Women hitting Men

Violence has always been used as a way to spice up television. Now a days people just brush it off as part of life and it is. Lately I have been watching reality shows that show women hitting men. Who can forget last year when Snooki got a punch in the face from a drunk guy at a bar. Everyone made such a big deal about it and the clip was even taken down on YouTube because it showed violence toward women. Then there was a disclaimer after the show talking about stopping violence toward women and how wrong it was. But what about violence toward men? On last seasons, Teen Mom, Amber punched and shoved her boyfriend Gary more than once and tonight she will strike again by punching his head into a wall. Really? Why is this allowed to happen? Why doesn't MTV have a disclaimer about that? Why are they even showing it? And even better they are showing it in commericals! Violence toward either sex is wrong and women should not have the right to put their hands on men. If the shoe was on the other foot, poor Gary would be strung up by his toe nails if he hit Amber back. This all makes me think about Rihanna and Chris Brown. Oprah, Tyra and a whole other slew of people took the opportunity to bash Brown because he hit a women. But if Rihanna had hit him first or at all, nobody would have cared. Violence toward men does happen and hopefully someone will have the courage to speak out against it.

Working for free in the film biz

I am getting a little sick and tired of trying to find a job that pays in the film biz. Every ad I see wants the blood from you and then in bold letters at the end of that ad is, "YOU WILL NOT BE PAID, BUT YOU WILL GET HANDS ON EXPERIENCE AND MAKE INDUSTRY CONTACTS" This may be true for most jobs, but not true at all for the rest. It's disturbing how many schools offer film production as a course knowing damn well that their students may never find the job they are looking for. It takes time and dedication to pursue a career in film. Lets not even mention the cost of cameras, lighting kits, sound kits, editing software, etc. I'm talking thousands of dollars on education and equipment and these people don't want to pay you to do their work? I saw an ad once by an independent director who wanted an intern(that evil word) to transcribe 50 hours of footage, log and capture this footage and then edit it together. I wonder if that person knows how many hours all that takes. In the end, you will get experience, but where is all that experience going to take you if everyone labels you an intern who doesn't get paid? The worst part of all this is that most of the time you can't get hired as an intern or get job training from a studio if you are not enrolled in school. I ask myself how a busy college student is suppose to find time to intern 20-30 hours a week and go to school and work so they can support themselves. The world has changed and the myth that a college student fully funded by their parents and has free time to intern for free, no longer exists. Bottom line, everyone who goes to school and educates themselves deserves to be paid for their talents.

