Two Infuriating Words
In my life, work is irregular. There will be these dry spells where I'm literally lying on the floor next to Edward, just waiting for a phone call or an email announcing a new job. And then there will be the weeks where everybody contacts me at once, everyone needing my special brand of magic. Okay, that makes me sound like a prostitute. I'm not a prostitute. I certainly make a lot less than one.
Right now, I'm going through a rainy season of work--lots of it, pouring down in sheets, everyone needing my time "right this second." So not a lot of time to blog, and yet I just have to say one thing: I suddenly realized today that I HATE the words "chick flick." I was walking Edward, thinking about this, and I actually started getting angry.
I hope you don't think I'm being an overreactionist. I'll have you know that I happen to be the subdued one in a family of drama queen, king, and princes. I'm a fairly easy-going type, but...chick flicks--aaaaaargh!
What's a chick flick (let's just shorten it to "CF" from now on, since I don't want to be known as someone who expansively strews this word around her blog)? It seems to me that a movie flirts dangerously with being labeled a CF if it contains any of the following:
-conversation (as opposed to dialogue, which doesn't have to include feelings or personal thoughts)
-friendship
-romance
First of all, what is so wrong about any of the above three elements? I ask this because nobody says "CF" in a approving manner. It is almost always used as a cautionary device or as a term of derision and condescension.
Second, since the "chick" in CF immediately absolves men from having any part in this vaguely generalized medium, one has to wonder: why do people who use the words CF feel they have to shame others who might find pleasure in conversation, friendship, and romance?
I think the party that suffers the most here from this labeling is not women but men. This strikes me as rather similar to the case of happy housewives who are made to feel ashamed by successful working women. No one should be pigeonholed. So why shouldn't men be allowed to openly enjoy:
-a good cry;
-the simple pleasure they might derive from the company and conversation of other men (without feeling the need to camouflage the time together with something distracting, like sports or television);
-a feel-good romantic story;
-an exploration of their own, as well as others', feelings?
I don't want to be hypocritical and force everyone to acknowledge that life without the above list would be less full. But if you do enjoy such things, you shouldn't be made to feel silly either.
Right now, I'm going through a rainy season of work--lots of it, pouring down in sheets, everyone needing my time "right this second." So not a lot of time to blog, and yet I just have to say one thing: I suddenly realized today that I HATE the words "chick flick." I was walking Edward, thinking about this, and I actually started getting angry.
I hope you don't think I'm being an overreactionist. I'll have you know that I happen to be the subdued one in a family of drama queen, king, and princes. I'm a fairly easy-going type, but...chick flicks--aaaaaargh!
What's a chick flick (let's just shorten it to "CF" from now on, since I don't want to be known as someone who expansively strews this word around her blog)? It seems to me that a movie flirts dangerously with being labeled a CF if it contains any of the following:
-conversation (as opposed to dialogue, which doesn't have to include feelings or personal thoughts)
-friendship
-romance
First of all, what is so wrong about any of the above three elements? I ask this because nobody says "CF" in a approving manner. It is almost always used as a cautionary device or as a term of derision and condescension.
Second, since the "chick" in CF immediately absolves men from having any part in this vaguely generalized medium, one has to wonder: why do people who use the words CF feel they have to shame others who might find pleasure in conversation, friendship, and romance?
I think the party that suffers the most here from this labeling is not women but men. This strikes me as rather similar to the case of happy housewives who are made to feel ashamed by successful working women. No one should be pigeonholed. So why shouldn't men be allowed to openly enjoy:
-a good cry;
-the simple pleasure they might derive from the company and conversation of other men (without feeling the need to camouflage the time together with something distracting, like sports or television);
-a feel-good romantic story;
-an exploration of their own, as well as others', feelings?
I don't want to be hypocritical and force everyone to acknowledge that life without the above list would be less full. But if you do enjoy such things, you shouldn't be made to feel silly either.
11 Comments:
Danny enjoys CF and isn't afraid to say it. I generally don't enjoy CF - SF is more my thang. We think this may have something to do with the fact that Danny enjoys shopping and I don't.
