There has been a lot of speculation about Loki in Thor 2 and some
people saying that there wasn’t the real “character redemption” that
they had hoped for.
So here is my response and a few things I’m curious about.
Property of Marvel
On character redemption:
To me, Loki’s role in the film was just like the character,
complicated. That’s what makes him so unique and draws you in. While others may disagree, I believe
that he showed a lot of growth within this film.
During the beginning of the film, Loki rejects Frigga as his mother
since he learned he was adopted. Yet, when hearing about her death, he becomes
upset (more on his reaction later). He even speaks of her during his
time with Thor, showing that he deeply cared for her.
During Loki and Thor’s fight with Malekith, Loki is ultimately on
Thor’s side. And when Thor is being beaten by Kursed, Loki comes to his
rescue. He faces his own death (still trying to figure out how he
survived) to save Thor. He could easily have watched Thor die, but
instead he comes to his brother’s rescue. Whereas in Thor and The
Avengers, he was all about killing Thor.
Property of Marvel
It’s Loki’s last scene that is angering people, but to me, it also
shows character development/redemption.
Pretending to be Odin, he gives
Thor his blessing to leave Asgard and be with Jane. Loki knows that Thor
always seeks his father’s approval and that it would mean a great deal
to have Odin’s blessing in this decision. To me, this adds to Loki’s
renewed brotherly feelings.
Yes, Loki seems to have found a way to take
the throne of Asgard away from Odin, but his problems with his adopted
father are much more complicated and deeply seeded than those with Frigga
or Thor. Therefore, I can’t really begrudge him for this. Also, being
mischievous is part of Loki’s character/charm.
Property of Marvel
On Loki’s imprisonment:
We are to believe that Loki is still put together after a year and a
half of imprisonment. He taunts and acts indifferent in many cases until
Thor arrives to seek his help. It is at this moment that Loki shows
what he has become. On first glance, you believe that his ragged
appearance and trashed furniture are from his mourning of Frigga, but if
he had the power to alter the appearance of his cell, could he have
been doing it the entire time? Could this be how he was really handling his imprisonment? His hurt and anger are clearly shown
within this moment and I find it easy to believe that this is what truly
became of him during the year and a half he spent in the cell.
It's not a new idea that the media doesn't portray women in a strong light. But recently, I've been reading a lot of flack on the internet in regards to how Aaron Sorkin has written the female characters on The Newsroom.
Some of the main issues brought up on main character MacKenzie McHale (played by Emily Mortimer) are that Mac has to subtract using her fingers and she doesn't know anything about the economy.
Sloan Sabbith (Olivia Munn) is horrible at relationships and people skills in general. And in one episode, it was revealed she had taken compromising photos that are leaked to the press.
Besides just these two, there have been other issues on the show where women could be considered "crazy".
But remember this. Mac is known as the best Executive Producer in broadcasting who not only spent years in the Middle East covering stories at her own risk, but she also wants to bring integrity back to the news. Sloan has two PhDs in economics and speaks several languages.
Think back about other "strong" women on television.
Buffy Summers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)- Buffy kicks ass, you can't deny that. But Buffy has her faults. She's horrible at picking the right men, she doesn't do well in school (even drops out of college) and has her fair share of mental demons throughout the series' run.
Daenerys Targaryen (Game of Thrones)- The Khaleesi herself is bold, loyal to her people, and will stop at nothing to take over the Iron Throne with the help of her dragons. But while she frees the enslaved and conquers land, she's ruthless in her quest. She kills anyone who is in her way and is blind to the affections of those around her.
Leslie Knope (Parks and Recreation)- Council Woman Knope is loveable, loyal to her town and country, and works hard for what she believes in. But she's not without her faults. Some of the most memorable character moments include her jealousy, prejudice towards the neighboring town Eagleton, and sometimes her resolve is a bit too much.
Donna Noble (Doctor Who)- While there are plenty of strong women on this TV show, Donna is the one who comes to mind. She's kind-hearted, wanting to save everyone even when she knows it's against the laws of the universe (Pompeii). And she faces her fear by traveling with The Doctor and getting in dangerous situations. But Donna is also known for her quirks. She's quick to mouth off, not the brightest of women at the beginning of her storyline, and isn't the most tactful at times.
