Barely Scratching the Surface Part 2

In an issue of Psychology Today from 2001 there's an article titled Why I Hate Beauty.

The article written by Michael Levine and Hara Estroff Marano suggests that we are always unconsciously comparing ourselves, and others, to the air brushed, digitally enhanced bodies we view daily. These comparisons can have negative effects on the way we view ourselves and the relationships we have the flesh and bone people around us.

These images make it seem as if our electronic global village is filled with an overabundance of attractive singles ready for the taking. And we shouldn't settle for anything less than perfection when it comes to choosing a partner, or at least that's what our brains are secretly programmed to think. Levine and Marano cite a number of studies where people unconsciously choose fiction's perfection over reality.

Overall, men tended to negatively view the attractiveness of real women after seeing pictures of models. However, women not only felt worse about their own appearance after viewing models, but also more negatively viewed their desirability as a marriage partner.

The article doesn't go indepth on whether women's satisfaction with their partners (or potential partners) is as adversely effected by these unconscious comparisons. However, I would guess it's not. There's more diversity in what is considered acceptably "attractive" for men. For example, men can get away with being bald and weathered. Plus, there's the idea that heterosexual women are suppose to be more interested in providers than hunks.

It's telling though that women would feel these fake images dictated their worth not only as sexual partner, but as a life partner. That these two separate spheres should be so entwined. Maybe that's why plastic surgery is now a 16 billion dollar a year industry. Of course to believe 100% in the power of the comparison theory disregards our own personal will and rationality, and that we have no choice but buy into the system. To say that we, men especially, are slaves to our caveman brains and can't separate reality from MTV fiction negates our personal tastes, desires, and admirable qualities of the real people around us. Even if we are unconsciously making these comparisons, it doesn't excuse us from trying to recognize less conventional beauty, even if we work at a PR agency in L.A.

Mostly Busty, With A Side of Firearms

Game TV recently came out with their Top 10 Women in Gaming. Though they claim the list isn't based on looks since "video game characters aren't real so theoretically they're just as physically perfect as the artist wanted them to be", their analysis includes detailed discussion of each character's attractiveness (or lack there of). Interestingly enough, Game TV's number one pick goes to a female character that orignally no one really knew was female. Looks like the gaming industry still has a long way to go.

Check out the video here.

Barely Scratching The Surface

Today MSN has an article from Newsweek titled Brush With Perfection, which is basically like a two page ad for Alex Kuczynski's new book Beauty Junkie: Inside Our $15 Billion Obsession With Cosmetic Surgery.

I don't know what the book is like, but the article is disappointing. Kuczynski seems to rehash the same hypothesis on why more and more Americans are going under elective cosmetic surgery: the media makes them do it! Ironically, this is the most popular idea in the main stream media right now. But it's far from self incriminating. Kuczynski blames Hollywood for surrounding us with images of unattainable youth and beauty and that these images become the standard of perfection.

However, pretty people have always been in pictures, and good looking folks have had a long history of advantages over the more homely. I think that America's obsession with looks and beauty is much more complicated than wanting to look like Angelina Jolie. America is a consumeristic democracy that pines for quick fixes.

Makeover shows of all varieties are immensely popular right now. Makeover your face, your house, your food, your life by buying the right things, looking the right way, and putting tastier food in your stomach. We want it all, and we want it all right now. Overweight? Get liposuction. Depressed? Go shopping. We want what others have, even if it's an illusion.

This translates into a somewhat dismal message about our bodies, and women's bodies in particular. Makeover shows like The Swan and Extreme Makeover both contribute and reflect our current cultural obsession with changing outer selves, before we tackle the inner. Instead of trying to change our unhealthy eating habits, we get stomach stapling. Instead of trying to break down stereotypes about ageing, we get botox.

The Newsweek article was short, so I don't know if Kuczynski explores these topics, or if Newsweek was just picking the most palatable angles to cover. I don't feel hopeful though. Despite this bleak opinion, the book will go on my reading list(or at least my skim in the bookstore list) because you shouldn't judge a book by press junket cover.

