Friday, February 4, 2011

Everyone needs a hero...

Tonight my boyfriend and I rummaged through his comic book collection. If you don't know, I happen to be a comic book geek. From the time my dad fisrt introduced me to the comic book world in eighth grade til this very moment that I am writing this blog I have loved reading comics. Jake (my boyfriend) and I talked about the art and the worth and history of his comics. Then I just kept going. It took me a while to notice that he was pretty much done with the hero talk. But I can go on for hours.
So why blog about my love for comic books one might ask.
My answer is very simple and very short. BECAUSE I CAN HAHAHAHA.
But other than just having the capability and resources I think a big reason for me to get this passion for comic books out  is simply because I think everyone needs a hero. Comics provides some sort of a hero for everyone.
And each and everyone of those heroes has a fault. They are fallible and I think that's what is very important. While each individual hero is fighting to uphold good and defeat evil you get to witness the personal battle that they have with in themselves. Struggling with their own humanity and forced to make choices. Some of them right some of them wrong.
And at the end of a long hard day where nothing is certain. You can always count on good to win and evil to lose.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Oh, The Ever Changing Friends

I have been looking at this website called Learningtoloveyoumore.com, and basicly what it's about is these artists came together and came up with these assignments and people all over the world did these assignments and posted them to this website. A lot of the work was also presented in variousmpresentations. I was looking at some of the assignments and wished I would have known about it while it was still up and running. Some of the assignments were things like draw a scene from a movie that made you cry, take a flah picture of under your bed, take a picture of two strangers holding hands, and photograph a significant outfit in your life. While reading and looking at all these different assignments submitted by people all around the world one assignment really popped out at me. It was write down a phone call you wish you could have. The specific details were:
 Using a black pen, draw a picture of your cell phone. Be very precise and make your phone look as realistic as possible, you can trace the shape of the phone if you want. Please make your drawing by hand, not with a computer. In the window where the caller name appears, write the name of the person who you wish would call you. If you have to, use a fake name. Don't draw anything except the phone, leave the rest of the paper blank. In a separate email document, type the conversation you wish you could have with this person. Use dialogue format, for example:  Me: Hello?  Mark Adams: Hi, it's Mark. Mark Adams.  Me: Oh. God. It's you. I think about you every day.  etc...  So this one I really wanted to do. I recently had a friend who has changed very much. We used to be very close and are not any more. I'm lucky to talk to him once every six months or so. So here goes...  
(i'm not an artist lol)
Me: hello
Him: Hey Chelsea Ahsue!
Me: You mean Angllin right?
Him: what ever how are you?
Me: I'm good, haven't talked to you in forever
Him: I know, when ever i text you it's just to tell you that I'm bed surfing with a bunch of different girls.
Me: yeah I've noticed. why don't we talk like we used to? and even when you do text me it's only one or two times then you disappear.
Him: Yeah I know.
Me: Why do you do that? I miss our friendship. You have changed so much and I don't know if it's for the better. You seem so concerned whith what people think about you. Now all you talk about is how much girls love you. it's kind of weird.
Him: It is weird. You've changed too you know.
Me: I know I've changed. change is unavoidable. I'm just worried about you. Wish we could talk like we used to. You know, about things that matter not just your sex life. We used to talk about music and our dreams and goals.
Him: I gotta go I'll talk to you some other time.
Me: Ok, take care of yourself.
Him: bye
Me: bye
Wow that actually felt really good. Now comes the hard part and posting it for all to read. I only have two followers along with myself haha so it shouldn't be that bad. Maybe I'll get more. So I really encourage everyone to check out the website it's very inspiring. I think I'll go and try to complete a lot more of the assignments. Here is the link http://www.learningtoloveyoumore.com/. Well later!