So why am I bringing all this up? Because these are not only STRONG women, they are REAL women. A woman without faults is not a woman, but a projection of one. Without their drawbacks, a woman is not truly strong because she has nothing to truly overcome. Sure an apocalypse, the end of the universe, a town hall race, a siege on Westeros and taking on the current culture of mainstream media are all immense situations to be a part of. But these women still face them head on.
I remember being in first grade, in the library after
school. My mom was finishing up work so we could go home, so I was just
looking through the shelves. Scooting along on my hands and knees.
School libraries always had the shortest shelves.
I remember coming to a book that I recognized and thinking that this
was the book my mom and my sister kept talking about. Going on about
smelting sticks and a game with brooms. My mom had purposely ordered it
for the library so she could read it once it was available. I turned it
around in my hands, interested in knowing more.
Not long afterward my mom and I were sitting in the car, waiting for
my sister to finish dance class, while I read it aloud with her. She
helped me with names I was mispronouncing. I thought one name was like
Harmony.
I remember being curled up in my parents’ bed as we read about
snitches, bludgers, and quaffles. My dad hearing us and asking, “What
are you reading?” He’d be the next to get his hands on it.
I remember my mom finding a British copy of the second book at a used
bookstore. Weeks before it was available in the US. We were so excited.
I remember going to a midnight release party for the third book, dressed as my favorite character, holding a homemade wand.
I remember being so excited to see a sneak peak on TV at a scene of the first movie when it was shown on the WB network.
I remember sitting in a movie theater, anxiously waiting for the first film and hearing that distinctive theme as it started.
I remember crying at the first character death, in complete shock at the quickness of it.
I remember seeing the third film over five times in theaters.
I remember that the tears continued with each new book, yet there was
a sense of happiness that came with being with those familiar
characters.
I remember more midnight releases of the films and books, more excited than tired.
I remember staying up all night to finish the last book. Never putting it down even when some of the deaths were too painful.
I remember going to a Yule Ball hosted by a local movie theater before the second to last film.
I remember camping out overnight for the last film’s premiere in NY.
I remember clutching my best friend’s hand and crying as the WB logo
appeared on the screen for the last time in the film series.
I remember these moments because they mean so much to me.
It’s been close to 14 years since I was in that school library, sitting on the floor, looking at that first book.
The memory will stay with me forever.
And we’re back. I’m killing time before my flight back to
the US to write about the rest of my time in China. Again, I’ll go day-by-day
and then put some random tidbit information at the end.
SATURDAY, MAY 25
Dori and I woke up super early for our flight to Beijing.
Our plane touched down around 10 am, so we had the whole day to play tourists.
One of the biggest perks of the being in the Foreign Service is that Dori has
friends stationed all over. Her friend Luke, who works in Beijing, was spending
the weekend in Malaysia and graciously let us stay at his place while he was
gone.
We dropped off our luggage and went off to the Forbidden
City/Tiananmen Square. There were so many people! The two of us decided to go
through the Forbidden City first. Later, this would prove to be a bad idea.
For those of you who don’t know, there are a bajillion gates
to get to the main part of the Forbidden City. Cause the emperor needed to be far away
from all the gross commoners. Nowadays, the first gate has a huge picture of
Chairman Mao’s face on it. Lovely.
Once inside, you’re stunned by the architecture and detail
of the buildings. The many colors, carvings, and tiles are all beautiful. We took a
lot of pictures, and since we were in a major touristy area, a lot of pictures
were taken of us. I never got used to it. Oh well, white people in China
problems.
We exited through the back gate and realized that we were
forever away from Tiananmen Square (I told you we learned our lesson), but we decided
to walk back instead of cab it. The walk was horrible. Not only were the
sidewalk stones making our feet ache, we were constantly being accosted by
rickshaw drivers asking for business. I was getting furious at them.
