It makes sense in the context of the story where I punch you in the face

[clevermanka]

From a quote on pointoforigin's LJ:

Every time a lesbian dies, every time a wife is widowed, every time a mother grieves the death of her child, every time rape is used to define a woman's character, it serves the story that the author wanted to tell--the story the author chose to tell. And I am no longer content with "it makes sense in the context of the story" as an explanation or an excuse. That "logic" is just as suspect.

TELL DIFFERENT STORIES. Read entire post here.

FUCKING PREACH.

This is why I flipped Joss Whedon the nastiest bird I could after Serenity. Just...no. I mean, parts of Firefly were bad enough, but man he really capped it with Serenity. He creates women to be used, abused, and destroyed as plot devices and yet is still lauded as some Ideal Feminist Scriptwriter and just...no. SWEET JESUS JUST STOP. He's a mighty fine storyteller, sure, and he gets amazing performances from his actors but the man is an egotistical shit who so firmly believes that he's writing STRONG FEMALE CHARACTERS and has SUCH RESPECT FOR WOMEN that he can't/won't hear his critics.



Anyway.

Breaking Muscle has an article on being a quality fitness professional, but many of the points they make can be applied to other life activities and goals. Basically: 1. Have Something to Say 2. Put Forth Extraordinary Effort 3. Master the Basics 4. Never Make the Same Mistake Twice 5. Strive for Perfection 6. Don’t Be Weak With People 7. Be Responsible and Accountable 8. Become a Subject Matter Expert 9. Look Out for Your Clients 10. Do What Jack Would Do (by this he means model oneself on Jack LaLanne and be professional at all times) 11. Know You Don’t Know Everything 12. Learn to Write and Speak.

Yep. Good policies for life in general.

In other news:


UGH.

Comments

[ms-danson.livejournal.com]

I was surprised and saddened by the shooting of Agent Hand in Shield. Given that I'm not really familiar with Wheadon shows... I gather this is something I should have expected. (I haven't seen last night's show so I don't know how he handled the Skye/Ward thing.)

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

I could go on for days about my dislike of Joss Whedon. Have done so here on LJ multiple times, I think.

Ugh. THAT MAN.

[1-rhiannon-1.livejournal.com]

I don't even remember what it was specifically, but I caught one episode of Firefly, part of one episode really, and it offended me so bad that I haven't even tried to watch any more of it. It just made me feel dirty somehow. *shudders*

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

The "Shindig" episode (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0579537/) (also known as the one with Kaylee's Pink Dress) made me so very, very angry.

That was when I started to realize that Joss Whedon was kind of a gross, misogynist dirtbag masquerading as a self-styled ally to women and I wanted to throw him through a wall.

I kept watching the show because it had pretty people in it (largely the same reason I continue to watch Supernatural, despite it's blatant misogyny). And I continue to see other stuff Joss does because, as I said, he is a very good story teller. God, I want to punch him in his smug, pasty face, though.

[frugurl27.livejournal.com]

Oh god, not to mention the whole "Mal defends Inara" bullshit in that episode. Gross.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Oh, god, don't even get me started on Mal's attitude toward Inara.

"I LOVE YOU EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE A DIRTY WHORE. NOW QUIT YOUR TOTALLY LEGAL AND LEGITIMATE CAREER BECAUSE YOU'RE SO IMPRESSED BY MY PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVE LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE."

[frugurl27.livejournal.com]

Your totally legal and legitimate career which I will defend to others but ridicule to you and our crewmates when no one else is listening!

Ugh. I sort of really hate Firefly, which is apparently a big no-no in the nerd community. Glad to see I'm not the only one.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

I don't hate Firefly. I think there are some amazing and wonderful parts of the show. I save my vitriol for Whedon himself.

[frugurl27.livejournal.com]

Yeah... I think there are some ridiculous parts of the show. Why in the world would you ever disembark your spaceship and get on a horse? Why can everyone swear fluently in Mandarin, yet the daily language fails to exhibit any other lexical borrowing?

Then again, maybe I'm just the reason we can't have nice things.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Why can everyone swear fluently in Mandarin, yet the daily language fails to exhibit any other lexical borrowing?

Not to mention the complete lack of Chinese main characters? I mean, if Chinese culture took over to the extent that Mandarin is practically a second language, why are there no Chinese people on the show? It's just weird and I imagine Whedon's thinking along these lines "Gee, using Chinese would be really fun and cool so I'm gonna use it. But I don't know any Asians personally, and since I only cast from my circle of personal friends, oh well! Maybe nobody will notice!"

It's the exact same thing as "artistically" using other culture's superficial aspects (traditional Native American garb, Voudoun symbolism), but having zero representation of the actual people.

