"Sick-Lit" and Why It's Important

Here we go again, yet another strike at the wide and varied world of Young Adult literature. The Daily Mail author Tannith Carey has taken it upon herself to attack what they are calling "Sick-Lit"; Young Adult novels in which the central character suffers from some sort of illness—such as cancer, depression, self-harm, and eating disorders—or attack—such as rape, domestic violence, bullying or murder.

This is not the first time we've encountered the opinion that Young Adult literature is becoming "inappropriate" for it's target age group. Back in June 2011 Meagan Cox Gurdon wrote an article sensationally titled "Darkness too Visible" for the Wall Street Journal. But it astounds me that this is, yet again, being argued over.

As you may have figured out by now, I am a strong advocate for tackling these very real, very difficult issues that many teenagers face every day in the format of Young Adult literature.

In her article, Carey singled out the novel The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. Green is well known for writing coming-of-age fiction, dealing with relationships, questions of identity, friendships and death. Carey accuses Green, along with many other authors, of "using children with months to live to build dramatic tension", and publishers of "selling books by sensationalizing children's suffering".

I have read The Fault in Our Stars, and personally believe it wasn't sensationalized. Green didn't describe them as beautiful while they were suffering, or gloss over the harshness of cancer. I cannot argue in terms of accuracy, but I can say that it wasn't glorified. He described how a brain tumor could change your personality, becoming someone barely recognizable from who you were before. He described how thin and weak a strong, athletic teenage boy can become. There's even a scene where one of the terminally ill patients just wanted to go to the corner store, but wound up in the parking lot, shaking and throwing up all over himself, having to call his friend for help.

These scenes were not glossed over. They were not described as 'radiant' in their illness, nor was the reader spared a glimpse of how savagely cancer can strip a person of their strength and independence. It wasn't sensationalized, it was heartbreaking. Green also was not looking a dramatic twist for a new novel. Green worked as a Chaplain in a children's hospital and he drew on that experience to realistically portray all aspects of a child suffering through a terminal illness.

"Most are also liberally peppered with sex and swearing. The blurbs for 'teen sick-lit' - as it's become known - trip over themselves to promise their books will drive readers 'to tears' or leave them 'devastated'." Here's the thing. How many people out there can read a story about teenagers dying and not affected by it? I readily admit, I cried reading The Fault in Our Stars. It left me bereft, and hurt, and grieving for Hazel and Gus, and that is in no way a bad thing. How do we learn about empathy? How do we learn to love, and live and forgive? We learn them from stories. For millenniums, we've told stories to impart wisdom and teach the younger generations lessons about life.

Being moved by a story in which the main characters are suffering hardships from an outside force they cannot control does not expose our children to something dark and terrible, it teaches them about empathy, about how to care and sympathize with people they might not understand. It teaches them to look past appearances and airs to see something more than "that sick kid" two rows down. It teaches them to see that that sick kid could like basketball, but can't keep up with the school's team and they might ask him to play one on one. It could teach a young girl that the girl with the dark make-up and daring clothes might have suffered horribly at a grown man's hand and lead her to offer a hand of friendship instead of spreading rumors and isolating her further. And reading about these hardships could be a balm of solace to one who does suffer any of these things. It could help them to believe they are not alone, and that life can get better. That leading a tragically short life does not mean you cannot live a full, and happy one. That somewhere out there, someone knows, someone cares, and yes, there are people who do understand.

There is a lot to be said for YA literature tackling hard topics, but I will merely say this: #YASaves

A Nerd Girl's Philosophical Gush on BBC's Sherlock

Where to begin when blogging about BBC's Sherlock? The successful transition to a modern adaptation? Both the depth and successful portrayal of the characters? The way it is all brilliantly interwoven with humor and emotional depth in such a way that it creates a great deal of surprise and drama? It is all of these things and more.

So, let us begin, shall we? Steven Moffat's modern take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic detective series, Sherlock Holmes and all other associated stories, has, without a doubt, launched as a success. It's becoming more and more difficult to scan the nerd/geek areas of tumbler, pinterest or even watch Youtube's SourceFed, without coming across some sort of remark, image or t-shirt supporting not only the series, but the lead character's tribulations within the series. (See: Reichenbach Feels).

Is it the way Moffat has exquisitely adapted the victorian stories to a new, modern world? Certainly, but, for me at least, the most important part is how well written and uniquely the characters are portrayed. This is both a feat of the writers, and the wonderful cast of actors. It is in Sherlock's small slip-ups where he displays some degree of emotion. Such as when he beats up and then throws a supposed CIA agent out of a second story window for daring to mistreat Mrs. Hudson in ANY way. Or when in The Great Game, he rushes Watson and forcefully strips the thick winter jacket and bomb vest from him, throwing it across the room.

