My Final Words on Caucasia

I really raced through this book, considering it was the last book of my high school career, because I was hoping for something anything that would make me say "Wow". But I'm sorry to say that my reaction to this book is less than extraordinary and my reaction can only be explained through a dopey analogy.

It was like waiting for a parade that was supposed to put all other parades to same. Everyone you talked to raved about the greatness of this parade and so you stand expectantly on the side of the road ready to be blown away by this amazing parade. You wait, and wait, and wait through the rain and just watch the cars drive by while you wait some more. And finally when it comes, it's just a normal parade with the shriners in their little cars, the band that plays out of tun, firetrucks blaring their horns. Even though the parade was still nice, you waited all that time only to get the same experience out of this parade as you would from any other.

This is in a nutshell how I feel about Caucasia.

My Response to Killing Us Softly

This documentary had many valid points and seeing the very strange ads that she had collected over the years made me wonder what the company was thinking by letting it into the public eye.

I think that Jane is correct in saying that advertisement looks at Americans as consumers instead of human beings. They go for the shocking and obvious that will catch your eye within minuets of reading and will stay with you until you have time to buy the product. I think that most advertisers aim for the pleasurable and beautiful because if the ad looks good, why won't you look good when using the item? However, I really wonder if they do it on purpose or if it's just what they think will catch people's eye the fastest. I don't think that they smear the girl's face with fancy make-up to look like a tiger because they want to portray her as "less than human" more because it looks cool.

The ads that I see definitely want to show the "perfect" woman. Skinny body, long legs, a big bust line, nice hair, pretty face: it all ties into how we should look. And fashion even supports this with skinny jeans and leggings that only a certain type of person can wear well (some chose wear this anyway with a not-so-great end result).

To be a consumer means that you do just that: consume for the sake of consuming. You buy things that you don't need, just to fit into the "American" lifestyle. I'm very much a consumer, I'll be the first to admit it. I like buying clothes that are expensive, frivolous, and sit in my closet half the year. I spend money on hair products and make-up that cost more than my school lunch. My dresser is filled with jewelry, purses, and accessories that add to the overall look. Through this all I don't feel affected by advertising on a daily basis. I will never be what the ads say, and I know this; the only thing I can do is be comfortable with myself.

It's also not just advertisements that do this, it's everywhere. Movies, TV shows, books, the Internet: in one way or another these pieces of society effects how women and men view each other. So it's not really fair (for the most part) to pin this all on advertisement even if it plays a huge role in how we see ourselves.

Choosing a Sister

Caucasia has me wondering, which is pretty good considering I'm not even half-way through the book, about who I would choose: Birdie or Cole. It seems that almost every other person in Birdie's life picks one sister over the other.

Those in Roxbury see Cole as a perfect member of the black community with her dark skin and thick hair. Her father spends every moment he has pumping her mind with information, ignoring Birdie; the kids at school accept her into the cliques more easily than Birdie; Carmen dotes on Cole while Birdie is treated with apparent dislike. Cole is the black girl who fits into her father's world the way he wanted.

However, those from the white community (that we've read of so far) favor Birdie because she fits in. Her mother sticks to her for support and her grandmother insists that she's the only one from "good stock".

While I would like to say I would take each sister as she is, I'm not she if it's true. It's not because I'm racist, so don't think that, it's because I would pick the girl that seems the most left out. Birdie seems to always be pushed aside because of how she looks and she needs some TLC. And I respect both of them because they are still sisters who don't see themselves as black or white, just family.

Caucasia- Already seeing a reflection

While I'm only 51 pages into our newest novel, Caucasia, I really like it. The voice of the main character Birdie is very believable, and the conflict between the races seen only through her parents troubled marriage (for right now anyway) is portrayed very vividly.

I've also noticed that mirrors are brought up as a motif a couple of times, even this early in the novel. Birdie introduces the novel by saying that she always remembered her reflection in the mirror as her sister's face, not her own. Birdie then thinks into the mirror after he mother called her a Sicilian when her father left. Cole also asks for a mirror after her mother tries and fails to braid her hair in corn-rows like the other black girls. It's very early in the novel and this could just be a coincidence but I think the idea of how you see yourself will carry over into other parts of the book.

It's not just harps and fluffy clouds...

We touched base (but only briefly) on a topic I've been thinking about for a very long time while discussing Pan's Labyrinth today. While everyone fought over whether Ofelia's mind was playing tricks on her, a theory was brought up about the ending scene; that even though Ofelia died, her new life in the underworld was just her version of heaven. It's an idea I always wonder about: is heaven what we make it or is it the same for every person? Each person makes their own afterlife that best suits what they believe. The Buddhist reaches Nirvana, the Christian sits at the right hand of God, the Muslim gets his 7 virgins. Or the mourning widow sees her husband and the blind man sees everything he missed out on in life. Instead of there being one heaven with fluffy clouds and singing angels (as seen in so many 3 Stooges skits over the years), each individual reaches their own personal Paradise that reflects what they've always wanted. And for Ofelia it was sitting with her parents as Princess of the Underworld.

Comics in Our Generation

Even thought more than half a century separates kids of 2010 and the children of the 1950s, (with the slicked back hair, cheesy rules, and Grease Lightning) parents it seems parents will never approve of their children's after school activities. Video games in our generation reflect the same problems that people had with comics a half century ago. Mothers around the country cry out that they are too violent, and that with every comic read or video game played her child is losing innocence. Even the rating on comic books is exactly like the rating of video games, ranging from the completely harmless to the extremely violent.

So the "video game zombies" of today was not the first and will not be the last of adolescent obsessions. Many people advocate for eradication of video games, but few realize that comic books had the same problem. As technology improves and new generations come along, the "corruption of youth" will just take on a new form and we will have to assimilate to the change of past-time.

Adventures with Holden

Since I've finally gotten around to blogging, I've chosen the scene with Sunny and Maurice. This particular part of the book caught my attention for two main reasons: because it caught me completely off guard and because I could see that Holden maybe did have a heart.

When Holden got into the elevator the last thing I was expecting was the elevator guy asking Holden if he was "Interested in a little tail t'night?". I was so sure that Holden would take him up on it and I would have to suffer through a very awkward love scene. But I didn't know Holden very well; I should have guessed that he was too immature to go through with it and only responded because he was so used to lying. I should have known it was coming, but I didn't. And I found Maurice and Holden's fight scene almost hilarious at how Holden just feel apart when this pimp asked him for more money. He started crying for heaven's sake!

Holden surprised me once more by showing compassion for this poor girl who has sunk low enough to be a prostitute. When he saw how young she was and how much make-up she had on, he could do nothing but feel sorry for her. And when he finally gave up trying to "talk" to her, he said noticed her dress and thought about how "The salesman probably just thought she was a regular girl when she bought it." That really got to me because I didn't think that Holden had the ability to see and hate everything around him. The fact that he had enough feelings to even feel sorry for this girl surprised me.