Apr 13 2017

PAS 10: The Final Chapter

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Well, it seems that an era is truly coming to a close. This is the final post of Katie’s RCL Ramblings. Sad, isn’t it? Where will you be each week without a new passion post chronicling my undying love for writing? I have to admit, as tedious as it sounded in the beginning to have to write a passion post for every Thursday, I ended up enjoying it. Probably because I do love writing, and I was able to write about writing (You know when you say a word so many times that it starts to lose meaning? I’m starting to forget what the word writing means).

But alas, the semester is almost over and all good things must come to an end. I hope that at least one person felt entertained by my blogging this semester, because it’s my personal mantra that even if just one person is entertained by something I’ve done, then I was successful. I talked a lot this year about my dream job, my aspirations and my goals, so one day I hope I’ll be able to look back at this and think fondly about how little I knew about the successful years to come when I was just a lowly Penn State freshman.

I said in a first semester post that one of my favorite parts of short stories are the “killer endings” that they often have. I believe that any work of writing can be really awesome throughout, but if the ending is bad then it ruins the whole thing. I’m sure most people can get behind this (I’ve never seen How I Met Your Mother, but I have heard that any fan of the show will certainly agree with me). Everything needs a good ending, whether it’s a short story, a book, a show, a movie, or even a blog post.

So I’m going to take the easy way out here because I don’t want to ruin my year of blogging. To finish up my series of passion posts on writing, I want to include my favorite final paragraph of any novel I’ve ever read ever. I think I mentioned it in one of my posts that the last paragraph of the novel Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro is one of those excerpts of writing that I’ve never been able to shake. It’s pure beauty in word form, and when I read it I bawled my eyes out. It might be one of those things that is much more profound if you’ve read the entire story, but I am going to use it anyway as the finale of my blog because it encompasses the one thing I wanted anyone reading this to get out of Katie’s RCL Ramblings:

The written word is an art form unlike any other. It has a magical way of making people feel, and above all else I plan on using my talent to write to evoke emotion and touch the lives of others.

“That was the only time, as I stood there, looking at that strange rubbish, feeling the wind coming across those empty fields, that I started to imagine just a little fantasy thing, because this was Norfolk after all, and it was only a couple of weeks since I’d lost him. I was thinking about the rubbish, the flapping plastic in the branches, the shore-line of odd stuff caught along the fencing, and I half-closed my eyes and imagined this was the spot where everything I’d ever lost since my childhood had washed up, and I was now standing here in front of it, and if I waited long enough, a tiny figure would appear on the horizon across the field, and gradually get larger until I’d see it was Tommy, and he’d wave, maybe even call. The fantasy never got beyond that –I didn’t let it– and though the tears rolled down my face, I wasn’t sobbing or out of control. I just waited a bit, then turned back to the car, to drive off to wherever it was I was supposed to be.” – Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go

Apr 13 2017

CI 5: Where Do We Go from Here?

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I’ve discussed various facets of the fight for women’s equality in my last four Civic Issues posts. I began with the wage gap, perhaps the most blatant indicator of disparity among genders when it comes to workplace economics, and discussed my hesitation to trust our current governmental administration to be the catalyst for change. I then touched on women’s reproductive rights – not necessarily a problem within the workplace, but a major problem nonetheless – and my belief that women should be the ones choosing what they can and cannot do with their bodies. I discussed sexual harassment in the workplace and the negative effects that this has on the environment and more specifically the women themselves. And finally, I expressed the necessity of spreading awareness about the issue of women’s inequality and working to gain worldwide support that will hopefully inspire action among the leaders of our country.

It is true that we have come very far with women’s rights throughout the course of history. On Election Day this year, I made a Facebook status that said something to the tune of “100 years ago, women did not have the right to vote. Today I am voting for who is (hopefully) the first woman president.” While I ultimately (and unfortunately) did not get my wish, I still find hope in Hillary Clinton’s campaign for the presidency. I believe that sooner rather than later we will have a woman president who will fight vehemently to combat the issues with women’s inequality that I have touched on in my posts throughout the semester.

