Marked: Chapter 12
Feb. 12th, 2011 12:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
zelda_queenZeldaQueen: In which there are classes and we learn that vampires are pretentious, straw feminist bitches
Projection Room Voices: Starting Media in 3...2...1...
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Chapter 12
ZeldaQueen: Zoey runs into her Vampire Sociology class and is pleased as punch to see that Damien is in there. You all will be relieved to hear that there really isn't any YOU MUST BE GAY from him here. He smiles and asks if Zoey's hanging in there alright and then Neferet comes in
"She was wearing a long black skirt slit up the side to show great stiletto boots, and a deep purple silk sweater. Over her left breast, embroidered in silver, was the image of a goddess with her arms upraised, hands cupping a crescent moon. Her black hair was pulled back into a thick braid. The series of delicate wavelike tattoos that framed her face made her look like an ancient warrior priestess"
ZeldaQueen: I have to wonder what sort of a teacher comes in for class dressed with a huge slit up the side of her skirt. Also, black hair? It was red before! I distinctly remember her trashing other types of redheads. Hold on, wait!
"Her hair was deep red—not that horrid carrottop orange-red or the washed-out blond-red, but a dark, glossy auburn that fell in heavy waves well past her shoulders"
ZeldaQueen: YOU CAN'T SAY IT WASN'T! Am I supposed to believe that she has magic hair that changes color to fit the situation?
So Neferet goes to the front of the room and says that they'll be learning all about the Amazons. Hooo boy, this ought to be good. First, she takes time to direct everyone's attention to Zoey, going on about how she's new and is Neferet's Speshul Student and everyone is to help her feel welcome. I have to ask, and this is an honest question, how often do they get new students here? I mean, I really have no idea how frequently people are Marked. Do they give this level of fanfare to every new student, or what?
As per Neferet's orders, Damien takes Zoey to some cubbies in the room. It turns out that these cubbies are their lockers, and first period will also serve as Zoey's homeroom. When she needs to get books or anything, she just has to go in and grab it. She notes that there's no lock on the cubbies and asks about the possibility of theft. Damien says that no one dares because the adult vampires will find out almost immediately. He then heavily hints that the punishment for stealing is very heavy, before they go back to their seats.
Zoey sits down for the reading, reflecting on how freaked out everyone is about being punished. She thinks back to her only time in detention, "Some turd boy told me to suck his cock. What was I supposed to do? Cry? Giggle? Pout? Umm . no…So instead I bitch-slapped him (although I prefer just using the word smacked), and I got detention for it". Zoey, dearest? It's kind of hard to agree that you're a well-behaved student, considering that your response to someone being an idiot to you is to smack him. I don't think a single teacher at my school would let that "what was I supposed to do?" excuse fly, because the answer is clear - walk away. Anyway, she said detention was just fine and she did her homework and started reading a Gossip Girls book. She wonders what the punishments are like at the House of Night.
As a spoiler, we never find out, leastwise not in this book.
By this point, Neferet starts up the lesson and asks what Amazon tradition is still practiced at the House of Night. Damien replies "The bow of respect, with our fist over our heart, comes from the Amazons, and so does the way we shake hands—by gripping forearms". Perhaps this is my mind being utterly bored by this thing, but all that I can think of right now is the Kickassia Salute
ZeldaQueen: Are we Nazis? Or are we Nazis?
Next, Neferet asks about preconceived notions that folks have of the Amazons. A blond vampire girl named Elizabeth says "The Amazons were heavily matriarchal, as are all vampyre societies", and Zoey goes on about how smart the girl sounds. Well damn, I must have been a genius in high school. What do Ms and Ms Cast think high school vocabularies are like?
Anyway, we're treading into Stupid Straw Territory now. Neferet says that Elizabeth's answer was great, but adds that there's another preconceived notion in conjunction with that. Damien says that people "especially humans" think that Amazons were man-haters. Ohhhh boy.
Neferet goes on about how just because a society's matriarchal doesn't mean it's anti-male, and that even Nyx had a consort, and they appreciate the Sons of Night and consider them "protectors and consorts".
Let's just pause right there for a moment.
First, lest I come across as bitchy and impossible to please, I would like to give Ms and Ms Cast props for not falling immediately into Sacred Feminine Evil Man territory. That being said, a few things.
