Of Gilded Cages &
Shrew Rages
(Or, “Twenty-Five
Shrugs Of Apathy”)
!!An A.H. Scott
Rant!!
What are little girls
made of? Sugar, spice and – yeah, yadda, yadda, yadda. What are women made of?
Strength, grit, charm, sass, sexiness and wit. Now, that’s what I’m talking
about.
When you’re a little
girl, the world can see you as that helpless sparrow without an ability to use
your wings. When you become a woman, some still want to see your wings as
invisible. Yet, they are there and quite usable.
To break free from
that cage of lesser age and appreciate what maturing brings as the years rise
is an aspect of finding womanhood.
What’s worse than a
man who doesn’t see a female as a woman is another woman who tries to
infantilize her into being some sort of mealy-mouth child to be patted upon the
head in their own self-reflecting mirror of manipulation. Or, in this case -
womanipulation.
The greatest enemy of
equality is not of the opposite sex. The greatest enemy of equality is
sometimes the same sex. A woman has a voice and doesn’t need anyone, including
another woman to speak for her.
Use your intelligence
and make your own decisions. Be it from choosing what to have for dinner or
breakfast that next morning. It is YOUR
decision.
And, so with that; I
get into what prompted this writing. The film “Fifty Shades Of Grey” is opening
in theaters this week and the bark of boycotts are swirling around it.
The “Fifty Shades”
phenomenon has passed me by. And, this comes from someone who owns all three
parts of the trilogy. I shrug my shoulders and admit it’s just another book.
Nothing extraordinary or earth-shattering.
People, it’s just a
book. That’s all. Nothing more and nothing less.
E.L. James put a work
of fiction into the market square, got that fortunate buzz of quicksilver, and
made more than her share of millions from it. And, I applaud her for that
result.
The lead up to this
movie had my eyes roll many a time when seeing the commercial for it on
television. No real reaction came from me when viewing the trailer. Not hot.
Not cold. Just – eh.
But then, the sounds
of the yapping dogs began to fill the air.
For me, an avid
reader with a veracious thirst for the written word who had little thought
about a movie adaptation of E.L. James’ book was suddenly drawn into an
internal debate over being brow-beat by boycotters who think they know what’s
best for entertainment or leisure.
Not every work of
‘fiction’ – and, yes, that is what the book and its’ adaptation is; has to be
analyzed and over-analyzed by certain organizations which find they can get as
much publicity as possible for their own pet projects and issues.
I think the backlash
against “Fifty Shades of Grey” will have a boomerang backlash against it.
People – no, I mean
women, will go to see this film not because of some grand affection for “Fifty
Shades” and the buzz around it. But, just for the fuck of it. Actions would
truly speak louder than words when those shrews screeching for boycott find
that not every female is locked in that fist-raised solidarity of sisterhood.
Moralists and
screechers may get some people not to plunk down their cash for a movie ticket.
But, that doesn’t mean their cash will be plunked down for their issues or
organizations.
Women are wiser than
other women think.
A movie is a movie. A
book is a book.
For yours truly, I
could give “Twenty-Five Shrugs of Apathy” about the film and book “Fifty Shades
of Grey”. But, then again, down the road, maybe I’ll be the contrarian who sees
the flick on cable or demand, just for flipping the bird to those who imply
that I shouldn’t.
Now, that’s my shade
of shruggin’.
A.H. Scott
2/14/15
