I'm home now, and because I so rarely am, my grandmother has come for a visit. Now, most people think their grandmother's are just swell, sweet and loving, blah, blah, blah. Well, I'm afraid I can't agree. Mine is racist, sexist, probably homophobic, and has called me "strange" to my face. Not to mention the fact that she has the incredibly ability to tell the most inane stories on earth. She's at her best, though, when discussing social issues with me and my equally left-wing mother. This morning's topic was one of my favorites, race. Grandma is convinced that there is no inequality left, that "those black people, some of 'em, I'm convinced are just trying to start an argument!" 

Mom and I tried to explain to her that legal equality doesn't always translate to literal equality, that plenty of discrimination occurs in housing, jobs, and of course, individual attitudes. 

"Well, then, they can go to court! Sue 'em!" 

Grandma, not everyone can afford a lawyer. Why should they have to go to extra effort and expense to secure the same rights we, as middle class whites, take for granted?

She then, of course, launched into a story about how hard she and her family had it during the depression, dared to draw parallels between her experience and that of black slaves, and "I'm not still complaining about it! We had FUN out there in the sugar beet field!"

Somehow, the conversation switched to women's rights: 

"I think women are getting a little too independent; I don't believe in these 'women's rights'. I think people should be treated equal, and that's it."

Well, May, that what women's rights ARE.

"Don't you like to have men open doors and pull out chairs for you?"

Ummm... no.

I wish I could relay the entire conversation here; each of her proclaimations was more outrageous than the next. Finally, I tired of talking in circles and escaped the room. All I can say is, thank goodness I only see grandma a few times a year.

[...]

I've seen a lot of movies since I've been home - there's not much else to do here in the 'burbs - so here's a brief rundown:

Election: I loved this movie, from start to finish. Superficially, it was simply hysterical. I think I might have embarrassed my friend Kevin with my ceaseless loud guffawing. Specifically: I thought the characters were excellent. Tammy, the cynical lesbian sophomore, was still a romantic at heart. Her brother, who could have been a typically dumb-as-a-rock jock asshole, was actually a dumb-as-a-rock jock nice guy, a nice departure from the usual. I'm no movie reviewer, so I'm not doing this one justice. Suffice it to say, this was simply a great dark comedy, especially if you are as cynical about high school as I am.

Ten Things I Hate About You: Yes, I'm a big fan of teeny-bopper movies. I saw this one at a drive in theatre (Anne rode in the trunk so she could get in for free), so I might have missed a few things on account of various antics. I still liked it a lot- it was well done for a teen movie, and I can't resist screenplays based on Shakespeare. Plus, I came out with a huge crush on Kat.

Hideous Kinky: Visually, this movie was absolutly gorgeous. It was colorful and exotic -of course, there are problems with the exoticizing/"otherizing" of Morocco, but the film intrinsically addresses those issues using Kate Winslet's character's romanticization of her experiences. The only thing that slipped me up were a few holes in the plot (spoilers here): Allusion was made to Bilal (Winslet's love interest) being a thief on the run, but the issue isn't resolved. Also, we are told that one of Winslet's daughters becomes seriously ill and that the cost of treatment is beyond their means, but 10 minutes later, she appears to be completely recovered. Overall, this was a beautifully sweeping and visually captivating epic, but be prepared to leave with a few questions.  

[...]

Amazingly, I have more to say. I don't want to make this unreasonably long, though, so I'll wait till later.

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