"Go Out With a Bang"?

I had the hardest time trying to come up what to write for this post. It’s exactly 2 weeks before Christmas – meaning Winter Break is here and no more school! Whoo Hoo! As much as I would love to relax and not think (finally) for three weeks, I am completely blank on what to do with this blog. “A Sparrow’s Escape” started initially as a simple project for English class, and now, I don’t want it to end! Perhaps that is why I find it so hard to “go out with a bang.” I don’t want it to “go out.” I want every post I write to be a “bang.” (That’s the perfectionist side of me speaking there. =D)

I am in love with this blog! Everything about it I love. I love the topics, ideas, and even pictures! I love the name I came up for it; it’s very meaningful to me at least. I know I sound conceited, but I am sure we all have a little Pygmalion inside of each us. All in all, I am quite satisfied with the outcome.

I achieved my goal of posting at least 2 entries a week. I have done my best to publicize this little site with emails to all my classmates in all 5 of my classes. It did generate some attention. I did not have high expectations for the number of comments I’d receive, but all the ones that appeared during the past 5 weeks bought smiles to my world. Thank you once again for your support!

When I did my project proposal, I envisioned the outcome to be a little different. I thought that I would simply use this as a space to repost my thoughts that I’ve already formulated for class, but instead I built off of the materials given to me. It was more fun this way. I ended up doing things in more interesting ways.

“Women and Literature” is a part of our daily life. The way we view literature, women writers, and the two sexes in general are affected by our history and experiences. There are many topics and so much that a person can do with this subject. Nearly the later entries, I found it easy to incoporate a piece of work from class with one of my seemingly non-"Women and Literature" topics. “The first problem for all of us, men and women, is not to learn, but to unlearn"(Gloria Steinem). I believe that is one of the many things that I’ve gained from this class – to further dissect my thoughts and understand discourse and revision. We need to unlearn in order to learn.

If I could do something different with this project, I would only have wished to start it earlier. There’s still so many stories, poems, and ideas that I have not shared my views on with the world! I even had a list, and I have not even post ½ of what I had planned. I wish that my entries were written more dramatically and more interesting. I know, because I’ve been told, that I have a stiff way of writing. I have no clue how to change that though. More writing perhaps?

Now, Fall Quarter of 2009 is over, and the holiday spirit is in the air! I want to keep this blog alive, but I know that without the class, I probably would not be so timely with updating. Not only that, I would definitely have a smaller audience. I am not sure who even comes here!

If I do keep this going, I will broaden the topics to news, literature, movies, and other pieces of work that trigger my attention. This definitely will not become a personal life Blog! I have another place of entries like that. I love this space and what I have done with it. “A Sparrow’s Escape” has truly allowed me to 'find faith and speak words I never thought I’d say.'

“Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.” ~ Louisa May Alcott

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"Time is what prevents everything from happening at once." ~ John Archibald Wheeler

Feel free to leave me some feedback as to what you think! Perhaps I will have another class in the Winter quarter that will allow me to do this again! I wish that I could have put another English course for next quarter~ But, we can only do so much!

Would you still want this to keep going? Would you continue to support me if I do?

Embrace Your Dark Side

They say that girls mature earlier than boys, and so it seems as we see so many female cartoon characters evolving to become more lady-like and shedding their early-days naivety. But, do not worry. The boys are not that far behind. For starters, Mickey Mouse is going to take the first step and reveal to us his inner dark side which he’s been hiding from the public for so long, because he thought you were too innocent to handle it.

Welcome Epic Mickey.


Warren Spector, his creator, says that he wants Mickey to “be able to be naughty – when you’re playing as Mickey you can misbehave and even a little selfish.” He is “being pulled out of” his “comfortable and safe cartoon world” and dumped into, what Spector calls, “the cartoon wasteland” where the retired and forgotten Disney characters live (Nelson). However, Spector ensures us that Mickey will never be “evil.”

The cheery, nice, and giggly Mickey Mouse that you’ve always known is no more. He is dark, and he is dangerous. He’s decided to get in touch with his base animalistic self that he’s suppressed for so long and is going to release it to save a lost and broken world. There is no escape from this transformation, because “the more destructive [Mickey’s] behavior [is in the game], the more the famous mouse becomes to resemble a rat” (Nelson). Mickey Mouse did some serious soul searching into his hereditary.

Dear Donald Duck will also be featured in this apocalyptic vision of Disney as Animatronic Donald.

What in the world happened to him? Did he get kidnapped and forced to assimilate with robots a.k.a. the Borg in Star Trek? There goes the “uncle” I remember. He probably doesn’t even recognize Daisy at this point now.

