Fictional Worlds

Fictional means not real, correct? I spend the majority of my free time, if there is any, reading fictional stories or watching fictional movies or TV shows. These story lines intrigue me and are a part of who I am. The stories that are very far fetched (sci fi, fantasy and dystopian) are the ones that I tend to read or watch, but also try to stay away from. The most prominent, creepy stories are The Walking Dead, Divergent, or a books series titled, The Dead and the Gone. All Disney cartoons, and other in that genre, are fair game, however. All of these stories have a 99.99% chance of happening, but still give me the willies.    

Regardless of the chances, I will forever fear the possibility of myself getting caught in these stories. The tension in the story and the characters scare me because I am set on the fact that if I was put in these situations, I would not make it. Nothing gets more irrational than this; because it is fictional! Meaning, the story is untrue and is purely a figment of the author's imagination. None of the events or people or ideas are real, so why do I fear them? How I would react if these situations became non-fictional is beyond me. It would not be pretty. 

On another note, I would be thrilled to be placed in a Harry Potter setting and most of the Disney stories as well, but the scary situations (and you know what I am talking about) are a no fly zone. 

'Blurred Lines' is Lot of Things

This conversation, the one about what 'Blurred Lines' is truly about and how it can be perceived is one that could be stretched and dissected for a long time. With all of the songs out there that highlight sex and parties one wouldn't pay much attention to the lyrics, but many have. I, myself, didn't think much of this song because for me, if it's catchy, I like the song. Upon listening to the lyrics more closely last year, I quickly discovered what it was about. I shied away from it on the radio and gave it a thumbs down on Pandora, partially due to to the fact that it was overplayed and then because it just made me feel uncomfortable because I was paying attention to the lyrics more at that time. Until last week, when we started to dive deeper into the song, did I realize that it may have a rapey feel.

The essay by Tricia Romano is highlighted with the comments from other essays. It exemplifies the title and the feel. The title, 'Blurred Lines' is viewed as the line between consent and rape and many of the feminist writers feel that it gives the notion of rape and male bravado. On the other hand, Jennifer Lai talks about how cocky it is, but not rapey. Lai gets at the fact that while it has phrases that sound very assuming, they do not go beyond the boundaries to say, "'I know you want it, and I'm going to force you to have it.'" This gives a very bad rep to cocky men and their assumptions. But this author doesn't feel like it is something to concern yourself with.

I do agree, with both points. You need to choose for yourself if this is something to worry about and to talk about. I will not worry about this topic of discussion, but I do feel, as an individual, that this is a song that I do not want to hear. But I also won't condemn it. This song is just another song in our music industry. As much as a feminist I may be, I will not get too opinionated because the two essays tie up the perception. The song's message is about how you perceive it, just as it is with all forms of art.