The main issue here is very much the issue with Damien being gay - all we get are the Suethors getting up on a soap box and delivering a heavy-handed moral about how that isn't how it is here, and people who think such and such are bigots or wrong. Alright, so I understand that Ms and Ms Cast would want to try to cover ass with a matriarchal society. Couldn't they, you know, show us that men aren't hated? I mean, alright the lecture about vampire society being matriarchal was fine, and certainly explained the obsession with strong women. Okay. So show us the non-male hate.
Which is the other thing. We're told about how important the Sons of Night are and whatnot, except that we hear virtually nothing about them. There's only one who is given any sort of significance, and that's only because he's the love interest. Granted the Dark Daughters are bitches, but we're given all sorts of information about them and their history and their group's customs. So for all of the talk on how the Sons of Dark are just as loved and respected, they still are more or less ignored.
The same goes for the teachers. There are, to the extent of my knowledge, two male teachers. One is the fencing teacher and the other is the poetry teacher. All we hear about the poetry teacher is that it's so unusual for him to hold such a prestigious position in vampire society for his poetry, because he's male. The fencing teacher, you might note, fits perfectly in that "protector and consort" rule and thus no one goes on about how odd it is for him to be so skilled in his job.
This is especially interesting if you were to flip the genders and say "Oh, just because we're patriarchal doesn't mean that we don't value women! Far from it, we see women as important homemakers and wives!" and then treat it as unusual that a woman holds a position of importance.
Now, I'm sure one could argue "But that's the point of a matriarchal society, isn't it?" Except, it ties into a vampire beef of mine, which I first realized when reading one of Meyer's quotes about her vampires. It's the one where she tries to excuse them eating people. One of the things she brings up as to why most vampires aren't willing to stick with a "vegetarian" diet is that most are from the Days of Yore and aren't used to the idea of having enough food that they can be choosy about what they eat. That made me wonder, what is up with vampires that don't progress? Just because someone's from an old time and doesn't age doesn't mean their opinions and view of the world doesn't change.
The same goes for this. From what I understand, this vampire society has been matriarchal for centuries. As noted above, it could arguably be seen as a gender-flipped version of our own society. Except...look at today. Even if one argues that western civilization is still patriarchal at heart, women still have a very strong role in it. Women can hold public office or obtain prestigious titles be seen as something other than an accessory to men. So what, has nothing like that happened in vampire society?
And yes, I realize that the above could all just be nitpicking, but like I said, it just annoys me that the Cast ladies have to sit us down and tell us that the vampire society is just happy-happy-happy when it comes to gender roles. And I only can assume that they are happy, because never once in this book do we see any instance of a man wishing he could be seen as more than a "protector and consort".
*shakes head* Okay then. Sorry about that rant. We get the rest of class glossed over, except for Zoey to go on about how awesomesauce it was, and Neferet calls Zoey over. She asks if Zoey's doing fine and pats her head more or less and makes sure that Damien will walk her to Drama class (no, thank God, Damien does not take Drama). She also makes sure that Aphrodite invited Zoey to the Dark Daughters ritual and goes on about how it's such a classy group and such an honor to be invited already, blah, blah, blah. Also, Zoey remembers that she hasn't thought of her grandmother, mother, Heath, or any of her old friends since she got there. Yeah, keep that in mind for later.
We get more talk from Damien about how Omniscient and Mysterious the High Priestess and adult vampires in general are, before Stevie Rae catches up. The Casts showing off their Google-fu skills by having Zoey go on about how interesting it was that Amazon's cut off their right breast to keep it from getting in the way (what, wasn't that a silly human misconception?) and Stevie Rae gets all pouty over how flat-chested she is. Damien does to. Oy.
Onward to Drama class Zoey goes, and yes, the Texan-born teacher still has a heavy twang. Thankfully that's the only sort of stereotype she has going on, so yeah. Zoey sits next to the Elizabeth girl, because when in doubt, "It never hurts to sit next to a smart kid".
It turns out that they're all going to be picking monologues to perform, but first they're having a guest come in to perform a monologue from Othello for them (and of course Shakespeare was a vampire. Of course). And then the guest speaker comes in to reveal...
"the most gorgeous young lad I had ever seen. He was tall and had dark hair that did that adorably perfect Superman curl thing. His eyes were an amazing sapphire blue and…
Oh. Hell! Hell! Hell! It was the guy from the hall"
ZeldaQueen: Of course. I think everyone knew this was catching up sooner or later.
