My So-Called Life

I love Claire Danes. I love My So-Called Life. Ok, so I've only seen the pilot so far. But god it is good! It's so REAL. The voiceovers are great -- showing all the random things people think about, like, "Isn't it weird how people just CHEW? It's just a thing they DO... and they do it in PUBLIC."

Anyway, it is just so great. Aaaah.

Edit: Rima is watching it now. YAY for once I got HER into something.

Glee

First of all, this show seems to be pretty damn awesome so far. Second, since I have nothing else to do tonight, I am going to do a quick little rebuttal of some points made by the PTC in their rating of Glee as the worst show of the week (meaning not that it's bad but that it's not appropriate). Keep in mind I know that these PTC people are no threat, and will in fact probably give Glee a boost in popularity, but I figure I might as well just point out the obvious flaws in their logic. I am bored.

Parents, please be aware: Glee (Wednesdays, 9:00 p.m. ET) is not High School Musical: the T.V. Series. Don’t let the singing and dancing and high school setting fool you. This is an edgy, sexually-charged adult series that is inappropriate for teenagers. Unfortunately, Fox has marketed the show heavily at tween audiences. What did those pre-adolescents tune into when the show finally premiered in its regular timeslot on September 9th? A veiled reference to fellatio, a speech denouncing abstinence, simulated sex during a musical dance number, and premature ejaculation. For containing explicit sexual content in a show aimed at kids, yet lacking the “S” warning descriptor in the rating, Glee has been named Worst TV Show of the Week.

Well, first of all, I mean... really? It's rated TV-14. Of course it's not appropriate for kids who watch High School Musical. They are mostly NINE years old. Sometimes a show is for teens, and you don't have to get all huffy that it might accidentally be viewed by younger people! "Pre-adolescents," they keep saying. Not many pre-adolescents are watching it, and certainly not younger than, say, eleven-year-olds. But I'm pretty sure they STILL think it's inappropriate for the teens who actually ARE watching it.

The guidance counselor, Emma Pillsbury, catches Rachel vomiting in a bathroom stall. Emma asks, “Rachel, did you just throw up?

“No,” she replies.

“You missed the toilet.”

Rachel responds, “The girl who was throwing up before me left that. I tried, but I guess I just don't have a gag reflex.”

“One day, when you're older that'll turn out to be a gift,” Emma states, in a veiled reference to fellatio.

Thank you for pointing out the obvious. Really? You needed that prepositional phrase there? Sorry, that just struck me as funny.

Rachel becomes fed up with the exercise and storms out of the meeting, imparting these supposed words of wisdom: “The only way to deal with teen sexuality is to be prepared. That's what contraception is for…You want to know a dirty little secret that none of them want you to know? Girls want sex just as much as guys do.”

Supposed? Jesus christ, this is one of the awesomest things I've heard a character say on TV, like, ever! Way to be cool, Rachel, seriously! Also, everything she says is TRUE. I don't understand how ANYTHING she said there is bad.... It's all right, and smart. (Oh, and side note, I searched for other parent reviews to see what other people thought of it, and one mother said that the claim about girls' sex drives was "simply not true." Wtf??)

Moreover, the ratings don’t stop the networks from marketing inappropriate content to any demographic they see fit.

Um, like, say... the demographic the show was created for? Teenagers? Are... are they not the ones who are supposed to be watching it, and who are? Um? Isn't it rated PG-14, and isn't it all aimed toward teenagers? I'm confused about what you're saying here, could you enlighten me as to what the fuck you are talking about?

As the saying goes, “You can put lipstick on a pig.” Apparently, you can make it sing and dance, too.

For marketing explicit sexual content to pre-adolescent youth, Glee has been named Worst TV Show of the Week.

As the saying goes, "You can put lipstick on the douchebags, but you'll never be able to pull the sticks out of their asses." Or something like that.

Oh, parents associations. What idiots you are. How you make us laugh. It's good to know you have no power.

Oh, and by the way... the kids watching this... are teenagers... and they enjoy jokes about sex. You know why? Because they're funny. Stop complaining about supposedly "crude" comedy. Just enjoy it why don't you.

Of course,

You have to take it all in context of the time period (Babylonian times). Shamhat is revered and honored for her sexual power. The good part about it as opposed to nowadays is that the sexual politics were less shameful and more simple and talked about -- sex was not taboo as it is today. It was a fact of life and part of being human. However, when you think about it, so far Shamhat is the only woman in the book; it seems that women could only gain recognition for their sexuality. It's also a little disgusting to read about how "great" the city of Uruk is because of all the sexual pleasure it has for men.

So Gilgamesh, having scared his people into treating him as a god, enforces the jus primae noctus. Everyone is aware of this and it is just as much a part of the wedding customs as anything else -- a passing citizen tells Enkidu of Gilgamesh that "since his birth-cord was cut, every girl's hymen has belonged to him." Rightly, of course, Enkidu gets very angry and decides he must put a stop to this. He goes and blocks the way to the marriage bed and fights Gilgamesh. When Gilgamesh beats him, they become friends; apparently now that he has found a friend he doesn't feel the need as much to show his power by abusing it with the brides.

More to come, just talking to myself as I read.

Gilgamesh, Book 1 Moodle

Shamhat is even less than a prostitute; she is not even paid or recognized in any way. She is simply EXPECTED to allow herself to be used for men's sexual pleasure, because it is just a thing she is "supposed" to do according to the rules of her society. She is described as sort of a prostitute for religion -- she's supposed to give herself up as a service to the gods -- again, simply because she's supposed to, not for any reasons for HERSELF. She is serving as Enkidu's gateway into the human, or civilized, world; the relationship has absolutely nothing to do with her, just what she means to Enkidu. She is called "one of the priestesses who give their bodies up to any man, in honor of the goddess" (77). I fail to see how something so degrading can be in "honor" of any FEMALE. Also, in the description she gives of Uruk, she speaks of "the lovely priestesses standing before the temple of Ishtar, chatting and laughing, flushed with sexual joy, and ready to serve men's pleasure" (81). This shows that the society is clearly about hedonism for men, and that even the women themselves have been taught to feel that they exist for men's pleasure.

Another unrelated thing I found interesting was that after having sex, Enkidu "knew things now that an animal can't know" (79). I thought it was strange that they were basically saying that sexuality is a trait specific to human beings, when it seems to be in fact one of the most animalistic things about humans. However, they could be really talking about the "longing for a true friend" (80) that he feels when he sees another human, the realization that he wants human companionship.