Until then, though, it is up to us as the American people to keep these issues on our agendas. Staying silent will only hinder the progress towards full gender equality in terms of wages, opportunities, social aspects, and reproductive rights. Women are intelligent, powerful, steadfast, change-making, tenacious creatures who don’t deserve the unequal treatment we so often encounter. To return to this year’s election as an example, we were discussing in my political science class the other day the reasons why there is an extremely disproportionate amount of women in Congress compared to women in the United States. We came up with various reasons as to why this might be, but a lot of the reasons that were brought up were struggles that no man would ever be subjected to.

We said that perhaps more women don’t run for office because they would face “mother’s guilt” and would be constantly asked by constituents where their kids are and what they are doing. Can we honestly say that male candidates face these questions? My professor also brought up something that Hillary Clinton said in 2012 when she and Barack Obama were competing against one another in the primaries. Hillary had acknowledged that she had to spend hours getting ready each time she left the house because she knew that people all across America would be judging her appearance, the way her hair, clothes, and makeup looked. Barack, on the other hand, could just get up, put on the same suit, and be on his merry way without any pushback from American citizens.

It’s things like this that we may not consciously think of but that are so prevalent and only serve to hinder women from achieving our full scope of opportunity. I am looking forward to discussing this topic further in my advocacy project in which I will be focusing primarily on gender inequality in Hollywood and the entertainment industry.

This may be my final Civic Issues post, but there is still so much left to say and do for gender equality. Where do we go from here? It’s hard to know for sure, but I am confident that if we keep raising our voices, they will eventually be heard.

Apr 5 2017

PAS 9: Another Journey, Old Word Docs Edition

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I have to say, as much as I love writing in notebooks, I really really appreciate the ability to type on my computer. Not only does it allow me to write down my thoughts (almost) as fast as they come to my mind, it allows me to save all of my drafts and look back at them for fun. The documents folder on my computer is clogged with work dating all the way back to 2013, and sometimes I’ll go back and read through my writing to see what kind of ideas I came up with. Sometimes I actually like what I wrote, and other times I think it’s a pile of garbage (which happens more often than not. I’ve found that it comes with the writer territory to be very critical of yourself.) So, in my search for the next thing to write about for my passion post, I figured it would be a good time to revisit those old documents, some of which I have no collection of writing.

I’m going to click on three random documents, give an excerpt, and say what I remember about it. Because why not?

“Balcony Bar” (last modified 11/29/2015)

She waited for a few hours after the show had finished before heading down to Balcony Bar on the second deck. More than a year of trial and error had taught Annette that around 2:30 in the morning was the best time to leave her cabin for a few hours of down time before the grind of the next day began. At this time the halls were mostly quiet, except for the occasional drunken clamor coming from passengers stumbling back to their rooms. The bars were always populated, but she found that 2:30 was a sort of a transition period between the exodus of people who wanted to attempt a few hours of sleep, and the influx of all-nighters who usually chose one bar to settle into at around 4 AM.

Annette was tired, as usual. But she had long since accepted this tiredness as a part of her that would never fully disappear, no matter how long she slept. The life of a cruise ship entertainer was not a relaxing one. Each day Annette endured the same internal struggle: pass out in her tiny cabin, which had the comfiest pillow at the price of feeling constantly claustrophobic, or slip out at 2:30 for a few hours alone at the price of losing the precious commodity of sleep? Often times the decision was simple, the droopiness of Annette’s eyelids making the choice for her. But that night the one thing she wanted most was to sit in a plush stool at Balcony Bar, listen to the tranquil piano music, and rest her vocal cords for just an hour or so.

Comment: I only ended up writing like three total paragraphs of this. It was going to be a short story about a cruise ship entertainer that either fell in love with someone unusual or witnessed a murder and got caught up in some complex web of lies and confusion. I forget which direction I was planning on going, but the former sounds a lot more interesting.

“Home for the lost plot points” (last modified 12/2/16)

Sequential plot events:

  • Girl wakes up in a house and is unaware of where or who she is

  • She walks around and finds a man and a woman in a kitchen – other teenagers start emerging from other rooms

  • The man and the woman explain to the (four? Five?) teenagers that they are in a rehabilitation center after having been in an accident. They also say that the teens’ families have died, and while it seems they should all feel sad they aren’t because they can’t remember anything

  • The five are given their “identities” (which are actually fake)

  • The five go through counseling/rehabilitation at this house and they gradually “remember” their fake identities

  • The main girl begins have faint flashbacks of her real life

Comment: I have no idea where I was going with this. I feel like I remember getting this idea at Thanksgiving and isolating myself from my family reunion so I could write them down.