 

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Skins: a sad portrayal of teenage life in america

So I, like many others, tuned into to the premier of the MTV show Skins. It was originally a british show. The british version has nothing but great reviews. It seems that the U.S. version has a lot to live up to. So nothing about the previews inticed me to watch this show on an intellectual, or entertainment level. I was actually pretty digusted by the previews. I tuned in for the train wreck factor of the show. It caught my attention and I thought I might as well give it a shot before I pass any judgment. Because I watch a lot of shows for this exact train wreck factor i.e. the Bad Girl's Club, The Jersey Shore, any of the Real Housewives.
I tuned in watched and got what I basicly expected. The first episode was about the ring leader of the fight the power,we hate adult authority, edgy, rebelious sex having, drug doing teen group, Tony. who was on a mission to get his friend, Stanley, to lose his V card. So he asks his girlfriend, which every time Tony and her greet eachother it's with a long awkward tongued down kiss that everyone stares at in a really weird way, who asks another girl if she'd do it with him. This other girl agrees as long as they supply her with really great drugs. On top of being the public school play boy Tony also sings in the all female choir at an all girls private school. The girls there are so "in love," with him that one of the girls invites him to her party. Where he and all his friends trash her parents house. Well, Stanley goes and gets some marijuana from some drug dealer and gets a lot of it to sell. Well, he doesn't pay the drug dealer and promises  to have the money after he's sold the weed. At this party, everyone is getting ripped and Stanley is getting ready to get it in with this druggie chick. That's when she passes out after taking a ton of pills or something. All the kids start to panic and steal a car to drop her off at a hospital. then she wakes up in the car and they all have a laugh and watch her pee and then crash the stolen car into some water where they all get out of the car ok and laugh until they realize the weed is gone down with the car. The end to episode one. They also set up a few story lines for the gay cheerleader, and Stanley who is secretly in love with Tony's girlfriend, and the weird kid who is in love with a teacher.
I've decided to not go the "oh it's so bad and provocative, cover your children's eyes blah blah blah..." route. Instead I decided to go with the could it be any worse? route. 
Nothing about the first episode is realistic. But, according to an exclusive interview with Skins' creator Bryan Elsley he wants it to be a show from a teenagers perspective. Stating,
 "Skins is a very simple and in fact rather old fashioned television series. It's about the lives and loves of teenagers, how they get through high school, how they deal with their friends, and also how they circumnavigate some of the complications of sex, relationships, educations, parents, drugs and alcohol. The show is written from the perspective of teenagers, reflects their world view, and this has caused a degree of controversy both in the UK and the USA. "
I am only 23 and not that far from being a teenager to know that no one's life is this way. No one I know ever gave a crap about his best friend's virginity. Let alone paying some girl with drugs to take it. When I was in highschool the only virginity any one was worried about was their own. Having a virgin friend never cramped anyone's style. Never once did I look over at my friend in biology and say "really? you're still a virgin? Ugh I'm gonna have to fix that for you." Or look at a guy and go "eewww you hang out with virgins."
Any boy that is in an all girls chior at an all girls school would be specualted not as a player or lady's man, but as a blatant homo. Gay! There would be no doubt in any of our minds that he was the guy who loved show tunes, and capri pants for men.
The kids that sold weed at my school grew the weed. they didn't go to a brothel/ drug house to get their weed. No they grew it in their dressers, or under their beds. That was it. They didn't go take out some $800 weed loan with a drug lord.
These kids acted more like 30 year old drug/sex addicts instead of highschool students.
So my problem with the show on top of bad acting, and the demeaning behavior that the characters portray as the american youth, is the fact that the creator is selling this like these are the way teens act today. I personally am insulted because if this is the way he thinks that today's youth acts then he has greatly underestimated them. They don't sit around the cafeteria table talking about sex, and drugs, and sex, and more drugs, and having sex while doing drugs. While those things do come up and are talked about they never ruled our lives. It went more like this copying algebra homework, sex (some get a little embarressed because let's face it we were insecure teenagers), what we're doing this weekend, our parents just don't understand, football games, getting stoned, getting drunk, talking shit on another group of people who may or may not be more popular than you blah, blah, blah... and that's just petty talk. It actually does get deeper than that like politics, and family, and college, and goals, and dreams.
So this is my rant. This show may or may not get better. i doubt it will. I just watched the second episode and was shocked to find out it does get worse. well, i'll blog on that another day. good night all!