*Side note: Men in Beijing like to say “hello” to white
girls when they see them. It wouldn’t be so frustrating, but it’s definitely
not in a harmless way. I really wanted to yell back, “Je ne parle anglais!” since
not every white person is American/British/Australian. (Pretty sure I spelled
some of that French wrong).
Finally, we found our way back to Tiananmen Square. You see
it, all the flowers and nice buildings, and can’t believe that something so
horrible had happened there not too long ago. Supposedly, the Chinese don’t
talk about the massacre that much since it didn’t change anything politically.
Most don’t feel anything about it one way or another.
Besides the National Museum of China and several monuments,
there is the mausoleum of Mao. It’s a large structure with several statues
outside depicting the people of China carrying a banner with his image. It’s
interesting.
Next was a trip around Qianmen walking street. It’s a newly
made area that looks old school but carries a bunch of new school stores like
H&M and Zara. There were a few back alleyways. Hutongs.
Before dinner, we decided to go to this small bar in the
Nanluoguxiang area that Dori’s friend told us about. On the way there we walked
through an amazing park and more hutongs that felt more like “real” China. The bar
was called Drum and Bell since it’s located between a very old drum tower and a
very old bell tower. We went up on the roof, which had an amazing view of the
area. It was noticeable that most of the patrons were expats speaking languages
from English to Portuguese.
We were feeling good after we left and though to take a
rickshaw to dinner. We made sure to hire a guy that HADN’T accosted us. He was
super sweet and drove us to KFC. Cause we’re classy.
Jeez, this post is so long and I’m only done with Saturday.
SUNDAY, MAY 26
OUR GREAT WALL DAY!
A car drove us about an hour and a half out of the city to a
small area of the wall called Mutianyu. The village was very small and the area
wasn’t as touristy as other parts of the wall. We took a cable car (it was a
porch swing with a handlebar) to the Wall and started our trek up and down one
of the greatest achievements of mankind.
I can’t describe the experience very well. It’s one of those
things that you have to do for yourself. The view, the architecture,
the…everything. It was amazing. You could see it stretching on for miles,
twisting and turning.
It was a good day for it since it was cool and cloudy. We
didn’t start to feel sweaty or tired until our way back to where the cable car
had dropped us off. But we weren’t going to take it back down. Oh no, we were
going to TOBOGGAN!
Yes, you read that right. They had toboggans that took you
down a large slide, snaking downhill. It was SO MUCH FUN! Dori and I loved it!
We grabbed some lunch before deciding to explore the village
and the surrounding areas. It was very much rural China. Although, pretty sure
the vast majority of the town’s income came from tourism. We hung out at a café
for a bit before a car took us back. Dang, were we exhausted. We called it an
early night and watched some Downton Abbey before going to bed.
MONDAY, MAY 27
It was our last day in Beijing and most of it was played by
ear. It ended up being a day full of temples.
First, the Llama Temple. Another problem with touristy
places in Beijing is the beggars. Living in NYC, I’ve seen a fair share of
homeless people, but when it comes to amputees, our homeless people don’t feel
the need to actually showcase the missing limbs. I had to avert my eyes a lot.
The temple was more Tibetan in style, with more people there
to worship. Beautiful. There were a few prayer wheels and I couldn’t help
spinning one. Although, I didn't pray. I quoted Eddie Murphy in “The Golden
Child”.
There was a Confucian temple across the street so we went
over to hit that up. To our liking, very few people were there. There was a
statue of Confucius, so of course we had to take pictures with the dude. Again,
it was another beautiful temple.
When touring with Gu Qin in Shanghai, she had told me about
the Panjiayuan Antique Market it Beijing, so Dori and I went to check it out.
It was huge! So any merchants selling so many different things. Lots of beads,
(fake) jade carvings, teapots, vases, and calligraphy.
We still had a little bit of time before we needed to be at
the airport, so Dori suggested we head over to the Temple of Heaven. I know
I’ve called all these temples beautiful, but they all were! This one was much
different to the others though. The main temples were mostly circular and there
was an offering mound. Intense. It’s also a public park if you’re a retiree or
Beijing resident, so all the greenery was nice after so much time in the foul
air.
