On Normals... Again Or why I'm boycotting The Orphan

Ranting ahead.

I am tired. I am absolutely sick and tired. I am absolutely sick and tired of anyone "different" having to be a villian, a hero, an inspiration, or a "There but for the Grace of G-d go I"

I am a lesbian; I do not wear flannel. I do want children. I do not hate men.

I am a woman; I do not wear high heels, I do not wear makeup.

I have Cerebral Palsy; I am not a hero. I am not a caution against premature birth. I am a person getting through every day. Just like you.

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What sparked all this? Well, the lovely Chatelaine of Tubaville joined a cause, you see, to boycott a movie. Ms. Tuba isn't hysterical, so I checked it out.

Turns out, Warner Bros' new flick entitled "Orphan" was the one on the boycott block. And I can absolutely see why.

"There's something wrong with Esther" one tagline reads. And who is Esther? For the majority of the movie she's an older adoptee- in some clips she even appears to exhibit Radish behaviours. Raging, triangulation. Lather, rinse repeat, you all know this story better than me.

But instead of an eye opening flick like Martian Child (see this! if you haven't, see this NOW) "Orphan" degenerates into a slasher film. With a 9 year old villian who's spent time in hospital for behaviours

This isn't okay by me.

I posted the link to my f a c e b o o k page, and immediately got responses. But not the responses I'd hoped. I was told "But they changed the tagline."

Yeah. From "I don't think Mommy likes me very much; it must be hard to love an adopted child as much as your own" to just "I don't think Mommy likes me very much." Grrrrrrrreat change there, Warner. Or "There's something wrong with Esther." Even better- SO politically aware. There's something wrong with kiddos available for adoption now, ESPECIALLY traumatized ones.

I was also told "People don't go to horror films for info." No, maybe not, but NO ONE is going to convince me, ever, that people don't get info from the media. Absorbing it without even realising it, sometimes.

And my personal favourite?

"Oh, doesn't matter- She isn't even a kid in the end, she's some kinda demon thing."

Demon?

DEMON?

This makes it *okay?!*

--

Not by me. And it's getting less and less okay as time goes on.

Back at School

Hey all

I'm back doing the Intercession at uni. Elementary German and 20th C. Popular Music.

I'm pleased with both- My German professor was a kindergarten teacher and so doesn't expect perfection, and my Music prof? What can I say. He's a grad student who wears great hats to class and comes up with brilliant accomodations for me- on his *own*- without seeming the least bit awkward or nervous.

Example- We have a playlist of 60+ songs that we need to listen to for the course. Everything from Mamie Smith to Bob Dylan to Frank Sinatra. Of course, going to the library and downloading all of these from a data CD would be possible, but the Music library isn't the most accessible. So, while I was puzzling out how I would manage it, Grad Prof suddenly grins, points to the bag on the back of my chair.

"Is that a laptop?"

"Yes, it is."

"Bring it next class and I'll bring you a jump drive, you can just pull the songs off that and give it back to me."

I show up for class today, and lo and behold, he's *remembered* the jump drive!!

I have high hopes for the next 6 weeks.

Light, love, and energy to you all.

Ashley

PS: Daily Funny

While waiting to go to class today, I saw two professors heading down the hall, conversing.

Prof 1 I'll just use the proleteriat bathroom

Prof 2 Are you sure? I really can let you in...

Prof 1 No no, I should suffer for my forgetfullness