(no subject)
Feb. 11th, 2018 05:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
girlofpreyI hate every aspect of discourse that isn't "accepting that you aren't in control of everything, and don't know everything". I saw a conversation happening on twitter in response to some new twat that's around - I think it was Patterson Jones or something - and someone pulled out the quote "Chaos is the eternal feminine", and was saying no, the eternal feminine is creative, the eternal feminine is life-giving, and something else that makes us sound like magical fairies. Instead of 1) femininity and masculinity are made up, they are literally what we talk about when we talk about gender as a social construct, and 2) chaos is what twats see when the talk about women and equality, because it is that idea of men letting go of control, or the idea of control they have, and reassure themselves of by trying to control other people. Accepting that other experiences are valid, even if you'll never have them or really understand them, is a big part of fighting sexism, and I would argue you can associate that a little more with women than with men, because women are taught so often to co-operate rather than compete - I think women are more likely to accept another person's difference from them, and to be aware that whatever plans they have for a situation might not come off just because you never know how other people are going to react, and what they're going to want to do. It's the fact that twats - and twats in more than just sexism - see this as 'chaos' and are afraid of it that is the problem. And I genuinely think that to deny that is to misunderstand the problem.
And I hate that everything is on the level of children nowadays. So many progressive issues seem to only be going forwards because "what will the children think?", and children are important and lovely, and progressive issues should absolutely move forward, but...adults are the point of the human race. They are the plan of our DNA, and the ultimate form of us. It's not bad to consider them too, or work to make things better for them, or...to consider adult issues, in a complex way, that is accepting of the fact that we all have flaws, we will always have flaws, it's only how far that should go that should need to be discussed. I followed a teacher recently on Twitter, and she was very interested in representation in children's books - which is important, absoulutely - but every question seemed to come back to 'what about children, how will children react to this, what are we teaching children'? And...you can discuss these subjects in terms of adults. Ideally, you should be, since that's literally what society is mostly made up of, or the effective part of society right now. I know it's difficult with the internet, and not knowing what kids are seeing or have access to, that you wouldn't know they had access to or want them to see. But. Adults should be the point. In socialism and social theory. Almost always. I know that a lot of problems start in childhood, with what we're taught. But adulthood is where they end. And where we can actually confront those issues and think about them.
And I hate that entertainment is all on the level of children nowadays, I can't believe everything is Disney, it genuinely took me a while to realise that all the Disney films (obviously), Marvel films and Star Wars films are all Disney at the moment. Someone was talking about the new Star Wars film at Christmas and how some people had issues with it, on one of the podcasts I watch, and someone just replied mildly with "It's for kids, though. Star Wars is for kids." As a reason why people shouldn't criticise it or expect too much from it. When the films are great and everyone loves them, it's great, they're for everyone, but when they're bad, you know, it's just a kid's film. That's a fucking shame, since most of the films that are popular and are the most seen at the moment are all kid's films. We don't really have so many big films for adults anymore, apparently. And everyone's just saying "yeah well, the Marvel films won't really get into [that subject] too deeply, because Disney won't have it". And ffffffhhf. That is the level of the mirror that is currently being held up to life at the moment. I know there are other films than Marvel and Star Wars out at the moment, I know that, but nothing's really taking off like Die Hard at the moment, is it? And I know that kids are where the money is, and I know that films that can appeal to all ages are always going to be more popular than very mature films, just because they have a wider audience and kids aren't super-critical. But at the moment it seems like that's all there is, like that's the big stuff we're all looking forward to. And I don't understand the obsession with Disney films in adults in America, and I don't understant the obsession with YA literature, and I don't understand the way people defend it as great and that it should be the most popular in the world. Like...if you like that stuff, fine, but - the reason why Young Adult literature is called Young Adult is because it is sub-adult. It is written for people a little too young for proper adult books. That is literally what it means. And even if it touches on very serious subjects and themes, it's never going to go into them with the same exploration and depth that an adult book would, because it is by definition written to be shallower than an adult book. That is basically the definition of the type of writing. That's why it exists. It will never be on the level of an adult book because it is Young Adult. We should have things for adults too. Adults are still growing. An adult can look at a subject much more freely and objectively than a child ever could, and should be encouraged to do so. That's the definition of a mature mind, and our media should reflect that. And I know there are very worthy, serious films and books out there, and incredibly incredibly gruesome horror films out there, that's not what I'm talking about. There should be films that are fun for adults that can casually and without shying away acknowledge adult topics, and look at them, and ask questions about them. We should have those. They should be big news.
