Recaps and Thoughts

Sci-fi nerd and overall geek

[katiegibbs04]

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[katiegibbs04]

Mrs. Potter

So I've been rewatching pretty little liars and have been wondering who killed her. Was it A?

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Elliot is so cute when he's protective of Liv.

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Elliot giving Liv relationship advice. But really I think it's more about their relationship 😁😁

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Sanctuary rewatch

So I got the series for Christmas and forgot how much I loved the show. I realize that the series has been over for a few years but it is still a relevant show. Watching it made me realize how much a maternal figure Helen is to Henry and Will. Does anyone else get that vibe or no? I mean Helen saved both of them when they were kids, she helped pay for Will to go to college, and probably a bunch of other things that I can't think of right now.

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“After time adrift among open starts, along tides of light and through shoals of dust, I will return to where I began.”- Tali’ Zorah vas Normandy

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Just going on a date with Garrus 😍😍😍

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So I boarded the Halo train about a week ago and I realize I'm in the small percent of people who actually like Palmer but oh well. I think Tom and Sarah are OTP. Just based on the looks he gives her in spartan ops. Seriously Lasky?

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“Artificial gravity is offline as well.”- Dr. Glassman “I need answers.”- Captain Lasky Did anyone else think about Tom floating and then laugh when he would have fallen?

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So I played my first halo game (4). I think Sarah Palmer looked better in spartan Ops as well as Tom Lasky. Anybody else?

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The end of an era

After eight seasons of Castle the characters feel like family. We let them into our home every Monday night and spend hours and hours watching reruns that we know by heart. Yet the episodes never fail to make us laugh and cry.

Kate Beckett has been a role model for me because she is passionate about finding justice. Since I’m about to enter the workforce she has helped me realize that being passionate about what I’m doing isn’t a bad thing and you’re moral compass will always lead you in the right direction. She feels like a big sister who is always pushing me to be better and to be more than who I am. 

The show has ended but will continue to live on in our hearts.

Always.

[katiegibbs04]

Kate Beckett

ABC announced that Stana Katic and Tamala Jones, the actors who play Katherine Beckett and Lanie Parish were not approached to renew their contracts for a new season of Castle.

Since the news broke people have speculated as to why ABC would do this. People seem to be either for Stana or Nathan. So I would just like to say a few things about it. At first I didn’t know how to feel because it was such a shock but then I felt sad and then passed that stage into anger and annoyance.

I was late getting into Castle. My first episode was A Rose for Everafter in season 2. The reason why I decided to watch was because Alyssa Milano. I had liked her in Charmed and hadn’t seen her in anything lately so it piqued my interest.

Something kept me hooked to the show so that after watching the episode I went out and bought season one on a whim. Maybe it was the chemistry between Beckett and Castle or maybe it was the humor. Inevitably, I was hooked and continued to follow the show and became one of those shippers.

Beckett became someone that I could look up to as a strong female character that could be compassionate, smart, and badass. All qualities that I like in my countless fave female characters. As the seasons went on we saw a different side to Beckett when she started dating Castle. She seemed more carefree and open.

I’m one of those people who think that the show should be cancelled even though I love it immensely. The episodes have become predictable and don’t seem as good as the previous seasons. Now everyone is entitled to their opinions so I won’t debate that.

I’ve always thought that Beckett was the true backbone of the show despite it being named Castle. Since Castle and Beckett are married, technically she is a Castle so the show could continue without him. I understand that people love him because of Firefly and his seemingly charming personality but it seems like he is only there lately for comedic relief.

Overall, I think the show should end on a high note and not continue on. We (the fans) can always get lost in the DVD’s.

[katiegibbs04]

Like every kid in the US, I grew up watching Disney movies like the lion king, Cinderella, Pocahontas, Mulan, Aladdin etc. The classics. So talking about them in a critical way is hard. They are a part of my childhood and represent innocence and that whole era. Watching them now I get more of the subtle messages but it still doesn’t diminish their importance to me.

I understand people’s valid concerns about the lack of diversity in the protagonist and the inevitable use of a romantic plot. I guess that’s why I like Pocahontas and Mulan so much. They aren’t the typical characters. So I do like a lot of child oriented movies like Brave, Lilo and Stitch and the Emperor’s new groove.

When I think about it, I suppose that the movies are kind of racist and stereotypical portrayals of the culture that the movie is about. Watching the movie in class made me realize a lot of the things that I missed. I never thought of the relationship with Belle and the beast as being abusive or the loss of Ariel’s voice as literally not allowing her to have a voice to speak about her thoughts and opinions.

I’m not sure if I will be able to look at those movies the same way but now I almost feel like watching them again to see how I could have missed it. Looking at the movies critically makes me sad. I will acknowledge the fact that the movie, Mickey Mouse Monopoly, made good points but it’s still hard to believe. I’m sure that other people are having the same problem. Disney is hard to ignore, they are literally everywhere. Not to mention the fact that most kids grow up watching their movies and singing the songs. Even though I know about some of these things now I’m not sure how it will affect my future relationship with Disney movies.

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So I love Scandal because the show addresses issues about stereotypes and in this case talk about the difference between strong men and strong women.The important part goes from 0:48-1:00. Fitz calls Abby a bitch simply because she stood up to him for Liv. I would say its because he’s the president but this is just an example. There have been many other times when women speak up about an issue and are called different derogatory names by men.

In the readings for this week the story that spoke to me was the one about being daddy’s little girl. So I will admit that I am kind of daddy’s little girl but I am not stuck at 4 emotionally or mentally. I will also admit that I have had my dad buy me expensive things just to make me happy but I am cognizant to not do that a lot.

