#YesAllWomen, #ViolenceisViolence, and Why This Should Matter

#YesAllWomen - this trending Twitter hashtag has been turning the world on its head, spearheading a a topic that must be desperately addressed and creating a public forum for women to publicly express their contempt for the prevalent misogyny and sexism that is in our modern society. This hashtag was a response to the tragic shooting near the University of California, Santa Barbara campus. One look of this hashtag and my heart just crumbled at the heaviness of it all. These are testimonies to real-life incidences that many women have been victim to or, at the very least, have been a witness to such victimization. So much of this happens on a daily existence, and most of us laugh it off as a joke, dismiss it as a rant, or worse yet, do nothing at all.

Below are some excerpts that I found online, but I won't post their Twitter handle, for the sake of anonymity:

• "#YesAllWomen because boys at my school think it's okay to touch me in any way they like and even when I say NO they just laugh and try again"

• #YesAllWomen should be able to make choices without coercion, discrimination, harassment or violence."

• "Because every single woman I know has a story about a man feeling entitled to access to her body. Every. Single. One. #YesAllWomen"

• "I shouldn't have to hold my car keys in hand like a weapon & check over my shoulder every few seconds when I walk at night #YesAllWomen"

• "Girls grow up knowing that it's safer to give a fake phone number than to turn a guy down. #yesallwomen"

In an appropriately timed video, ManKindInitiave released a video that highlights such inequality - in the first half, two actors portraying a couple act out a fictional argument, where the man is overtly aggressive against the woman. In a matter of seconds, a small crowd flocks about the woman in need. It's pretty straight forward. What's interesting is how the same crowd (or at least the same environment) reacts when the roles are reversed. Rather than flocking to the couple to support the man, the cameras capture many people laughing and ridiculing the man for not being "a man." Many people look on, smile and laugh, and move on with their lives, not aware that such a portrayal is quite accurate of men in abusive relationships. Overall, this video tries to teach its viewers that "#ViolenceisViolence, no matter who it's aimed at."

So, why does this matter? It's easy to see in our modern, progressive, and "Politically-Correct world that there is still much inequality between the sexes. More importantly, both men and women are still falling victim to abuses that shouldn't exist anymore.  Such tragic incidences reveal such inequality, even if this outcome was a by-product, not a direct. Our UCSB shooter had blamed women, believing that he was entitled to have a woman to call his own, rather than seeing that he possessed characteristics that women (by chance) found undesirable, which is why he was rejected. His online manifestos and videos (those you must find on your own) support this. So I challenge you, dear reader, evaluate your behavior: do the women in your life feel safe around you? Do the men in your life make you feel safe? If not, what needs to be changed? 

Quality Time With "Veronica"

Recently, I did something that I haven't done in such a long time on my university campus - I had quality time with a friend and we spent almost 2 hours just talking, making lame jokes, and just having some bit of fun. Considering we're down to the wire (our final week of the Spring Semester), I was somewhat surprised that we somehow made some time to just talk and develop our friendship together, and getting to know more about each other.

Spending time with "Veronica" (not her real name, but she did request that I use that pseudonym for her) was quite an exquisite respite from the inexorable pressures of these remaining few weeks. I haven't had this type of quality time with a fellow friend and classmate in months. It seems that I have spent just about all of my free time studying and conducting research for two demanding essays and reading the text for four classes in our campus library. Now that it's all behind me (for the most part), it was a nice change of pace to be outside, enjoying the gentle breeze, the flora, the fauna (just some squirrels, really), people watching, and the company of a friend. I hope to have more experiences in the future. I can't help but feel these little moments create those defining "college moments" that many of us fondly recall as we age over time.

Watching Movies & Making Lists

After speaking with my friend and co-worker about The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, we ended up having this lengthy discussion about movies we want to see, movies we haven't seen, and anticipating movies that haven't been released yet, but they are on our "to watch list." After hours of discussion, we made a list of sorts of movies I have to see/should have seen by now (I ended up shocking my friend by telling him I haven't seen Schindler's List at all. His response, "That needs to change, like now. How haven't you seen Schindler's List?!")

Here's the list (in full) of the movie list that we came up for me recently (in no particular order):

Being John Malkovich

Children of Men

The Grand Budapest Motel

Moonrise Kingdom

The Book Thief

Jarhead

The Royal Tenenbaums

Rushmore

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Unbreakable

The Sixth Sense

Howl's Moving Castle

Schindler's List

7 Psychopaths

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

A Clockwork Orange

2001: A Space Odyssey

Rain Man

The Godfather Trilogy

Burn After Reading

1984

Avatar

Life of Pi

Kill Bill (Vol. 1 & 2)

Toy Story 3

I'm pretty sure I'll be adding more to this list later, as more films come to mind.

EDIT: I'll be crossing out the films I have seen as time goes by.

