Assignment #5

Alright, first things first…

I glanced at the assignment prompt a few days ago and came to the moronic assumption that Pernice’s piece was another article, not a book. As I glanced through the assignments and links on blackboard, I realized that I was W-R-O-N-G. I am going to have to run to the bookstore tomorrow morning before classes and work so I have the book read for class on Wednesday. Therefore, this blog will have to overlook Pernice for now…I will come back and add more post-Pernice reading…

Anyway…

It appears that very little is expected of girls in the suburbs. Sad much? It’s like we’re just existing until we’re old enough to become trophy wives who pretend to clean their big houses in fishnets and little French maid outfits while our bored, overpaid husbands tell us to bend over a little more as we dust the banister with a hot pink feather duster. Most of the time, suburban adolescent females are often portrayed as shallow party girls who wear too much makeup and too little clothing. We’re all just flitting about, fighting for the attention of our male peers. Yeah, trophy wife training!

Look at Stephanie; she’s just portrayed as an object in, “Better Luck Tomorrow.” Time after time, she just lets Steve do as he pleases with her. At one point, Steve literally says, “I have Stephanie.” Wtf?!? She lets him borrow her out for the formal and treat her poorly when he has clearly had too much to drink. It takes the entire movie for her to finally muster up the courage to think and act for herself. She never even gets to rip Steve a new one because by the time she has finally grown some metaphorical balls, he is already buried in Jesus’ backyard. Grrrr.

"You know how you make decisions that lead to other decisions but you don't remember why you made those decisions in the first place." <-- Hopefully this little line of Stephanie’s, followed by following her heart and kissing Ben, is the beginning of a more aggressive, outspoken Stephanie.

Clearly, we do more than this. Boo on stereotypes and poor representation.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I got a feeling that the male characters in, “Better Luck Tomorrow,” just had way too much pressure and did not know how to deal. It’s a stereotype (we all know how much I LOVE these…haha) that Asians are harder workers, therefore more successful – especially in school. The pressure is just unbearable; it’s not easy trying to stay at the top of your class. Who wants to sit and study 24/7? Everybody wants a social life; and unfortunately it’s extremely hard to balance being uber studious and a party animal. So, these guys found a way to do both and took full advantage of it. Clearly, they had many much more intelligent, less self-destructive options. By no means am I making excuses for them, but this is how I can begin to pick apart why they would choose such a injurious path.

Funny enough, I can most def relate in a convoluted sense…I am clearly not an Asian male, but I have my own pressures to succeed. My father passed away when I was a few days less than five months old, leaving my 27-year-old mother to raise me on my own. She sacrificed so much to make sure I had everything working in my favor my entire childhood. I worked super hard in high school, which (obviously) got me into SC. I’m the first person in my family to go to college! My mom is still sacrificing A LOT to put me through school here. I constantly feel pressure to succeed and make my hard working mom proud. I could see where people would go to insane lengths to just stay above water.

Oy, I’m drained. I should be able to add some commentary on Pernice tomorrow evening after my 800 sorority meetings…