She's Still Just a Girl

      First off, this is NOT a hate post of any kind! 

      I really do admire Jennifer Lawrence and who she is as an actress and a person. Also, I do my best to keep my blog negative free and not incite any hateful or demeaning opinions. So, don't breeze past my post thinking that I'm a jealous college student with nothing better to do than to whine about celebrities. In all honesty, this is hardly about Jennifer, but rather people's perceptions and unrealistic expectations about her. 

Jennifer's pre-Hunger Games films

     While Jennifer Lawrence was well known for such movies as X-Men: First Class and Winter's Bone, for which she received her first Oscar nomination (if you haven't seen it, you need to!), she really reached celebrity status when she was controversially cast as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games Trilogy. 

     People originally started out with the backlash that Jennifer was too old (she had just turned twenty-one) and too pretty (of course, because hiring ugly people is acceptable in Hollywood) and too blonde (I guess she was the reason brown hair dye was invented). Then the movie came out and Jennifer went to several press conferences, premieres, and parties...and people began to change their minds...

She was obviously funny

Beauty set aside, she had some great inspirational quotes as well...

         Now, all of a sudden, Jennifer Lawrence or J-Law (as she was dubbed by the media) is Hollywood's Darling, everyone's favorite girl. She literally, like her on screen alter-ego, Katniss, has became the girl on fire. Her quotes are now seen as wonderful, groundbreaking, and well needed for today's girls. All of a sudden, there is an actress out there in the public eye that's not afraid to speak her mind and tell the world what she thinks and that's great! She's a non-conformist; she knows what she wants in her life and goes after it. 

On top top that, she also won the Oscar for Best Actress in 2013!

       So...you might be wondering,,,what's the problem?

       My problem is the way the world has raised Jennifer Lawrence on pedestal and has made her on an on/off-screen goddess among mortals. Yes, she's beautiful, she's funny, and she's opinionated, but seriously people...the hero worship needs to stop.  She tells people that she's an ordinary girl and she is, but people have written her to be God's gift to humanity...and all because she likes to eat pizza or because she hates to exercise? There are lots of women out there like that, but I guess it's not very important unless a celebrity says so. 

Young, pre-famous Jennifer at school, home and on a mission's trip

      By this time last year, if I had to hear one more thing about 'how great Jennifer Lawrence was' I was going to scream. I knew that eventually Jennifer was going to make a public mistake, do something wrong, say something wrong and the world's unrealistic image of her was going to crash down hard, and people would sadly see that she was just an ordinary human girl, prone to mistakes and accidents just like the rest of us. 

      And that's exactly what happened. In August, Jennifer's phone was hacked and several nude photos of her were leaked online. Now, people started their backlash,

 "How could she?"

"She's suppose to be a role model!!" 

"What was she thinking??"

      Jennifer is all of a sudden just another stupid girl, who makes stupid mistakes, and now she has ruined the perfect image that the world created. HOW DARE SHE!!! Granted, what she did was inappropriate and this has happened so many times, that you would think that people would take more caution into what they're doing. 

Click to read the article

      Thankfully, Jennifer has managed to get through the scandal with few (if any) scars. Her career is still doing well (thanks to THG franchise) and she's gone back to being the Golden Girl of Hollywood. It's sad that something like that had to happen to her, but I can hardly see her as a victim, seeing as it was her independent decision. Anything that goes through the internet is eventually going to be seen and the sooner the people of my generation learn that, then the better.  

      I believe that when the world raises an ordinary human on a glorified pedestal, then God will eventually find a way to push that human down, whether in a humiliating or detrimental way. Jennifer Lawrence is a cool girl, she has incredible gifts and talents, but she's not immune to mistakes and poor decisions. 

       I think it's fine to admire Jennifer Lawrence (I'll even forgive her for being friend's with Taylor Swift). At the end of the day though, when the interviews are over and the gowns are hung up, she's just a regular 24 year girl, with a life that deserves to be lived as she sees fit and it should be a life that is not dictated by what her fans or the media believe it should be.

More from the Jolie-Pitt Wedding

Angelina's dress that was designed by her children

Lovely

With her baby girl Vivienne 

Vivienne and Zahara wait for their mom

Shiloh and Knox

Brad with Shiloh, Knox and Pax

Angie and Brad with Knox and Pax

With Brad's parents

Details on the dress

Supernatural Update

Finished Season 3 and my mind is like

"What the Hell?"

Dean is seriously in HELL!!"

Started Season 4...

Dean is alive,

Ruby is back,

and I have finally met the (in)famous Castiel.

Misha Collins as Castiel in

Supernatural

Smallville: From a Feminist's POV

     I finally finished Smallville last week : ( After spending almost half a year watching Clark Kent grow up, I now feel like I've lost my best friend. That being said...it's a wonderful show that I'm going to look forward to collecting season by season next year! The final season had a beautiful ending that left with me with a great deal of closure and satisfaction. I'll be doing a general overview of the series soon, once I get everything sorted out!

      There was a lot in this show that presented good moral values that have, quite frankly, been lost in today's shallow and selfish society. One value I did pick up on was the role of strong, independent woman and honorable, courageous men. In the media today, a woman is only as good as the man that is next to her, she must prove that she is better, smarter, stronger and even more masculine than him. Any woman that is portrayed as remotely feminine and gifted with a kind and generous nature are viewed as weak, shallow, and pathetic. 

The Women of Smallville

     There is no such thing as a 'stupid' woman in Smallville. Dingy (Lois) yes, insecure (Lana) yes, tenacious (Chloe) yes, but all women (at least the leading characters) in the show are very intelligent and beautiful. 