It is in the way Sherlock gets very literally giddy every time an interesting murder comes to him. The way he gets excited when a villain uses a new, vile, brilliant scheme. He knows these things are horrible, but cannot help but be impressed, intrigued and even, at times, awed by them. Reminding us of the dichotomy in all of us to disapprove of something, yet still be impressed by the brilliance with which it was done. (See: ALL of Ferris Bueller's Day Off)

It is in the way Watson is constantly impressed by the brilliance with which Sherlock deduces things, exclaiming his praise "That was amazing", much how nerds of all sorts unabashedly exclaim their love of things that might be considered 'uncool' by society's standards.

It is in the friendship these two share, and the home they've built with their family and friends, reminding us that friends are often as important as family, something we know in high school but we sometimes forget with our busy, crazy adult lives.

Sherlock speaks to the nerds in us all. Those inner children who are still jumping and screaming with glee whenever we see a bouncy castle, or come across our favourite childhood cartoon. It speaks to the friendships we may have neglected along the way and the interests we forgot we had. It reminds us to be ourselves, no matter what others might think.

Oh, and of course, the tight purple shirt doesn't hurt.

Thin is Beautiful? Try Healthy Instead. My Response to SkinnyGossip.com

I just came across this article from Jezebel about SkinnyGossip.com and their blog post labeling Kate Upton as fat. I'm sorry, but what? Kate Upton might have more curves than the average fashion model, but certainly no more than the average woman. I haven't had time to go through as much of the site as I would like in order to have a full, well-rounded opinion of it, but based on the few posts I got through, I am thoroughly, utterly appalled.

She tears Kate Upton apart, likening her to a cow. I have no real personal opinion on Kate Upton herself, I know little about her. Based on the images used in the blog post, yes, some of them aren't as flattering as you would typically see for a fashion model, but these are also RUNWAY shots and NOT studio taken shots. This makes a HUGE difference. Any amateur photographer or life drawing student can tell you that the photos where she seems to have a 'roll' or two have to with the poses and angles the photos were taken at. NOT her body. Any human being, regardless of gender and size can have rolls in a photo if they are not positioned properly. Ever wonder why fashion and cover models always look like their stretching out at weird angles and their heads/necks stick out like a turtle? That's because the photographer placed them in such a way to avoid a double chin or the natural roll effect that comes with bending the human body.

In this post, Fat Pride Burns My Hide, she ridicules the 'plus-size' models in each image and clearly not in an "I honestly believe I'm trying to help" way, but in an incredibly rude, heartless and hurtful way. I'm sorry, but if I had said those sorts of things about anyone when I was young, my mom would have made me apologize, gave me a good long lecture and grounded my ass.

Take a look at Greek and Roman statues and Renaissance paintings, all you need to do is visit the Aphrodite Wikipedia page to realize that what is now considered "plus-size" was once considered the ideal, beautiful and sexiest shape to be. For any who are unaware, Aphrodite, and her Roman counterpart Venus, was the Goddess of love and considered the ideal of beauty. The majority of them have rolls, and resemble the girls in this post, not the girls she posts in her "thinspo" articles.

For centuries larger women with curves were considered beautiful and more desired because it was known that they were strong. They were more likely to bear healthy children and survive childbirth. They would be able to help with house hold chores, which involved significantly more physical labour than they do now. Beauty wasn't about how thin you could be, it was about how healthy you were.

"The whole “fat pride” movement is irritating because plus-sizers want to tell us “big is beautiful” and it should be represented more in the modeling industry. I say it’s the opposite: if big really was beautiful, and most people wanted to be big, and wanted to see big people, don’t you think we’d see a lot more fat people modeling? I do. But we don’t – because it isn’t."

- SkinnyGossip.com

"Fat Pride Burns My Hide"

The problem isn't that big's not beautiful, the problem is that the modeling industry is setting unrealistic standards of beauty. Some women have broad shoulders or large hips, some are bigger boned, some are genetically inclined to carry weight on their stomachs or hips, and some aren't genetically capable of losing weight easily. Every body is different and the problem is that only one type, an extremely difficult type for many to achieve, is the only one being represented. Even among that one body type, many of the girls in the industry are constantly being pushed to get thinner and thinner, leading to not only unrealistic beauty standards but unhealthy ones as well.

The images of "ideal" women she posts as "thinspo" or "thinspiration" look sick at best. Beauty isn't being so thin you can barely hold yourself up, beauty is being strong. It's taking care of your body, being active and eating well. Whether you are naturally thin, or naturally big, it doesn't matter, because being beautiful means being healthy.

Prometheus Part-Two: The Plot Holes

So, I had intended to cover both the good and the bad in one post, but got so wrapped up in the Ripley/Shaw debate that I forgot about all the unanswered questions and seemingly illogical plot devices in Prometheus. And so, here is Prometheus Part Two, my nit-picky piece.