So the guy's name is Erik"Music Of The" Night and he won this huge monologue contest in London and played Tony in West Side Story. I would like to state for the record that a monologue from Othello and having the lead in a Romeo and Juliet adaptation is not a good way to foreshadow a relationship.
So Erik goes up to the front of the room and is actually very friendly and relaxed and starts giving tips on giving good monologue. And of course, we're beaten over the head with how he just keeps staring at Zoey and delivering the monologue from Act 1, Scene 3, where Othello and Desdemona announce that they're married to Desdemona's father. Zoey spends the entire time feeling all hot and dizzy and just as lightheaded as when she smelled Heath's blood before.
Erik goes to leave, though not before staring at Zoey some more, and everyone goes searching through all of the monologue books they've been provided with. Elizabeth turns to Zoey and immediately starts going on about how hot Erik is. Yes folks, that's all anyone talks about that guy. It really is a shame, because he is a pretty nice guy. But nope, all we get about Erik is how hawt he is. And now I'm so annoyed, I'm repeating myself. I'm sorry. Anyway, keep this all in mind for later.
Zoey asks if Erik has a girlfriend and Elizabeth goes on about how no he doesn't, though rumor had it that he and Aphrodite used to hook up. Elizabeth then formally introduces herself to Zoey and we get something interesting - apparently Elizabeth's real last name was "Titsworth", which she didn't want to keep, but she didn't know what new last name she wanted so she just goes by "Elizabeth" with no last name at all. Zoey mentally notes how many odd kids there are there, which is rich coming from little Miss "I've been blessed by a Goddess".
Elizabeth does nothing but harp on about how Erik was staring at Zoey, before mentioning how cool her colored-in Mark is. And the rest of the chapter is just Zoey going on about how she just couldn't understand why a guy like Erik would be into a chick like her and he probably was just staring at her Mark and did she really want a guy who was getting blown by Aphrodite and it probably means nothing and...yeah. I think we all know where this is going
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Onward to: Chapter 13
Back to: Chapter 11
Back to: Table of Contents
Projection Room Voices: Starting Media in 3...2...1...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 12
ZeldaQueen: Zoey runs into her Vampire Sociology class and is pleased as punch to see that Damien is in there. You all will be relieved to hear that there really isn't any YOU MUST BE GAY from him here. He smiles and asks if Zoey's hanging in there alright and then Neferet comes in
"She was wearing a long black skirt slit up the side to show great stiletto boots, and a deep purple silk sweater. Over her left breast, embroidered in silver, was the image of a goddess with her arms upraised, hands cupping a crescent moon. Her black hair was pulled back into a thick braid. The series of delicate wavelike tattoos that framed her face made her look like an ancient warrior priestess"
ZeldaQueen: I have to wonder what sort of a teacher comes in for class dressed with a huge slit up the side of her skirt. Also, black hair? It was red before! I distinctly remember her trashing other types of redheads. Hold on, wait!
"Her hair was deep red—not that horrid carrottop orange-red or the washed-out blond-red, but a dark, glossy auburn that fell in heavy waves well past her shoulders"
ZeldaQueen: YOU CAN'T SAY IT WASN'T! Am I supposed to believe that she has magic hair that changes color to fit the situation?
So Neferet goes to the front of the room and says that they'll be learning all about the Amazons. Hooo boy, this ought to be good. First, she takes time to direct everyone's attention to Zoey, going on about how she's new and is Neferet's Speshul Student and everyone is to help her feel welcome. I have to ask, and this is an honest question, how often do they get new students here? I mean, I really have no idea how frequently people are Marked. Do they give this level of fanfare to every new student, or what?
As per Neferet's orders, Damien takes Zoey to some cubbies in the room. It turns out that these cubbies are their lockers, and first period will also serve as Zoey's homeroom. When she needs to get books or anything, she just has to go in and grab it. She notes that there's no lock on the cubbies and asks about the possibility of theft. Damien says that no one dares because the adult vampires will find out almost immediately. He then heavily hints that the punishment for stealing is very heavy, before they go back to their seats.
