08.30.09
The Milk of human unkindness
I just finished watching the Oscar-winning biopic Milk (yeah, yeah, I’m behind; I know), and my arms are still covered in goosebumps, my throat still choked with tears. It’s a powerful film –melodramatic at times– and what makes it the most powerful is how easily it could be taking place now. Blink and it’s like thirty-one years haven’t passed since Harvey Milk was shot. And obviously that resonance is part of the film’s message: The battle against Proposition 6 then is absolutely supposed to remind viewers of Proposition 8.
For all the strides made, and all the victories won, the LGBT community is still considered by many Americans to be deviant, other, and not worthy of equal representation and protection under the law. And I still don’t understand why. If we judged every citizen by what they do in the privacy of their own bedroom… the halls of government would be empty, there would be no one teaching the schools. And, yet, so many people see fit to judge gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender citizens… to dub them people who don’t deserve marriages or the ability to adopt children or, yes, even the right to be portrayed on TV.
I often stumble upon messages to that effect. Not as much as the pro-gay, positive feedback, but still enough to make me sad. I can’t believe that, in this day and age, such prejudice is still so… normal. I can’t wrap my mind around how people think that saying “Why can’t gays have their own show instead of ruining ours?” or “I don’t want to see them on my TV,” or “I have a friend who is a lesbian, but I still don’t want the gay storyline” (A.k.a the “Some of My Best Friends Are…” Defense.) is okay. It’s like…dude. DUDE. Do you even hear yourself?
I’m a woman, and I’m not white. All I have to do is substitute one of those factors into one of the above assertions and it’s easily, obviously, a sexist or racist statement. The kind of statement that, even if people believe them, someone probably wouldn’t make in public anymore. So why is it okay to say the same things with an anti-gay slant?
And then there’s the ever-popular add-on of “and I know I’m not the only person that feels this way.” As if people know they have to cocoon their hatred with the assurance that others share it. As if that gives them some kind of validity. Well, hundreds of years ago, the majority of people thought the world was flat and that the sun revolved around the earth. That didn’t make them right.
And eventually, folks got the message that the world was round and that, gasp, heaven forbid, not everything revolved around it.
That’s why I’m glad that movies like Milk are made, even if the people who would benefit from watching them the most will never give them a try. Because it’s chilling to see that the more things change, the more they remain the same. That the fight for equality is never over, even when we have a blracial president and several states legalizing same-sex marriage.
Milk is food for thought. Hauntingly so.
And maybe, eventually, folks will get the message.
11.04.08
November 4, 2008. Remember it.
I stood in the polling booth this morning and had a serious moment of zen, a moment that made my throat clog with emotion and my eyes grow damp and one that I will likely never forget.
No matter what the outcome of today’s presidential election is, it is a day for the history books. One where a biracial man’s name was on the ballot for U.S. President, printed in simple black type, as plain as day.
Yes. We can.
10.24.08
“Real America”: The sweet land of bigotry.
Why, in these last few weeks leading up to the Presidential election, is there such a need to define what makes someone a “real” American? Why the divisiveness, and the implication that edumacated, elitist big city folks just don’t understand the toils and troubles of the average, homespun “real” America? Well, I’ve looked at it backwards and forwards and upside down and the only conclusion I can come to is that it’s the GOP’s alternative to just coming out and saying “Don’t vote for the black guy with the funny name.”
Othering Barack Obama in any way they can is their only shot right now of pulling voters’ minds away from the economic crisis and the desperate belief that we, as a nation, need a change. Telling people that change is BAD, that this smart, competent man can’t relate to the Heartland and is somehow misrepresenting himself and will, therefore, screw Joe Six Pack, Joe the Plumber, and Joe Blow over… that’s the only weapon they have left.
And as someone who grew up in Ohio and now lives in New York City, I think that’s utter and complete bull. What a way to completely gloss over the fact that there are just as many highly educated elitists in Middle America as there are blue collar folks in our big cities! The socioeconomic divide is hardly regional and perpetuating that myth is doubly and triply offensive because New York City and Washington D.C. are the sites of one of this nation’s biggest tragedies. You cannot use 9/11 as one of your parties talking points and then turn around and say that where that tragedy happened isn’t “real America.” Gee, I guess it’s only real America when you need to appropriate its tragedy for political gain, huh?
10.02.08
Cause celeb.