- Hsin
Really? I never thought of Danny as a metrosexual.
Anyway, I think the CF is invented by men who feel insecure, like watching a CF will actually reduce their so-called manliness.
- Lynn
I love CFs!!! I love dialogue and feelings and friendship and interpersonal dynamics and films with plots and dynamic characters! And I don't mind a little smoochy-smoochy or a happy ending once in a while. Let's reclaim the CF phrase. Or create a new one. But it would have to rhyme. :-)
Rachel, what is this mysterious work of yours? Do spill.
- Jessica
By the way, I *love* your photography.
- Jessica
Well, I'm glad you girls like CF, but I guess Jessica is right and this means we should come up with a better name because "CF" is no better than what it stands for.
Jessica, a little smoochy in a film is all right by me as well. I don't know about my photography though, but thanks for the compliment! As for my work, it's really no big secret but just mundane stuff that I don't think anybody'd get too excited hearing about.
- Rachel
How to pique Jessica's curiosity:
1. Compare your work to prostitution, even as a negative example.
2. Label it "special magic."
3. Avoid answering direct questions with self-deprecating moues.
:-)
- Jessica
Oh, no, me and my stupid "special brand of magic" comment.
Jessica, I promise to assuage your curiosity, of course. But first, children, gather round. Auntie Rachel has something she needs to tell you all (I swear I should write this as a disclaimer and put it in a prominent place on my front page): contrary to my having a blog, there is nothing remotely arresting or singular about my life. Nothing. You needn't ever wonder about me.
Anyhow, for a woman with lousy Japanese skills--no, make that a woman without any skills or useful qualifications--living in Japan, options are decidedly limited. What do I do here? Pretty much a string of part-time jobs. At the moment, I am: (a) a freelance editor; (b) a transcriptionist ; (c) one of a countless number in a catering staff. I do the first because I like editing, the second because it makes the best money and I'm a fast typer, and the third because I like to be around food.
As you can see, I'm not exactly passionate about any of my jobs. I could lose one and it probably wouldn't break my heart. I could actually earn a decent salary and teach English, but I honestly don't have the energy--I know cause I've tried. I think to be a teacher, you need a huge store of dedication and enthusiasm, or else you'll do a half-hearted job, and that's not fair to your students.
One last thing, just because I'm an editor doesn't mean my own text is flawless. Would a surgeon operate on her own body even if it were a procedure that only required a local anesthetic? Okay, maybe that's not the best analogy, but the point is that I'll probably make grammatical mistakes and have typos in my blog, and I won't apologize for them.
End of story.
- Rachel
Dear Rachel,
Thanks. And I beg to disagree: your life is interesting! Or more to the point: your musings about life, and your amusing tales of food gone wrong (and right) are interesting! And in my opinion, your living in Japan is interesting, full of tastes and textures and challenges and customs and knowledge that just aren't to be found back home, wherever that is for any of us. Yes, you are interesting! Hence all this blog traffic. Sheesh. :-)
- Jessica
Dear Rachel,
Thanks. And I beg to disagree: your life is interesting! Or more to the point: your musings about life, and your amusing tales of food gone wrong (and right) are interesting! And in my opinion, your living in Japan is interesting, full of tastes and textures and challenges and customs and knowledge that just aren't to be found back home, wherever that is for any of us. Yes, you are interesting! Hence all this blog traffic. Sheesh. :-)
- Jessica
Dear Rachel,
I agree with Jessica, you have an interesting life. I would love the opportunity to live in Japan for awhile. ( except my sheepie would probably break a lot of doors and windows AND slurp at every soba stall and get us deported from japan)
I'm glad you hate that word chick flick.. me too. Usually its uttered by my unmarried friends who for whatever reason has no interest in a movie decide to call it chick flick to avoid giving real reasons why.
- keona
Hi Jessica and Keona,
I won't be annoying and do the "No, no," schpiel. I'd thank you for thinking I'm interesting, but somehow that sounds really pathetic. Oh, well, thanks!
I know what you mean about people using the words "chick flick" as an excuse, Keona. As if no further explanation were needed. How rude.
- Rachel