Zoey sits down for the reading, reflecting on how freaked out everyone is about being punished. She thinks back to her only time in detention, "Some turd boy told me to suck his cock. What was I supposed to do? Cry? Giggle? Pout? Umm . no…So instead I bitch-slapped him (although I prefer just using the word smacked), and I got detention for it". Zoey, dearest? It's kind of hard to agree that you're a well-behaved student, considering that your response to someone being an idiot to you is to smack him. I don't think a single teacher at my school would let that "what was I supposed to do?" excuse fly, because the answer is clear - walk away. Anyway, she said detention was just fine and she did her homework and started reading a Gossip Girls book. She wonders what the punishments are like at the House of Night.
As a spoiler, we never find out, leastwise not in this book.
By this point, Neferet starts up the lesson and asks what Amazon tradition is still practiced at the House of Night. Damien replies "The bow of respect, with our fist over our heart, comes from the Amazons, and so does the way we shake hands—by gripping forearms". Perhaps this is my mind being utterly bored by this thing, but all that I can think of right now is the Kickassia Salute
ZeldaQueen: Are we Nazis? Or are we Nazis?
Next, Neferet asks about preconceived notions that folks have of the Amazons. A blond vampire girl named Elizabeth says "The Amazons were heavily matriarchal, as are all vampyre societies", and Zoey goes on about how smart the girl sounds. Well damn, I must have been a genius in high school. What do Ms and Ms Cast think high school vocabularies are like?
Anyway, we're treading into Stupid Straw Territory now. Neferet says that Elizabeth's answer was great, but adds that there's another preconceived notion in conjunction with that. Damien says that people "especially humans" think that Amazons were man-haters. Ohhhh boy.
Neferet goes on about how just because a society's matriarchal doesn't mean it's anti-male, and that even Nyx had a consort, and they appreciate the Sons of Night and consider them "protectors and consorts".
Let's just pause right there for a moment.
First, lest I come across as bitchy and impossible to please, I would like to give Ms and Ms Cast props for not falling immediately into Sacred Feminine Evil Man territory. That being said, a few things.
The main issue here is very much the issue with Damien being gay - all we get are the Suethors getting up on a soap box and delivering a heavy-handed moral about how that isn't how it is here, and people who think such and such are bigots or wrong. Alright, so I understand that Ms and Ms Cast would want to try to cover ass with a matriarchal society. Couldn't they, you know, show us that men aren't hated? I mean, alright the lecture about vampire society being matriarchal was fine, and certainly explained the obsession with strong women. Okay. So show us the non-male hate.
Which is the other thing. We're told about how important the Sons of Night are and whatnot, except that we hear virtually nothing about them. There's only one who is given any sort of significance, and that's only because he's the love interest. Granted the Dark Daughters are bitches, but we're given all sorts of information about them and their history and their group's customs. So for all of the talk on how the Sons of Dark are just as loved and respected, they still are more or less ignored.
The same goes for the teachers. There are, to the extent of my knowledge, two male teachers. One is the fencing teacher and the other is the poetry teacher. All we hear about the poetry teacher is that it's so unusual for him to hold such a prestigious position in vampire society for his poetry, because he's male. The fencing teacher, you might note, fits perfectly in that "protector and consort" rule and thus no one goes on about how odd it is for him to be so skilled in his job.
This is especially interesting if you were to flip the genders and say "Oh, just because we're patriarchal doesn't mean that we don't value women! Far from it, we see women as important homemakers and wives!" and then treat it as unusual that a woman holds a position of importance.
Now, I'm sure one could argue "But that's the point of a matriarchal society, isn't it?" Except, it ties into a vampire beef of mine, which I first realized when reading one of Meyer's quotes about her vampires. It's the one where she tries to excuse them eating people. One of the things she brings up as to why most vampires aren't willing to stick with a "vegetarian" diet is that most are from the Days of Yore and aren't used to the idea of having enough food that they can be choosy about what they eat. That made me wonder, what is up with vampires that don't progress? Just because someone's from an old time and doesn't age doesn't mean their opinions and view of the world doesn't change.
The same goes for this. From what I understand, this vampire society has been matriarchal for centuries. As noted above, it could arguably be seen as a gender-flipped version of our own society. Except...look at today. Even if one argues that western civilization is still patriarchal at heart, women still have a very strong role in it. Women can hold public office or obtain prestigious titles be seen as something other than an accessory to men. So what, has nothing like that happened in vampire society?
