So, in the movie Suicide Squad we see Harley become so obsessed with The Joker that she is willing to jump into a vat of chemicals. It then shows The Joker diving in after to save her. This scene is probably one of the more memorable ones in the movie since it is a flashback for Harley. However, that is not actually how that scene was supposed to go down. In the comics, The Joker actually pushes the unwilling Harley off of the ledge into the chemicals. The Joker and Harley’s relationship in the comics is actually an extremely abusive one. So why is it portrayed as romantic when brought to the big screen?

This isn't the first time we have seen abusive scenarios on the big screen being turned into romantic ones. Why is Hollywood covering up abusive relationships in their movies? It really doesn't make sense because these are very real issues that people have to deal with every day.

Its time that abusive relationships be portrayed as what they are by the media because it is an issue and it needs to be talked about. Romanticizing it or covering it up is not going to help those who are in those kinds of unhealthy relationships and don't even know it.

New Rules is about a girl who has been broken up with and can’t get over the person who dumped her. She knows she will be taken advantage of if she acts on her feelings so she makes so rules for herself so she wont get herself into trouble. Such rules as not picking up the phone when he calls, not letting him into her house if he comes knocking, and not to be his friend because then she wont be able to get over him.

The music video itself is empowering because Dua herself plays the heart broken girl at the beginning being comforted by girls who have gone through the same experience and have come out stronger. Eventually Dua becomes one of them and transitions into helping another girl get over her ex. It helps get the point across that women all over have gone through these same problems and are there for each other to lift them up when they hit the ground. Also speaking to how they can become stronger themselves to help others.

Overall Dua Lipa’s song New Rules is insipring for women of all ages that can relate to this kind of heartbreak.

In the book we are shown detailed scenes of police brutality along with protests. Police brutality can be linked to todays society because we constantly hear about more cases of police brutality on the news. The connections are quite disturbing because you would think we as a country could have gotten past this. Unfortunately we have seen persecution from persons in power for years. Going all the way back to the romans who had slaves from nations they had conquered to WWII when the Japanese were put in internment camps. Racism has been happening for centuries so why is our society so disturbed by it?

Simple answer is that we should be disturbed by it. Humans are all of the same race despite the color of our skin and thats the message “The Help” tries to get across to us. It shows us the personal lives of the women who are discriminated against and the distasteful things done to them. The story it tells spreads tolerance. Racism, like most scary things, comes from a place of fear. In the book there are stereotypes that the maids will steal things or that they carry diseases all because of the stereotypes associated with the color of their skin. Today the stereotypes are only slightly different. Unfortunately people are looked at by the color of their skin and judged to have malicious intentions or free handouts from the government when in reality those first assumptions are incorrect. That is why “The Help” is so painfully relevant in todays society, because after decades we are still facing the same dilemmas as a society whether w like it or not.

In the movie The Great Gatsby the love affair between Daisy and Gatsby is made to look like a page out of a romance novel. Between the longing gazes and the talk of running away together it’s almost believable that Daisy loves Gatsby for unselfish reasons other than getting back at her own cheating husband Tom. However, the ending is still the same so it almost make the movie more depressing than the book ever was. The so called love between Daisy and Gatsby, as the movie made it appear, was intense. This begs the question; was the cheating in this movie as ok as it appeared to be? If so, is it ok for us to do?

Now I know what you are thinking, “cheating is NEVER an ok thing to do.” and morally, yes you are most probably right. Cheating is almost never as easy to maintain in real life as in a movie and it tears people apart from guilt (trust me, I have seen a lot of people close to me go down this path). However, this is not what I’m debating. I’m asserting that because cheating has been made into such a commonplace event in TV and Movies, that people might think it is ok now to do because it looks so easy. The connection with infidelity being shown daily can be correlated with actual infidelity.

Now I know that just because it’s on TV doesn't mean it causes people to cheat, but if someone is already at the point to where they are unhappy enough to think about it they might actually feel more comfortable because they saw their favorite character do it and they look up to them. They could even possibly see them as strong or as taking back their life. It’s not an easy decision, but is it possible that showing these types of affairs like the one in Gatsby make infidelity more of a commonplace?

Citation:

Luhrrmann, Baz , director. The Great Gatsby. Paramount, 2013.

Freak Show is set in the early 1950’s which was the age of the repression of women. They stayed home and took care of the house and children while their husbands went to work and provided for them. Now that we are in the year 2017 it’s amazing how far women have come from then to now. Yet, despite the progress we’ve made to get out of the house and have jobs, we are still remarkably close to the repressed state we were in in the 1950’s. why don’t we look at some of these examples for those nonbelievers out there who say that we are mostly equal to how men are treated.

Why don’t we start with the law and rape charges. Yes, this topic is in no way comfortable to talk about but thats the point. Why don’t we analyze one of the more recent case of rape. Does anyone remember the case of the Stanford swimmer who raped a college graduate and got away with light charges? Thats right, only six months in jail despite the law itself stating that rape can be a ten year sentence. This case is a good reason as to why many rape victims don’t come forward. In this case it was made to look like it was the victims fault for being raped by the student because she had been drinking to the point to where she blacked out. Basically, the opinion was that if she could not remember anything then she might have given her consent for that act despite the fact that many college students are taught that consent can not be given when a person is intoxicated. So why should there be any confusion about that? There should not be.

This case is not the only example of how far women still have to go. At parties we have to be careful to watch our drinks so someone does not spike them, we have to be careful about what we wear or else people might think that we are “asking for it” and god forbid we try to be friends with the opposite sex, get hit on and reject them, and then get “slut shamed”. There will always be creative new ways to “put us in our place”. Whether its the gender pay gap or more reverends who point their bibles at us and call us “whores” for all to see.

This underlying current of women's rites in American Horror Story touches us all no matter if you are or are not a woman because it applies to sisters, wives, mothers an whoever else you know that’s female. It gives us the realization that it’s just as hard for women to live how they want these days as it was back in the 50’s.

Sources used:

Lombardo, Kayla. “The Brock Turner Sexual Assault Case, Explained.” SI.com, Sports Illustrated, 9 June 2016, www.si.com/more-sports/brock-turner-stanford-swimming-sexual-assault-rape-case.

Murphy, Ryan. “American Horror Story.” Netflix, 26 August 2017, https://www.netflix.com/watch/80045868?trackId=14277283&tctx=0%2C7%2Ca78fbf78-8348-4662-bfaa-ccf02bc406a1-233181663