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i really wonder if it's just me... even though i know it's not. i often get told that i shouldn't see everything as sexist, or racist or... wrong. but the reality is this: i do.
that particular commercial? oh, yeah. i saw how it was sexist (and no, i don't mean just misogynistic, either. i mean sexist.)
it makes me mad (the commericals & being told that i "don't have to cut everything down to that level" all the time).
i read feminist blogs... and sure there are articles that make me angry and there are times that i can't believe the shit that's still happening in 2008-09... but i enjoy it. why? because for the times that the girls & guys win one for our team, i'm proud. and i'm proud to feel like i'm a part of it somehow, even if i play a small part.
what's bothering me more is this: i get mad about being told that i shouldn't see/focus on the (obvious) sexism in commercials/ads/everywhere. i understand that not everyone is wired to see/think that way... and that just because they don't, it does not make them misogynistic or sexist or racist. but at the same time, there's a part of me that just doesn't get how they don't see it! it's right there! in our faces... constantly! i hate being told things like "it's just a commercial. it's a joke." i hate that. 'cause for me? it's not "just a commercial" and the fact that it's "just a joke" is the whole problem! the jokes shouldn't be there. the jokes are harmful, hurtful, one-sided, anti-somebody and in my opinion: wrong.
i needed to vent this this afternoon. it had to get out. voicing it out loud wasn't getting me anywhere and i know this entry is going to incite more conversation that i might not want to have... but y'know what? fuck it. this is how i am. this is how i see the world. am i a pessimist at heart? not at all.
which reminds me: i'm also often being asked "don't you have any faith in doctors?" (ie our medical system) and "don't you have any faith in the government?" and the answer to both of those are often a resounding "no", as well. why? because in my eyes/view, i don't see how an overall faith there is realistic. especially seeing how the world, our world, is way too right-wing to cater to my belief system.
sigh.
is it just me?
- Mood:
annoyed
Still now, having not watched it for many, many years, there are certain songs from the soundtrack that arouse certain feelings in me. Thing is, knowing how awfully cheesy this movie is - I mean, it was 1987, after all - I haven't ever really admitted to my liking of it...
Until now. :)
Years later, I watched it again, through an adult's eyes. Yeah, there were certain things I didn't really get then and I understand them more fully now, but it made me realise SO much more.
Specific scenes that I *always* liked:
- When Baby (Jennifer Grey) is practicing dancing on the outside stairs in blue jean shorts and a peach tank top... (sexy!)
- Anytime Johnny (Patrick Swayze...mmmm...) dances.
- When Penny & Baby are practicing the dance in front of Johnny (I remember feeling like I should look away or something...).
And then I went, "Holy crap! I always liked girls!" Now, no, this isn't news to anyone but... I'm still surprising myself sometimes by realising how far back this goes...
So, things occured to me: I think my loving of men's backs/shoulders comes from Patrick Swayze (but really, can you blame me?)! Also, I think I always felt that Penny & Baby could have/should have been closer (oh, they should have totally gotten it on... lol)! The locker room scene when Baby's trying on the dress for the big dance? Yeah, the girls had a connection there...
I've also been thinking about the way Baby is... when she talks with Johnny in his room the first time and he's saying how she sees the world and wants to fix it and that it takes a special kind of person to be that way. Baby's sense of duty to help save everybody... not just the in the Peace Corps, but the staff of the Kellerman's Hotel... sounds like something I would do. Maybe? I dunno... it just sounds like things people keep telling me lately...
Then I figured something else out: Dirty Dancing is the epitome of sexy. At least for me, it is... I remember being younger and watching it in secret, almost (knowing full well that anyone would easily figure out what I was watching just by hearing the music)... like I said, I knew it was a bit taboo and I know that I... "got off" on it, in my own way... at 6 years old.
Solomon Burke's Cry to Me. This song has always meant this particular scene for me and it's always been what sexy is... all of it. Her tease at the beginning, until he takes her shirt off & she's wearing a plain white bra -- we see no sex, just them kissing and the scene ends. But that dance... I think I've been searching to recreate that dance since forever...
The things that I always found the hottest from it: the way she leaned back, the way they swayed together, when he held her leg up (oh, that killed me every time), when she walked around him and caressed his butt & the face he made, when he lifts her arms above her head, slides his hands back down her body and lifts her shirt up over her, then grabs her ass a bit and throws the shirt aside...*shudder*. That scene has been etched into my brain my whole life.
If I was more superficial, I'd think that I've been looking for Johnny Castle this whole time... Haha. No.
So... wow. It's fun at 25 to find something that helped shape who you are, your sexuality, your sensuality & your sense of rythm.
All the '80s cheesiness aside, I love this movie. I am no longer ashamed to say so.
I'm curious to know what people think about this... please comment or write me and let me know! :)
I figured the best way to end this post would be with one of the sexiest movie endings ever... so, enjoy!
Dance your heart out, make it as dirty as you want and have the time of your life...