And yes, I realize that the above could all just be nitpicking, but like I said, it just annoys me that the Cast ladies have to sit us down and tell us that the vampire society is just happy-happy-happy when it comes to gender roles. And I only can assume that they are happy, because never once in this book do we see any instance of a man wishing he could be seen as more than a "protector and consort".
*shakes head* Okay then. Sorry about that rant. We get the rest of class glossed over, except for Zoey to go on about how awesomesauce it was, and Neferet calls Zoey over. She asks if Zoey's doing fine and pats her head more or less and makes sure that Damien will walk her to Drama class (no, thank God, Damien does not take Drama). She also makes sure that Aphrodite invited Zoey to the Dark Daughters ritual and goes on about how it's such a classy group and such an honor to be invited already, blah, blah, blah. Also, Zoey remembers that she hasn't thought of her grandmother, mother, Heath, or any of her old friends since she got there. Yeah, keep that in mind for later.
We get more talk from Damien about how Omniscient and Mysterious the High Priestess and adult vampires in general are, before Stevie Rae catches up. The Casts showing off their Google-fu skills by having Zoey go on about how interesting it was that Amazon's cut off their right breast to keep it from getting in the way (what, wasn't that a silly human misconception?) and Stevie Rae gets all pouty over how flat-chested she is. Damien does to. Oy.
Onward to Drama class Zoey goes, and yes, the Texan-born teacher still has a heavy twang. Thankfully that's the only sort of stereotype she has going on, so yeah. Zoey sits next to the Elizabeth girl, because when in doubt, "It never hurts to sit next to a smart kid".
It turns out that they're all going to be picking monologues to perform, but first they're having a guest come in to perform a monologue from Othello for them (and of course Shakespeare was a vampire. Of course). And then the guest speaker comes in to reveal...
"the most gorgeous young lad I had ever seen. He was tall and had dark hair that did that adorably perfect Superman curl thing. His eyes were an amazing sapphire blue and…
Oh. Hell! Hell! Hell! It was the guy from the hall"
ZeldaQueen: Of course. I think everyone knew this was catching up sooner or later.
So the guy's name is Erik
So Erik goes up to the front of the room and is actually very friendly and relaxed and starts giving tips on giving good monologue. And of course, we're beaten over the head with how he just keeps staring at Zoey and delivering the monologue from Act 1, Scene 3, where Othello and Desdemona announce that they're married to Desdemona's father. Zoey spends the entire time feeling all hot and dizzy and just as lightheaded as when she smelled Heath's blood before.
Erik goes to leave, though not before staring at Zoey some more, and everyone goes searching through all of the monologue books they've been provided with. Elizabeth turns to Zoey and immediately starts going on about how hot Erik is. Yes folks, that's all anyone talks about that guy. It really is a shame, because he is a pretty nice guy. But nope, all we get about Erik is how hawt he is. And now I'm so annoyed, I'm repeating myself. I'm sorry. Anyway, keep this all in mind for later.
Zoey asks if Erik has a girlfriend and Elizabeth goes on about how no he doesn't, though rumor had it that he and Aphrodite used to hook up. Elizabeth then formally introduces herself to Zoey and we get something interesting - apparently Elizabeth's real last name was "Titsworth", which she didn't want to keep, but she didn't know what new last name she wanted so she just goes by "Elizabeth" with no last name at all. Zoey mentally notes how many odd kids there are there, which is rich coming from little Miss "I've been blessed by a Goddess".
Elizabeth does nothing but harp on about how Erik was staring at Zoey, before mentioning how cool her colored-in Mark is. And the rest of the chapter is just Zoey going on about how she just couldn't understand why a guy like Erik would be into a chick like her and he probably was just staring at her Mark and did she really want a guy who was getting blown by Aphrodite and it probably means nothing and...yeah. I think we all know where this is going
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Onward to: Chapter 13
Back to: Chapter 11
Back to: Table of Contents
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-12 06:52 pm (UTC)It just makes me wonder if the Casts are doing what Meyer did to females--making them have no character outside of their gender stereotypes. All of the females in that series were baby hungry, and now we have a series where males seem to be sex-crazed assholes. (And yes, I know this Erik guy seems to be different, but considering we haven't really met him yet, I'm holding judgment on him.)