Finally we were ready to leave Shanghai. The Beijing Airport
is horrible. Security was super paranoid (Our umbrellas? Really?) and the
terminals had no good food. I had to have ice cream for dinner. As I sit in the
Pudong International Airport, I agree with Dori’s statement that Chinese
airports are the worst.
TUESDAY, MAY 28
My last day in China and I took it very easy. Slept in and
took my time packing before meeting Dori for lunch. I spent the afternoon
getting a much needed foot massage. Finally, Dori came back to her apartment to
see me off. I have to say that I got a bit choked up saying goodbye. I had such
a good time staying with her. I miss her a lot when she’s so far away.
A few tidbits:
- I found out what an “Asian air-conditioner” is, and I
don’t like it.
- I won’t ever complain about La Guardia’s food options ever
again.
- I still don’t know how to use chopsticks, but Dori bought be a starter pair that are connected with a plastic panda.
So that’s it. That was my trip. My plane is about to board.
I can’t believe it went by so fast. I can’t believe I actually went to China!
It’s wet my appetite for travel and I can’t wait until I have the time and
money to go somewhere else.
Hey y’all, so I’m sitting in the Beijing airport as I write
this (this airport sucks!), waiting to fly back to Shanghai. However, my
weekend in BJ will have to be covered at a different time.
So, let’s pick up where we last left off, shall we?
TUESDAY, MAY 21
My sister had to work, so she asked her language teacher, Gu
Qin, to take me around some of the lesser know areas. Gu was so nice and told
me so much about Shanghai, its history, culture, everything. For example, women
in Shanghai have more power over men do to their history working with silk.
Silk trade brings in more money than hard labor. It's the MAN’S family who has
to pay for the wedding and used to do dowries. Ha!
We took the metro to the antique market that was full of
interesting things wither made to look like antiques, or were just little
knick-knacks. According to Gu, the Chinese don’t consider something less than
300-years-old an antique.
The tea market she took me to was a very non-touristy
building full of artists’ shops. Calligraphy and different teapots were sold,
and of course, tea. I tried some Jasmine and light brown tea which were nice,
but not my thing.
I was surprised when Gu took me to Guilin Park, an amazingly
beautiful garden and former home of a gangster. Gu told me a lot about his
life, relationship with the government, his concubine, and the architecture of
the park.
Met up with Dori afterwards and we went to Yu Gardens, a
shopping area that’s architecture brings to mind “traditional China.” We took A
LOT of pictures! We had dinner at a rather new, swanky area, which was nice.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 22
I had the day to myself so I took the metro to see the
Shanghai Museum. Wow! There were so many great artifacts and pieces of art.
Some of which dated thousands of years ago. It really reminded me how “new”
America is.
I went back to the TV Tower in the Pudong side to go all the
way to the top. I was stuck in line behind a large tour group of men, which
wasn’t fun. Some kept trying to take pictures of “the white girl”. But it was
worth it once I got to the top. The view…oh my god! Fantastic. There was a
glass floor on which I laid down to take pictures. However, the selfie angle
was super awkward.
Dori got off work so we went to pick up our custom skirts. I
love mine so much. I wore one out of the fabric market. Dori had coerced her
friend Peter into meeting us at The Bund to do a photo shoot of us. All the
pictures are on her camera, so I can’t post them yet. The Peace Hotel was a few
blocks away, so we went up to the very top to have drinks. I can’t begin to
tell you how great the view was of the skyline after the sun went down. I made
sure to use the panorama app on my phone.
THURSDAY, MAY 23
Another day mostly to myself. After a tour of the US consulate, I
took a nap since all the running around in Shanghai had started to wear me out.
My sister and I took the high speed train that night to Nanjing so she could
pass me off to her friends Natalie, Ildiko, and Laura, who go to school there.
Met for dinner at Element Fresh before Dori had to go back to SH.
It was down to the four of us and they thought they’d take
me up to the top of the Continental Hotel before going back to their dorms.
Once we got back to their housing complex, we saw there was a party on the
patio. I met a ton of their fellow graduate students, who all seemed nice for
the most part. BTW, Nanjing dorms are just like American dorms.
