Goofy Bees

A logo I did for my graphic design class. The idea was given to me by my friend, Holly.

Toys for "Boys"

When I was little, I was a mega tomboy and am still to this day. I played with toy cars more than I played with Barbies (yes I played with Barbies). I watched superhero cartoons like The Justice League or The Fantastic Four. I played with Legos (not the girly sets, I'm talking Alpha Team). Overall I played with "boy's" toys. I had my fair share of dolls and stuffed animals as well, but when asked for new toys, I wanted remote control cars, action figures, swords, light sabers, etc.

I don't really get the difference between "boy" and "girl" toys. Sure pink and dolls are associated with beings a girl, but in kindergarten I had a guy friend who's favorite color was pink, another who played with Barbies, and even one that wanted to be a girl. Don't get me wrong. I'm all for little girls that want to be princesses, but why can't they also want to be knights, or superheroes? Why is a little boy weird because he likes the color pink, but a little girl can like blue without question? Few things drive me crazier than when my cute younger cousins, insist that my blanket with purple and green stripes has to go on top of my Spider-man bedspread because "we're girls."

Why is it a weird concept that a girl can like comic books, video games, and action movies? Why is it even stranger if a boy likes musicals and romantic comedies? Christ people! It doesn't mean anything, just because your little boy likes dolls or your little girl likes action figures!

Brainwashed Part II

The values of the world around us change constantly. While the moral, “Be a good person,” stays the same, what it means to be a good person changes over time. The only other moral that remains a constant throughout all the changes in society is that of true love. In most every children’s movie the good guy wins and love prevails (with the exception of the 1980’s The Last Unicorn). No one is willing to teach children that the good guys don’t always win and love doesn’t always work out. By watching television and movies a child can learn all sorts of things about what is acceptable. How does a person learn to be a good person? They learn it from what they are told as well as the world around them.

The 1950’s was an era of being perfect. The children were supposed to be helpful, families didn’t fight, and women were perfect. Even though TV was just getting started back in the nineteen fifties a lot of values can be found in the shows of that period. The children of the fifties grew up with shows like Lassie, Flash Gordon, or The Lone Ranger. They went to go see movies such as Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Lady and the Tramp (movies still commonly watched today). From these movies and shows kids learned all sorts of things. Kids who grew up watching Lassie learned that they should work hard and help out (maybe even warn someone if Jimmy falls down a well). From Lady and the Tramp despite learning that Siamese cats are evil, children learn that even the people on the fringes of society aren’t necessarily that bad, and that a person can change. From Sleeping Beauty and Snow White the girls learned that their prince will come to their rescue, while at the same time boys learned that they should go to their princess’s rescue.

The teenagers of today grew up with slightly less innocent shows. On television they watched Hey Arnold, Pokémon (the original), and Rugrats. In the theater and on VHS they watched The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. From Hey Arnold they learned that the girl who hates them probably has a hidden shrine of them in her closet. By watching Rugrats we learned the spirit of adventure and that it doesn’t have to be far from home. From almost any Disney film they watched they learned about love. They learned that you shouldn’t judge someone based on their looks from Beauty and the Beast, while at the very same time learning that all young women are beautiful (even if they just got attacked by a pack of wolves). It’s also learned that girls shouldn’t like someone just because all the other perfectly attractive girls in the town (all with blond hair) are going crazy over his biceps. With Aladdin they learned that even a “street rat” can find love, as well as learning from Jasmine that girls shouldn’t just marry the first guy that comes along and asks. From The Little Mermaid they learned that they should always follow their hearts and even when things take a turn for the worst it will all work out. And at the same time it is unintentionally taught that it’s okay to defy their parents in situations of love.

The tiny children of today have very little black and white in their media. They watch films such as Tangled and Megamind. By watching Tangled, children learn that the good guys always win, anyone can find love, and the looks don’t determine the person. The scene in the Snuggly Duckling shows that even the most terrifying looking people can overall be good. This generation of Disney movies is one where the villains don’t always look creepy. With the witch, children see that with a little help a main villain can looks just like any other person. In Megamind the “villain” turns out to be the hero and the “hero” he created turned out to be the villain. That creepy guy holding an axe might just be cutting wood. Same goes for the guy with the chainsaw. That sweet old lady that gives you money for mowing her lawn might actually be plotting to take over the world. The children’s movies of today are all about not judging and realizing that not everything is as it seems.