“poem draft” (last modified 9/10/15)

Watch me please, keep me in line

Hold me back most of the time

If I’m let loose who knows what I’ll find

In my compound complex web of a mind

 

I want to travel on a private jet

To make it rich, play in a string quartet

Help me remember what I often forget

That not all of my lofty goals can be met

 

I’m afraid to love because I’m afraid to lose

I’m afraid to find that I’m old news

Keep me safe from the wrenching blues

A wandering heart leaves a permanent bruise

Comment: Okay, now this one I genuinely don’t remember writing. That’s probably why it has no title and doesn’t make much sense. But hey, it is what it is!

Apr 5 2017

RCL 5: Ladies, You’re Going to Hollywood…Or Not

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The subject I have chosen to discuss for my advocacy project is the blatant gender inequality that is seen in Hollywood and the entertainment business. I wanted to write about this topic because my civic issues posts throughout the semester have been primarily about gaps between genders in terms of wages, opportunities, and even harassment. My focus for the advocacy project will be on these inequalities particularly in the entertainment industry because I have a personal connection to this topic as a woman that wants to be in an industry that is hard enough to be a part of in general, let alone as a female in a business dominated by males. I will be making a website that discusses all aspects of the issue, in addition to personal anecdotes from prominent figures who have experienced the inequality and potential ways to change these inequalities in the future.

I believe this is an important issue to discuss because although it is focusing on a glamorous industry that many don’t necessarily think of as having to face many issues that underprivileged people do, it highlights the fact that women of all statuses face forms of discrimination. In the entertainment business, this comes in the form of wage gaps, less opportunities/recognition (in 2015, only 7% of directors in the top 250 films were women), and sexual harassment or demeaning roles. My main purpose for this assignment will not necessarily be to advocate for individual action but rather to raise awareness of the issue in hopes that someday a lot of small action will lead to big change.

In this progressive age, a heightened focus on diminishing gender inequality has prompted many movements to encourage women to “chase their dreams” and “accomplish anything a man can accomplish.” And while I agree wholeheartedly with these attempts, women can’t chase their dreams if there aren’t opportunities to chase them. I am extremely motivated and have made it a priority for myself to push against this inequality and achieve what I set out to achieve in terms of my career goals. I want to incorporate this motivation and passion that I have into the persuasive strategies on my website. I think emotional appeals will be a strong asset to this particular advocacy project, because this is a kind of issue that will only be solved by the combined will of a lot of headstrong women forcing more representation, higher budgeting, equal pay, and action against harassment. I intend to include a lot of statistics that make the issue more concrete, along with (as I said previously) quotes from well-known Hollywood figures who have faced this inequality first-hand.

Mar 29 2017

RCL 4: American National CattleWomen

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I came across many strange organizations in my search for one to write about for this post, but I knew I hit the jackpot when I came across American National CattleWomen, inc. I mean, how could I not write about an organization that prides itself on being “a voice for women who share a passion for the beef community”? How could I not want to delve further into an organization with a main focus area being Beef Promotion? And when I saw that this picture was one of the member’s profile pictures, I was sold. I had found my calling in American National CattleWomen.

Let’s begin with the logical appeals that the website makes.

By donating to American National CattleWomen, you can become a “member” of the organization. The website says that “By joining ANCW, members become part of a professional networking group that keeps up to date on the issues related to the beef industry, which includes consumer education, promotion ideas and legislative items of interest.”

Now this might sound fine and good (even if it is about women who love beef), but a problem that I find with these logical appeals is that the website does not provide blatant results of the action. It says that one of the main focus areas is “legislative items of interest,” but it doesn’t specifically state what these items are or if any real action has been completed. Have the American National CattleWomen actually swayed governmental action? Have they achieved anything really important? I feel like the answers to these questions would be the most important things to include in a website trying to get donations from the public.

