Frozen vs. Big Hero Six

So, as the media would classify Frozen as a girl movie and Big Hero Six as a boy movie. Know what I noticed though? Big Hero Six actually has the same amount of female characters as Frozen. 

Think about it. Frozen has Ana, Elsa, and their dead mother (who I don't think should count because she never talks). Any other women shown don't have any speaking roles and the rest of the cast is male. Big Hero Six has the aunt, Honey, and Go-Go. All of whom have speaking roles and are strong women in their own way. Go-Go's catchphrase "Woman Up" being one of my favorites. So actually, Big Hero Six has one more female characters than Frozen. Wild, huh?

It just irritates me that people call Frozen an empowering movie when the original fairy tale actually is more empowering. Sure, Ana and Elsa demonstrate more depth of character than traditional princesses and the movie does not end with a wedding, but "The Snow Queen" features an all female cast with the exception of Kai, the boy the main character saves from the Snow Queen. This plucky girl goes to save her friend without a guide and finds her own way.

Also, why couldn't Hans have a villain song? He could have reprised "Love is an Open Door" but in an evil way. Like love is an open door to a kingdom and riches. I'm no lyricist, but I think something like that would have been excellent.

Gilmore Girls on Netflix: Yes, I jumped on the bandwagon

So, even back in the day, I was a belated Gilmore Girl viewer. I started watching the show back in 2007 right after the last season came out, so I never had to wait for new seasons and episodes to come out.

When Netflix released the show on streaming, I hadn't planned on watching it again. But then, one of my friends came over and suggested we turn it on for something to watch and I was once again hooked.

Now, just a few months later, I finished the show and I noticed more than I did before.

First, the show itself was different than I remembered. With the change in writers for the last season, the show took on a faster pace and so much more happened that season. (SPOILER ALERT for the next few paragraphs, if you haven't seen the show.)

For instance, I remembered the things happening on the last season happening earlier. I thought that Luke and Lorelai got together in the 3rd season and that Lorelai married Christopher in the 5th season. I thought that Rory got engaged to Logan in the last season and that Richard died in the 6th season. Not sure why I thought all these things, but alas, I did. Memory is funny.

Well, of course, Richard does not die at all and Rory decides not to continue her relationship with Logan. Why on Earth did I remember it otherwise?

Another thing I realized about the show: it began in 2000, but I'd forgotten how different 2000 was. It was only 14 years ago, but so much has changed. The show saw cell phones become common along with wireless Internet. Rory submitted her college applications by mail. My childhood and teenage years were much different than Rory's in that sense.

It was fun to watch that process.

A Frozen Conspiracy Theory: How Disney stole Elsa from George R. R. Martin

I haven't blogged in a while because my life has been consumed by my honors research. Picking a research question is one of the hardest things to do. But now I finally have my thesis, so I will attempt to be a more disciplined blogger.

2014 illustrated edition

Recently, I discovered a book called The Ice Dragon by George R. R. Martin. A young adult novel, The Ice Dragon precedes Game of Thrones by sixteen years, which was released in 1996 with the first in 1980. As I read the book, I noticed an overwhelming similarity of the protagonist, Adara, with Elsa from the Disney movie Frozen. You've no doubt seen or at least heard of Frozen by this point. Elsa's hit song, "Let It Go," has either been driving you nuts or blasting from your radio, iPod, etc.

Adara, like Elsa, is a child born to normal parents who don't understand her powers. While Adara does not have Elsa's ability to control ice and snow, Adara is amazing resistant to cold and forms connections with the ice creatures in her mythical world, such as ice salamanders.

Unlike Elsa, Adara befriends a dragon and becomes a dragon rider. No one else where she lives can even come close to the dragon. It is due to Adara's cold affinity that she forms this bond.

Notice any familiar phrases?

Similar to Elsa, Adara prefers solitude. However, both characters love their families. When Adara's family is in danger, Adara calls upon the help of the ice dragon and together they fight to protect Adara's family.

Since Martin published this book in 1980, Adara preceded Elsa. Thus, it is my theory that the writers of Frozen modeled Elsa after Adara. They certainly did not model her after the snow queen in Hans Christian Andersen's original fairy tale from which the movie is based. Virturally nothing from Frozen resembles "The Snow Queen" except the setting and the idea of a queen with magical power over snow. I will actually be so bold as to say that the original fairy tale is more feminist than Frozen. But more on that in my next blog post (this one inspired me!).

In the fairy tale, we know little about the Snow Queen. Except that she abducted the best friend of the protagonist, causing her to journey to save him.

Essentially, Elsa is the adult version of Adara. Her basic personality and power over the cold is a duplication of Adara's, with the obvious differences (there's no Olaf in The Ice Dragon).

I will end on this note. Please don't read this post and think I hate Frozen. I like it okay, but I'd rank it third to Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph. I haven't seen Big Hero Six yet, so I'm not sure where that one ranks yet. We'll see.

Never Have I Ever: My Life So Far Without a Date

This summer, I read a wonderful autobiography by Katie Heaney, a Buzzfeed executive and blogger. Though her book tells the story of her life without a committed relationship, her story has universal appeal to everyone. I have friends who have significant others, used to have significant others, or are chronically single like myself who have enjoyed this book. She's so relatable and down-to-earth that we can find commonalities. I feel like even guys could relate to it--even if it's just to help guys understand how neurotic we females can get.

The book's format consists of personal essays for varying time periods in Katie's life. Each chapter talks about her perilous experiences in dating.

Honestly, I felt like she wrote down my life story. Obviously we have differences because we're different people. However, so much of what she does resembles what I do when I think I like someone. You see, like Katie, every one to two years, I'll find some guy to "like" and then believe he's the right guy for me.

