Feminist Rating On Movies?

Image from http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02725/potter_2725991b.jpg

This might be an old news for some of you. I think this rating was introduced in Sweden somewhere in the month of November last year. This new rating for movies based on the level of gender bias was introduced in the cinemas as an effort to encourage more female characters and stories emphasizing women. 

The rating is carried out using the Bechdel test and for a movie to get an "A" rating, it should have at least two women characters talking to each other about any topics or issues other than men. I have read a few articles on feminist rating to get a clearer idea on how this rating system is being implemented and I only manage to get one clue and that is for the movie to get an "A" rating, it must have at least two named female characters who talk to each other about something other than a man.

Taking this new rating system into consideration, many box office movies fail this test and that's including the Harry Porter films. If you have a look at the comments on articles on this news, you will be able to see many, MANY men who disagree with this rating system as they feel that this is just another bullshit from the feminism movement, thus calling feminists feminazis! 

I think the purpose of this system is good but the mechanism to implement it has flaws. It has a very vague guideline and will not assure the elimination of sexual violence at any cost simply by ensuring movies having more than two female characters discussing about anything other than men. The aim of this new rating system is simply to promote gender equality among the society and I believe it has to start from the media which is a great influence on people. I do agree that movies traditionally do not emphasize on female roles and if you look at movies from the East or Bollywood productions, female characters are not given importance most of the time. Although there are some very good movies based on women, they do not get to be in the spotlight. 

The main issue about our movies and the media is that the film and advertising industries have been bias and the public has been getting wrong perceptions about gender equality all these while! Take a look at this advertisement below. 

I applaud the effort taken by Sweden to handle the way media portrays women in the eye of public. But, it could have revised the way the system works to ensure better results without compromising the quality of movies being produced. I hope it doesn't kill good movies with unnecessary bad ratings.

While reading some comments from readers about Sweden, I got to know that men are not allowed pee while standing in Sweden's country council's public restrooms. I guess we should always look at the bigger picture. As long as they know how to aim, it doesn't matter how they pee. What do you say?

I welcome your thoughts and views ! :D Thank you for your feedback

This Attack On Non-Fiction Book Is Maddening!!!

I received an e-mail a few days ago notifying me that I've received a comment for my Goodreads book review. I clicked on the link to see who has responded to my review for "Heroin of the Desert" by Donya Al-Nahi.

This was an old book I bought nearly 5 years ago. I gave this book a 4 star. It's about a woman who help saves kids and reunite them with their mothers. Donya helps non-Arabic mothers who are separated from their husbands after divorce in getting back their kids.

It is a common scenario in the Middle East where the children are being separated from their mothers (especially from Western ladies who got married to Middle Eastern men). I have read a similar story from Carmen Bin Laden who was married to one of the men from Bin Laden's family and struggled very hard to get her two daughters back.

Getting back to the comment I received, I saw someone leaving negative review about the book and urging everyone single person who reviewed the book to read the news that appeared in this link. I tried to check the person's profile page and it appeared to be that he or she has never reviewed any other books before this.

When someone questioned the credibility of the news, this person started arguing. I noticed that this profile doesn't exist on Goodreads today too.

Henry Hoel oh so you kno donya personally I'm guessing. is that right? so you would kno about all the poor mothers she ripped off right? click the links. all the mothers are there with their stores on how donya al nahi ripped them off! lied to them and stole their money !!

Being an avid Middle East story fan, I could relate to this kind of attack on books where the author reveals stories about people being mistreated. My favourite writer in this genre is Jean Sasson and you can read about how her books are being greatly boycotted by anonymous people all over the world.

A quote from Jean Sasson from her website.

For anyone who is considering writing a book, you might want to read my personal account of what it is like to be stalked, and, for that stalker to find attorneys willing to file a frivolous lawsuit. -- Jean

It is pretty intimidating to write and expose crimes but I guess that's what makes life worth living! Living for a cause.

 I welcome your thoughts and views ! :D Thank you for your feedback

#freebleeding ?

I'm not sure how many of you have heard of this new trend of using hashtags with #freebleeding on Twitter and other social media but when I first heard of it, I thought it was so disgusting and probably modern-day feminism has gone wild and insensible.

Researching a little bit more about this new hoax, apparently in February 2014, free bleeding was promoted by members of 4chan as a prank to convince women that feminine hygiene products were a form of patriarchal oppression.

Women get a little bit emotional when it comes to any news about oppression against women. I think that's the reason behind women tweeting and making #freebleeding so popular in February 2014. Look at these tweets on Twitter for yourselves. 

Simply reading the comments below on this article, I can see the 'concern' some women have about mensus and free-bleeding. If you are a man and reading this post, do you feel 'uncomfortable' when you partner is having mensus? Does it even feel disgusting? What about women being 'untouchable' during mensus? While some women prefer not having sex when they are bleeding, the society, from earlier days has made things worse for women by painting a negative image about menstruation. 

The use of sanitary pads is definitely to help woman stay clean. Walking around with menstruation blood flowing all around your house and the public places is just not a wise act. The real challenge lies in educating the society to accept the way a female body functions. 

The real challenge lies in teaching your kids about quality and respecting both sexes. How do you go about dealing with sexual education with kids? 

 I welcome your thoughts and views ! :D Thank you for your feedback

New Year! New Hope ?

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to everyone who reads my blog! I'm back again for the year 2014 ! Sorry for not being around lately as it was holiday season and I chose to spend time with family. My new job has been keeping me occupied too. +Katie Cross I miss you too!! I have some plans for my blog this year.

