Movie Monday - The Heat

For some reason, I never got around to seeing this when it was out at the movies, and I have literally no idea why. I mean, Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy in a buddy cop comedy? Uh, YES. And yet it took me until this weekend to watch it.

Sure, it's not a perfect movie. Despite being a female-led movie, there's still a whole scene in which Mullins calls her boss a little girl. And there were endless jokes aimed at an albino character, who was played by a non-albino actor. Sure, they broke the villainous albino trope, but why does it automatically follow that when you stop the jokes being about women, they automatically have to be about a minority group?! Sigh. (Yes, his character is a total misogynist, and is even described as such. But did they HAVE to make him albino just so they could make jokes about snowcones?!?!)

Anyway, all of that aside, it was a fun movie that was well worth watching.

Reasons why The Heat is awesome: 
1. Sandra Bullock. You really can't go wrong when Sandy plays an FBI agent, now can you?
2. One upping the drug dogs. More than once.
3. Melissa McCarthy. Phenomenal.
4. Calling douchebags on their bullshit. Especially the dude who's all "Oh, see, I'm only here to pick up a hooker because my wife just had a baby and it's gross down there."

Source

5. Issues with Boston accents.
6. The soundtrack. It's great.
7. That the love story is basically an afterthought.
8. Drunken dance routines.

Source

9. Sassy paramedics.
10. Dealing with persistent asshats at clubs/in the street.
11. Quality family time.

Source

12. Definitions of prohibition.

Plus, the following quotes:
- "Jesus, what are those?" "Stop it, they're my Spanx. They hold everything together." "Why, what's gonna come popping out?" "Nothing, it just keeps everything where it's supposed to be. Like..." "Shit, like medically?"
- "My fear is that I'm gonna put you in a bikini and you'll still look like a fucking bank teller."
- "It was a terrible resume. He mentioned prison, and in special skills he said, 'keeping it real'."
- "Much more better? Drop the gun and take a grammar course, you idiot..."
- "Who closes the door to take a shit?!" "Humans."
- "Gimme a whiskey." "Fourteen dollars." "Fourteen dollars?! Is it magic fucking whiskey? Do I get a motorcycle with it? Is it served in Jesus' shoe??"
- "I gotta change." "What's wrong with your pant suit?" "...It's pyjamas."
- "Tell him I'll be there sharply at go-fuck-yourself o'clock, okay?"

Have you seen it? What did you think?

K xx

Pasta wars

There was a little gem in the papers today that you may or may not have seen - the chairman of Barilla has announced that his company will never feature same sex families in their advertisements, because he sees his company's audience as "a classic family". When questioned on potential backlash, his response was that "If gay people disagree, they can always eat pasta of other producers." (Quotes from the article linked above) Obviously, there's been backlash and calls for boycotts all over the place, and the US branch of the company has been forced to distance itself from its Italian parent.

Now, the problem I have with this - beyond the bleeding obvious - is the idea of the "classic family". Many of Barilla's adverts, even in Australia, feature a woman serving pasta to her husband and children, all of whom are usually white. Which is all well and good, but in saying that their audience is "a classic family" and in advertising their products in that way, the company are automatically discounting not only same sex couples, but all of the following:

• Childless couples.
• PoC families.
• Mixed race families.
• Widows/widowers and their children.
• A married couple, their teenaged children from previous marriages, and their young child.
• Grandparents and the grandchildren they take care of while their parent/s are working late.
• Divorcees and their families.
• Families with adopted children, especially those who have adopted children from overseas or from outside their ethnic background.
• Families with foster children.
• Extended families living under one roof. 
• De facto couples and their kids.
• People with guardianship of their younger siblings or nieces/nephews or dead friend's children.
• Single people.
• My own family, because my mum works, and my dad's retired and does almost all the cooking.
• A million other permutations that I can't think of right now. 