FRIDAY, MAY 24
We all slept late and then Natalie, Ildiko and I went back
to E Fresh for lunch. We definitely had the same waiter.
Since I wasn’t interested in seeing a touristy stuff on the
Nanjing massacre (when the Japanese took over the city and raped and killed
everyone), they took me to a super non-touristy underground shopping area
called “Fashion Lady”. It was an experience. The stuff being sold was
ridiculous. Natalie took a bunch of pictures of me with some of the crazy
items.
My last stop in Nanjing before heading to the train station
was to get a massage. Cheap, but quality. Unfortunately, we had underestimated
time, which meant Natalie and I had to rush to get me to the train on time. Our
cab driver pulled some Fast & Furious, Grand Theft Auto moves. We both
dashed out of the cab, cut in the security line, ran up the escalators, and
sprinted to the gate. I’m 85% sure I was the last person they let in the gate.
But as winded I was, I’d made the train on time.
Alrighty, that’s all for this post. One more to go where
I’ll dish about all the cool stuff Dori and I did during our three days in
Beijing. Spoiler alert! There was a lot of walking with a little tobogganing.
Wow! I can’t believe that my trip has been going by so fast.
I’ve already done so much and am excited for everything else to come before I
fly back on Tuesday.
This will end up being a rather long blog post about the
first part of time in Shanghai. I’ll break it up by day and then put some
general stuff at the bottom help move things along. Also, ignore typos.
THURSDAY, MAY 16 -FRIDAY, MAY 17
My flight from Chicago to Shanghai took FOURTEEN HOURS! It
was really cramped, but thank to sleeping pills and OZ: The Great and Powerful,
it wasn’t too bad. When I arrived, I met Dori and we went back to her
apartment. It’s super nice, I couldn’t believe it. I’ve had my own bathroom
WITH A TUB!
After a bath, we left to meet up with some of her friends
here in Shanghai. Most work in with the State Department, and all were really
cool. Our first stop was at a bar they frequent, which had this lovely Texas
flag, and then we had dinner at Hunan, a Chinese restaurant. We stayed up super
late, which helped me sleep through the night.
SATURDAY, MAY 18
Unfortunately, the weather really sucked on Saturday. But
after lunch, we went to see the TV Tower on the Pudong side of SH. The first
floor had a museum depicting the history of Shanghai through wax figures. The
bad Chinglish and noticeable dislike of Westerners was a hilarious bonus to the
museum.
Outside the tower, I had my first interesting experience
with being a white person in China. A Chinese tourist (from the country I’d
guess) came over with his iPhone, obviously wanting a picture. I thought he
wanted me to take a picture of him and his friend so I agreed. All of a sudden
it turned into a selfie of the two of us. This was not the last time that
tourists asked to take pictures with Dori and I. We only agreed to one girl who
was nice enough to take a picture for us. There were other times when people
were blatantly taking pictures of us. Awkward.
In case you didn’t know, pollution here sucks majorly. I was
having difficulty breathing so we had to head to a pharmacy to buy me some gas
masks. Let me tell you, they are the height of fashion </sarcasm>.
Dinner followed(pizza) with some more of Dori’s friends before we went back and all
played an awesome game called CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY. It’s basically a version
of Apples to Apples, but for horrible people. It’s extremely offensive and
dirty, but the fun doesn’t stop. No judging allowed.
SUNDAY, MAY 19
It was actually a nice day out! For lunch we went to this
AMAZINGLY themed restaurant called Abbey Road. C’mon, of course Dori would take
me there. My sister knows me so well.
There’s this really great market called Tian ZiFang that we went
to that sells a lot of different things. Think of New York’s Chinatown only
cheaper. I bought a fake Longchamp bag that roughly came to $7. Of course
different stalls tried to cheat us since we were tourists, but thankfully I had
my sister with me.
We got done shopping and headed over to The Bund. It’s this
great area on the river that looks over to Pudong’s skyline. The actually Bund
is a set of colonial style buildings which are also very beautiful. Again,
people tried to take pictures with us. Again, it was awkward.
