Anime. Who knew?

Miyazaki. Spirited Away. My first introduction to Myazaki films and I loved it. I have never been interested in anime but over the years I have consistently heard great things about these films. I have loved the music and been curious to see a movie. Finally I saw one! At first, I thought wow this is neat but I felt like the themes were so overtly deep that I was a little turned off. Buuuttt, as the plot unfolded ooof! I fell in love. I loved how the symbols and the imagery of the movie was so intentional. It felt like a really incredible novel put into 3D and I couldnt help myself. I wanted to keep watching more and more. I loved that the lead role was female and that there was such an emphasis on the power of humility, compassion and innocence. I loved it and I want to watch it again to keep picking up on new symbols and themes. So good. All should check it out.

Miss Representation

This week I saw the movie Miss Representation for the second time. This time around I was really hit by the reality of how much I personally feel a need to overcompensate as a female when in leadership positions. I realized that in unique cases of leadership, I dont trust I am enough, nor that my voice will be heard or that I have or deserve the right to take control merely because I am not a man. This has led me to really reconsider the engrained beliefs I have about gender and how much my gender is directly or indirectly a part of my social identity or personal understanding of self. I am grateful to be a woman and I feel empowered by the opportunity I have to learn and grow in the unique experiences that womanhood presents to me. I hope to intentionally confront my subconscious and untrue feelings of inferiority merely because I am woman. I want to focus on me as a human and believe that all facets of me, including my femaleness, contribute to the unique voice I have to offer in the world. 

Chick Flicks

I haven't watched a movie in so long, especially any type of chick flick. In the last week I have watched two chick flicks that I have never seen before: "Must Love Dogs" and "Two Weeks Notice".  While watching these two movies I was reminded how much power media has in influencing the way we view and understand romantic relationships. I was really disappointed in the female lead for "Must Love Dogs". I felt like her acting and character development or at least portrayal of it, felt shallow and underdeveloped. Especially as a counterpart to John Cusack, I felt like he was much more complex and rich of a character and she did not match him in that. I realized also how interesting it was to see what messages were sent about online dating through the movie. I think it is a tricky balance mentally to not immediately accept whatever messages are indirectly implied through the movies I watch. I want to be an active media consumer that is intentional about how I process and interpret what is being shown and more importantly what is not being directly shown.

Music Re-evaluation

This week I had an eye opening experience. I have spent so many years listening to and loving music. This week I felt an unusually stronger determination to stop listening to music that uses a large amount of profanities. I of course happened to find these two songs that have a really good groove to them, but they are quite crass. At first, I thought nothing of it and kept listening to them and enjoying them. Then one day, while thinking about the power of words and media and I started to feel unsettled about the songs. To be honest, I don't think I am at a point yet where I can say that I will totally abandon these songs all together but I am participating in the 10- day media fast. So these songs will have to go and this will be my experiment to see how my spirit and mental pathways or behaviors are affected as I try to filter out songs that use such harsh language. I am willing to give it a try and see.