Don’t be shallow, part II
Jan. 27th, 2004 11:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hackthis_archiveThe ovarian cramping from all the Jude-viewing has subsided, although apparently I have now passed it along to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-syndicated.gif)
obsessedmuch, who has finally received my icon choices. Sorry, sweetie.
I would like to take this moment to say thank everyone who filled out the poll and responded to the questions in my previous post. You’ve all made excellent points about lookism and the downside of The Pretty. You’ve also been very honest about your feelings, and I appreciate that greatly. I mean you’ve all been so great I kind of wish I was writing a paper on this or something, because this is some great information about how human beings respond to aesthetic stimuli.
I think it’s pretty evident, based on your answers, that the vast majority of us would like a Man, however the Boys are not to be discounted. Nor are The Others, no matter how intimidating or disconcerting their beauty may be. Also, my profound apologies for not including something for The Others, i.e. I Like Women, Dammit!. I didn’t meant to be sexist or elitist. It has also been pointed quite a bit that perhaps I have left out what most of us really want which is The Boyish Man. Or as![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lalejandra called him, The Dude. (I should point out that when she first said The Dude, I thought of The Big Lebowski).
This Boyish Man/Dude perhaps is not everybody’s ideal, but I will say hands down that he’s certainly mine. This is the man who wears his Brioni suits during the week and then comes home, kicks off his shoes and then cooks dinner barefoot. This is the man who reads the Wall Street Journal and then wants to talk about the morning Boondocks/Doonesbury strip. The Boyish Man is the guy who flips between CNN and the Cartoon Network and on the weekend runs around picking up his dry-cleaning in his Pumas. This is the man that I would like, and it seems that more than a few people agree with me, and several more are already married to him. I happily congratulate you.
I haven’t drawn any enormous, mind-blowing conclusions from the conversations I’ve had with you lot, in fact, I suspect that you’ve only confirmed what I’ve already believed all along:
The grass always appears greener on the other side of the fence.
Some of us are more inclined to empathize, some of us figure if you’ve made your pretty bed, you better bloody well lie in it. And since all of this is some how the fault of Mr. Law, I will take a moment to talk about fame and something that’s rather close to my heart – The Idea of Perfectionism and Entitlement.
IMO, perfection is something that simply does not exist. It’s an ideal that people strive for but will continue to find elusive. Perfection is the brass ring on the Merry-Go-Round that you will break your neck trying to reach. No one is perfect. Not you, or me, or even Jude. Yes, he is a Beautiful Man, but he is still only a man. He gets spots. He got divorced. He’s not perfect. He’s just a person who bleeds and thinks and believes, and he’s entitled to be so and do so, just as you and I are entitled to do the same. At the end of the day we’re all just people, no matter how we look. We’re not perfect; and we’re all going to die one day and that won’t be perfect either. What’s important is how we treat one another, how we get along, and the respect, trust and love that we earn. No one is entitled to anything from anyone else simply because you are attracted to them, or they are attracted to you, or you own all their movies and think they’re really hot.
And that’s that.
*In a completely un-related note, why has no one talked about the fact that Adam Brody is going to be in Mr and Mrs Smith with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt? That’s a whole lot of aesthetic appeal right there, you know. I was going to talk about Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow with Angelina and Jude, but then I saw the trailer, and yeah, oh well.
obsessedmuch, who has finally received my icon choices. Sorry, sweetie. I would like to take this moment to say thank everyone who filled out the poll and responded to the questions in my previous post. You’ve all made excellent points about lookism and the downside of The Pretty. You’ve also been very honest about your feelings, and I appreciate that greatly. I mean you’ve all been so great I kind of wish I was writing a paper on this or something, because this is some great information about how human beings respond to aesthetic stimuli.