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-13 12:19 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-13 03:13 am (UTC)Of course, most of the girls are sluts. Really, it's hard to find anyone here who comes off well.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-12 10:30 pm (UTC)-Girl goes to a new school and is immediately loved by everyone except the resident Scary Sues
-Girl meets hot guy and is awed by his beauty
-Everyone talks about how hot the guy is
-Girl bemoans the fact that said guy could never possibly like her in a million years, but OMG he's so hawt and she wants to make out with him
-Pointless Shakespeare references.
D:
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-13 02:28 am (UTC)And Shakespeare references which really bode ill for a budding relationship, no less. Wait until you see what monologue Zoey picks.
And I'm not surprised at the similarities. Their publisher basically told them to cash in on Twilight's popularity.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-12 11:03 pm (UTC)And the whole feminism/matriarchal society thing makes me want to run my head into a wall. I know it's possible to have a matriarchal society in a story and not either bash the men or completely ignore them. Why? 'CAUSE I DID IT. In my story, yes, the society if matriarchal and most of the leaders are females, but all (except for one...but he's the bad guy XD.) of the men are respected. Hell, one of them they are focusing on because he won't survive the winter so the group is trying to help him. I just treat the matriarchal society as that the women are in leadership positions for the most part. Otherwise, Men aren't treated as consorts and women aren't treated as baby carriers. It's...not all that difficult.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-13 12:20 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-13 01:22 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-12 11:05 pm (UTC)So use it, you bubble-headed dimwit!
Also, please, can we please, for once have a Drama class where a character reads from something other than Shakespeare? I mean, at my school we had a guy who did a great reading from "The Crucible," and another girl who did something from "Beauty and the Beast."
Billy wasn't the only great writer, people!
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-13 02:25 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-12 11:37 pm (UTC)Seriously, I've read the exact mirror arguments, even from more "mainstream" groups like Concerned Women for America.
This seemed really out of left field for me, especially from a book that makes so many pop references.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-13 02:27 am (UTC)That's what it's like whenever vampire culture or Nyx comes in. It suddenly gets all soapbox-y and weird.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-13 12:22 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-13 02:26 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-13 02:49 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-13 03:45 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-13 03:41 am (UTC)One sure fire way to piss me off! Say something I know not to be true! Very BIG misconception; they were strapped down, not cut off. :Z
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-13 04:29 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-13 09:19 am (UTC)So then, 'sword fodder' and 'sexual partners'? I'm trying to figure out if that is better or worse than 'housewives' and 'baby machines'.
Hang on a second, "protectors"? Is this just me, or does this imply that the men make up the army? What happened to the Amazons as warrior women? Or is that another 'human misconception'?
So, yeah, fail equality there, bitches.
Also, the teacher's clothes sound really tacky.
Also also, STOP TAKING AWAY HUMAN ACHIEVEMENTS! JUST, AAARGH!
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-13 11:40 am (UTC)That's right, if the Amazons are these fierce warrior women, why would they even need protectors? And besides, in the original myths, the roles were swapped in Amazon society. The women were warriors while the men stayed home to take care of the children. Not to say that that's better, but I'd think that the ideal scenario would involve flexibility of roles for both genders.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-13 12:45 pm (UTC)Neferet actually mentions that. Something like the Amazons were considered unusual because they "chose to be their own warriors and protectors".
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-14 01:57 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-14 03:06 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-14 03:13 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-14 05:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-14 06:37 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-16 05:11 am (UTC)Arg! Such offensive content... I hate this book alone for that. -_-
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-16 10:19 pm (UTC)I'm sorry. ^^; I promise, all of the stuff I'm asking you to remember relates to just one scene. Trust me, you'll know it when you see it.
Thank you so much! :)
The worst part about the content is that there are the odd places were the writing really is decent, which suggests that this could be a good book if it wasn't busy being a Twilight knock-off. >_
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-17 03:33 am (UTC)Honestly, if the story was at least half-way exciting I wouldn't mind remembering anything. I can only imagine the hell you're going through in trying to be informative and make this entertaining to the readers at the same time, and the effort is appreciated.
Stories like this turn people off from reading first person PoV stories. Between that and third person PoV, most readers would choose the latter. Thing is, first person PoV can be exciting if done right. Have the character paint the scenery, give a little info about somebody without going into one long infodump about their appearance, or even describe things with a vague touch allowing the imagination to wander.