Something else that I have a problem with is the fact that one of the primary goals of the organization is to educate students about beef. There is an entire web page entitled “Beef Promotion and Education,” which talks about research conducted in 2014 which was done so in order to “understand opportunities and challenges for introducing a beef education program.” I’m sorry, what? I don’t want to offend anyone if they sincerely believe students in grades k-12 need beef education. But I personally feel like at these ages, school curriculum should be focused more on the arts, math, science, etc. If there are debates today about whether or not to focus on the arts as a part of k-12 education, then imagine what legislators would have to say about beef education.

Though persuasive fallacies are not glaringly obvious on the American National CattleWomen website, I was definitely able to find evidence of some. For example, on the “About” page, there is a small subsection called “Where We’ve Come From.” The first sentence in this section claims that “ANCW is an association with a tremendous history and successful record of positively promoting beef and the Beef industry.” I would argue that this is an inappropriate emotional appeal. This sentence makes it seem like the history of the organization is rich and prosperous, and I would expect that statement to be supported by some timeline of events showing the big moments in the history of ANCW. However, there is only one sentence that follows and says that cattlewomen organized in 1952 and have had “impact on consumers, politicians, and other cattle producers all over the United States since then.” Where are the facts? Where is the actual evidence??

I wish women beef-lovers nothing but the best. But don’t expect me to become a member of ANCW any time soon.

Mar 29 2017

PAS 8: A Journey Down Memory Lane

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Looking back at old writing is one of my favorite things to do. Sometimes I’ll look back on past work and actually be impressed with the writing that I did in high school or even as early as middle and elementary school. Middle school was probably my peak when it came to imagination; I remember having so many outlandish and fantastical ideas all at once that I had to write them down as soon as I got home so that I wouldn’t forget. But elementary school was my peak when it came to weird. I have this blue notebook at home with a cat on the cover, and it’s filled with the “songs” that I would write when I was a lot younger. I don’t have that notebook here with me at school and I can’t remember a lot of the songs off the top of my head, but I do remember one specifically called “women can do what men do too.” Some of the lyrics included commentary about how women can jump as high as men and brush their teeth the same way men can. Hey, I wasn’t wrong. And I’m proud that I was already advocating for women’s equality at the ripe age of 8.

Three of my other proudest works of writing came from elementary school – fourth and fifth grade specifically. My friend Emily and I took it upon ourselves to co-author three books, and they were called The Traveling Journal, Making the Best of Things, and The Airplane Book We spent so much time working on them (at recess, at lunch, during class when we should have been paying attention), and eventually we filled three whole composition notebooks with these stories. The Traveling Journal was about a notebook that was passed along to a bunch of different people who would write about themselves for a few pages and then put the book somewhere so that another person would find it and the cycle would continue. Emily and I loved taking on the different personas, drawing the characters out and adjusting our handwriting to make it seem like different people were writing in the notebook.

Making the Best of Things was about a group of four girls who were best friends and wanted to pass a journal among themselves keeping track of the big moments that were going on in their lives. Emily and I made this book a lot like a scrapbook, taping in greeting cards and magazine cutouts, covering pages with stickers and photographs, etc. I think I still have Making the Best of Things somewhere back at my house.

The Airplane Book was about a boy who was moving to another country and was embarking on an extremely long plane flight. But things kept happening, the plane kept getting delayed, and the journey that started out as long already became even longer. So this boy went around to everyone on the plane and got to know them and then wrote about each one of them in his notebook.

I really do miss elementary school sometimes and the fun that Emily and I would have writing these books. Everyone else in our grade loved reading them, and I remember feeling so cool when I had to make a schedule for people to borrow the books because they were in high demand. So that’s why looking back on old writing is one of my favorite things to do: not only does it show the creativity and mindset that I had when I was younger, but it reminds me of some of the best times I had with my friends and some of the best memories that I’ll ever make.

Mar 22 2017

RCL3: Gimme (A Puppy From A) Shelter

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People should adopt dogs from shelters rather than puppy mills or breeders.