Playing Dress Up

The New York Times article Good Girls Go Bad For A Day adresses what some of us have noticed (and joked about) for awhile; the popularity of revealing Halloween costumes for women. There's nothing wrong with escaping the ordinary now and again, but it's problematic when the "escape" is a commercialized re-enforcement of gender stereotypes and desire.

I love playing dress up. But I think it's sad that Halloween is fast becoming the only acceptable time of the year that a woman can dress however she wants, and still respect herself in the morning. Plus when does someone's clothing dictate the amount of respect an individual should recieve (or give themselves) anyways?

Your Inbox Is Against You

I know that Google Mail searches your correspondence for keywords so they can post those delightful Ad Sense links on the side bar. But I was kind of surprised to see the following advertisments next to the email I got this afternoon.

The text was a two sentence response on Wife Carrying:

I don't know what this wife carrying is all about. But the wife always carries the husband.

Ad Sense, in it's infinte, all knowing wisdom, brought me these fine links.

Track Your Wife! Install low cost GPS tracking system in her car!

Wife Sees Another Man? Learn how to catch her and leave her with no room for excuses!

Thank goodness I live in Massachusetts where I can legally have a wife, or otherwise these products would be pretty useless. Domestic Partner Tracking doesn't have the same ring to it.

Canadian Website Tracks Brands in Films

If you've ever felt like you were watching one long commerical the last time you went to the movie theatre, you're not alone.

A Canadian website called Brand Hype allows you to view a list of product placements in film scenes. You can search the archive by movie, brand or character, or just browse alphabetically.

You can read an interview with the developer of Brand Hype here.

The curious and brave should check out BrandChannel "The World's Only Online Exchange About Branding" who hand out awards for excellence in product placement advertising.

What You See Is Never What You Get

Dove Evolution
Uploaded by Masterfill

We all know that almost every image we see is airbrushed and manipulated, but it's quite another to see it in action.

Movie Review: Toll Of The Sea

Toll Of The Sea
1922
Directed by Chester Frankin

There is a legend of
far-away China which
tells of the beauty and
the treachery of the
siren Sea -- whose favors
are a mortgage upon
the soul --

-- who gives gifts of
joy and love, but de-
mands double payment
in disappointment and
loneliness.

Opening text from Toll of the Sea


Toll Of The Sea is Hollywood's first true color film. Released in 1922, it was also Anna May Wong's first staring role. The film catapulted her to stardom in a time when minority leading ladies were rare. Despite her success in Toll Of The Sea, and American citizenship, she often struggled for choice roles and equal pay though out her career because of her ethnicity.

It's somewhat ironic that the biggest break for Anna May Wong can be somewhat credited to racism and exploitation. One of the reasons Toll of the Sea was selected for the first color film was its interracial love story. Executives thought the color process was perfect for the "pale on gold" tones of the story. What's even stranger though, is that after the 1934 anti-miscegenation rules in the Hays Code were enforced, it became forbidden for minorities to a play a love interest opposite someone of a different race. However, these twisty turns in politics and art aren't that surprising. Especially when you consider that Birth Of A Nation was America's first feature length film.

I enjoyed the experience of seeing Toll of the Sea. And I say experience because that's what I consider seeing a silent area film from 1922 in a modern theater with a live pianist, which is what it was for me. Typically silent area actresses do nothing for me. Their acting styles are unique and interesting, but don't usually move me emotionally. Anna May Wong had me in tears. Even though I knew she was destined for heartbreak and death, I cried when she surrendered her child and threw herself into the sea. Afterwards I cursed Hollywood for typecasting her as a dragon lady. Because if someone is going to make me wipe my nose on my sleeve, I want it to be Anna May Wong damn it.