The best example I can think of is my obsession with purses, specifically Coach. I sometimes ask him if he will buy me one because I need a new one. It’s a new season and the color will not work for that season. I’ve actually been thinking about this a lot lately just because my purse is white right now. I need to change my purse to a winter color. Granted, I have not done this in a while so I’m not that bad. The last purse I bought, I bought for myself. But previous ones my dad or grandma bought them for me.

I’m not spoiled, I promise. There are occasions where I get my way by batting my eyelashes and pleading with him but he doesn’t always give in. I definitely don’t throw a tantrum and don’t demand such exorbitant gifts or money be spent on me. 

Reading that story made me laugh and feel sorry for those dads. However than I remember that they are enabling that behavior so it’s essentially their fault.

My mom watches the Bachelor and bachelorette and I just don’t understand why women act so catty to each other. They should build each other up and not try to destroy each other.    

You can always tell who the strong women are. They are the ones you see building one another up instead of tearing each other down.-Unknown

[katiegibbs04]

Being a woman who plays video games this post is easy for me to write. So there is a game called Mass Effect, which has three games centering on your protagonist. Each game has some insurmountable enemy to destroy but all comes back to one entity, the reapers. The game allows players to choose a male or female protagonist, customize his or her looks, class, and first name.

Every year there is a day called N7 day which is November 7th and the company Bioware generally puts out a video or something for the fans. This year they decided to release a video about the new game Andromeda which will take place in a new galaxy and will not include our hero, Commander Shepard the protagonist for the three games. So for most of the marketing of the series the game used the default male Shepard and the female Shepard was used in a trailer for ME 3.

So the video that was released used the female Shepard’s voice and not the male Shepard. This has resulted in people arguing for the release of another video with the male Shepard instead. Obviously, there has been a lot of discussion about this in the comments on the video.

Some people think that it’s funny that the people who are mostly griping about it are men. While others are glad that femshep does the pass on to the new game. Some people don’t understand why others are getting upset and arguing about it. Some people were saying that femshep is canon but Shepard is just a person, male or female.

The game is about choices. So it shouldn’t matter if femshep or maleshep is in the video. The whole thing is ridiculous.

I play a lot of games that include playing online. The game that I think is the worst when it comes to obscene references to genitalia is COD: Black ops. Players can design their own emblem and this is where immature men enjoy designing penises and women’s breasts, among other things. Other gamers know what I mean. I don’t listen to other player’s commentary because I choose not to. I mute them. I’m sure some of them do use hate speech and other words. I think it depends on the community that you’re playing in though. I do enjoy playing against guys and beating them just for the sake of eradicating gamer myths, that women can’t play as well as men.    

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Growing up as a child in the 90′s I was introduced to the Disney movie Pocahontas like most kids. I don’t remember if I loved it as much as the Lion King, but these days I realize that it is symbolically important while not being historically accurate.

This is probably the first interpretation and example of Native Americans that kids are exposed to so it’s important that they realize that Native Americans are all different based on their tribe. They may have different traditions and culture than another tribe even if they are geographically located close together.

When Native Americans are portrayed they are mostly stereotypical and not portrayed in a good light. Since I don’t really watch football or sports I can’t really talk about the use of Native Americans as mascots or team names.

So I will talk about their use in video games. There’s a game called Red Dead Redemption and it takes place mostly in Texas and Mexico in the year 1911 so there is a lot of expansion occurring and people immigrating to the area.

There are some dealings with Indians but it is mostly negative. I have included a play through video of a mission with Nastas, an Indian. Sorry about the violence in the video but it’s a shooter. They are seen as gang members and are not very pleasant to deal with. There are plenty of stereotypes present and he refers to them as savages and being less civilized than the white man. However, Nastas is very wise and comments on the eventual dwindling of the buffalo due to the white men hunting them for sport.

The problem is that this game is very popular and mostly young adults/adults probably play this so it reinforces the stereotype that is prevalent in our media and culture. Don’t get me wrong, I love playing this game but their portrayal of Indians isn’t the best.  

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How the media portrays stories

Bullying has always been a problem in school but has become a social cause that has garnered attention from the press and the people in charge of changing the legislation. Bullying used to be accepted and was expected during your school career, and in some cases it was a rite of passage.

When bullying results in suicide the press reports on a certain type of victim, someone who is from a middle class or affluent family or the newsworthiness of the victim. We’ve all heard about Natalee Holloway who was white, young and pretty.

The book states that stories are likely to gain momentum if they align with American mainstream culture of heteronormativity, which is the idea that all individuals are straight and conform to masculine or feminine ideals appropriate to their sex.

In the case of Phoebe Prince the media focused on her romantic relationship and dating but choose innocent looking photos so she looked like a victim. While the stories on Carl Hoover’s suicide was not attributed to bullying even though it was clearly bullying.

The reporting on the story was also different. Carl’s death was more descriptive and explained his hanging in detail, while Phoebe’s was alluded to. People could argue that it’s sexist or racist and it probably is but they still do it.

There have been a growing number of gay characters on television and on popular shows like glee, modern family and scandal. One of the shows that I watch How to get away with murder has shown some pretty intense gay love scenes and when I watch the episodes on hulu people are always commenting on the unnecessary use of sex scenes and in particular gay scenes. I don’t think they are offended by it but I don’t think they want to watch it either. So while seeing gay couples is becoming more accepted I don’t think they want to see it.