This is a notably important issue because there are so many dogs in shelters across the country who have been abandoned and need loving homes and families. Many of these dogs will be euthanized if they are not adopted within a certain period of time. Adopting from puppy mills not only takes away adoption opportunities for dogs in shelters, but it also reinforces the inhumane treatment of the dogs that are used for reproduction. The parents of puppies from puppy mills rarely survive this treatment and for the time they are alive they are usually “in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, without adequate veterinary care, food, water, and socialization. Puppy mill dogs do not get to experience treats, toys, exercise, or basic grooming” (“A Closer Look at Puppy Mills”). Puppies from breeders and puppy mills also are often plagued with numerous health conditions because mill owners often do not remove sick dogs from their breeding pools.

I am extremely motivated to research and discuss this topic because I feel so strongly that adopting from shelters is best way to find a pet. This isn’t what I’ve been talking about for my civic issues posts, but I felt like I could write a very detailed, convincing, and passionate article about this topic. Dogs are too innocent and too pure for this world, and I hate thinking of the abandoned dogs in animal shelters who get passed over for those from breeders or puppy mills because owners want purebred dogs. I feel like there are many misconceptions when it comes to mills – such as people believing that the purebreds they adopt will be much healthier than a mutt in a shelter, but this is simply not the case. In a Rolling Stone article entitled “The Dog Factory: Inside the Sickening World of Puppy Mills,” a woman named Kristin Akin described her experience coming across a website that sold puppies and “purported to be a local and loving kennel that bred show dogs and kept high standards” (Solotaroff). But when she got her dog, she found that it was not the puppy the website had promised and it was plagued with health problems.

My completely mixed breed, completely cute rescue pup, Bandit.

I think a lot of people also believe that adopting a two or three year old dog rather than an eight week old puppy means that the dog won’t warm up to them as much as owners, but this is also not true. Adoption website petfinder.com says in an article called “Should You Adopt a Puppy or an Adult or Senior Dog?” that “If you are concerned that an older dog won’t bond to you, don’t be…working with your adopted dog to help her overcome any hurdles necessary to enjoy her new life can be an incredibly rewarding experience – and result in a long-term, loving relationship.” I can also say from experience that my dog, Bandit (who we adopted from an animal rescue) was not a puppy when we got him but shows us more love and affection than I ever thought was possible from a pet.

 

Main Research Questions:

  1. What are the main reasons people choose to adopt from breeders or mills rather than a shelter? Why are purebreds considered to be superior to mixed breed dogs?
  2. What laws have been put into place to regulate puppy mills, and what effects have these laws had?
  3. Are there humane ways to breed dogs? Why or why not?

 

Works Cited

“A Closer Look at Puppy Mills.” ASPCA. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 2017. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.     <http://www.aspca.org/animal-cruelty/puppy-mills/closer-look-puppy-mills>.

“Should You Adopt a Puppy or an Adult or Senior Dog?” Petfinder. Société Des Produits Nestlé S.A., 2017. Web. 22 Mar. 2017. <https://www.petfinder.com/pet-adoption/dog-adoption/puppies-vs-senior-dog-adoption/>.

Solotaroff, Paul. “The Dog Factory: Inside the Sickening World of Puppy Mills.” Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone, 03 Jan. 2017. Web. 22 Mar. 2017. <http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/the-dog-factory-inside-the-sickening-world-of-puppy-mills-w457673>.

Mar 22 2017

PAS 7: The Score is the Cherry on Top

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This passion post might stray a little away from my other posts, because it isn’t exactly about writing. But hear me out. I’ve said many times that my ultimate goal in life is to be a screenwriter, and every time I watch a good movie or an intense episode of a TV show, my motivation to achieve my dream career grows more and more. In a recent passion post in which I expressed my thankfulness for screenwriters, I talked about how shows like The Office, Shameless, and Game of Thrones would be nothing without a well-written script that allows for intricate plots and well-developed characters. That is absolutely true, but in this passion post I want to express my thankfulness for something else that plays a huge role in movies and TV shows: the music.

Now, I must admit, my inspiration for this passion post comes from the fact that I am almost done season 6 of Game of Thrones and I have become very emotionally invested. I said in my other post that the writing of the show is impeccable – and it is – but recently I have been paying special attention to the music. I watched the final scene of an episode yesterday night, and the combination of the content in the script and the dramatic background score sent chills through my entire body. In honor of these feels, I would like to give a little shout-out to some movie and TV scores that really enhance the script and add the cherry on top to create a truly unforgettable cinematic experience.

