gender, age, power (plus the white-washing of The Last Airbender)

[a couple random thoughts, bear with me]

So I just finished reading Survival of the Prettiest which was a fascinating read that left me feeling a bit old and ugly. Therefore it was all the more interesting listening to Amy Goodman interview prof Charles Ogeltree about Elena Kagan's supreme court nomination. Toward the end of the interview prof Ogeltree made this statement:

"...she will be smart, she’ll be independent, she’ll fit right in and know the law... She’s going to be a superb Supreme Court Justice. And she’s 50 years old. She will be there probably longer than anyone currently on the court. She is a long time to define what her ideology is going to be." (emphasis mine)

That statement made a real impact on me because he was basically saying "she's ONLY 50... she has so much left to learn/grow/etc" which was a shocking reversal of the "women expire after age 35" implied by Survival of the Prettiest. That reversal had a pretty powerful effect for me.

In other news, as as family we've been thoroughly enjoying the cartoon series Avatar: the Last Airbender (admission: I have a crush on Zuko) and now have plans to go see M. Night Shyamalan's movie version with some friends. But I am a bit disheartened, NOT by the fact that it has gotten poor reviews but by the apparent white-washing the casting process went through. And to be honest... I didn't notice it. Until it was pointed out by a friend. Also, I believe that the movie had to eliminate (for reasons of simplification) my favorite female characters: Toph, Azula, Mai, Ty Lee, and Suki. I LOVED that some of the most powerful warriors in the show were female. It will be fun to see the movie, but, also will enjoy going back to the cartoon after all is said and done.

anyhoo... just what was on my mind this morning. There you go. thanks for listening.