The Boondocks - A Mini-Commentary

This has been my show as of late, The Boondocks, based on Aaron McGruder's comic strip of the same name. It's humorous, thought-provoking, and quite insightful of contemporary Afro-American culture in the United States. As I see it, it's a social commentary of the culture through the perceptions and interactions of the main characters at hand. While the comic strips often focus on smaller, immediate situations and its impact upon the culture (such as 9/11), the cartoon manifestation  of the strip seems to focus on the culture at large, and how it fits (or rather doesn't fit) with other cultures that aren't similar to the modern Afro-American life. I'm quite confident that each main character of the show offers a current and different perspective to modern Black life.

Huey: As Riley's older brother, he represents the ideal Black Man: intelligent, progressive, affluent, and keenly aware of his racial identity (but it doesn't define him at all) in a healthy manner. Huey strives to see Blacks and Whites as equals, rather than one being superior or inferior to the other (but sometimes, his racial perceptions cloud his judgment). Furthermore, Huey, much like Martin Luther King desired, views people based upon their heart of their character, rather than the color of their skin. Huey, in essence, sees the self-destructive/self-defeating tendencies that modern Black culture embodies proudly and strives to help his people overcome that disastrous culture to become a people worthy of the color of their skin. 

Riley: Huey's younger brother, Riley is seen as the real life Black Man: he embodies (idolizes, really) the contemporary Black culture of today - the lifestyle, the lexicon, the interest in music, and even the reputation of that comes with being Black. Essentially, Riley is a product of the mass media. Like Huey, Riley is also aware racial identity and the power of racism; however, Riley sees it as an advantage of sorts, especially since he's Black in the White, upper-middle class city of Woodcrest. Riley's idolatry of contemporary Black culture allows us, as viewers, to see the fallacies, shortcomings, and even dangerous repercussions of the culture, despite Riley's apparent ignorance to the flaws themselves.

Robert Jebediah Freeman, "Grandad": As the grandfather and legal guardian of the two boys, Grandad often is the voice of reason throughout the show, although he sometimes has his lapses of judgment also. In the context of Afro-American culture, Grandad is both the older generation of the Black people and the complacent, modern Black Man of American society. Like the two boys, he is also aware of his racial identity, but unlike Huey or Riley, he doesn't actively embrace the color of his skin. Being a witness to key world/social events (namely World War II and the Civil Rights Movement), Grandad sees the amount of progress his people have made since the Movement and perhaps realizes that the current culture will be the best that Black people can achieve (however this is my speculation - I could be wrong). 

Thomas Dubois: Thomas is the Americanized (or White-washed) Black Man of our society. While he is aware of his skin color, Thomas doesn't identify with his race at all. This is evidenced by the fact that he's married to Sarah DuBois, a White woman, as well as the fact that he doesn't face the same discriminations that most Blacks face in our current society. Furthermore, he is a district attorney, and while most of his clients are indeed Black, Thomas doesn't identify with their struggle at all. 

Jazmine Dubois: The daughter of Thomas and Sarah, Jazmine is a bi-racial. Having mixed characteristics of both race and culture, Jazmine is caught in between two worlds. Somewhat naïve about the world and the circumstances of life around her, she is more eager to adopt her Caucasian roots than her Afro-American roots. 

"Uncle" Ruckus: Uncle Ruckus, in essence, is a Black White Supremacist, similar to Dave Chappelle's fictional character. Similar to Huey, Ruckus is highly aware of his racial identity, but unlike Riley, Ruckus sees that identity as a sources of weakness and a curse upon this world. Ruckus embodies the idea that Whites are inherently superiors than Blacks, rather than at least being on equal standing. Thus, Ruckus is likely harshly berate and castigate his fellow Black man, while being more likely to dismiss or adore his Caucasian peers. In fact, Ruckus nonchalantly throws racial slurs and stereotypes towards Blacks. Ironically, Ruckus is the one with the darkest skin complexion, which is quite ironic given his disposition toward Black people and the culture that is embodied.

So, that's that: a lengthy mini-commentary of a show that I've been enjoying immensely. This is one of those shows that you can't help but to analyze and critically think about the portrayals and perspective that each character brings to the show. These are my initial understandings of the characters, but if I had more time to research and watch the show more analytically (I'm watching it in small chunks, rather than to watch it as a lengthy marathon), then perhaps I can be more thorough and develop a greater understanding of what the current Afro-American culture is today. I hope you enjoyed this lengthy post, hopefully I can write more of these analytical-type posts in the near future. Until next time, fellow readers! 

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

"My name is Benjamin Button and I was born in unusual circumstances..."

I had the fortunate pleasure of watching The Curious Case of Benjamin Button a few days ago. For me, this was one of those movies where it just snuck past me. I knew about its existence since its theatrical release, but I never was compelled to watch the movie until recently.  In short, I loved it. While it was essentially Forrest Gump in reverse, Benjamin Button is one of those rare gems in film where you're not only watching it, you're immersed in it. However, it's just not the story alone that draws you in. It's the people, the places, and even the circumstance that do so. For as long as time moves forward, many people will age, circumstances will give and take life, and life itself is never still.