I think it’s pretty evident, based on your answers, that the vast majority of us would like a Man, however the Boys are not to be discounted. Nor are The Others, no matter how intimidating or disconcerting their beauty may be. Also, my profound apologies for not including something for The Others, i.e. I Like Women, Dammit!. I didn’t meant to be sexist or elitist. It has also been pointed quite a bit that perhaps I have left out what most of us really want which is The Boyish Man. Or as
lalejandra called him, The Dude. (I should point out that when she first said The Dude, I thought of The Big Lebowski). This Boyish Man/Dude perhaps is not everybody’s ideal, but I will say hands down that he’s certainly mine. This is the man who wears his Brioni suits during the week and then comes home, kicks off his shoes and then cooks dinner barefoot. This is the man who reads the Wall Street Journal and then wants to talk about the morning Boondocks/Doonesbury strip. The Boyish Man is the guy who flips between CNN and the Cartoon Network and on the weekend runs around picking up his dry-cleaning in his Pumas. This is the man that I would like, and it seems that more than a few people agree with me, and several more are already married to him. I happily congratulate you.
I haven’t drawn any enormous, mind-blowing conclusions from the conversations I’ve had with you lot, in fact, I suspect that you’ve only confirmed what I’ve already believed all along:
The grass always appears greener on the other side of the fence.
Some of us are more inclined to empathize, some of us figure if you’ve made your pretty bed, you better bloody well lie in it. And since all of this is some how the fault of Mr. Law, I will take a moment to talk about fame and something that’s rather close to my heart – The Idea of Perfectionism and Entitlement.
IMO, perfection is something that simply does not exist. It’s an ideal that people strive for but will continue to find elusive. Perfection is the brass ring on the Merry-Go-Round that you will break your neck trying to reach. No one is perfect. Not you, or me, or even Jude. Yes, he is a Beautiful Man, but he is still only a man. He gets spots. He got divorced. He’s not perfect. He’s just a person who bleeds and thinks and believes, and he’s entitled to be so and do so, just as you and I are entitled to do the same. At the end of the day we’re all just people, no matter how we look. We’re not perfect; and we’re all going to die one day and that won’t be perfect either. What’s important is how we treat one another, how we get along, and the respect, trust and love that we earn. No one is entitled to anything from anyone else simply because you are attracted to them, or they are attracted to you, or you own all their movies and think they’re really hot.
And that’s that.
*In a completely un-related note, why has no one talked about the fact that Adam Brody is going to be in Mr and Mrs Smith with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt? That’s a whole lot of aesthetic appeal right there, you know. I was going to talk about Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow with Angelina and Jude, but then I saw the trailer, and yeah, oh well.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-01-27 08:14 pm (UTC)See? Things like this are why you rock so hardcore.
I was going to talk about Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow with Angelina and Jude, but then I saw the trailer, and yeah, oh well.
Yeah, I saw that trailer and after I picked my jaw up off my lap, I was like, "Why?" No, really. What were they thinking? I mean, I'm curious, but I'm also exceedingly skeptical here.
no subject
Date: 2004-01-27 08:49 pm (UTC)Yeah, I saw that trailer and after I picked my jaw up off my lap, I was like, "Why?" No, really. What were they thinking? I mean, I'm curious, but I'm also exceedingly skeptical here.
The title alone had me all WTF! and then I read the description and my shit-meter went into the red, and then I saw it and was like 'A Fucking Eye-Patch!' WTF!'
no subject
Date: 2004-01-27 09:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-27 10:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-27 08:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-27 11:01 pm (UTC)*laughs*
I'm always pleased when I make you happy.
no subject
Date: 2004-01-27 09:36 pm (UTC)He's what? There's a movie with who, now? I hadn't even heard of it!
That's a whole lot of pretty.
no subject
Date: 2004-01-27 11:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-27 10:42 pm (UTC)I also thought of The Big Lebowski when it said 'The Dude.'
I saw the preview for Sky Captain, but I can't wait to see it. Mmm, Anglina Jolie all butch and with the eye patch. Plus, giant robots! With eye lasers! I am such a dork, I know.
El Duderino!
Date: 2004-01-27 11:04 pm (UTC)I don't like Gwenyth Paltrow, so when I saw her name on the cast list the film automatically got a black mark. And then I read the description and the film got another black mark. And then I saw the eye patch and was all OMGWTFareyoupeoplesmoking! Of course none of this will stop me from seeing it, but still.
no subject
Date: 2004-01-27 11:03 pm (UTC)You are so right on
Date: 2004-01-28 12:07 am (UTC)As for Mr. and Mrs. Smith - does anyone know if Adam Brody has any tattoos? I'm having visions of cast shots with lots of tattooed flesh . . .