Limitless

I know I'm behind with my movie-watching, but I just watched "Limitless" for the first time. It's about a man who takes a pill every day, and he's suddenly able to do anything he wants to do and be anything he wants to be. After taking a pill, the main character in the movie says, "A tablet a day and what I could do with my day was limitless." Hmmmm...these magic pills sound a little bit like birth control pills to me. You just take one pill every day and you have complete control over your life.

A certain Republican primary candidate, who shall remain nameless (SANTORUM), is opposed to birth control. In October, Rick Santorum told caffeinatedthoughts.com, “One of the things I will talk about, that no president has talked about before, is, I think, the dangers of contraception in this country. . . . Many of the Christian faith have said, well, that’s okay, contraception is okay. It’s not okay. It’s a license to do things in a sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be.” It's rather terrifying that Santorum almost won the Iowa Caucuses. We can't let anyone take away women's Limitless pills!

That Feminist Stuff

I'm a huge fan of the Chelsea Lately show. My husband and I watch almost every episode. There was a news story mentioned in a recent episode reporting that there are more roles in Hollywood movies for men than for women. Apparently, 68% of speaking roles go to men, and only 32% go to women. In response to this story, Heather McDonald said, "That feminist stuff doesn't bother me anymore because I have two sons, and I know they'll take me to red carpet events when they're famous one day." Not cool, Heather. I know she was kidding, but that’s the kind of attitude that sets us back. If you want to accomplish something, go out there and do it, girl!

The Boyfriend Pillow

I just heard about this new product called the boyfriend pillow. Apparently, it's supposed to make lonely women feel loved. I just have one thing to say about that: A woman needs a boyfriend pillow like a fish needs a bicycle!

The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women

I just rented "The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women" from Netflix. I was under the impression that it was a documentary praising the feminist movement. It turns out that it's an anti-feminist documentary by Christian women who claim that feminists have ruined the lives of all women by working outside the home. Lesson learned: from now on, I’ll make sure to read the movie descriptions before ordering movies on Netflix! Here is the review I wrote on the Netflix website:

"I'm watching this documentary right now. I'm laughing while I'm writing this review. I didn’t read the title when I added it to my queue – I was just searching for movies with the word “feminism” in the description. I have respect for ALL women, and it’s a shame that the women in this documentary feel guilty about their choice to not work outside the home. Are they upset because they have a choice about how to live their lives? I'm a feminist, and I have so much respect for homemakers, but I love having a career. Obviously, I disagree with the content, but I'm very proud of the narrator for making this film. I'll bet she felt good "bringing home the bacon" with this documentary!"

Here are a few delightful messages conveyed in this documentary:

"Bosses are not supposed to rule over women. Husbands are supposed to rule over women."

"God created men for leadership. Women ruling is a curse."

"Feminism forces equality even when it's unnatural."

"Feminists agitated the workplace."

"Death is an outcome of feminism." (in reference to abortion)

"Feminists wake up with a chip on their shoulder."

Lovely! I hate to say this, but most of the women interviewed in this film seemed a little slow. I suppose their husbands don’t mind. The women in the documentary seemed brain-washed. It’s a little scary that there are still women who think that women are inferior to men.

Woman of the Week - Kristen Wiig

Every Wednesday I will post a "Woman of the Week" and write about why I admire that woman. This week, I chose Kristen Wiig. She is one of the funniest people on television, and, in my opinion, the funniest person on SNL right now. I love that she's not afraid to be goofy. Her Gilly skits on SNL are hilarious, and she makes even the most bizarre skits seem funny.

I recently came across an article on www.askmen.com entitled "Why Women Aren't Funny". The author claims that “women aren’t conditioned to be funny. It’s not a perception in our society that women need to have the funny gene because it’s not as important to them as it is for men." Now that women like Kristen Wiig are becoming more popular, let's hope that this whole "women just aren't funny" myth will fade away.

Here's a list of comedians for people who think women aren't funny: Chelsea Handler, Tina Fey, Carol Burnett, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jen Lancaster, Amy Poehler, Betty White, Sarah Silverman, Leslie Mann, Christina Applegate, Whoopi Goldberg, Rachel Dratch, Margaret Cho, Lily Tomlin, Ellen Degeneres, Lisa Lampanelli, Wanda Sykes, Jane Lynch, Mo'Nique, Amy Sedaris, Teri Garr, Maya Rudolph, and Kathy Griffin.

NOT FOR WOMEN

I just broke the rules. I bought a bottle of Dr. Pepper Ten, even though the commercials clearly state that it's not for women. I tried this new "man soda", and it's delicious. So I've decided it IS for women and Dr. Pepper is wrong!! Or maybe they're evil geniuses because I wouldn't have bought Dr. Pepper Ten if they hadn't specifically said that it's only for men. Anyway, I like it, and I'm saying that it IS for women.

Superheroines

I find it interesting that the word "superhero" is in the dictionary, but "superheroine" is nowhere to be found. Even though it's not considered a word, I'm going to talk about superheroines here. I started to think about superheroines yesterday when I went to see the new Mission Impossible movie. One of the main agents is a woman, and she is just as strong as the male agents, maybe stronger. Even though she is just as tough, throughout the movie she is dressed in tight-fitting little outfits. Near the end of the movie she attends a party in a skin-tight dress with her breasts hanging out. Her mission, should she choose to accept it, was to seduce a man who had information on how to abort a nuclear launch. So the female agent had to let a nasty man grope her to complete her mission. I can't remember any movies where Tom Cruise had to seduce anyone in order to save the world.

We have come a long way since women were only cast as "damsels in distress", but it's unfortunate that leading ladies are still sexualized in the media. Even Wonder Woman wore a tight leotard. Catwoman had a body suit. I can't think of any superheroines that wear regular clothes. Why can't these female lead characters just look normal? They're saving the world from danger, and they still have to look like sex objects. Sometime during this decade, I'd like to see a superheroine wear a regular outfit while she saves the world.