Paidion Coalition

While I may not be an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. fan, I am a huge fan of  Agent Melinda May, played by Ming-Na We. There's so many things that rush to mind about Agent May, but bad-ass keeps repeating itself. I mean, the pictures say it all.

One is introduced to the color red at the very beginning of the story: “my face is red: the color of blood, which defines us,” “I never looked good in red, it is not my color,” “some fairy-tale figure in a red cloak,”  “ sister, dipped in blood”, “the one assigned to me, which is red”, “red umbrella”  (8, 9). Red is repeated over and over again. One gets the sense that the color plays a very important role in the story and one needs to take note of it. One later finds out that the color indeed is significant as it's the color the handmaids are assigned to wear. To get a deep grasp of the red color implication, you need to understand who exactly the handmaids are: they actually are baby incubators assigned to commanders whose wives cannot bear children. They perform wordless sex, referred to as the “ceremony,” with the commanders while the wives watch. After which, they give the children born out of the ceremonial union to the wives to call their own.

The Piano by Jane Campion is a movie about a mute Ada McGrath who, alongside her young daughter and her prized piano, travels to the 1850s New Zealand, where her arranged wealthy landowner husband lives. There, a local worker on the plantation lusts after her. The worker painstakingly takes advantage of her love/obsession for her piano. She is defenseless against the situation, and falls in love with him. The movie has a disturbing and violent feel to it, even though there are no violent scenes. Perhaps this effect can be viewed as a reflection of Campion's talent. Unfortunately, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth and makes me negatively disposed to the movie. I honestly do not understand the message Campion tries to convey with the movie. Maybe it is just me, but I had hoped that the ending would be different. I had hoped that Ada McGrath, the protagonist, would stand up to George Baines, her sexual tormentor. I know that there is a great chance of a woman falling in love ...

                        Two hours ago, the link to the video popped on Sugarland's Facebook page, with a picture so catchy, you couldn't wait to click on the link. In the video, we see Jennifer as two women, a blonde and a brunette. To help explain this video, I shall be using the words "blonde" and "brunette" to differentiate the two women.