Synopsis:
Lotus Flower finds American Allen Carver washed up on a beach in China. They fall in love and get married. American friends convince Allen not bring her home to the United States. He goes back to America. Lotus Flower waits. Meanwhile, Allen figures he only married Lotus Flower "chinese style" and gets a nice white fiancee named Barbara. However, Barbara insists Allen go back to China to tell Lotus Flower he won't be coming back. Lotus conceals the fact that she has given Allen a son while he was gone. But, then Lotus Flower changes her mind. She tells Barbara about the son. Then tells the son she's not his real mother, gives him to Barbara, then drowns herself.

The moral of the story:
Never fall in love with men who wash up on the beach. It didn't work for Lotus Flower, The Little Mermaid, or my second cousin. So don't think it will work for you. Also that marriages performed in other cultures are apparently inferior to real American marriages. So go ahead and marry that sex worker in Thailand, it doesn't really count!

Nietzsche For Beginners

Family Circus + Nietzsche = Fantasticly Morbid.

More Here

Review: Jesus Camp

I saw Jesus Camp when it opened in Boston about two weeks ago, and though it caused alot of discussion, I don't actually have that much to say about here. Probably because there's an overwhelming amount to say about it. I defintely want and need to see it again. The film was suprisingly pretty, more fair handed that I had initally anticpated, and scary in ways I wasn't expecting. It would be great if they borrowed an idea from 7 Up director Micheal Apted, and revisted these kids 5 or 10 years from now. There are too many powerful scenes to recount here. But I found the sequence on homeschooling particularly troubling.

You can view the trailer for the film here
This is a good article about how religious organizations are not subject to the same regulations as secular ones.
And if you're worried that the Right really will be able to raise a blood thirsty brood of hardline fundalmentalists, this article may bring you comfort. It basically asserts that these kids will "grow out of it". Most of us are not still consumed with the same things our 10 year old brains were. But then again, My Little Ponies and baseball aren't necessarily the intense life altering force bible camp can be.

Muffin News

The only thing better than baking or eating muffins, is watching short films about them.
Muffin Films

In other muffin related news: I had a delicious pumpkin apple muffin this morning. The only peculiar thing was that it had a meaty after taste. It was grilled so I think it might have picked up some bacon and sausage flavor during it travels. I'm not complaining, it was just unexpected.

Days and Counting.

Your silence will not be contagious.

Movie Review: Incubus

Incubus
1965
Directed by Leslie Stevens


If the fact that this movie is entirely in Esperanto, and stars William Shatner , isn't bizzare enough for you, then you will be delighted (or maybe horrifed) to know that these two items are merely the tip of the Incubus iceberg.

Kia, the succubus, is very good at leading men to their death. But she becomes disatisfied with killing corrupt men, and wants to harvest a pure soul for the fires of Hell. However, her (what could only be described as) succubus den mother tries to dissaude her from the idea, saying that the good have a dangerous power called love.

Enter the wounded soilder Marco, played by William Shatner, who apperently is pure of heart and without taint.

Beautifully shot black and white wackiness ensues. Kai falls for Marco. Marco's sister goes blind. Evil Sucubus Den Mother makes blind sister mute. Kai's heart is broken. Evil Sucubus Den Mother raises an Incubus to rape and kill Marco's sister. Kia repents. Giant devil goat attacks. The End...errr I mean Fino.

Despite the low budget horror atmosphere, I was surpsringly impressed and distrubed by this film. The cinematography was a definte homage to Bergmen's The Seventh Seal. So that was a plus. The rape and death of the sister made me sad even though I saw it coming. The goat scared the crap out of me.

I also felt horrible for Kia and wondered if there was any hope for me, which is commonly a sign I'm out past my bedtime. In legends succubi typically only seduce men, sometimes killing them from exhaustion. But Kia collected rotten souls. The Evil Den Mother compares the corrupt souls to wheat, saying that eventually they need to be harvested. Understandably, Kia tires of this employment and looks for something better. I started to get maudlin over the whole thing. My roommate said I was not allowed to over empathize with a William Shanter movie and made me go to bed.