Before that, what's your New Year resolution? I have been ranting about how the previous years were monstrous and demeaning in every way to my friends BUT 2013 was AWESOME! I still feel I'm living in the previous year, reluctant to move on. To me, New Year's day is just another. Your life should stay as awesome as it was in the previous years.

I have decided to bring the positive vibes from my previous year into 2014 so I do not really feel that it is a "New Year". It's just another day and another week. I had a fantastic 2013 and I have decided to continue the new adventures I got involved with. I intend to have better career opportunities, meeting new people, exploring new places, doing more crazy yet fun activities, creating a stronger impact via my blog "Thoughts and Views That Matter".

Oh yeah, furthering studies is not a bad idea after all. So, let's see what 2014 will offer me... or may be let's see what I will grab from the opportunities in the 2014. Let's pledge to live life to the fullest, every single day and you will make the most out of life!

Stay happy, stay motivated, unveil the power of positive mind and you are bound to achieve what your mind can conceive.


 I welcome your thoughts and views ! :D Thank you for your feedback

Paint My Private Part Pink

My New Pink Button

I would like to thank Amy Mah Vampire from Glipho for her post regarding this earlier. 

So, we had dyes for hair, lipsticks to enhance the ladies' lips, tattoos to decorate our skin, fake eyelashes, plastic surgeries, and the list goes on! The human race has invented magnificent stuff since the beginning of time. Some were really beneficial like the planes, bulb and fax machines. In this effort, we also tried reinventing the human race by discarding originality. 

My New Pink Button is a new cosmetic product for ladies who are disturbed with their labia losing its pink colour over time and makes it to look pale and not pink anymore. When I was reading an article related to this new product, I got to know that people from Asia used to bleach their private part as the ladies there have darker groin. 

I'm sure some of you are wondering what colour is your private part right now and you may even want to check it out right now! But seriously, even if it is not pink or red or whatever colour your labia comes when you were born, does it REALLY matter? 

I can't still get it why they don't have similar products to keep penis pink and enhance its colour. The one who invented this product is a lady who was disturbed by the fact that her labia lost the pink colour. She then started to look for a solution and found out that many other women are seeking a similar solution. She came up with this product as a solution to the issue. 

What baffles me is the fact that women think ill of themselves too often and they continue believing myths about staying young and youthful all the time. Women seem to be contributing towards the way this society is treating them because they carve the path for it eventually by allowing people to judge them solely based on their appearance. 

What about growing old gracefully? If men are sensible, they will know that both men and women grow old. When aging takes place, we all lose our beauty and youthful look. Living a fake life doesn't just end there. When someone seeks a fake physical appearance, it will not take long before they adopt fake personalities. 

Gaining happiness with products that satisfies us is a good thing but it shouldn't be done by faking our body and perception. After all, if you truly think your partner loves your heart more than the way you look, the colour of your labia shouldn't be an issue here.


 I welcome your thoughts and views ! :D Thank you for your feedback

Personal Time Off

When was the last time you took rest? not on the road but hey, it isn't a bad idea!

I have to admit that I haven't been taking enough personal time off! I always wanted to have a good time out, perhaps for a movie or shopping or may just even sometime watching the movies I have on my hard disk. But, I have never really taken enough time to rest and do things I love!

I have been occupied with a lot of activities lately and ever since I moved to a new place, I needed sometime to adjust myself to the changes and I;m doing perfectly fine now. But, I have been working hard to plan what should come next. That alone takes most of my time. Whenever, I decide to just PAUSE and relax, my inner voice would tell me that I could make use of that time to just do something beneficial. This voice can be very irritating as it makes me feel guilty whenever I choose to just REST.

Have you seen someone ''listening'' to television or movies? That's what I do. While my mom watches movie, I would be listening to the story, not really watching as something else would have been occupying me. In fact, I got this habit from my family as we don't really watch something the proper way, as in sitting in front of the TV, on a comfy chair with NO telecommunication tools (of course I'm referring to those mobile phones and tablets).

I have decided to start having a personal time off from this week onward! I think Saturdays should be my off days! I wouldn't want to WORK on that day or stress myself about planning what's next for the coming week. I just want to have the time for myself!

When is your personal time off? Are you resting enough or are you just feeling as guilty as me when you decide to have a break?


 I welcome your thoughts and views ! :D Thank you for your feedback

Reality Check: Plan Vs Reality

Plan vs Reality

Well, I thought I was smart and I thought I could handle a shift in my momentum of life. I thought I have planned everything wisely that would ease my shift to the new place. I did take into account various situations and the worst case that could happen too. But I guess adjustment in life is a continuous process and should never end.

I needed to cope with a lot of changes around me. From being independent to determining the next steps in life, everything has to be done appropriately. But little did I know that my plans could fail. Sometimes no matter how much you plan something, it simply doesn't work. I have realised that the more you try to take control of life, the more pressure you endure. That hurts at the end of the day. I stopped looking at what never happened. I am now looking at how to make the most of what comes my way and life is becoming easier that way.

If you are at a point in life where you feel everything is going against your plan, try looking at the brighter side. Look at the good stuff that is happening right now and take that to your advantage. I used to be really bad when it comes to coping up with changes in life. I get very comfortable with a routine life and I cannot adjust too fast with an environment that is not conducive.

Life away from home thought me about adjustments. Shifting from my comfort zone made me who I am today. I think while we are planning something ahead, we should definitely keep option B,C,D and so on just in case plan A doesn't work, at least you can shift to the next step quickly. Life is good right now and I think I can handle any hurdles that come my way.

What about you? How good are you with changes? How do you handle that?

 I welcome your thoughts and views ! :D Thank you for your feedback