for me
@Apple Tartlet: I see your point and I thought the movie was fun for the most part. My initial comment was just a comment on two of the examples of stereotypes that I found jarring.
I disagree with your point re Brits, because Brits don't face discrimination, lack of rights, in the same way that LGBT persons do.
I'm also not sure it's safe to rely on the idea that they were stuck in 1989 as clearly we've moved past 1989 and the movie moved past 1989, so it's not clear that the "Tron" society should be stuck, particularly when it's evolved in other ways.
I disagree with your point re Brits, because Brits don't face discrimination, lack of rights, in the same way that LGBT persons do.
I'm also not sure it's safe to rely on the idea that they were stuck in 1989 as clearly we've moved past 1989 and the movie moved past 1989, so it's not clear that the "Tron" society should be stuck, particularly when it's evolved in other ways.
@AngriestGeek:
1) I never said being over-the-top = gay. I was talking about a specific type of over-the-top which, people above have correctly identified as camp, is well entrenched in gay culture. Furthermore, my concern is not that being camp is inherently bad, far from it, but that in mainstream hollywood cinema there has been a long history of portraying gay men (or men who are meant by the audience to assume are gay or at the very least not good heterosexuals) as villains, sometimes campy villains, which is bad, particularly when that is the only representation on screen.
2) revolution for freedom is not inherently a problem stereotype. But the way it was portrayed was that of an angry black male and when you throw Zeus's comment of "primitives" on top it ends up being a very questionable portrayal & response to that portrayal. The message I got was that these were misguided angry men with no real plan or chance for success, nor were they portrayed as intelligent.
Funny, I thought geeks were supposed to be able to think deeply, not just scratch the surface.
1) I never said being over-the-top = gay. I was talking about a specific type of over-the-top which, people above have correctly identified as camp, is well entrenched in gay culture. Furthermore, my concern is not that being camp is inherently bad, far from it, but that in mainstream hollywood cinema there has been a long history of portraying gay men (or men who are meant by the audience to assume are gay or at the very least not good heterosexuals) as villains, sometimes campy villains, which is bad, particularly when that is the only representation on screen.
2) revolution for freedom is not inherently a problem stereotype. But the way it was portrayed was that of an angry black male and when you throw Zeus's comment of "primitives" on top it ends up being a very questionable portrayal & response to that portrayal. The message I got was that these were misguided angry men with no real plan or chance for success, nor were they portrayed as intelligent.
Funny, I thought geeks were supposed to be able to think deeply, not just scratch the surface.
@Apple Tartlet: I totally get that he was camp & a Bowie impersonation and not overtly homosexual; however, given that being camp is strongly, if not exclusively, associated with a stream of gay culture (are there any mainstream heterosexual male camp icons? not that I'm aware of) and given the strong history of gay villains in cinema (see the celluloid closet) and that everyone else in the film, if they were sexual at all, were clearly heterosexually oriented, I would say that the Zeus character is a negative stereotype among other things.
The same thing with the primitive comment - the only black characters that got any mention (I honestly can't even remember if there were any others) was the group of protestors who, I thought, echoed the black panthers and who were all black males, and although I see your point re primitive vis a vis computer programing, I do think it was a very questionable and loaded term to use.
I think all of this needs to be viewed against the backdrop that characterization in this film was limited and so there was no counterbalancing. So you had an effeminate, campy male who was a villain and the only black characters of note were militant & referred to as primitive, and all the female characters were servile & attracted to the men. That's a problem.
The same thing with the primitive comment - the only black characters that got any mention (I honestly can't even remember if there were any others) was the group of protestors who, I thought, echoed the black panthers and who were all black males, and although I see your point re primitive vis a vis computer programing, I do think it was a very questionable and loaded term to use.
I think all of this needs to be viewed against the backdrop that characterization in this film was limited and so there was no counterbalancing. So you had an effeminate, campy male who was a villain and the only black characters of note were militant & referred to as primitive, and all the female characters were servile & attracted to the men. That's a problem.
Was anyone else disturbed by the other stereotypes:
1) gay villain - check
2) militant black men - check
what was most awesome was when Zeus (spelling?) referred to those falling into category 2 as primitive
1) gay villain - check
2) militant black men - check
what was most awesome was when Zeus (spelling?) referred to those falling into category 2 as primitive
@Nimblicity: It's totally cool that she's using men's skis but I don't want a world of unisex sports equipment. There are significant differences between the average male and female body that warrant different products. That being said, there should not be judgment for outliers - women who prefer mens equipment and vice versa.
@purple monkey dishwasher: is that a toy chippy?
@SNEAKERS: [www.catsthatlooklikehitler.com]
Oh yes, she's there
Oh yes, she's there
@Gigi: what a beauty!
@Noble Rat: Yes, she's my little Kitler and she does have a dictatorial streak. However, her final solution only applies to flies, spiders, and mice.
Neko, the sneak.
@emmabovary: What I'm getting at is that one shouldn't presume that because someone is a C or D student they have not made good choices or they are not interested in education. My father and brother are both dyslexic and struggled through school, my dad dropped out at one point, and both have worked hard to get college and university degrees.
Yes, Tyler and Catelyn got pregnant, but they've had incredibly difficult lives with their family, they made a responsible decision to give their child a family that could raise her properly, and they've stayed in school.
Yes, there are kids who have made all the right choices and who deserve an education, but there are also kids, like T &C who might not always make the best choices, but who work hard and have grown up in a difficult situation and make a lot of good choices and they deserve help too.
Yes, Tyler and Catelyn got pregnant, but they've had incredibly difficult lives with their family, they made a responsible decision to give their child a family that could raise her properly, and they've stayed in school.
Yes, there are kids who have made all the right choices and who deserve an education, but there are also kids, like T &C who might not always make the best choices, but who work hard and have grown up in a difficult situation and make a lot of good choices and they deserve help too.
@miamaya: Why would you assume that because they are not A students that they are not a) interested in learning & b) worthy of higher education?
You can be a C & D student and still care about education. Maybe they have learning disabilities and even if they don't given what they've gone through I'm damn impressed they are still in school.
In short, check your presumptions.
You can be a C & D student and still care about education. Maybe they have learning disabilities and even if they don't given what they've gone through I'm damn impressed they are still in school.
In short, check your presumptions.
@kateri.cristina: I don't believe in things that can neither be proven, nor for which there is no evidence for. I am quite content with knowing that there are some things that are currently and may always be beyond the realm of human knowledge.
I believe in rational inquiry and in a morality that is both objective and created by humans.
I believe in rational inquiry and in a morality that is both objective and created by humans.
I got (after the guy looked me over) "Hey baby I'm like milk, I'll do your body good"
I informed him I was lactose intolerant
I informed him I was lactose intolerant
@audioblitz13: I worked with a Gilbert Gilbert. Not surprisingly he had a drinking problem (he's recovering!)
@secretformula: comment fail - abort