Inception and Interstellar – Hans Zimmer

Hans Zimmer is a BEAST. I think we can all admit that Christopher Nolan movies like Inception and Interstellar are unprecedented cinematic triumphs, but where would they be without the tunes that set the scene and increase the intrigue and drama. One of the most iconic movie songs is “Time” from Inception. If you haven’t heard it yet (I’d be shocked), listen to it NOW.

Harry Potter Series – John Williams

All it takes is hearing the first two or three seconds of this song to immediately think of Harry Potter. John Williams’ brilliantly composed score has become an integral part of the world-wide phenomenon that is Harry Potter, and every song on the soundtrack makes the wizarding world feel (and sound) that much more magical.

Up – Michael Giacchino

Never before have I come across a score that so brilliantly and accurately conveys the attitudes of both the movie viewers and the characters within the movie. And the song “Married Life” might be the only one I’ve ever heard that represents the entire lives of two characters, expressing both the happy moments and sad moments with changing instruments and tempos. It’s pure genius.

There are so many more examples to give, but the list would go on forever. I’m always on Spotify looking up movie scores because they motivate me so much to write. If the combination of an amazing script and an amazing score can produce such strong emotions in an audience, then I believe the film or show is doing its job. And I can’t wait to someday be a part of that process.

Mar 15 2017

PAS 6: Thanks, Spring Break

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I wrote a passion post in October entitled “Thanks, Random Lifeguard.”  If you don’t want to scroll back to read it, I’ll just tell you that it was about how one day on the beach this summer, I was struck with a random burst of inspiration. At the sight of one random lifeguard, a short story idea popped into my head. I described in the post my idea for the story (which at that point I hadn’t started), and expressed that it was a really rough outline and there were still a lot of details to be filled in. Well, this passion post is entitled “Thanks, Spring Break,” because my week at home gave me the free time to plan out the rest of the story and actually write it! I was surprised with myself – in college, all of my minimal free time is usually devoted to Netflix. So the fact that I was actually able to spend a few days finishing a draft of my short story made me believe there is still some hope of breaking out of my lazy college-student writing slump.

Here is a short excerpt from the story, which I decided to call “Mary Elizabeth.” If you are at all interested in reading the rest of the story, I’ve attached a PDF version of it below. But keep two things in mind while reading: 1.) When I say it’s a rough draft, I mean it’s a rough draft. 2.) I guess I have to give a disclaimer since this is a class blog that there is profanity in the story – nothing too bad, but viewer discretion is advised.

Mary Elizabeth

The radio was playing but Claire couldn’t hear it.

Her mom had looked at her for a long time before starting the car. Claire knew she was looking for any kind of emotion to cross Claire’s face, any kind of sadness or shock or fear or anger. But instead of feeling more, Claire seemed to have lost feeling altogether. No matter how hard she searched inside herself for some kind of reaction, she couldn’t find one. It was as if her body had closed up shop, lights turned off, blinds pulled shut, a sign plastered on the door stating to come back later.

So her mom had turned on Claire’s favorite station, but adjusted the volume down to 5 – usually the music would be just barely audible, but Claire’s ears weren’t really working right either. The car bumped along the dirt path and neither of its occupants looked out the window. They both knew they would see enough people crying in the coming days, weeks, months. They didn’t want to face that reality just yet.

As they turned onto the paved road, they passed two young girls riding their bikes. Claire watched them through the back window as they receded into the distance, her cheeks warming with anger. How could they act so normal? How could they laugh and enjoy the summer air when everything was so wrong? At times like this, Claire thought, the world should just stop. The earth should just stop turning and everyone should be frozen in time until her brain starts working normally again and feeling returns to her limbs.

But the earth continued turning, the girls continued biking, and still Claire’s head felt empty and her body felt numb.

“Honey, please talk to me,” her mother said, the first sound breaking through the barrier. Still Claire couldn’t find the words to respond. “There was nothing you could have done.”