Celebrities have always been a vocal presence on the political scene and, indeed, now more than ever the line between politics and entertainment have blurred. A WWF wrestler was elected governor and so was the Terminator. People look to The Daily Show for their political coverage, The View becomes one of the few programs to ask the questions nobody else will, David Letterman calls out John McCain for his snub, etc. But what always manages to amaze me is that when celebrities step up to voice their opinion, a large portion of the country is scornful, saying, “Oh, just shut up. I don’t need political chatter from YOU, just make your movies.”
Why?
I mean, I would understand if it was, say, a bunch of Canadian actors or European ones (I love you, Daniel Craig, but let’s hope I never hear you tell me to vote Obama or McCain), because what direct stake do THEY have in our current political climate? (Actually, in that vein, I guess Iranian actors and Russian ones would totally have the right to weigh in on our politics, wouldn’t they?) But it’s mostly ire directed towards actors, actresses, musicians, and other extraneous celebrities who are from the good ol’ U.S. of A.
Again, why?
Well, I think it’s safe to assume it’s primarily because they’re Liberals. Your Matt Damons of the world going off on Sarah Palin draws more fire than, say, Ahnold the Governator, Jesse The Body, or the late Charlton Heston, the former head of the NRA. Then again, would you really argue with two guys who can break you in half and a guy who’s packing heat? It’s much easier to dismiss the opinions of an Ivy League educated upstart like Damon (one of those insidious East Coast elitists!), who supposedly doesn’t represent Middle America. Of course Hollywood is going to be peopled with Liberals, with pseudo-intellectuals, with minorities and crazy people with the morals of alley cats. Gasp.
But I would venture to say it’s not just about the Right vs. the Left. It’s also about the fact that when people entertain for a living, a large portion of their audience thinks that’s all they should do. It’s sort of like thinking your 4th grade teacher lives at school and being shocked when you see her at the grocery store. What are YOU doing here? Just stand there and look pretty; hit your marks and say your lines, don’t you dare go off script. You can’t have an opinion about anything that isn’t your TV show/your latest film/your Prada handbag, because that’s not what you’re here for. You’re here to make us laugh or write a good song; you’re here to make us think but not too hard.
That’s why I was glad to see Jackson Browne and Heart both step up and criticize the McCain campaign using their music without permission. It was absolutely necessary. Because it’s so easy to dismiss these artists and their product, co-opt it for Sarah Palin or an attack ad, without recognizing the fact that there is a person who sang that song that might have their own set of beliefs — not to mention basic ownership of the piece of music. You can’t just gloss over that.
But people tend to, because there’s also the argument that actors are rich and glamourous and can’t possibly relate to the plight of the common man. Celebs aren’t real. Why would somebody with a house in Malibu, a driver, and a shelf for their Oscars have any “real” problems? They can afford to throw their support behind whoever they want! They can use their power and influence and visibility to push their political agenda! That’s not fair! To which I say, “Oh, please.” You can bet your sweet ass that nobody in the House, the Senate, or the White House is in the same tax bracket as I am, and yet there THEY are making decisions that impact my life.
Everybody has a stake in this upcoming election.
Everybody should use their voice and their vote.
Yes, even Lindsay Lohan.
09.08.08
All this means is that James K. Polk was a hottie.
It’s funny; I spent the entire summer being virulently, vehemently, anti-political. I was sick of the backbiting, the sniping, the divisiveness. I was like, “Whatever. I am so done.” I just tuned out. I was sick of Hillary, sick of Barack, and occasionally rhyming really rude things with “Huckabee.” Now? With barely 2 months to go before the Presidential election…? I AM SO ADDICTED TO POLTICAL COVERAGE OMG.
I can’t stop watching The Daily Show clips, reading political posts on people’s blogs and on various message boards…I even tuned in to The O’Reilly Factor. I mean, Vishnu in a sidecar, people, I voluntarily watched Bill frakking O’Reilly just because he tried to steamroll interviewed Barack Obama. Of course, then I flipped over to the rerun of the 90210 season premiere just to scrub my brain.
But I’m engaged. I’ve been discussing politics on the phone with my parents; I spent a half hour the other day in my co-worker’s office ranting and raving about how the Religious Right needs to get their hands off my uterus and how political correctness has paralyzed our society and turned our children into coddled cowards. It was bad, folks. We actually had to change the topic to “Which President would you sleep with?” just so I’d quit frothing. (And, yes, we actually called up pictures of all the Presidents to date and went through the entire list going ‘I’d do him’ or ‘Not so much!’ I also admitted to finding John Kerry really sexy.)