In reality, this guy that I "like" is some guy that I made up, not the guy in question. It's always characteristics that I project on to him. Like Katie, I can name the guys that I've liked throughout my life and I can tell you now it probably wasn't genuine.

Until reading this book, I hadn't realized that's what I do, but it's so true.

Upon reflection, I think a lot of people do this. Many divorces occur due to a spouse nor living up to the other's expectations.

Katie comes to the conclusion that she is a happier, more whole person because she has been single her whole life. Yes, there are days where she wishes she had someone, but on the whole she has made a great life for herself.

Generally, I, too, am very happy that I have not been in a relationship. I've had so many opportunities and have saved myself so much worry and heartache. I wouldn't be the person I am today otherwise because I've grown so much as a person without another person to define me.

When that day comes, I feel like I can fully participate in a relationship because I am my own person and won't become lost in that.

How to watch Buffy like a professor

So, I've recently started watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the first time. I know, I know, I'm a failure at being a 90's kid.

While watching the show, I've picked up on a few things. First off, she's the archetype of essentially all shows supernatural, including Supernatural. Any fans of both shows know that Dean is the male version of Buffy (hence the Buffy/Dean shippers). Moreover, the general format of the show is exactly what Supernatural does. Each episode, on the whole, is self-contained.

The Buffy/Angel spinoff is the first of it's kind where spinoffs actually interact. Before, spinoffs occurred after the main show ran its course like Joey after Friends and Fraser after Cheers. Angel actually gained its own fan base separate from the Buffy fans and ran for a season after Buffy.

The Buffy/Angel/Spike love triangle is identical to the one in The Vampire Diaries with Elena/Stefan/Damon respectively. The girl falls in love with the "good" or "tame" vampire and then goes on to fall for the rough around the edges one who needs reforming. And of course he does reform for her. He can't entirely change his bad self, but on the most part he does.

All of these similarities remind me of a book that I read in high school called How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas Foster. For those of you who haven't read it, I highly recommend it. In the book, Foster talks about how we essentially have the same few plots retold in various forms. As an aspiring writer, it's kind of sad because, according to Foster, anything I write is not original.

Buffy popularized the supernatural genre on TV and set the stage for shows to come. However, though she was revolutionary, her story isn't entirely original either. After all, Dracula and Anne Rice beat her to the vampire stories and the Lost Boys did the creepy vampire face thing first.

Anyway, I haven't finished Buffy yet--my progress has been made very slow now that I'm simultaneously watching Angel. However, I felt like I should share my observations thus far. 

Scandal: 15th Century Spanish Style

So, in my Spanish literature class we're reading this play called La Celestina, which is basically the Canterbury Tales meets Romeo and Juliet. I'm going to assume that you know the plot of Romeo and Juliet by now. However, in case you didn't read the Canterbury Tales in high school, it's a collection of stories from the 14th century infamous for its bawdiness.

La Celestina is about two youngsters, Calisto and Melibea, who fall in love, but don't really know what to do about it. Calisto, the guy, gets advice from his servant who tells him to seek out the help of this matchmaker lady named Celestina who sets them up. 

First off, whenever I heard/read the name Celestina, I thought of:

Source: http://wiki.unknowableroom.org/Character:Celestina_Warbeck

And her cauldron full of hot, strong love (obscure Harry Potter reference).

Anyway, overall, it's a very scandalous play. There's so much drama in it that it's like a TV show. If Scandal decided to have a 15th century spin off, this is what the poster would look like:

Okay, okay, probably not, but I got a kick out of the idea.

Ignoring my digressions, Celestina is actually a really greedy woman who operates a sketchy brothel. She specializes in selling out women and then remaking them into virgins by using some dodgy herbs.

Why on Earth would a servant tell his master to ask her for help? Well, Calisto's servant, Sempronio, is sleeping with one of the serving wenches who lives in Celestina's house, named Elicia, so naturally he wants an excuse to go there. You find out that Elicia has another lover, but is hiding that from Sempronio. Think that's dramatic? We haven't even started yet.

Sempronio strikes a deal with Celestina that he'll get a cut of her payments from Calisto. Then another servant of Calisto's named Parmeno tries to make him see sense, but Celestina offers Parmeno one of her servants that Parmeno finds attractive and he joins forces with them.

Meanwhile, why on Earth would Calisto need to have a matchmaker set him up? Calisto is obviously rich so he could have courted her the normal way. Well, because he's 15 and stupid.

Eventually, Celestina manages to arrange a way for Calisto to sneak into Melibea's room and they hook up. As Calisto is leaving, he climbing down the a ladder from her bedroom and dies. Melibea commits suicide.

Moreover, Parmeno and Sempronio kill Celestina because she doesn't share the money with them. As they're escaping, they're caught be the police and executed.

So much drama!

Why did I write a post about this? Because I was shocked to read such a scandalous play from 1400's Spain. Remember what happened? The Spanish Inquisition (which no one expects!). Obviously, this time period is very strictly Catholic. The author, Fernando de Rojas, had a lot of gut though he published it anonymously.

All in all, the characters in this play are not likeable at all and I have zero respect for any of them. However, I truly appreciate the it as a literary work because of its rich imagery and symbolism.

Introduction

Hello!

So I've been putting off writing this blog for about two months because I haven't been able to think of a witty title. Well, I decided this morning that a lack of a title shouldn't hold me back. After all, I can always change it.

The working title I stole off of a song from Hairspray called "Run and Tell That" (I'm citing my source so it's not stealing!). If you'd like to listen, and you totally should because it's super catchy, here's the video.

The content of the song does not necessarily fit in with the blog's theme, but I think the title works because this blog will be about the different mediums of storytelling and narrative. I've always loved books, movies, TV shows, and video games because they transport you to new worlds.

Thus, this blog will be about the forms in which stories take place.