We checked out the Peace Hotel, which was very fancy, and
did some shopping at a 4-story Forever 21 before going to play LASERTAG! One of
Dori’s co-workers is moving on to a different post and chose lastertag as her
last hurrah! Let me tell you, the Enderle girls are not that great at this
game. Although a few times we seemed to have faulty equipment. Blurg.
We had dinner with Dori’s friends Peter and Neil at her
favorite Chinese restaurant (delicious!) and then gelato (also delicious!).
MONDAY, MAY 20
Dori took the day off of work and we started off with a trip
to a Buddhist Temple in the middle of the city. It’s known locally as rather
touristy, but I didn’t care. It was beautiful and we took A LOT of pictures! My favorite part was seeing a monk on a
cellphone. Classic.
Next on our list was the South Bund Fabric Market where a
lot of people go to get clothes custom made. Of course, I took advantage of the
prices and got two skirts made for about $80. Not bad, right? I saw one girl
getting fitted for an evening gown. I would have gone with a fancy dress, but
where would I wear it?
Shanghai has a lot of trade in pearls, so Dori took me to
one of the Pearl markets. We took the Metro on the way there and it was SO
CLEAN! While we were riding I wasn’t paying attention to the TV screen, but as
I was walking out, I glanced up and who should I see but DARREN FREAKIN’ CRISS.
I was like “whaa?” but they were showing previews to his new movie with Kristen
Wiig. Bit surreal..
The Pearl market was really cool. I got a pair of earrings,
a necklace and a ring for really cheap. There was a store in the building
called LENNY that leads me to believe that my dad has been holding out on us
with this hidden business.
So we finished up shopping and went to look at Nanjing Road,
the Times Square of China. It was all lit up and very commercial, like TS. But
get this, they have FANCY Pizza Huts here. It’s a legit restaurant where people
go on dates. Weird.
It got dark and we went back to The Bund for night pictures.
I got some great ones, if I do say so myself.
So this is where I will leave off for now. But here a few
things that I didn’t find a way to include:
1.Squatties are the bane of my existence. I won’t
take Western restrooms for granted again.
2.The fashion and shoes here are cray-cray. Don’t
know how some of these girls are able to walk.
3.I’ve been using a burner phone and had to
relearn how to use T9 texting.
Okay everyone, I’m sure you’re all tired of me talking about yakking on FB and Twitter, but bare
with me one more time, cause this was amazing.
It's been one year since Newsies opened and they have been doing a lot to celebrate. Last weekend they had free lotto tickets, which of course my friends and I tried to win. We didn't. But we did get a flier saying that the first 60 people to e-mail their names would win tickets to see the boys perform on Good Morning America. AND WE WON!
So I woke my butt up super freakin’ early on April 1st (this morning) to
meet my friends (who also got in) at the stage door. We didn’t wait too long
before they let us in, through security and up to the performance room. Once
inside, they passed out free Newsies
caps (retail price $26). We watched the boys rehearse, then the stagehand
lined us up so we could cheer them on when they ran in. While we were waiting, Marie Osmond and Stana Katic (Castle) came through the studio from their interviews. It was really unexpected.
The performance was fantastic. They had filmed the first
part of the song last week, so we were only there for the last 30 seconds of it. But it was still freaking amazing! When it was time for them to wave to
the camera, I was moving around, on my tip-toes trying to get a good
picture. All of a sudden, the cameraman took my phone and snapped one for me,
followed by a photo of his monitor. ALWAYS MAKE FRIENDS WITH THE CAMERAMAN! He
also gave me his breakdown sheet as a souvenir.
Afterward, the cast hung around to mingle with their
fans. Yup, they are that awesome. We got pictures with them in their costumes and talked to them about the show. They were all extremely nice. I may or may not
have been trying to flirt with the actor who plays Specs. (We all know how
horrible I am at flirting.) Anyway, we
got our photos and as we walked out - bonus! - we were handed a flier for A FREE
TICKET TO THE SHOW! You can bet I’m using that. Especially since they’ve
changed up the choreography and have new cast members.