The older the children’s movie is the less shades of gray there are. In an old film such as the Wizard of Oz the bad guy is clearly defined with the characteristics of hideous green skin, a terrifying laugh and a black robe; while the good guys are defined with light clothing, beauty, and even a magic bubble. As you get closer to the present, the shades of grey increase, in the opening scene of Aladdin, the main character is being chased by the palace guards, but the villain still has a creepy look about him and even a laugh that shows his villainous nature. Get even closer to the present and films such as Despicable Me, where the main character is a villain out to steal the moon. The witch in Tangled only looks creepy when she’s old and even then she doesn’t look and creepier than an average old person. All of sudden villains don’t look like something that crawled out of swamp. They look like normal people or even if they have blue skin (Megamind) they turn out to be a good guy, while the actual hero decided that he wasn’t going to be one anymore because it got boring. No more are the villains required to be creepy looking and the heroes gorgeous.

The overall idea of a moral stays the same, but what makes that moral might change. The ideas true love and being a good person will always be there, but what it means to be a good person and what true love is change constantly. Without a doubt half the ideas a person has about love and morals come from the shows they watched as a small child.

Brainwashed

No matter who you are or what you do at some point in your life you were brainwashed.You are taught how to properly act and react to almost any given situation. You aren't born with a full knowledge of what is socially acceptable. You learn that from the shows you watch as a small child. Either that or by getting yelled at when you do something your not supposed to.

Let's start with cartoons. Everything you watch is imposed with some sort of hidden meaning. (And no I'm not talking about the hidden messages people see in Disney.) By watching cartoons and their reality bending power you learn all sorts of things. Let's start with a movie most everyone has seen at one point or another, Disney's Beauty and the Beast. By watching this one simple movie we learn all sort of things.

1. If there is a short chubby guy that isn't all that bright he will follow around the main villain.

2. The most hansom guy in the town (in fact the only one) will only be interested in the one girl he can't have.

3. Once a woman gets married she becomes plump (or maybe it's just if you're over twenty-five)

4. The dark creepy looking path obviously leads to something bad.

5. You shouldn't like someone just because all the other girls do.

6. The most beautiful guy is conceited.

7. The most beautiful girl is humble.

8. The guy every chick likes has biceps bigger than his head.

9. Inventors have mustaches. (You can blame Einstein for this one)

10. Men are angry and irrational.

11. The flirty guy and the maid will have french accents (no one else will even if you're in France)

12. Beer will make a fire flare up even though it's mostly water.

13. A person who runs an insane asylum will look creepy.

14. Don't judge based on how people look (but always look your best).

15. Don't just say yes to the first guy that asks you to marry him just because everyone else says you should.

A lot of things that pop into your head at first when someone says something are something related to the shows you watched as a kid. If you grew up in my generation, you learned that the girl who always picks on a certain guy probably likes him by watching Hey Arnold. There's also a good chance that if you've ever seen Lady and the Tramp you thought all Siamese cats were evil. Thank God that the more modern Disney movies have the princess go out and find her prince unlike the old ones like Sleeping Beauty and Snow White where he just sort of shows up and saves the day with a kiss. Trust me I love my Disney movies and can sing along with more than one of them, but when you look closely at them you can see a lot of ridiculous piled up in them.

Next time someone mentions something and you automatically have picture in your head just look back to why you picture that specific thing. Chances are it has something that has do with your childhood.

Seriously

On any given day I am perfectly content to blend into the background and do my own thing. I appreciate being left alone, but when I happen to be wearing anything other than normal clothing I don't overly mind it if you say something.

Every year there is spirit week at school and I never dress up, but this year being my senior I decided I'd do something amazing to make up for my complete and other lack of spirit the past three. This year for class clash day I dressed up as the She-hulk. Not some crappy off the rack costume with green sleeves. I freaking painted my self green as well as dye my hair green. Now I did receive quite a few comments on this including one girl who screamed and ran away, but not a single person took a photo for year book. Hell I didn't even end up in the spirit video and when it came time to hand out awards for spirit my name wasn't even on the runner-up list. Apparently I manage to remain mostly invisible even when I look more BA than the Wicked Witch of the West.

Yesterday being Halloween I wore my costume to school (or course). Me and my friends, Caitlin, dressed up as Jesse and James (Team Rocket) from Pokemon. Our costumes were absolutely BA. They were homemade and so much attention detail was put into them that we even made sure to get the slit on their jackets absolutely perfect. Heck we even memorized the entire Team Rocket intro as well as the Pokemon theme song. We actually got a lot of comments on them yet still somehow only our close friends took any pictures.

At the end of the school year when the year books come out. Everyone will sit there and remember how awesome it was that someone painted their self green or the two chicks that dressed up as Team Rocket, but there won't be a single picture of either in there. Instead it will be filled with half a dozen photos of all the popular kids dressed as smurfs. Honestly people take photos all the time of useless things and they even have cameras on their phone, but apparently me making your day (as many people stated) doesn't warrant the taking of a photograph.