What is the message of all these cartoon transformations? Are we supposed to embrace our darkness and become one with our “naughty” but not “evil” side?

More like, are males the ones who are to have an outlet for their animalistic desires? Should they be like the wolves mentioned in Angela Carter’s “The Company of Wolves,” that in the midst of all their aggression, strength, power, and hunger, they also contain a hint of sadness for there is no redemption and satisfaction for their own appetite? Let out the beast inside all humans that we wish to tame but cannot, for it is a beast we all fear and cannot never get rid of no matter how hard we try. This dark world is a dangerous yet alluring game.

As the males turn into cunning and slick predators, the classic female characters are fed a completely different message. It reminds me of the main character of Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" Connie, a young fifteen years old girl who “had a quick, nervous giggling habit of craning her neck into mirrors or checking other people’s faces to make sure her own was alright,” knew that “she was pretty and that was everything.”
“Connie sat with her eyes closed in the sun, dreaming and dazed with the warmth about her as if this were a kind of love, the caresses of love, her mind slipped over onto thoughts of the boys she had been with the night before and how nice he had been, how sweet it always was, not the way someone like June would suppose but sweet, gently, the way it was in movies and promised in songs." - "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"It seems that the media wants people to become more in touch with their sexuality, although the forms of the sexes’ sexualities are entirely different. One is a soft, glamorous, and naturally beautiful type of attraction. The other is a dangerous, predatory, and aggressive sort that is supposed to be equally as enticing.

Whose side are you on?

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For more interesting articles:
Azaria Jagger takes a look at the sexual undertones/overtones of Epic Mickey - Mickey Mouse's 'Naughty' Makeover Promises to be Disturbing
The New York Times Article by Brooks Barnes - After Mickey’s Makeover, Less Mr. Nice Guy
Article by Sara Nelson - Mickey Mouse gets a makeover in Epic new video game - and this time Disney's giving him a dark side

Goodbye Childhood, Hello Modern World!

Remember your childhood when everything was clean, innocent, and simple? I’m not sure what type of cartoons you grew up watching, but I remember the cute Hello Kitty, nice Mickey Mouse, and heck, I even wanted to have Donald Duck for an uncle once upon a time. Cartoons should be everlasting, right? These characters belong in Neverland with Peter Pan and his little fairy. They symbolize a world that will never change, a time filled with just happiness and hope, and unicorns flying with my little ponies.

What is happening to people that they feel the need to “change things up”? I’m not against change, but it truly depends on what types of changes are being done! Look at how Hello Kitty is being portrayed!
Do I really want my little sister or future daughter to fall in love with a toy like this? I remember when I wanted to have a bow in my hair just like Hello Kitty. What are kids going to ask for now? “I want Hello Kitty’s garter – I want a heart on it!!”

Apparently, everyone grows up – even the ones who are supposed to be ageless. That just goes to show you how quick things are changing. Hello Kitty is not the only one hitting puberty. Click on the pictures & links to more detailed and interesting information!

Dora the Explorer. Although I don’t think she is going to be doing any exploring with her new getup – or is she?

Tattoo Barbie. I’m sure she regrets that one! She’s not even with Ken anymore. It’s Blaine now, isn’t it?

Strawberry Shortcake. Not only does she lose her old wardrobe and candy, she also loses her baby fat!


Sun-Maid Raisins Girl - a fairly iconic little girl from the olden days without an actual name. Now, she’s going “Hollywood”! New, improved, & modernized. She’s been nipped and tucked and has a brand new face! So maybe, "just maybe, you'll become a big hollywood star."



Where has my childhood gone? Did society go and take them away from me just to leave me behind in the cold, harsh world? Am I the only one who’s unrealistically holding on to the past too tightly?

Is it so wrong to want to look back and see sunshine and rainbows in a world that I will never live in again?

Is that just too much to ask for!?

You're SO typical!

"You’re such a typical _____." What do you think when someone says that to you? Do you feel proud, ashamed, or angry?

Here is a snippet of a conversation I shared with an acquaintance some time ago.

Me: Yeah, I like pink.
He said: I should have known.
Me: What does that mean?
He said: Nothing =)

<some time later>

Me: My favorite Disney movie is Cinderella.
He said: I knew it.
Me: What? What do you mean “you knew it”?
He said: You’re such a typical girl.
Me: What does that have to do with anything?
He said: Nothing, it’s just who you are.

