Sidetracks - March 23, 2013

[helloladies]

Sidetracks is a collaborative project featuring various essays, videos, reviews, or other Internet content that we want to share with each other. All past and current links for the Sidetracks project can be found in our Sidetracks tag.

---

➝ Signups for the 2013 round of DOINK! Final Fantasy Exchange are open. :) I've been co-moderating this exchange since 2007 with seventhe and justira. It's a super fun time if you like creating Final Fantasy fanwork. :)

➝ I haven't really been too vocal about how Lydia's arc in the Lizzie Bennet Diaries wore off a lot of the shine of the series for me, but it did! I went from YAY NEW EPISODES to "oh, is that still happening?" because the creators totally fucked Lydia's arc up beyond redemption. I caught up just in time for the bitter cockles of my heart to be warmed by this episode (which I may have watched multiple times with no shame) and for THIS EPISODE TO HAPPEN and nalskdjalksjdalksjdlkjdasdd this is what they should have been focusing on the whole time instead of creeping victim-blaming, slut-shaming nonsense. ;___; ROMANCE.

➝ This game is addicting and horrible and ADDICTING. :|

➝ I'm really going to miss Genre Reviews :(

➝ I've been having a great time watching Sword and Shell, which will probably be fun for those who enjoy watching people play video games (Katie is hilarious).

---

➝ In 2013 and the Emergence of the Disgruntled Reader, Cass says:

I'm sick of bad or mediocre young adult books getting overwhelming amounts of praise just because they include a trans character, even if they do it in a way that dehumanizes a real group of people, characters who are a lot like my friends, people that I love. I'm sick of not being able to go to the bookstore and easily find a love story that bears any resemblance to either my actual love life or my dreamed of love life. Why is it that even gay or lesbian romance novels are so often tragic? Where's my escape?

Go read the post in its entirety — it's well worth it.

➝ Cheryl Morgan recaps the Bristol Women's Literature Festival, which included discussions of the VIDA numbers and how to break this pattern.

➝ And speaking of Cheryl Morgan, she recently reviewed Fanny & Stella: The Young Men Who Shocked Victorian England by Neil McKenna. This book caught my eye on NetGalley a while ago, but I wondered whether it was going to be sensationalistic. Morgan's review makes me want to pick it up ASAP, though.

➝ Melissa at The Feminist Texican Reads read The Feminist and the Cowboy so the rest of us don't have to.

➝ In honour of Women's History Month, Duke University Press put together a Pinterest board with all their titles on the subject. I kind of want them all right now.

➝ Probably everyone's seen this, but allow me to go EEEEEEEEEEEEEE: Much Ado About Nothing trailer.

➝ Finally, a Tumblr I could hardly fail to love — Women of Library History.

---

➝ Bookslut's Book of the Week feature continues to smash everything. This week they're spotlighting 'One Nation Under Stress' by Dana Becker. The interview with her again reminds us that everything is not our fault and a can-do attitude is not all it takes to get ahead. Those are some refreshing and badly needed thoughts.

➝ I love doing my nails but I'm not very adventurous when it comes to nail art. It always seems like you need so many special tools. But do I ever love looking at other people's efforts and pretending that one day I'll do something similar. By combining YA book covers with nail art photos The Bookish Manicurist may have secured my undying blog following devotion.

➝ More reasons to love Kristen Stewart.

➝ These horses sculptures made out of recycled plastic keep reminding me I should probably be reading 'The Scorpio Races'. Welcome to my brain... I kind of want a novel about racing horses built from cast off kitchen tools now.

➝ And speaking of some beautiful art, check out this paper homage to Harry Potter. It is delectable.

➝ I'll leave you with 'Radioactive' by Imagine Dragons, a song I currently can not be parted from. Enjoy:

Comments

[theliteraryomnivore.wordpress.com]

Oh, Jodie, "Radioactive". I loved how it was used in the trailer for The Host (which I might see? I am forever in thrall to my love of high-budget, low-quality sf films). I only like two songs off Imagine Dragons' album—"Radioactive" and "It's Time". The latter is perfect for driving around late at night in a city you love.

[bookgazing]

I've just made plans to see the Host - go see it ;) I haven't seen a really good aliens as love struck teens piece since Roswell and I'm hoping this one will be strong, if cheesy.