One hour or less and I could do better than these ladies. >_>
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-17 04:01 pm (UTC)That's just it. I wouldn't mind half of this pointless stuff, if it were fun or told in an interesting way or something. I mean, Rowling went into all sorts of detail about the classes at Hogwarts and what the students were eating and whatnot, but she had cool stuff go on while she did so. This just speeds through stuff and is boring!
"One hour or less and I could do better than these ladies. >_>"
Give it a try! The world is always in need of better works of literature. ^_^
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-17 09:01 pm (UTC)But I think a quick, rough example wouldn't hurt.
---
"Well if it isn't Pinky..."
Snapping out my daze, I suddenly realized that my path had been blocked by Bernice and her backup squad. She wore too much make-up, like it was a second face, and was dressed in what I guess was "fashionable" at the time. All I saw was a red shirt with sequins sewn in, a black jacket and matching skirt. Why sequins of all things, I would never know.
As different as we were, she and I went way back. We were friends in kindergarden until I threw a water balloon at the back of her head at a party. Things probably could have wound up all right if her parents didn't bring her up as a spoiled brat who always got her way. Or if she wasn't wearing her favorite dress that day.
But now she and her stuck up friends were keeping me from my next class. (For some reason I could never really remember the others' names.) There was only three of them, but they were limber and could move fast to make sure I couldn’t get away. Students walked around us, trying to get to their next class before the bell rung. Which was about in two minutes.
Crud. I was going to be late.
"Hello, Berry," I greeted, keeping things casual. "How are you and the hens doing?"
---
And I'll stop right there to prevent this from being too long. (I have a really bad habit of just writing and writing even when I should have stopped several paragraphs back. XD; )
That has to the first time I've tried writing something in a high school setting. XD; Ah, gotta get out of the comfort zone. Though it feels like that could have been better, especially if I stretched out the info presented here. Like the OC reflecting on her relationship with Bernice as she runs off to class.
Now that I look at it, maybe that should have been done in first person PoV. I like it better when things in first person PoV are found out through events and dialogue, not just being told something. Then again, it's not like their past is going to come up in conversation, so to expand on how their relationship was like before, it would have to be stated blatantly, but put in there during an opportune moment. Maybe when the OC is reflecting on "what could have been" or how things used to to be. (A habit to break maybe?)
Oh jeez! I'm sorry for the long post! I just tend to ramble when to comes to literature. ^^;
But yes, the world needs better literature. I swear it's getting difficult trying to find an interesting book now days. So tired of seeing romance and butchered mythologies.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-18 09:55 pm (UTC)Eh, it's okay. I ramble plenty myself. Best to just let it out. :)
Word on that. It makes me die a little inside, seeing what's accepted as quality literature.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-19 01:47 am (UTC)Oh God, I just remembered Enoby also had black hair, hence the misspelled named! Great, like I want her to be associated with the Almighty Black-Haired Movement! :D
Actually, that description of Ferret sounds like someone I would have seen in Queen of the Damned with the dramatic goth clothing. The whole Vampyre 'Sociology' scene was so boring anyway, I was daydreaming about Stuart Townsend teaching the class instead :D
And you make some good points about feminism, too. Why is it still treated as a novelty that a society would be matriarchal in a story? I live in a country with one of those lady prime ministers! :D It was made a big deal of at first because Australia had never had a female prime minister, but we got over that pretty quickly. Just as long as you do your job, I don't care who's governing the country, male or female.
And why wouldn't that society's values and beliefs differ at all throughout time? That totally contradicts what Sociology is meant to be about in the first place! :O It's about looking at how societies change and what values and beliefs we have now, and in order to do that we have to look at the past and how we have evolved culturally. Values and beliefs are quite fluid, you know, and not everybody holds the same ones, which makes the matriarchal society in this shitty story stupid. We can't help but change our values and beliefs as time goes by, it HAS to happen for society to evolve! But that would have to mean conflict and require effort on the Casts' part for this story to improve.
Another thing I found ironic: So it's okay for Zoey to mouth off about how slutty Aphrodite is for blowing Erik in the hall, but she only passes judgement about him for a second about his behaviour in the situation and dismisses it quickly because, hey, he's HAWT, so he's forgiven? (I HATE it when people write HAWT, you have no idea!)
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-19 02:08 am (UTC)Dude, let me join you. Sounds like the perfect stress relief for this stupid book. XD
And yes, the Cast ladies think black hair = emo. What, did you think they have any idea how the world works?