As I stated in my previous post, Scott weaves the evolution of the Alien species wonderfully, using details that all but die-hard fans may have forgotten. (Especially those of us who only discovered the series two years ago :P). But there are some details in Prometheus that does not seem to connect to the characters or story and the motivations throughout. I'm not sure I can remember all of the little loose threads that nagged at me while I watched, but there are a few main ones that have stuck.

Spoilers will now follow from here on out. As I'm going further in-depth in this review, I will not be blocking out any of the text. Consider yourself warned.


The first and most prominent loose thread that comes to mind for me is David's exposing Charlie to the Alien substance. When this event occurs, we are already aware there is some unknown ulterior agenda held by Vickars and, likely, David, so it feels safe to assume that David is merely furthering that agenda. However, by the end of the film, it becomes very evident that there is no rational explanation for it. The further agenda was clearly for Mr. Weyland to meet the 'Engineers' and discover if they can prevent him from dying, but Charlie's poisoning does nothing to further this goal that we can reasonably see. They already planned on returning to the dig site, so it wasn't to give himself more time to find these 'Engineers'. It's possible he thought perhaps the substance could be the cure itself, but after seeing what happens to the head they found, I find that doubtful. In an interview with Time, Damon Lindelof, the screenwriter for Prometheus, states that "He’s a strange robot that has a curious crush on a human being,...". So, it is possible that David's motive for poisoning Charlie is one of jealousy, but in the movie alone, I find that a difficult conclusion to draw.

Not so much a prominent thread as a nagging inconsistency; the vessels containing Alien DNA quickly begin to deteriorate and spread all that nasty Alien juice around, leading to the evolution of the species as we know it. Whether this is from being exposed to air or light, or some other factor introduced by the humans, we can't be certain. But something changed in that cavern to begin the process. Something new that only occurred once the humans open/entered it. So why, then, does the same not happen in the Engineer ship seen later in the film? Why are those vessels as solid as ever, when they (theoretically) should have been introduced to the same element that caused the first ones to activate?

And finally, in the opening sequence of the film, we see an Engineer drink a writhing, dark liquid and disintegrate rapidly, not unlike what happens to the dead head the team finds and Charlie when he is poisoned. We have no context for this scene, where he is, or why he's doing it, and those questions never get answered.

There is one positive note I'd like to write about in this post, that I touched on, but hadn't covered in my last one. The scene with Shaw aborting her Alien fetus was an extremely powerful one that kept the viewer tense all throughout, and I was astounded at how realistic it was in terms of her difficulty in running while in so much pain. She was very clearly running on little more than determination and adrenaline. So few films these days are willing to portray their heroes struggling in their grueling, physical pursuits, instead opting to have them perform, difficult, exhausting and impossible feats as though they were taking a stroll around the block. Scott also had to deal with pressure from the ratings system to remove the scene entirely if he wanted to get a PG-13 rating vs an R in the United States (it is 14A here in Canada). Despite the fact that an R rating would result is some loss of money/theater goers, Scott felt the scene was far too important to remove. A director that puts the story ahead of the money? I can get behind that kind of director.

Prometheus: Masterfully done, but dang-nab-it, I wanna know!

As planned, I went to see Ridley Scott's Prometheus last night. I will start by saying that I was not disappointed, though I was rather seething at the end.

In true Scott fashion, the story starts off slow, introducing you to the ship, it's crew, and it's mission. Some themes mimic Scott's first Alien movie. The crew is aboard a commercial vessel, there is some ulterior motive the crew is not being let in on, and they hastily run out and examine the very same moon. However, these are all minor plot devices in the story, and are quickly forgotten in the wake of what follows.

The evolution of the Aliens was masterfully done, developing them in such a way, that you see some resemblance, but they clearly aren't anywhere near what we know them to look like until the very end. Scott uses a detail that I personally had forgotten about to thoughtfully evolve his Alien species: the fact that they evolve by absorbing the DNA of their hosts. I'll admit, I was confused on how these white, long, squishy snake-like creatures were going to become the Aliens we know and love. True, they greatly resembled the Face-Huggers and Chest-Bursters of the first movie, but the further into the movie we get the longer you're spent wondering how and when they would evolve. (Unless, you know, you remembered that whole DNA stealing aspect that I forgot. :P) Then, BAM!, an Alien rips from a body, resembling an early form of the black, elongated skull, four limbed Aliens the franchise is famous for. Masterfully done Mr. Scott, masterfully done. (No sarcasm intended.)

