Current Obsessions: House of Cards, VagMos, Sherlock, The Butler

House of Cards  
(TW)

Have you all finished House of Cards yet? BECAUSE I NEED TO TALK TO SOMEONE ABOUT IT. So it may or may not be the truth that I watched the entire second season in 3 days #noshame. So I don't want to give away too many spoilers, but the thing with Frank, Meechum, and Claire? Did not see that coming. Also, I have to talk about the rape sub-plot. Things I like about it:

• It brings sexual assault (especially sexual assault in the military) front and center in one of the biggest shows right now. 
• Claire realizes how she can use her and Frank's influence for good and creates a coalition to get legislation passed for better protections for victims in the military.

Things I didn't like so much about it:

• When Claire tells Frank about it in the bathroom, she ends up comforting him. Really, bro?
• She uses the rape as an excuse for abortion. I understand she's a public figure and so is held up to strict public scrutiny, but women shouldn't have to give an excuse to get an abortion other than, "Hey, I can't really have a baby right now." Period. I believe in abortion in cases of rape. I also believe in abortion in non-rape cases. It's sad that she has to hide behind rape to explain to the public why. And still she's shamed for it.

There's more, but those are what stuck out to me most. Ya'll should really read Batty Mamzelle's post "Is Claire Underwood a Caricature of Feminism?"

VagMos

It's VagMo Season! For the fourth year, I'm in Drake's VagMos (aka Eve Ensler's Vagina Monologues)! And this year, I talked the group into making IowaCASA the beneficiaries. WOOT WOOT. Plus, I'm starting Des Moines' first community VagMo and I'm hoping to make it mostly women of color and maybe even have several monologues in different languages. We've identified that there's a huge need for a space for women of color to express their feminism and I hope that this helps that. Yay!

Sherlock

So, I'm late to the game here, I know. Sherlock has been all over tumblr for years and I've just been like, ummmkay...? But after I finished binge-watching HOC I was searching Netflix forlornly trying to find something to fill the gap in my soul, and decided to give Sherlock a try. It was a weird transition from HOC to Sherlock, but gaaaaaaah *FANGIRL MOMENT* it's good. Yea, it's good. What I'm most excited about? That I can now partake in all of the tumblr Sherlock madness.

The Butler 
(TW-Again, sorry)

So my mom was in town this past weekend and we Redboxed The Butler. Heard of it? It came out a few months ago and got nominated for like, a ton of awards. I've been wanting to see it, so Ma and I grabbed it on our way home.  So no one told me that there's a rape scene within the first 5 minutes. I wasn't really liking that. So yea, just warning ya'll about that. But overall, the movie was powerful. It explored racism, classism, sexism, the Civil Rights Movement, Black Panthers, Freedom Riders, Vietnam, national politics, education and more.

Plus, I had no idea all the big names in it. First of all, Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey and David
Oyelowo are the three main characters. Add to that Mariah Carey, Jane Fonda, Yaya DaCosta (ANTM, anyone?), Lenny Kravitz, Alan Rickman (another fangirl moment when he first came on screen), James Marsden, Terrance Howard, even fucking Robin Williams. Who knew Lee Daniels could get such a kick ass cast?

Feminist Friday: Rape Jokes that are actually funny and not victim blamey and gross

So ya'll know my stance on rape jokes. They're horrible, problematic, re-traumatizing, offensive, and harmful. And also just not funny.

 "Quite honestly, it’s not even because I particularly find the jokes personally triggering anymore; I generally just find them pathetic and inexplicable. I’m more bothered by the fact that the jokes normalize and effectively minimize the severity of rape and thusly perpetuate the rape culture. And I’m bothered by the thought of a woman who’s recently been raped, who’s just experienced what may be the worst thing that will ever happen to her, and turns on the telly to watch her favorite comedian and have a much-needed laugh—only to hear him using that horrible, life-changing thing as the butt of a joke. About cologne. Or a bad movie. For fuck’s sake." Source

But I have come across two jokes that are funny. What makes them not gross and damaging like most rape jokes is that the butt of the joke isn't on the victim, it's on society, on the rapist.