Opening Thoughts

While I'd like to take a look at the Barker text and put in a few thoughts on culture, the bookstore seems to be backordered on copies. So.. opening thoughts on the class. I think this is going to be a pretty fascinating semester. As a student of finance, I tend to be in classes that are a lot more pragmatic. Analyzing business strategies, valuing companies, developing marketing plans. Very "serious" stuff.

That's not to say that I think the issues in this class aren't serious either, I just look forward to really analyzing some material that doesn't involve spreadsheets and other forms of number/idea crunching. To be honest, I was also happy to see that this class was both tech friendly (as I've become a bit of a computer nerd) and easy (no offense, it's just that I've stacked 18 units this semester). Most importantly, though, I'm glad to finally have the chance to sit down with a group and really think about the culture that is influencing and influenced by us
and see what that all really means.

On to the movies. I was surprised how hard I found it to grasp what Anchorman was saying about gender relations and stereotypes. I've seen the movie several times and have enjoyed it, but I guess I've lumped it in with the "stupid funny" category of films that wouldn't have anything particularly relevant to say about society. Either that or I hoped the comedy didn't buy into some of the themes it perpetuated. In the clip we watched, the film seemed to say that no matter how self controlled or driven, a woman will be easily snared by feats of talent or spectacle.

Though it may be somewhat shortsighted, my overall enjoyment of the movie is higher if the scene is just a fairly weak plot point to move the film along.

I have not seen Fatal Attraction it its entirety, so this may be a shot in the dark. The film seemed to be essentially about a man who recklessly pursued his desires and became emasculated by the consequences. The first evidence of this is when Douglas cannot bring himself to admit to his affair. His weakness forces his wife to pick up the slack and ask him outright. I assume this progresses through the film up to our second clip. Somewhat ironically, Douglas' wife sends him to the kitchen to make some tea while she bathes. He does come to her rescue when the scorned lover attacks, but it is the wife who finishes her off once and for all. I found these clips made an interesting implication about women. Typically, we are conditioned to see the villains and heroes of a story as an embodiment of masculinity. We have tons of stories of men as both stalkers and killers as well as firefighters and courageous soldiers. By making Douglas neither one of these types, the film implies that women can just as easily fulfill masculine roles. If this is true, is there really much difference between masculinity and femininity? And if not, should we be surprised by this fact?