[theliteraryomnivore.wordpress.com]

Oh whoops I guess I have to now. ;)

Twilight + Gattaca = The Host is what I'm hearing, so odds are good.

[myfriendamy]

aw, I had my own obsession with Radioactive!

and that's sad about Genre Reviews. I had forgotten about them sadly, but I remember their participation and help in the first BBAW.

[bookgazing]

Yay I'm excited that other people like this song. I first heard it on a game trailer and it seems I'm making a habit of getting into music on ads which I suppose means I'm egtting old or something.

[avampireinstripedpyjamas.blogspot.com]

Will you be doing a continuation of the previous Lizzie Bennet joint review focusing on the completed show? I'm confused about the victim-blaming, slut-shaming part, in that I thought that yes, clearly this is a story arc that invokes these aspects but don't they manage to avoid it? (not a rhetorical question!). I figured that Lydia blaming herself is natural but that the audience would of course be expected to know that George was culpable? I'm afraid this must sound horribly ignorant, sorry.

[nymeth]

I can't speak for Renay, obviously, but here are my own two cents: I felt that the problem was mainly that the storyline was brushed aside much too quickly for it to be able to deal adequately with all the momentous questions it raises, you know? Yes, Lydia is portrayed sympathetically all the way through, and considering the track record of most media, this isn't something I take for granted. But considering how poorly established the fact that a woman is not in a way to blame if she's taken advantage of still is (see: Steubenville), I think they ought to have delved deeper.

I remember this one episode where Lizzie and Lydia have a conversation in which Lydia says, "he asked to film us having sex and I let him do it. I let him, Lizzie." Lizzie doesn't really do anything - at that point Lydia's crying, so she just hugs and comforts her. And yeah, obviously she's not all, "you suck, Lydia!", but the episode still made me really sad because they never once address the fact that there's nothing whatsoever wrong with "letting him do it". Making a consensual sex tape with your partner is not bad or shameful or degrading - it's a valid sexual choice for a young woman to make. If Lydia wanted to make a tape, more power to her. The problem wasn't that she said yes to that - the problem was that George then went ahead and tried to put it online without her consent. But because of the hasty manner the whole thing is dealt with, it's possible to look at the whole story and conclude that Lydia invited this whole situation by consenting to the sex tape; that she screwed up by saying yes. I know a lot of viewers will know better than to victim-blame like that, and yes, a series should trust its audience's intelligence and not make every storytelling decision based on the lowest common denominator. BUT. The more culturally fragile an idea is, the more care you have to take. And as I was saying above, the idea that young women who make sexual choices like Lydia's have done absolutely nothing wrong is still far from established.

The other thing that really bugged me is that they stuck so close to the original when it comes to Darcy coming in with his money and saving the day. I wish they'd found a way to have Lydia be an active part of the solution to the situation. They changed so many other parts of Austen's original story, so why not this? Anyway, personally I still love the series to pieces and I appreciate what they tried to do. But to me they fell short because the way female sexuality is perceived means these questions merit more care.

PS: Is that a book blog you started in the URL? :D

[avampireinstripedpyjamas.blogspot.com]

Yes, absolutely. The narrative should have framed the sex-positive message much more firmly. I don't know if you've already seen this, but I thought this might be interesting - http://www.lizziebennet.com/bts-slut-shaming/ - It makes the manner of resolving Lydia's arc a bit more problematic when you consider that the creators were not unaware of this problematic angle to their story.

PS: *gulp*

[avampireinstripedpyjamas.blogspot.com]

Ah meant to say that it made the manner of resolving Lydia's story more *puzzling* although I guess problematic works as well.

[nymeth]

I hadn't seen that before, no - thanks so much for sharing. It gives me All The Mixed Feelings, because on the one hand, Su comes across as someone who's clearing willing to examine his blind spots and to listen. But on the other hand, dude, seriously? It took the 2012 election for "slut" to get a bad connotation and for its context to change? What world do you live in? I guess the series' lack of a more clear sex-positive stance might have to do with this kind of blind spot. He's willing to learn and I value that a lot, but he falls short because he still doesn't quite realise what a big deal that is when you're a girl or a woman.

PS: Looking forward to the blog's grand opening :D #nopressure