     Martha Kent went from being a farmer's wife and stay-at-home mom to being in the Senate and she is a prime example and beautiful femininity that co-insides perfectly with intelligence and integrity.  On top of that, she adores her husband, Jonathan (who wouldn't??), even when she disagrees with him, she still respects his decision as her husband and the head of the household. As a mother, she gives constant support to her son as well as the other people in his life, such as Lex, Lana, Chloe and her future daughter-in-law, Lois. 

     Lois Lane is an army brat who's tough, feisty and independent. When her mother died as a little girl, her dad, General Sam Lane, raised both Lois and her little sister, Lucy, in strict militaristic form. Lois can do tae-Kwan-do, drink, dive a monster truck, play blackjack, and knows how to pick any lock. At the same time, she manages to surprise people with her generous wisdom, sympathy, and compassionate heart for the hurting. She can put on a beautiful dress and walk arm-in-arm with a handsome suitor and manage to charm anyone in the room. 

      Chloe goes beyond smart, she's a genius. Clever and witty, with a never ending curiosity (that more often than not lands her in trouble), Chloe is a great representation of ambitious girl with a dream to accomplish. Being Lois' cousin, she is just as skilled in self-defense, but uses her mind and cunning to get what she needs. She also believes strongly in equality; Chloe doesn't want to be better than a man, she wants to be his equal in everything that world has to offer. Being raised by a loving father and having two boys as her best friends, she learned this very early on in her life.

     Lana Lang lost her parents when she was only 3 and was adopted by her aunt. Lack of a father in her life has made Lana long for male affection (and not in an inappropriate way). Lana is well aware of how beautiful she is, but oftentimes she feels that being beautiful is all people see her as. Lana has depth, emotion, intelligence and a never ending drive to make a difference. Over the years, she becomes stronger and stronger. Yes, she makes very bad mistakes, but these can be traced back by the lack of a strong and protective father//male presence in her life. 

      The women of Smallville are hardly shrinking violets; they know what they want and they go after it. That doesn't mean they run down the men in their lives or they demean men when they offer their help. These women also know that they have weaknesses that can blind them from what is important and at times, they need men to guide them back to what they are truly meant to be. 

The men of Smallville

      

     There are few good men in the world, whether in comic books or in real life. The men of Smallville are complex, each of them with a variety of strengths and weaknesses, but also with emotion and passion for what they believe in. One factor that is heavily stressed in Smallville is that men are the protectors of women. Yes, even Lex Luthor has had his knight in shining armor moments.

      I don't know how many times I have seen a man in this show shield, defend, and care for a woman who has been hurt physically or wounded emotionally. Although Clark is from an alien planet, he was raised by a loving father mentored him on how to be a protector. Lex Luthor may have started out as good, but his own cruel father turned him away from any sense of dignity or duty toward women or humanity. Oliver Queen, although a womanizer, stated that one of his childhood hangups was never to harm a girl. 

Whitney and Jimmy

     Other characters, such as Whitney Fordeman, Lana's first boyfriend signed up for the marines seeing it as his duty before God to serve his country. Chloe's first husband, Jimmy, loved her dearly and sacrificed everything he had for her. They both had their strengths in loving passionately, but the weakness of allowing their passion become possession. In the end though, they both died heroes; for their country and the ones they loves. 

      The men in this show don't give unrealistic expectations about men in real life, but rather give a realistic perspective of how ordinary men can do extraordinary things when compelled by the women that are in their lives. The sense of male/female equality is balanced very well in Smallville. Men protect women and women fight by men's side. 

     

Christmas Layout!

Brought to you by

Lady Mary and Matthew Crawley!

Matthew proposes to Lady Mary in

Downton Abbey

      In spite of my amazing fan-girl love for Smallville in the last several months, do you honestly think I had forgotten about my beloved Downton Abbey?? And who better to use for my Christmas theme then one of the best couples in television fiction!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; 

but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude. 

~E.P. Powell

Ivy Miranda's Rules to Movie Reviewing

      In Smallville, when Clark first starts working at The Daily Planet (at the behest of Lois...of all people), Lois gives him a sheet entitled Lois Lane's Rule's of Reporting, (which he then frames and keeps out of sight and mind from the rest of the basement bullpen).

     At one point in time, I actually wanted to be a journalists, but it didn't work out, but I did discover an unlikely love of movie reviewing. And unexpectedly, my movie reviews have become well received and appreciated! So, just for fun of course, I wanted to give my own rules/guide to how I write movie reviews. Not saying that people have to follow them to write an exceptional review (even I have a long way to go!), but it's a basic groundwork to getting started. 

Ivy Miranda's Rules 

to 

Movie Reviewing

1.) Watch the movie at least twice.

2.) Understand the story arc.

3.) Avoid all bias; especially in female characters, villains, and parental/guardian figures.

4.) If doing character reviews, focus on the lead characters and never let the reviews of the minor characters exceed the leading character's reviews.

5.) Explain each character's background, transition phase, and then who they are by the end. 

6.) If using pictures for character reviews make sure there is a general theme of all pictures, e.g. poster sets or promotional photos. This gives it a more professional and streamlined look.

7.) Never incorporate yourself or people you know into the review.

8.) Never compare yourself to the hero/heroine.

9.) Never base you personal opinions on an actor/actress as reasons for disliking their character.

10.) Focus on actor's performance and not on their physical appearance.

11.) Find at least two positive and two negative qualities about the characters.

12.) Give attention to music, costuming, scenery and writing.

13.) Find the moral basis.

14.) If the movie is based on a book, avoid contrast/comparisons to the book and see it only as a film that is inspired by a novel. That way it will be a more positive experience and you'll see the story in a fresh and different way.

15.) If you didn't like the movie, then DO NOT review it!