So there you have it. Incubus, a movie you should only watch in a large group. Especially, if you are afriad of goats or have unresolved succubi identity issues.

So on that note. I leave you with something fun and uplifting. Captin Kirk and Spock slash! This video is excellent. I've watched it about 4 times now, just ohhhing and awwwing over the sepia filter and pacing. Enjoy it and share it with someone you love.

Worth Her Weight in Beer

Now I know why conservatives are worried about the erosion of family values. If we don't protect the sanctity of heterosexual marriage, than future generations might be denied the pleasure of particiapting in the North American Wife Carrying Championship.

From the AP

NEWRY, Maine - John Farra, a former Winter Olympian from Caribou who trained by running up a ski slope with 80 pounds of mortar mix, won the seventh annual North American Wife Carrying Championship on Saturday at Sunday River. Farra's first-place finish earned him and his 110-pound wife Tess her weight in beer and five times her weight in cash, or $550. They also are eligible for a $1,000 reimbursement toward a trip to the world championships in Finland next July.

The Farras completed the 278-yard course, which includes a water trough and log hurdles, in 1 minute, 6 seconds in the critical heat and 1 minute, 4 seconds in the final. Daniel Brown and Janel Worcester of Brewer were second, about 10 seconds behind, in the field of 27 couples.
Farra, who competed in cross-country ski races in the 1992 Games in Albertville, France, trained for the wife carry by running up a slope near his home each morning before work with 80 pounds of mortar mix in a backpack.

Several hundred spectators turned out for the competition during the height of western Maine's fall foliage season.

Movie Review: This Film Not Yet Rated

Title: This Film Not Yet Rated
Director: Kirby Dick
2006

Background:
When I first started seeing promotional material for this film, I had slight misgivings. Like many books and movies about censorship, the ads employed the use of a scantily clad lady to invite the viewer to learn more about the MPAA's repressive rating standards.
Yawn.
These images have been rehashed over and over. If you really want to make a statement about censorship and body politics, put a glistening, bare-assed man on the cover. And they did! A friend had reported seeing a male version of the poster, thus restoring my enthusiasm. Atlhough, almost every article about This Film Is Not Yet Rated uses the female version of the poster (and it doesn't come up in a Google image search until page number 3) the Kendall Cinema proudly displayed it's more masculine twin.

Content:
This Film Is Not Yet Rated does an excellent job of explaining the history of the MPAA from the Hayes Code area to today. Most viewers have heard about the MPAA. However, the press they get usually involves fair use issues (there are none apparently) and Digital Rights Management technology. But the MPAA also dictates what we view and how movies get marketed and re-edited. They are the shadowy morality police that make sure the good people of America never see male nudity, female pleasure, homosexuality, or the occasional pubic hair. The members are secret, the rating guidelines nonexistent, and decisions rarely appealed successfully. But this film isn't just a history lesson, it's an adventure. And that's why I love it.

There are the standard documentary components. The history of the MPAA, interviews with filmmakers, clever split screen comparisons between R rated movies and NC-17 rated movies, and fun film facts. But then Kirby ups the ante and a hires a local private investigator to find out who the MPAA's secret raters are. Instead of acting as meaningless comic diversion, the investigation concerning the individual identities of the raters facilitates the much bigger question of why are these decisions are made. Why does the MPAA have this power? Why do they choose to let us see women getting hacked to bits, but not having a realistic orgasm? Why can we see Jason Biggs with his pants off screwing an apple pie, but not Natasha Lyonne masturbate over her nightgown? Why can we see women getting raped, but not men kissing? And who does this benefit, to what purpose does all this serve?

I think that any movie that covers these questions is worth seeing. And a movie that does it exceptionally well is worth dragging all your friends to. This Film Is Not Yet Rated is definitely the later.

Oh and fun fact. The MPAA, the strongest advocates of anti-piracy laws, is in hot water for making unauthorized digital copies of Kirby's movie.