feminism: the best thing. (or, to end a year.)

This may very well be my last blog post on this blog – summer is just around the corner; vacation and SAT prep will be all I have on my plate. To start, thank you to anyone and everyone who has read, commented, liked, viewed, etc. I honestly came into this project being pretty certain that I would have maybe 5 followers tops – and even without actively sharing my blog on social media, I’ve garnered 10 times that number. So thank you all so much.

That being said, I’ve decided to end this year of blog posts on a high note about perhaps one of my favorite subjects – feminism.

a few thoughts on rocky & rape culture.

In English, we watched the 70’s film Rocky. I liked it enough, although it certainly wasn’t even near to being my favorite movie of all time. It also didn’t help much that I missed a big chunk of the movie because I went on a full-day mock trial event. However, I heard about a particular scene in which there were, apparently, ‘rape-y’ tones. (That being, a scene where, after Rocky and Adrian’s first date, they went back to his place.) That being said, I wasn’t there to see the scene myself, and a friend of mine vehemently denied any ‘rape-y’ allegations to the scene.

Whether consent was or wasn’t dubious, it got me around to thinking.

a few words on earth day and peace of mind.

Last Tuesday, only a few days ago, was Earth Day. Now, I tend to err on the anti-establishment side of things and don’t usually partake in these little holidays, but even I can appreciate Earth Day. It’s a well-meaning notion, and I really do believe that we, as citizens of this planet, need to do our part to take care of our home.

And (as of yet), as there is no other known habitable planet in the universe, if we don’t, we’re pretty much screwed. But the idea of imminent doom shouldn’t be what drives people to reduce, reuse, and recycle so much as simple human courtesy.

Anyhow, for Earth Day, my English class had a mini-field trip of sorts. Well, the term “field trip” is what our teacher used, and to be honest, it’s a stretch, as the “field trip” consisted of a pretty brief walk around campus, and a rather random five-minute lucid equivalent to a nap in the grass (basically, everyone just sitting silently in a circle, contemplating life, I guess). It was kind of weird and a little unexpected and frankly, despite my support of Earth Day and recycling and other green-oriented endeavors, I’m not a nature person at all.

But the thing is, it was nice. It was peaceful, and for a few minutes, I didn’t have to worry about analyzing em dashes or keeping track of the (markedly very, very hectic) family trees and alliances in The Count of Monte Cristo. All I had to do was – well, that was the thing. I didn’t have to do anything. I could just sit and not have to think.

And I think that’s really important – not “sitting and not thinking” in particular, but just taking a breather every now and then. I’ve probably already discussed this topic at large already, but we’re all incredibly busy people. We have classes and jobs and lives and obligations of all sorts to think about; we’re not machines, every now and then we need a break.

what makes sadness or anger legitimate? age, obviously.

A few days ago, I finished All Quiet.

Wow.

I have a lot of thoughts about the ending, obviously; ranging from “oh my god my poor baby Paul and oh god Kat” to “you know, that was a pretty solid ending” to “WHAT KIND OF AN ENDING IS THAT?? I NEED A RE-WRITE WHERE EVERYONE IS HAPPY AND NO ONE DIES.” If I have time I’ll go through the parts I liked, the parts I didn’t like, etc. But in particular, today I wanted to write about this idea that stuck with me.

Paul and his companions are, evidently, not considered actual people, really. From Kantorek, they are simply young, impressionable minds to be influenced and sent to the front lines as essentially fodder. From Himmelstoss, they are nothing. From civilian society, they are war heroes, deeds, the epitome of romanticized war instead of the living repercussions of such brutality. From no sides are they thought of as actual, individual people with individual fears and dreams and desires – rather, they’re lumped in with those near to them in age or rank, and treated all the same.

It reminds me of this letter I read yesterday.

thoughts on: all quiet on the western front by erich marie remarque

In English class we recently started “All Quiet On The Western Front” by Erich Marie Remarque, proclaimed by the cover as ‘the greatest war novel of all time.’ The book follows the story of the Second Company through the experiences of a young student named Paul Baumer and his companions as they struggle to come to terms with how deeply the war has affected them and shaken everything they had thought to be true before enlisting in the army. And – I’ll admit – it’s a pretty great book, even if you’re not a fan of war novels.

women do not have the potential to be great (and other misnomers).

Yeah, you read that right. Follow-up beneath the cut-link.

“what did you do over winter break?”

 

In English the other day, we were given an assignment to write a funny story about our winter breaks, and why they were funny. Now, I thought I was the only one to have nothing exciting to say, but judging by the chorus of groans and “ugh”s i heard, I wasn’t alone. 

As I was writing, I got to thinking. (And Lord knows, that’s dangerous.) yeah, maybe by conventional standards I “wasted” my break. Maybe I didn’t travel or do new things or fill my social calendar with exciting parties and events. But frankly, it’s unrealistic to expect such things. 

on the nature of humans (featuring some art terms, and ap euro).

Last week in English, we spent quite a bit of time dissecting the first paragraph of Charles Dickens’s “A Tale of Two Cities.” You know, that run-on sentence, “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times, [insert 239857230573 more opposites]”?

thoughts on: the night circus by erin morgenstern

Sometimes there are books that are 400 pages long but feel like 800 (ahem, “Katherines”), and sometimes there are books that are 400 that you wish were 800 pages long. “The Night Circus” by Erin Morgenstern falls solidly into the latter category. Onto the cut-link to read more of my incoherent rambling over my latest, favorite brain-fuel book.

a few words on responsibility (and toilets, of all things).

For those of you who are not from Theriault’s Honors English class(es), Mr. Theriault likes to give speeches. Well, talks, really. It’s safe to say that many days we get more than a little off-topic and sometimes find ourselves listening to talks about life problems – no offense or anything, Mr. T; these are important things we’re talking about after all, because it’s not like we’re ever going to use personification and allegory or whatever other literary devices in our future lives, right?