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If someone has HIV and has sex with someone and they know they have it, is that a crime of murder? This seems to be the question as tougher HIV transmission laws are being rallied before congress . As of now, New York is the only state that doesn't convict people of murder who have transmitted HIV to another person. If this happens, they will only be charged with assault. How could someone be charged with murder if the person has not died yet? Sure, HIV that turns into AIDS is a death sentence, but some may argue that HIV could not turn to AIDS given the new medications that prevent it from doing so. In that case, is a person supposed to sit in jail until their partner dies from AIDS? Other court cases that have involved this question have proved malicious intent and the person was convicted based on evidence that they intentionally infected someone. Who could forget the father who injected his child with infected blood because he didn't want to pay child support. How about that ladies man who was sleeping with women and infected them just for the fun of it. Those kinds of people should for sure be convicted of murder, but that only happens when their victims pass away. So they sit in jail wasting tax dollars. The problem in general is that people don't get tested. Most people get tested once, wipe the sweat from their brow when it comes out negative and go on with their lives. Most people don't know that it takes 6 months for the HIV virus to show up on a test after you have had unprotected sex. Imposing a law that will convict a person of murder if they are aware they have HIV and don't tell their partners is folly. That will only give people the attitude of, ignorance is bliss. If there is no record on file that they have ever been tested, then a conviction cannot be sought. The new law should require every sexually active person to be tested once a year by their doctor. If a gynecologist is aware that a women is sexually active, then they should do an automatic HIV test along with the annual pap smear. Also, primary care doctors should test men when they come in, since men are less likely to walk into Planned Parenthood and get tested. The responsibility to get tested should no longer be left up to the individual. People are afraid to ask for a test because they are scared to death of the results. Another problem in our society it privacy. Having HIV is a scary, life altering disease and infected people don't want anyone to find out. Is that fair to the rest of us? Not that they should wear a big H on their shirt everyday so people know who is infected, it is just that people have the right to know the health of the person they are sleeping with. It would be so much easier to have a card in your wallet that states when the last time you were tested and what the result was. If you are a private person, leave the card at home and bring it out when asked. If this were a reality, the spread of HIV would greatly decrease. It is an individual choice who we sleep with and if a person doesn't want to show their card, then you know to say no. On the flip side, a person can become infected with HIV in an instant and just because they had a negative result 6 months ago doesn't mean they haven't recently been infected. As a sexual society, we know when we have put ourselves in harms way. We should know better and do the right thing and get tested. We should not be so trusting when entering in a relationship with a new partner. Just because you are dating this great new guy or girl, doesn't mean they are disease free. You should always ask a person if they have been tested or insist that you get tested together and refrain from having sexual contact until the results are in. There is no way to tell if a person has an STD or HIV just by looking at them. It is better to be safe and insist on getting tested. If you are a one night stand type, use a condom every time. Even if you are a women, you should carry a condom with you if you are in a situation where intercourse with a stranger is possible. Parents should also take special action to protect their children. Having the "sex talk" is not enough. Many parents are under the impression that their little angel is not having sex. I got news for you, they are! Put a box of condoms under your bathroom sink and keep your mouth shut if you happen to notice one missing. Sex is out there and people are doing it at a fast rate everyday. We can't just turn our heads and believe that becoming infected won't happen to us. Imposing a murder conviction on someone who spreads HIV without informing a partner, is just stupid and will only cause less people to get tested.

Black Swan

I cannot stress enough how much I love, Natalie Portman. She is just an outstanding actress and shines in every role she takes on. Now, I heard a while back that Director, Darren Aronofsky was coming out with a film about Ballerinas. Wow, shocking, to say the least. I guess he is staying with actors in tights films. The Wrestler was a huge success and I know Black Swan will be too. I just don't know who the audience will be. Darren has two great actors in the film, Natalie and Mila Kunis. Mila had a disappointing outcome with last years, The Book of Eli, but her role in Black Swan shows more of her acting talents as a antagonist to Natalie. The film is about a talented ballerina who is being upstaged by Mila Kunis. As her world comes crashing down on her and she is at risk from loosing her title as the best ballerina in the company, she snaps and a dark evil side emerges. Knowing Darren he has a few tricks up his sleeve with this film and I bet it is going to be scary.That is all I have to say about this film for now, but if you want to check out the trailer go to www.imdb.com.

The Movie Kick Ass is well, KICK ASS!

I finally gave in and watched the movie, Kick Ass. I am not really a super hero movie lover, but lately there has been allot of great ones hitting the screen. I originally thought that Kick Ass was a spoof movie on super hero films. Boy was I wrong! I could not believe how well this movie was put together and all the surprise twists that it had. Even better is that Brad Pitt( who I am guessing is in charge of Plan B Productions now) was a producer on the film. What really makes Kick Ass so Kick Ass is that you can't predict what is going to happen. This is not the kind of movie where the un-likely hero wins in the end, atleast he doesn't win entirely. Actually, the movie is kind of dark and I was surprised at all the violence! Not that I mind or anything, but an 11-year-old girl killing people and being a weapons of mass destruction expert? That was something that was a little hard to swallow, especially at the end when she goes skipping into school all pig tailed and bright eyed. Mark Walhberg was one of the actors tapped to play, Big Daddy in the film. I feel that he would have done a better job because he really blends comedy and drama well on screen. Nicolas Cage, not so much. I felt like he portrayed his character as if he was trying to be fake. Christoper Mintz- Plasse played a good role as an aspiring villain/ super hero/friend. I don't know why most of the marketing was done with audience members shouting about how much they love Kick Ass. Just having Christoper in the film would have been enough for me to go see this film. Overall, I enjoyed Kick Ass and will watch it again when I get a craving. I know that there is a sequel in the works and this time I'll be in theatres to watch all the action on the big screen. Genius out!