Let’s face it, it’s crunch time. This is our shot to change the insidious, destructive political climate that has raged across this country for the last 8 years. But the sad thing is…? I have absolutely no expectation that it WILL change. I fully expect John McCain and Sarah Palin to end up in the White House, no matter what skeletons are shaken out of Palin’s closet. At the end of the day, it’s not going to matter if she’s attached to a frighteningly Fundamentalist church or if her husband was part of a secessionist group or if she accepted millions of dollars in earmarks, she’s going to get voted in because she’s a mother of five who likes guns and thinks the only pregnant woman in the country who deserves the privacy and respect to make her own choice is her own daughter. And it’s not going to matter that John McCain has completely flipped around on his politics but then co-opted the Democratic theme of “Change,” just to distance himself from a President he supported, he’s going to get voted in because he’s a war hero representing “real Americans,” because he’s claiming change while actually promising more of the same and nobody wants to read between the lines.
Of course, why read at all when the government can read for you, think for you, etc.? I have already written about how we have become a lazy nation, unwilling to take responsibility for ourselves. It’s easier to point the finger everywhere else. It’s easier to let legislators govern our bodies and our minds and our souls. It’s easier to blame a television or a rap song for why our children can’t think for themselves. Why worry our pretty little heads when we’ve got John McCain, his benevolent hockey mom VP, and their entire party to do it all for us?
After all, letting George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Karl Rove do our thinking for us has worked out so well…
03.05.08
Obama/American People/Clinton = OT3*?
A friend and i were kvetching about the New York and Ohio primaries last night, when I opined, “Barack Obama’s campaign is kinda…scary.” “Keep in mind I voted for Obama,” warned my friend immediately. Ouch. So, I leapt to try and explain what i meant without destroying our friendship beyond repair, and then quickly changed the subject to smutty fan fiction (a classic diversionary tactic, what can I say?). But later, it occurred to me what I was actually trying to articulate, and failed miserably at, is that Barack Obama has a fandom.
Fandom, for those just tuning into the concept, has been around for as long as anything that can HAVE one has existed. I’m sure there was cave painter fandom back in the prehistoric day. It’s a term that denotes not just the people, but the creative content (fan fiction, fan art, videos) and social climate that comes from liking a specific thing. And what I find amazing is that politics, just like Stargate: Atlantis, has fandom. It inspires the same kind of dynamics as a TV show or comic book or your favorite anima or manga. There are ’shippers (worshippers or relationshippers), there are canon purists, there are people looking for the One True Pairing (OTP). There are people who don’t forget a detail of what’s happened in the past and constantly bring up that time in season six where Hillary’s husband cheated on her with that intern (OMG!) and others who think Barack and Hillary should just give in to their UST and get on the same ticket.
Politics now inspires rabid fanboying and fangirling. On some level, it always has (see above note re: cave painters; I’m sure Og the head caveman had fans, too), but I think what’s interesting about the Obama campaign is how it feeds in to the fan philosophy in a way that no other candidacy has before (except maybe John F. Kennedy, which is something Team Obama has actually pointed out and utilized). Obama is a rock star; he’s Captain Kirk or Dr. McDreamy. More than the issues at hand, the nuts and bolts of his platform, is the phenemenon, the Obamamania. It’s intense. It’s like me during Veronica Mars season two. Woebetide anyone who dissed my girl. And I see that same fierce fervor in today’s political arena.
And I don’t know why I’m surprised. Over the past few years, with the advent of shows like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, the line between political news and entertainment has been heavily blurred. Political satire has always existed, in print and on TV and radio, but this is different. This is more accessible. This is not just talking heads with poli sci degrees sitting around snarking. It’s comedians. It’s politicians interacting with a medium designed to entertain, to make an audience laugh, and comedians using real issues in a way that actually effects social change. I mean, people watch Jon Stewart for “real news,” something that he himself has expressed bewilderment over in the past. But that’s our political universe now…a place where fannish pursuits and more serious ones intersect, a place where Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert and Tucker Carlson are all just as much characters in fan fiction as Buffy or Sydney Bristow (and why anyone would want to write fan fiction about Tucker Carlson, I really don’t know). Even that bastion of social networking, facebook, has groups for Clinton and Obama that declare “I am a fan of…” As if being politically active is akin to having a Hillary pillowcase that you kiss goodnight and posters of her hanging next to New Kids on the Block and the Coreys.
It’s, as Mr. Spock might say, fascinating.
And, yes, a little scary.
Now if you don’t mind, I’ll be over here in the corner writing my epic alternate universe story where John McCain and Obama are gay lovers running mates…
*’OT3′ means ‘one true threesome.’ Take from that what you will.
