I felt vaguely as if someone had just removed all my skin with a potato peeler Emma Silvers
Tag: patriarchy
Women & power
Hearing the latest sex abuse scandal or the latest supposedly feminist man revealed as a jerk using his power and position for sexual gain can sometimes make consuming the news feel like a punch to the gut. But, as I tell myself again and again, the fact that these stories are coming out and being […]
The Power
First rec’d by Abigail Nussbaum – Strange Horizons When I first read about The Power I was both intrigued and a little put-off by the premise; women suddenly develop the ability to generate electric bolts and use them as a weapon, similar to how electric eels operate. This obviously has serious repercussions in society as […]
The serpent and the goddess
Using Ireland as a case study, this book provides an account of the decline of matriarchal power in Western civilizations and analyzes its implications for today’s women and today’s Catholic Church. From the age of Eve to the age of Brigit to the age of Mary, the author traces the rise of patriarchial consciousness. Mary […]
Jane Eyre’s Sisters
Don’t you just love it when you pick up a book at random thinking it looks vaguely interesting and then you devour it? That is what happened me with this book. I spotted it among the new books at the library and almost didn’t pick it up, mainly because I haven’t been into non-fiction all […]
Mad Max : Fury Road
When I went to see Age of Ulton1 in the IMAX there was a trailer for Mad Max : Fury Road on. And I knew right then and there that I would go see that film. But I also knew that it would *not* be an imax viewing, because seriously, that was sensory overload. All […]
Disgrace
David Lurie lives a very contained and well-run life. He is a professor in Cape Town, mostly he lectures in communication but he is also allowed to give one course on his chosen topic as well, Romantic poetry. He lives within his means, and emotionally he looks after himself. For sex he visits a prostitute […]
Things fall apart
Set in pre-colonial Nigeria Things Fall Apart is the story of Okonkwo and his community. He sees himself as a hard-working, important man, he has gained many titles through his hard work and effort as well as creating a profitable farm. His three wives and children are all well fed and cared for. One of […]
In the eye of the beholder
Kameron Hurley, author of God’s War wasn’t overly impressed by The Cabin in the Woods, as maybe you can tell from this short excerpt from her blog:
Throughout the whole movie, the guys are the puppeteers. The guys still get most of the lines. They’re in control. Throwing in Show Spoiler ▼
at the end for the final fight doesn’t magically “fix” the fact that I just watched a very uncomfortable movie about how men maim and humiliate women in service to their dark, primordial desires/underlord. The scene with all the guys oogling over whether or not the blond’s shirt was going to come off was just… unnecessary.
[Kameron Hurley – Why your gun-toting chick isn’t feminist redux Thoughts on Cabin in the Woods]
The thing is, a lot of what she points out as being misogyny is, totally and utterly, misogyny. But I watched the film thinking that that was part of the point. The world we live in has a whole heap of misogyny in it. And, in most cases, old white men are the ones in charge. I watched The cabin in the woods as a dark comedy/horror first up, but I also saw it as having a whole heap to say about the world, in general, and the horror genre in certain specifics.
I’m trying to figure out how to articulate this properly. It has been so long since I’ve actually had to write an argument. Anyways, unhidden spoilers below.
East of Eden
originally read 18th August 2003ISBN: 0140292942 My reread of East of Eden was down to the fact that my book club selected it to read. It’s been more than ten years since I read it, and I’d forgotten all the details. I had vague memories of enjoying it and that it was a family saga […]