"And you make some good points about feminism, too. Why is it still treated as a novelty that a society would be matriarchal in a story? I live in a country with one of those lady prime ministers! :D It was made a big deal of at first because Australia had never had a female prime minister, but we got over that pretty quickly. Just as long as you do your job, I don't care who's governing the country, male or female."
Thank you! I don't think the matriarchal society bit would be so bad, except that it's a blatant soapboxing and a sign of how times aren't changing, what with all of the ties to the Amazons (seriously, two of the four teachers seen thus far have taken names from Amazon queens).
"But that would have to mean conflict and require effort on the Casts' part for this story to improve."
That would also require the Casts to know what "sociology" means. XD
"Another thing I found ironic: So it's okay for Zoey to mouth off about how slutty Aphrodite is for blowing Erik in the hall, but she only passes judgement about him for a second about his behaviour in the situation and dismisses it quickly because, hey, he's HAWT, so he's forgiven? (I HATE it when people write HAWT, you have no idea!)"
To be fair, Erik didn't want to be blown and kept pushing Aphrodite away. So if that were all and Aphrodite weren't such a ridiculous Scary Sue, I could understand being pissed at her but giving Erik a free pass. Heck, if the Casts had played their cards right, they could have delivered a moral about how guys can be sexually harassed just like girls.
Don't worry though, there will be plenty of hypocrisy regarding Aphrodite and the treatment of Erik. :D We've just started it in Chapter 14!
(no subject)
Date: 2011-04-07 06:52 am (UTC)The treatment of men bothered me, too. It's not just that they're underdeveloped, even. The male characters in this book are pretty much objectified. As far as I remember, Zoey never thinks of any of the boys of her acquaintance as people with their own thoughts and feelings, which makes the whole cliched romance more than a little uncomfortable. Maybe I'm remembering wrongly or she's just that unfeeling in general, but I don't know, I got a bad, misandrist sort of vibe from it.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-04-07 11:44 am (UTC)Elliot and John Heffer are pretty much the only male characters who are bad, and they're constantly described as being butt-ugly. Even after *dying*, all we hear about Elliot is how ugly he was!
And dear lord, her three *ahem* boyfriends. She never shuts up about how hot they are. She does spare a few moments where she appreciates what a nice guy Erik is, but no, all she does is think of how hot he is most of the time.
I really hate it. The way the Cast ladies write the series, it's like guys are ice cream flavors or something.
I'm glad you enjoyed this! :) I hate to say this, but wait until the next one. The stereotypes get even worse, with another gay guy (who is, of course, cute) named Jack Twist. -_-
(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-02 04:33 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-02 04:52 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-02 04:32 am (UTC)Man, I tried reading this stupid book last year and it drove me insane! I can't stand reading it couldn't bear to continue reading. It just fail so hard.
I LOL-ed so hard when I saw Erik
"Music Of The"Night XD *snerk* Yay for Phantom reference! :P(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-02 04:57 am (UTC)O_o Lord, this series is so pointless it befuddles me. If you cut out the unnecessary romances, the pointless descriptions, Zoey's "witty" observations, and actually had the characters have an attention span longer than a two-year-old's, it would probably be half as long.
XD It was pretty much setting itself up for that one. You can't tell me that wasn't what the Cast ladies had in mind.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-17 07:38 pm (UTC)The reason I did it is because of books like Twilight and The Handmaiden's Tale which portray women as being these useless lumps of rescuable nonsense that can't do anything as well as the common trope/cliche that the Action Girl only exists to espouse ham-handed feminist agenda ("Hey! Girls can be just as good as boys!" etc). The guy in the above paragraph is the closest to the latter, but he's got other stuff to do in the plot, and is going to play a major role in the events of the sequel. In fact, the gender of the cast is pretty well balanced, being 4:3 in slight favor of women.
Tl;dr? The Cast sisters and their annoying Feminazi agenda is really getting to me.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-11-29 11:25 am (UTC)Shakespeare was a vampire.
CONTRADICTION
I don't want to even touch the misguided attempt at some semblance of feminism, but I am rather deeply offended that the men are the protectors. So what, women can't defend themselves?
(no subject)
Date: 2013-03-31 03:23 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-10-24 11:55 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-10-26 02:44 pm (UTC)