The story's lead heroine, Elizabeth Shaw, is somewhat softer and more feminine than her future counterpart, Ellen Ripley, but no less brave, wise and determined. Some might say even more so, as you get to know her more deeply than Ripley, and get to see both her strengths and her weaknesses. We see her pain when (SPOILER: it is discovered that she cannot conceive children, despite desperately wanting to), and her strength and determination when she (SPOILER: later fights off members of the crew, who try to put her in cryo-stasis, so she can use a medical pod to surgically remove an alien fetus from her body). We see her weakness when (SPOILER: she risks her life to bring aboard an alien specimen by going back for it in a deadly storm), and her strength when (SPOILER: she, for all intents and purposes, sacrifices her own life by demanding the captain take down an alien vessel intent on bring destruction to Earth by blowing up their own ship).

At the end of the film, despite her obvious acceptance that it is the end, and her life will be over in a matter of a few short minutes, when given the choice to give up or fight back, she fights. (SPOILER: And instead of taking the easy route and going back to Earth, she instead chooses to find the 'Engineers' and, assumably, ask them WHY they want to destroy us). And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the part that pissed me off. Not because I didn't like it, not because I think it was the wrong way to go, not because I didn't believe it, but because I. Hate. Cliffhangers.

I know, I know, but it's Ridley Scott! And Aliens! What did you expect? But I got to watch the Alien movies all in a row. I didn't see any of them until 2010, so I never had to deal with any of that. I never had to wait to find out what happens, and I am horrifyingly impatient. I also got the "just watch Alien, that's the next one" answer, but Alien doesn't cover what happens to Shaw and David with the Engineers. We never get the answers she was looking for. And in all likelihood, that was the intent, but dang-nab-it, I wanna know!

So, I say, bring us more Shaw, bring us to the planet of Engineers, and bring us the answers she was looking for! ('Cause I wanna knnooowww! XP).

Ridley Scott's Alien Inspired Nails

If it wasn't already made clear, I'm a nerd and proud of it. This includes Science Fiction. Lots of Science Fiction. Tonight my friends and I are planning on seeing Ridley Scott's Prometheus, prequel to his astounding Alien franchise, so, in true nerd fashion, a couple of my girlfriends organized an Alien marathon last night. I could only stay for one film, since I had to get up early this morning for work, but during this film, I took the time to paint my nails as a tribute this series.

I had wanted to take photos of every step of the process, by my phone died, and though a friend offered to do it for me, I didn't want to pester her during the movie. I will, however, outline the steps required and the materials used.

Steps:

• File and buff nails, apply a cuticle oil and lotion afterwards.
• Apply base coat and wait for it to dry.
• Apply glossy, opaque black nail polish. Two coats if necessary. Wait for it to dry.
• Add splatters of acidic alien blood by putting dollops of green polish on nails and spreading them out with a tooth pick or small dotting tool to all nails but the ring finger.
• On ring finger use a tooth pick or small dotting tool dipped in white to make a curve two thirds to three quarters of the way down from the nail bed. This is the base of the smooth structure of the forehead.
• Beneath the curves, use the same technique to scratchily put on the teeth. If you have the curve high enough on the nail, you may be able to pull off the famous "double mouth" of the alien. I did not.
• Once all nails are dry, apply a top coat.

Materials:

• Seacret Spa's Nail Care Collection for their file, buffer, cuticle oil and lotion.
• Sally Hansen's Complete Care Extra Moisturising 4-in-1 Nail Treatment for the base and top coats.
• Sally Hansen's Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear in Black Out and White On.
• Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri Fast Dry Nail Color in Lickety-Split Lime. (It damn near killed me to spell colour without a 'u').

And that's all you need to get yourself some nerdy Alien nails. Hopefully next time I'll be able to get photos of each step in the process.

SWATH Sequel? You Better Blow Me Away

So it would seem, that Universal is using it's opening stats to potentially launch a sequel to Snow White and the Huntsman. (Details from The Mary Sue here.) While I think they're taking numbers bloated by people who were enticed by the trailers and let down by the film a little too seriously, I am hesitantly excited for this sequel. Granted, it's still being negotiated and is by no means certain as of yet, there is a lot of talk around it already. Apparently, while negotiating the first film, they included an option for two more films. So clearly, Universal was hoping for SWATH to become a big franchise, but with the barely satisfactory production of the first movie I, for one, am going to need something a whole lot more fine tuned to be impressed.

Depending on how good it looks in promotion, there is a decent chance I'll give the (potential) sequel a shot. But they had best do it right this time. SWATH fell short, but not for a lack of potential. The biggest problem is that it felt like they could have done so much more with the script. Really explored some amazing themes, plot points, and character development, but unfortunately, they chose to keep it (mostly) cookie-cutter.

So I say, let them make this sequel, I'm willing to give any story with a great deal of potential a chance, regardless of an uninspired execution. But if it doesn't blow us away, if it doesn't pay just as much attention to it's character development and unique plot devices as the eye-catching production values, then I hope they're ready for the ridicule that will follow. Audiences will rarely suffer one film that doesn't measure up, let alone two.