[frugurl27.livejournal.com]

<3<3<3

[gansje.livejournal.com]

"It's the exact same thing as "artistically" using other culture's superficial aspects (traditional Native American garb, Voudoun symbolism), but having zero representation of the actual people."

OMG, YES! That's something that really raises my hackles.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

[alryssa.livejournal.com]

Thaaaaaank you. This has been a pet peeve of mine.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

HIGH FIVE

[redheadfae.livejournal.com]

There are a number of battles and axes that I won't pick up or grind, but exactly what you are saying there is the reason I got disgusted with Neo-Paganism as a whole, and a great deal of the Energy Medicine/Consciousness folks. STOP looking to Carolyn Myss and Andrew Weil for information on medicine that comes from cultures older than your own!! AAAAGH.

Re: HIGH FIVE

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

And you know there is a significant portion of that demographic who has never had any sort of personal interaction with A Brown Person and has absolutely no inclination to change that.

Re: HIGH FIVE

[redheadfae.livejournal.com]

Ugh, yes. If they have, they bring it up to show just How Enlightened They Feel as a result of that interaction.

I just happned across this.. you'll love the gif story (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/22/emma-stone-andrew-garfield-casual-sexism-femininity-spider-man_n_5190832.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular), if it didn't already come from Tumblr.

Re: HIGH FIVE

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

FUCKING BRILLIANT. I love that women actors just aren't putting up with this shit anymore, either from interviewers or co-stars. LOVE IT.

Edit: I bet that wasn't the end of that conversation, either. Betcha that one continued at home. *nods*

Re: HIGH FIVE

[redheadfae.livejournal.com]

Heh.. you *know* it! As someone I know would say:
"Welp, he isn't getting any tonight"

And I'm sorry about the uncivil war in your nethers.

[alryssa.livejournal.com]

I dislike it too. And I've seen enough of it to form an 'educated' opinion.

[1-rhiannon-1.livejournal.com]

I don't think I know anything about that episode. I'm pretty sure I don't want to know if it made you that angry.

I'm a fan of good storytelling, so I put up with a lot of shit, even though it pisses me off.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

I don't think I know anything about that episode

Count yourself lucky. =/

I put up with a lot of shit, even though it pisses me off

A-yep.

[1-rhiannon-1.livejournal.com]

And those two right there in that gif? After the "fat farm" episode, I can't even stand the sight of their faces anymore. That episode pushed my buttons like none other ever has. By the time it was done, I felt ugly and worthless and too fat to live. They ruined me but good on the Winchesters. I still watch for the angels, demons, and the other characters though.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Uh oh. I haven't gotten to that episode. Is that in Season 9?

[1-rhiannon-1.livejournal.com]

Oh damn, my bad! Yeah, it is. Do yourself a favor and skip it, ok? You won't miss anything critical to the story and, if you have the same triggers I do, it'll make you hate the boys (possibly).

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the warning. I appreciate it. I don't mind spoilers for SPN, so no worries on that count. Looks like the episode is called "The Purge." Does that sound right? I'll be sure to give it a miss when we watch the DVDs.

[1-rhiannon-1.livejournal.com]

Yep, that's the one. I'm just so disappointed in them for that episode. It served no purpose that I could figure out, and it absolutely ruined pizza night with my little boy. I should've turned it off when it first got started. I knew it was going to go down badly.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

I keep telling myself to quit that show and I haven't yet. UGH. At least I'm not involved in the fandom.

[1-rhiannon-1.livejournal.com]

I was... that fandom scares the crap out of me. I'm not very deep in any fandom now. I used to be neck deep in the Walking Dead fandom too but those bitches make Twilight fans look sane and calm.

[msmitti.livejournal.com]

that was an awesome article re: being professional. I particularly liked that the author came back to being authentic. What do you have to offer if it isn't you?

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Yep! Glad you liked the article!

[seascribe.livejournal.com]

I really like Firefly, in spite of the myriad flaws, but yeah, Joss Whedon is an ASSHOLE. I wish I were better at explaining this to people.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Feel free to send them here. I could make a tag for all my "Joss Whedon Hate-On" posts.

[kazoogrrl.livejournal.com]

I like his storytelling, and how he does dialouge, but I'm just not into him, and I don't understand why people are so bonkers about him.

I'm working my way through Buffy right now, I'm 1/2 way through Season 6. I'm enjoying it but just don't get the LOVE. Of course, I'm at a point where I want to smack Buffy. But it's never fun enough to be, well, super fun and it's never dark enough to really dig into me. Not that some issues haven't pushed buttons. Some character deaths (and the reaction to them) and the addiction parallels have done me in a few times.

[kalimeg.livejournal.com]

Gail Carriger.

Seanan McGuire,

Patricia Briggs.

There are stories out there where women are not abused.