Hold it right there. I don’t know about you, but I certainly was not very happy at this point. This came from a person that I barely knew, and I was pretty offended. I probably knew him for at most 3 weeks when I had this conversation with him, and I only saw him for one class that was held two days a week.

I don’t think that he had a right to judge me so quickly; he didn’t even know who I am! I’m not a “typical” girl. I am completely clueless on how to do makeup, how to dress in style, how to sew, how to cook, or how to clean – not that these are bad qualities; I’m just not as blessed with such skills as others. (Goodness, I’m starting to sound a little like Mike, huh? Perhaps I should join a “Women Anonymous”?)

The only things he knew about me at this point were that I like cute things, I happen to like pink (even though my favorite color is white), and I like the Disney movie Cinderella. He calls me “typical” solely based on these facts. Isn’t that jumping a little too quickly to conclusions?

The word “typical” has such a negative connotation. “He’s such a typical man. She’s a typical woman. They’re the typical jocks.” I am not sure if I’m being pessimistic, but those sentences do not sound like compliments. Perhaps it is because my perception of a “typical woman” differed from his assumptions. In a way, I feel that this phrase puts down my self-worth and categorizes me as a girl who simply likes shiny things, love at first sight, cooking, and cleaning. I could very well call him a “typical man” for calling me a “typical girl.”

I admit that I do have certain qualities and like certain things that most people would consider to be feminine attributes. Given a different context and perhaps a different person, I may not have been as offended. I am not active, completely incompetent in sports, dislikes competition and aggression, and extremely emotionally sensitive.

Perhaps you would argue that I am a “typical” girl, but I don’t want to be. I don’t want to be put in a group based solely on some of the things that I do, because that is only a part of me and the whole of me. It is not my true identity. It is not who I am and how I would want to define myself.

“Typical” is a word that promotes assumptions, and assumptions do not lead to positive outcomes. When people do not share the same ideas and generalizations, damaged is caused. We do not like to be categorized. We like to think of ourselves as unique individuals.

We want to be recognized. We want to be heard. We want to be seen.

We want to shine.

We do not want to be “typical.”

Do you?

Typical Assumptions

Warning: There is going to be a lot of generalizations in this post. They may not be, and probably aren’t, accurate. They are simply the thoughts that came across my mind. I mean no offense to anyone!
“Typical, typical, typical.” How many times have you heard this and understood what that person was referring to based solely on that phrase? It seems that this one word provides answers and explanations anyone would need without actually explaining anything.

Quoting from Professor Lant’s Week 2 lecture, “the use of the word ‘typical’ is interesting, because it really does bring to the surface the shape of our discourse on that subject along with all our assumptions and thoughts.” This simple word contains the concepts and generalizations shared by a familiar culture, experiences, and perceptions.

How much does this word actually contain?
WKUK – Saturday
What pops through your mind as you watched the above clip? How would you describe the man, David, in the video?

My first reaction was to chuckle. But, the first sentence I actually said was, “Such a typical man.” Why is David typical? He is childish. They do say that a man never truly grows up, and that he will always have a child inside of him. And, in general, a man matures later than a woman. David certainly exercises that to the fullest extent. He is reckless. He does whatever he wants without thinking about the consequences. He comes back with his knee bruised expecting to be taken care of by his wife.

David wishes for freedom. He does not want to be bounded by a home, much less a woman figure who reminds him of his mother. He is defiant against orders and constraints placed on him. He wants to play. He wants to be free.
How many times have you heard that message about a man, rather in the media or in real life?

Now, generally, when I think of a “typical” man, I think of Mike from Men Anonymous.Men Anonymous - Step One

Mike cannot and does not clean. His whole house is a mess. Garbage is everywhere. He drinks straight out of the milk carton. He can’t cook or even cut an apple. He is lost. The thing that makes Mike untypical is the fact that he admits and feels desperate, because he is so lost. Hence, he is taking the 1st step - “admitting that you’re powerless.” Mike says one line in this video, and it says it all. “For the last 32 years, I’ve been a man.” He is admitting that he is incompetent and powerless because his lifestyle as a typical man.

Mike and David are so different, yet I still used the word “typical” to describe the two of them. There are actually many more qualities I can come up with when I think of a "typical" man. The simple word contains so much meaning. It is unlimited, yet so limiting at the same time. Because of this word, we stereotype strangers and immediately categorize others. We make automatic assumptions and form false impressions of people the moment this word enters our minds.

“Typical” is a dangerous word.

Let’s play the “typical” test. If I told you that he was a typical man, what would you think of? What about a typical woman?