By saying that they only cater to the traditional family, Barilla are cutting off huge swathes of modern society in favour of a 1950s ideal that's increasingly rare. 

And don't even get me started on the "same sex couples with families are destroying society" bullshit. Please, explain to me, if you can, how this is destroying society.......

Source

.......but it's perfectly acceptable for Britney Spears to be married for fifty five hours without being told that she's destroying society? I would take one same sex couple and the children they've fought tooth and nail to have over a million couples who drunkenly decided to get married in Vegas and then stayed together when they found themselves pregnant a month later. I don't know about you, but I would rather live in a world where every child is wanted and loved than a world where a chunk of the population is miserable because they can't have kids while another is miserable because they have more kids than they want. 

And let's just stop for a second to appreciate the ironic fact that Barilla make a millionty different types of pasta, but can't appreciate diversity. As Deidre's husband, Inspector Climate, said this afternoon "Do they only make spaghetti?? You know, straight pasta?!"

If I worked for one of Barilla's rival pasta manufacturers, I would be instantly springing into action with a brand new marketing campaign. A campaign that featured a street party. A party in which families of all ethnicities and genders and relationship statuses and age brackets and employment statuses and levels of blood relationship have come together to eat and talk and laugh over giant bowls of pasta. A campaign, in short, that shows Barilla everything they're missing out on.* 

Something like this, only less 1970s. Also, source.

Because at the end of the day? Family doesn't always mean what you're born into, family doesn't stop with blood. It's about the people you love and who love you back, no matter what. And a company that recognised that, rather than some antiquated ideal? That's a company I'd want to support. 

What do you think?

K xx

*Dear pasta companies who aren't Barilla: please feel free to use my genius idea for your marketing campaigns in exchange for a small pot of money. Kthxbai.

On feminism

In writing this post, I want it to be understood that I am in no way tarring and feathering all men with the one brush. What I am expressing is not misandry. It is instead an attempt at an explanation on why feminism is important to me. 

A couple of days ago, a friend of mine wrote this post. After extensive reflection, plus a couple of things that have happened in the media since then, I feel like it warrants a reply. As JR suggested at the end of his post, I'm writing this in the hopes of helping people to understand the issue. And my thoughts were rather too extensive for a comments section...

On Monday night, the television program Q&A had an all female panel for the first time. JR asked why the media doesn't feel the same way about all male panels, and how it can be considered equality. First of all, it was a panel discussing women's issues in the twenty first century, hence the all female panel. And it's equality because there have been ninety one episodes of Q&A. The vast majority of these episodes (and yes, I went through the full list, checking each panel) have featured male dominated panels. According the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 50.27% of Australia's population are female. How it is equality that we have sat through 90 episodes of male dominated Q&A?

JR's post stated that he didn't think it's right for companies to have policies outlining minimum numbers of female staff, but not minimum numbers of male staff. He didn't provide examples, so I'm not sure if he had specific companies in mind, but I've never heard of a single company having a policy stating this. (In Australia, at any rate. I can't speak for the rest of the world) Companies may state that they're equal opportunity employers, which is less to do with employing women, and more to do with a diversity policy, ensuring that potential employees will not be discriminated against because of their ethnicity, race, religion, physical capabilities or gender.

But since it's been brought up, why WOULD such policies be required? Because women are still seen by many employers as a liability. Once hired, women may seek access to long periods of maternity leave. They may return to work part time, or ask for flexible work arrangements to fit in around their family commitments. They may require time off during the school holidays to care for their children. This is not to say that men don't want to work part time, or require time off to care for their children. It's simply that companies are more likely to consider a woman's child bearing potential as part of their hiring process.

Feminism in no way argues for elevating one gender above another. It does not lead to the disempowerment of men. Instead, it argues for us to be treated as equal. For us to have the right to go into any field of work we choose. For us to earn equal pay for the work that we do. For us to be judged for our worth rather than our appearance.

Source

So WHY do we still need feminism in 2013? 