In some ways, taking the time to watch films that are more artistic, story-driven, and at times emotional seems to reflect the growth I'm going through as a person. For those who've known me over the years, these types of movies were not always my "cup of tea," so to speak. Maybe it has to do with all the reading I've been immersing myself with lately, as well as my binging on so much music that is sometimes unexpected, even for myself. Now, more and more of these types of films are giving me a satisfaction that, if my younger self would encounter the same film, he would dismiss them altogether. I want to continue going on this path and see where it takes me and just how much I'll change in the days, months, and years ahead of me. 

"VG Music" v. "Real Music"?!

After I wrote "DEVILS NEVER CRY (because they) NEVER SURRENDER!", I got to thinking, What are some other musicians/bands that have also contributed to video game music? Some other bands that come to mind are Crush40, Megadeth, Trent Reznor (of Nine Inch Nails fame), and Julien-K. I'm sure there are others that I'm not considering, but their names elude me at the moment. 

Crush40: They actually started off as under the name Sons of Angels, but eventually changed their name after the first Sonic Adventure. Most of their music was composed for the Sonic games, but some of their earlier work was devoted to NASCAR Arcade. 

This song, "Live & Learn," is from Sonic Adventure 2:

This next song, "Into The Wind," comes from their only full-length album, Crush40:

Megadeth: As any metalhead worth his lengthy locks knows, Megadeth's been in the metal game since the 80's, often focusing on contemporary socio-political issues (with some personal life-faith stories sprinkled in between). 

This song, "Sudden Death," was first featured in Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock as the one of the last songs, which was intentional (when you hear the song, you'll understand). This song was later featured in Megadeth's 13th album, Th1rt3en.

As for a song that reflects Megadeth outside of the gaming industry, it's hard to pick just one! Aside from obvious picks such as "Symphony of Destruction," "Hangar 18," "Holy Wars," "A Tout Le Monde," "Trust," "In My Darkest Hour," "Peace Sells," and so much more, I decided to put in an unconventional song, "502," a song about the fast life on the road.

   

Trent Reznor: When he's not working on material for Nine Inch Nails or How To Destroy Angels, Reznor works on composing music score for films (The Social Network) or video games (Quake, COD: Black Ops II). 

Since I'm not too familiar Reznor's work with film and gaming, I'll use a recent score, the Black Ops II main theme:

As for music outside of gaming, like Megadeth, it's difficult to pick just one. Just about every song from PHM or TDS is pretty good as some exceptional picks from With Teeth, Year Zero, The Slip, and even Ghosts I-IV, I'll pick a personal favorite from 1999's The Fragile, "Into the Void:"

Julien-K: Julien-K's one of those bands that you have to be "in the know" to know their music, you know? Similar, to Combichrist, Noisia, and Da Octopuss, Julien-K has good dance beats, fuzzy noises, and catchy hooks, which promises for a good time on the dance floor.

One of their earliest contributions, "This Machine," has been featured in Sonic Heroes, serving as the theme for Team Dark. Julien-K also has contributed to the music score of Michael Bay's iterations of the Transformers franchise.

As for a song outside of gaming and the filmscape, the featured song is "Futura (DTA Mix)," some other songs to listen to are "Death to Analog," "Kick the Bass," "Systeme de Sexe," "We're Here With You," "Spring Palms Reset," and "Nights of Future Past," among others. 

So, with all that's said and done, I just made another list of sorts (and I didn't realize it, until now). Maybe I should work on making more lists in general. Well, that's all for now! Until next time, my fellow readers! 

DEVILS NEVER CRY (because they) NEVER SURRENDER!

I had the pleasure of spending time with a dear friend almost a week ago. We were driving back home after visiting friends and seeing old familiar faces when he played a familiar song through his phone (which was hooked up to his radio). Only I couldn't place the name of the song. So I gave up asked my friend, "Who is this again?" He looks at me and says, "You don't remember? This is Combichrist - this song is the main theme from the latest Devil May Cry!" 

Of course! How could I forget! That's why the song was familiar - this song plays during the introductory cinematic scene of the game, highlighting Dante's exorbitant lifestyle of women, fast times, and all-around recklessness. It's been quite some time since I've played DMC: Devil May Cry since I had already accomplished all that I could do (such as maxing out the Life/Devil Trigger bars, earning all combos, finding all secrets, ect. - I pretty much got my money's worth playing the game). Since I've done all that I could do gaming-wise, perhaps the only reason why I'd revisit the game would be for its music. 

Much of the in-game music was composed by both Combichrist and Noisia, two electronica  groups (in the broadest sense: they're actually Aggrotech and Neurofunk/Grime, respectively). The music composed for the game is fantastic and flawless - their styles compliment the re-imaging of the Devil May Cry franchise perfectly. As I mentioned a whiles back in my Da Octopuss post, this is the type of music that belongs in gothic, underground dance clubs of sorts. I've been loving this style of music, and quite frankly, I want more of this type of music in my life. Julien-K is somewhat similar, as well as Da Octopuss, so I've got that going for me.

Anyhow, here is the theme song of DMC:Devil May Cry, called "Never Surrender," the one my good  friend was blasting in his car radio:

And here is one of Noisia's offerings from the game:

Maybe after I'm done with this year's CD collecting quest, I'll devise a new list that'll focus more on this type of music.