Movie and thoughts--part 2

North and South: I began this movie knowing that it was of the Pride and Prejudice era and somewhat Pride and Prejudice-esq. I was quite surprised that the plot was surrounded by integrity to oneself and the goings-on of merchants and workers. Union workers are a central part of the movie, as are "masters" (the mill owners). What was refreshing was that neither was idealized or made to be something it is not. The fierceness of masters is seen, the wildness of those brought to desparation during a strike is seen, as are the benefits of unions and having business owners. Adding to it is the benefit of workers and masters seeing one another's point-of-view. This gave a heightened sense of accomplishment to the movie itself; of course, not all workers WOULD see the masters' points-of-view just as many masters WOULD NOT see their workers' points-of-view. I believe England (and other parts of the world) have much more experience in this than does the United States. We can learn from them. We can learn to let the benefits and drawbacks of unions to be known and discussed. It seems to be a hush-hush issue to mention something amiss with unions and yet there are clearly things that are amiss. In some cases, eliminating certain unions would be the best option for our country and allow people to see others' points-of-view more easily, just as it does in North and South.

Movies and thoughts--part 1

The Jane Austen Book Club: I'd give it 3 out of 5 stars; it was okay. During the movie, something specific bothered me and I didn't recognize why until a few hours after the movie. The daughter is a lesbian. The family responds to this with little concern and similar interest to a daughter with a boyfriend, breaking up with a boyfriend, etc. The scenes of she and her partner are portrayed similar and akin to the other traditional relationships going on in the movie. This bugged me. I have no problem with each person and each family choosing how to deal with same-sex attraction within or without their family, but what we need to realize is that just because it was shown this way in the movie doesn't mean it is this way in real like. This is how Hollywood wants us to act toward same-sex relationships. Everything is normal. Everyone is happy. They are just like you. Embrace them for their choice. Embrace their choice. Well, Hollywood can push rhetoric and their ideas, but this character's part and the family and friend's reactions are not real. They are made up and pretend. Happiness does not always come from doing what you want to do and we don't have to pretend that it does.