Learning to love and value yourself is an important part of progressivism. Learning how to get over yourself is another important part.
And I hate Tony Stark, and hope he dies within the first few seconds of Infinity Wars and isn't spoken of again.
This has been my hate post.
And I hate that everything is on the level of children nowadays. So many progressive issues seem to only be going forwards because "what will the children think?", and children are important and lovely, and progressive issues should absolutely move forward, but...adults are the point of the human race. They are the plan of our DNA, and the ultimate form of us. It's not bad to consider them too, or work to make things better for them, or...to consider adult issues, in a complex way, that is accepting of the fact that we all have flaws, we will always have flaws, it's only how far that should go that should need to be discussed. I followed a teacher recently on Twitter, and she was very interested in representation in children's books - which is important, absoulutely - but every question seemed to come back to 'what about children, how will children react to this, what are we teaching children'? And...you can discuss these subjects in terms of adults. Ideally, you should be, since that's literally what society is mostly made up of, or the effective part of society right now. I know it's difficult with the internet, and not knowing what kids are seeing or have access to, that you wouldn't know they had access to or want them to see. But. Adults should be the point. In socialism and social theory. Almost always. I know that a lot of problems start in childhood, with what we're taught. But adulthood is where they end. And where we can actually confront those issues and think about them.
And I hate that entertainment is all on the level of children nowadays, I can't believe everything is Disney, it genuinely took me a while to realise that all the Disney films (obviously), Marvel films and Star Wars films are all Disney at the moment. Someone was talking about the new Star Wars film at Christmas and how some people had issues with it, on one of the podcasts I watch, and someone just replied mildly with "It's for kids, though. Star Wars is for kids." As a reason why people shouldn't criticise it or expect too much from it. When the films are great and everyone loves them, it's great, they're for everyone, but when they're bad, you know, it's just a kid's film. That's a fucking shame, since most of the films that are popular and are the most seen at the moment are all kid's films. We don't really have so many big films for adults anymore, apparently. And everyone's just saying "yeah well, the Marvel films won't really get into [that subject] too deeply, because Disney won't have it". And ffffffhhf. That is the level of the mirror that is currently being held up to life at the moment. I know there are other films than Marvel and Star Wars out at the moment, I know that, but nothing's really taking off like Die Hard at the moment, is it? And I know that kids are where the money is, and I know that films that can appeal to all ages are always going to be more popular than very mature films, just because they have a wider audience and kids aren't super-critical. But at the moment it seems like that's all there is, like that's the big stuff we're all looking forward to. And I don't understand the obsession with Disney films in adults in America, and I don't understant the obsession with YA literature, and I don't understand the way people defend it as great and that it should be the most popular in the world. Like...if you like that stuff, fine, but - the reason why Young Adult literature is called Young Adult is because it is sub-adult. It is written for people a little too young for proper adult books. That is literally what it means. And even if it touches on very serious subjects and themes, it's never going to go into them with the same exploration and depth that an adult book would, because it is by definition written to be shallower than an adult book. That is basically the definition of the type of writing. That's why it exists. It will never be on the level of an adult book because it is Young Adult. We should have things for adults too. Adults are still growing. An adult can look at a subject much more freely and objectively than a child ever could, and should be encouraged to do so. That's the definition of a mature mind, and our media should reflect that. And I know there are very worthy, serious films and books out there, and incredibly incredibly gruesome horror films out there, that's not what I'm talking about. There should be films that are fun for adults that can casually and without shying away acknowledge adult topics, and look at them, and ask questions about them. We should have those. They should be big news.
Learning to love and value yourself is an important part of progressivism. Learning how to get over yourself is another important part.
And I hate Tony Stark, and hope he dies within the first few seconds of Infinity Wars and isn't spoken of again.
This has been my hate post.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-02-11 09:14 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2018-02-11 10:17 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2018-02-12 10:07 pm (UTC)Learning to love and value yourself is an important part of progressivism. Learning how to get over yourself is another important part.
~This is very true! Well said.