I need feminism because I'm sick and tired of old men around the world making decisions about what women can and cannot do with their bodies.

I need feminism because if we say yes, we're sluts and if we say no, we're frigid. Our choice doesn't matter. We're simply objects.

I need feminism because women like Hillary Clinton and Julia Gillard are constantly being called bitches and judged for their outfits or hairstyles rather than their policies or their arguments.

I need feminism because in high school, I was taught to type and cook and sew, but not to balance a budget or change a tyre.

I need feminism because of journalists who ask deep, philosophical questions to Robert Downey Junior and Christian Bale about their characters, but then turn to Scarlett Johansson and Anne Hathaway, and ask them what their diet was to fit into their costume.

I need feminism because a man who was going to retire in six months was once deemed a more appropriate fit for my job than I was.

I need feminism because Heidi Klum saved her son from drowning over the weekend, and the media instead reported on the fact that she had a "nip slip" while doing so.

I need feminism because out of my high school class of 70, ONE went on to a degree in technology or engineering.

I need feminism because women deserve to have their opinions heard, and not be told "Wow, hormonal much?" in response.

I need feminism because I am more than an incubator. I am more than a pair of boobs. I am a human being, and I deserve to be treated accordingly.

I need feminism because of the assumption that single women over twenty five are lesbians.

I need feminism because a colleague once said to me "Hey Kirsti, you're a girl. Could you sew this button back on my shirt for me?"

I need feminism because of Johnny Rotten telling Carrie Bickmore last night to shut up because "when a man is talking, you do not interrupt".

I need feminism because women are told to wear whatever they like, but that they take responsibility for the consequences.

I need feminism because pretty much anything to do with being female is used as a euphemism for weakness.

I need feminism because under the Australian GST, pads and tampons are deemed "non-essential items".

I need feminism because the friend zone is bullshit.

I need feminism because if we speak our minds, we're bitches, and if we stay quiet, we're doormats.

I need feminism because I should be able to walk down the street at night without being afraid.

I need feminism because "strong female characters" are the exception, not the rule.

I need feminism because Little Miss A told me recently that I should wax my arms because "you're not pretty otherwise". She's SEVEN.

I need feminism because of the generations of women before me who didn't have a voice, who were treated as property, and who stood up and fought for their rights anyway. And for millions of those around the world who still are.

I need feminism because being whistled at or shouted at from a passing car is NOT a compliment.

I need feminism because women in one canton of Switzerland didn't have the right to vote until 1990. And because women in Saudi Arabia still don't have the right to vote.

I need feminism because two thirds of the world's poor are women.

But most of all, I need feminism because I want Little Miss A, and Em and Matt's twin daughters, and millions of other girls around the world to live in a world where they DON'T need feminism.

K xx

Photoshop is evil...

Okay, so I'm sure Photoshop is a wonderful program that allows you to make your good photos great. But having spent the entire day searching Flickr and the internet in general for sample photos of Melbourne, Hobart, and Portland to be used in a multimedia display in the entry area of the gallery, I've reached the conclusion that Photoshop is evil.

Or maybe it's just the Photoshop USERS that are evil... I'm sure the original images were wonderful. But I came across SO many images that had been forced through post-processing to within an inch of their sad little lives. Since this morning, I've seen photos that have been comprised of three shots overlapped to form one horrible mutant shot. I've seen photos where the sky appears to have featured one solitary cloud and the photographer has somehow copied and pasted that one cloud all the way across the sky. And then decided to make the sky a hideous shade of unnatural turquoise.

And I've seen photos where the sky has been badly Photoshopped in from another photo, and it's REALLY obvious around the edges. Especially if it features street lights... Some of them were so bad that they made me feel seasick.

So, to anyone out there using Photoshop - or any other photo editing program for that matter - remember this one simple rule: less is more. Less. Is. More... Please? I don't think my eyes can take it any more... *sigh*

K :) xx