...and anyone who participates is just as guilty as i am.
Having a moral code to guide your work is only going to be a hindrance in the long run. The system weaponises morals and moralistic behaviour, and uses it to keep those who care too much in check while, ironically, rewarding anyone who doesn't.
Been reading Emily Ratajkowski's book My Body, and the title of the blog is from it.
It's a super engaging read. The internet and incel culture have put up these smokescreens around women in showbiz that obstruct any view of them beyond their bodies. REddit threads and X conversations are abuzz with absolutely garbage talk about Emrata, shaming her for her choice of clothes, body count, choice of roles, and pretty much every decision she takes.
She knows this all too well, and addresses these things multiple times throughout her book. It's not an autobiography as much as it is just a collection of non-linearly told essays almost written like diary entries.
She talks about women being hyper aware about their sexuality since very early on in their lives. Which doesn't just mean sexual orientation; i think it's got more to do with how they're perceived in the world, and what society tells them their innate worth is attached to.
Also, class is all pervading. It's there - and it's non-negotiable - in every aspect of life: work, relationships, friendships. Emrata talks about going on this assignment in the Maldives where she's surrounded by rich billionaires and their families, and she thinks about how she doesn't belong there, amidst them, because they're spending their own money to come vacation there but she's being sent on an assignment.
She has this thought about being paid to model for a rich billionaire's bikini line, and that if she's endorsing some billionaire's fashion line to her 20-odd million instagram followers, she might as well have her own line. And that's exactly what she does.
It benefits the system to treat women like commodities that exist just to serve men. It benefits the system to enable an environment in which women lose their individuality and are bunched up together into one 'group', and each woman is only relevant till a certain age, beyond which she is easily replaced by the next, younger one.
Because so many women realise this so early on in their lives, they work harder to make sure they're fighting the good fight for as long as they can. And which is why we have so many brilliant women everywhere today making their mark in so many different fields.
I haven't finished the entire book yet, but I will over the weekend and maybe do a more detailed review sort of thing. Maybe not, don't know.
We also finished watching Can This Love Be Translated? - which is a south Korean romantic drama. It touches upon dissociative identity disorder, which is what we used to call a split personality back in the day, but it basically means someone living with two distinct personalities in one body.
The series is great until the first 4 or 5 episodes. The story is fast paced and flows smoothly, showing the characters' development and the blooming romance. Then suddenly around episode 7 or 8 things just come to a grinding halt. Sequences become slow, the plot stops making sense, the mental health disorder is shown in great detail but no explanation is given for why she doesn't seek help.
She does go to a psychiatrist once or twice, but that's about the full extent of it. I did love the cinematography, the music, and some of the acting, not all of it.
Also - we finally watched KPop Demon Hunters, which was actually a great watch through and through. Fun, gripping, great storyline, and decent animation. Hard to believe this was just a side project for Sony. I'll do a separate blog on that later for sure.
I've got Soul Boom by the guy who plays Dwight on the Office lined up after My Body. And then I'm planning to read The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, mainly just for kicks. Actually that's not true. I aactually quite enjoy self help and have been meaning to read more in the genre for a long time, and think I will finally do so very soon.
For now, going to try hard to remember Emrata's words. We are all part of the system after all.
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