And all of a sudden everything crashed into Claire. The dread lodged itself in her throat, and the shock shot through her veins. She felt helpless with every breath she took but the most prominent feeling – the regret – found its home in her heart and reminded Claire of its presence with a weight so profound it felt as if she were lying down with cinderblocks on her chest.

She couldn’t hear the radio but she could hear the screams piercing in her memory. It was just hours ago that Claire had been on her way home from her part-time job at the local swimming pool. She usually took the long way, the safer way by the main road, but she had an essay to write and needed all the time she could get. The short-cut through the woods would save her ten minutes.

PDF:

short story claire pdf-1qlvpnw

Mar 15 2017

CI4: A Sketch for the Women

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Earlier this afternoon, I was in my natural habitat – lying on my bed, eating my sushi, and binge-watching Saturday Night Live clips on YouTube. I hadn’t yet thought about what I would write for my next Civic Issues blog post, but then I happened across an SNL sketch that perfectly fit into my topic of women’s rights and equality. Here is the link:

Like it says, the sketch is called “A Sketch for the Women,” and it begins with Scarlett Johansson and Aidy Bryant saying that because they participated in A Day Without A Woman, they did not come into work and therefore were unable to write any sketches for the show on Saturday. They say, however, that Kyle Mooney and Beck Bennett wrote a sketch for them, which is what the audience then proceeds to see. The sketch is a satire of men trying to understand and sympathize with the plight of women – Kyle and Beck are the only ones speaking throughout the video, and though they talk about how horrible and sexist the issues are that women have to concern themselves with, they never once ask the opinions or experiences of the women who are actually present.

Before I say my own thoughts, here is a little background information on International Women’s Day and the “A Day Without a Woman” movement which occurred on Wednesday, March 8th. The Women’s March on Washington website explained that “on [this day], women and our allies will act together for equity, justice, and the human rights of women and all gender-oppressed people, through a one-day demonstration of economic solidarity.” (https://www.womensmarch.com/womensday/). The site also explains that anyone could get involved in one or all of the following ways:

  1. Women take the day off, from paid and unpaid labor
  2. Avoid shopping for one day (with exceptions for small, women- and minority-owned businesses
  3. Wear red in solidarity with A Day Without A Woman

 

I think that both this day and the resulting sketch from SNL are both very important in what has so far been a slow and grueling process of achieving full social and economic equality for women. One of the first steps toward taking real action and making a difference is spreading awareness about the issue at hand. The Women’s Marches that occurred all throughout the nation earlier this year set into motion a 2017 full of people acting on their beliefs and standing in solidarity with others who have common values. It showed both Americans and people around the world that there are millions of individuals uniting for a common cause: respect, equality, and opportunity for women. President Trump’s concerning track record of making lewd comments toward women and not prioritizing action when action is necessary in terms of economic equality across genders made many lose hope for achieving full equality for women in the future. As a result, many chose to show their solidarity in the form of marches and in turn spread awareness and show that so many are calling for change.

A Day Without a Woman is another example of this spreading of awareness, and garnering support from across the country for those who “believe in gender justice,” as the Women’s March website states. The site sums up my chosen civic issue better than I ever could, saying that we must “recognize the enormous value that women of all backgrounds add to our socio-economic system — while receiving lower wages, and experiencing greater inequities, vulnerability to discrimination, sexual harassment, and job security.”

And now for the SNL sketch. What makes Saturday Night Live so great is it’s ability to take sensitive issues such as this, and turn them into commentaries that are funny because of how relevant they are. The satire gives the audience the humor that they are looking for, while also making them think about the importance of the message. In this particular sketch, Scarlett and Aidy’s only lines are to express their thankfulness that these two men are recognizing all the problems that women have to face. On the surface, the dialogue makes it seem like Kyle and Beck really care about women’s oppression and inequality, but they aren’t practicing what they are preaching by silencing the voices of the women around them and only allowing the women to talk when it means praising the men. The irony is so obvious and entertaining, and that is why this sketch is so important. People will watch it looking for a laugh but come away with the realization that the underlying message is so relevant. Just talking about women’s inequality is not going to cause any change. Talking is the start, but now real action needs to be taken.