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Review: Bamboozled (fucked-up Tropfest Australia 2013 winner)

The Tropfest Australia 2013 winner, Bamboozled, has caused a lot of controversy, and I've finally (wo)manned up and watched it (I have this tendency to avoid really viral videos for some unknown reason). 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ErcDhI5WJU

And wow, I can see why so many people have a problem with it.

The short film revolves around a guy called Pete, who was standing at a bus stop when a random man suddenly starts talking to him and reminiscences about their past. Pete is confused, but then the man explains that he is actually "Helen" (they dated many years ago), and that he's undergone a sex change operation to "Harry". They went to a pub and hung out for the night and their love rekindles. They have sex. The next morning, Pete finds himself confused about his feelings, and as he brings it up with Harry, Harry confesses... it's actually a hoax! A camera crew rushes in and the real Helen comes in, and it turns out this was all part of an elaborate scheme for Helen to take revenge on Pete (for a reason that I totally missed and didn't care about). 

Problems with this short film:

1) Tricking someone into sex then filming them and exploiting their vulnerability is just unacceptable.

2) Pete commented on how surprised he was to hear about Harry's sex change. Harry's response (in summary): I'm pretty surprised too... I just woke up one day and decided to do it. That is an INSULT to transgendered people. I can't call myself an expert on the transgender procedures, but from the stories I've heard and the documentaries I've watched, the decision to undergo those procedures is never easy. And even coming to terms with the fact that you're transgendered (in such a bigoted society) is often so, so difficult for many transgendered persons. To make it seem like it's something you just decided when you woke up is making light of something that is so challenging and life-changing to so many people. And to put it in a tone that suggests it was supposed to be humour? It's fucking degrading and fucking inappropriate.

3) When Pete wakes up, he is confused about his sexuality. This is something that isn't uncommon in the LGBTI community and is often a very difficult issues for many people. With the rate of suicides and self-harm and mental illnesses so unproprotionally high within the LGBTI community, it is not right to make such an issue a joke. This issue especially is very close to my heart - I cannot stress enough that this is not a joke. It angers me that some douchebags think they have the right to make a joke out of an issue that affects the life of so many people. A confusion that often leads to ostracism and depression, and sometimes tragically, suicides.

I'm truly disappointed in Tropfest's panel of judges this year, for choosing this to be the winning film. Australia's already slow on the uptake of marriage equality, we don't need a fucked-up film like this to take us back to the stone age. 

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[i-am-self-medicated]

Back by Andrea Farina

Gouache & ink on chipboard

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It always creeps me out...

…that no matter

how close

you get

the pupil

seems to

devour light

like a black hole

it reflects no light

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Rod of Asclepius

Being a medical student, the Rod of Asclepius (that stick with ONE snake on it; NOT the one with two snakes with wings - the caduceus) is everywhere I go. I've always been told that it was a reference to Satan's form as a snake when he tempted Adam and Eve. That never fully made sense to me because the Rod of Asclepius originates from the Ancient Greeks, a civilisation that existed long before the documentation of Christianity. 

Recently though (and perhaps I should have checked wikipedia earlier), in my parasitology course, we were taught about the guinea worm (Dracunculus). This theory actually makes a lot of sense because it probably was around during the Ancient Greece, and probably relatively common as well (though it is fast becoming eradicated). 

Dracunculus is super cool. The worm causes really painful ulcerous blisters in the extremities of the lower limb. When the patient goes into water to cool down or just for a swim, the worm senses the temperature change and releases larvae into the water (which can then penetrate into the leg of a new victim). The treatment is to slowly pull the worm out of the wound over a few hours by wounding it around a stick (hence the Rod of Asclepius!)

[i-am-self-medicated]

What's in a name?

It is that time of the year again, when skeletons and zombies roam the street and popular cartoon characters come to life. But let's not forget the group that causes the most head turns and jaw-dropping controversies every year: the sluts.

"In the regular world, Halloween is when children dress up in costumes and beg for candy. In Girl World, Halloween is the one night a year when a girl can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it."

Though playboy bunnies and sexy nurses were always a thing during Halloween, Mean Girls has really popularised the idea that girls can be slutty during Halloween. 

I abhor the propagation of the idea that the value of women lies in our attractiveness to men (let's not even get into the Case Against Women's Self Esteem - burst too many blood vessels already). However, dressing up as a "slut" doesn't always mean we're objectifying ourselves. I confess, along with two other friends, we dressed up as the mean girls in their Halloween costumes. Not quite as revealing as theirs, but nonetheless, "slutty" if you'd like. Why did we degrade ourselves? We didn't - dressing up in a leotard and stockings may make us sluts, but it certainly didn't degrade us, not our values, not our morals, and certainly not our self-worth. We dressed like that because we wanted to. We wanted to have fun and we wanted to dress as mean girls. So why not? 

That brings me to another question: why is it only acceptable to be sluts on certain days of the year? Oxford dictionary defines a "slut" as a noun, derogatory - 1) a woman who has many casual sexual partners and 2) (dated) a woman with low standards of cleanliness. In modern usage, the second definition hardly applies, so let's explore the first definition. A woman who has many casual sexual partners. Ok. How does that make slut a "derogatory" noun? Perhaps in a monogamous society, a woman with many casual sexual partners is not the norm, but that does not make her any less a woman than anyone else. A man who has many casual sexual partner would be a "player" or a "stud", but whatever it is, it doesn't carry the patronising and abasing meaning that "slut" does. It is a woman's choice to dress how ever she wants - whether it be jeans, dresses or shorts. It is her choice, and it is not to provoke unwanted attention or sexual harassment. And she may be a slut, but it doesn't degrade her character. 

Though I don't find the word "slut" offensive (after all, I must be somehow attractive to have many casual sexual partners right?), I think the word needs to stop being used. If the implication behind the word would change (in current usage, it pretty much means "a girl inviting guys to put their penises between her open legs"), then perhaps the word should stay. But I very much doubt the meaning of the word would ever equate to a female version of "player" or "stud". I would love to be called a slut one day and have it mean that I'm attractive to many males, but I'm fairly certain that for now, it'll just mean that I'm loose. 

Among my girl friends (who are all strongly feminist), we often call each other "sluts" and "whores" - the implication is different. I have no qualms with that. It is only when it's used with a degrading implication that I object to the word - and unfortunately, it is 99% of the time when the word is used inappropriately.

It stripes away a woman's right and freedom to choose how she dresses. So unless you use the word "slut" in the most heartfelt complimentary way (which, hey, you actually can), either use another word or shut your trap. 

[i-am-self-medicated]

[i-am-self-medicated]

You think I'm easily over-excited, but I'm just appreciative of all the small things in life.

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An Emergency Physician’s Admission.

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Do not victimise yourself by complaining about obstacles; instead, be a champion by conquering those obstacles.

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I love how incredibly similar we are and yet so entirely different. Take the flexor compartment of the forearm for example - we learn that there are 8 muscles, and yet, in 40% of the population, palmaris longus doesn't exist. Last semester, we did a presentation on congenital variations of the human body; our group chose the heart. But looking at every other group's posters, we saw just how incredibly variable the human body can be. Major organs like the heart doesn't have many variations (and yet, 30% of adults have a patent foramen ovale, and many of them will die without ever realising!) but the rest of the body... simply amazing! We all share the same organs, we all develop the same way, and yet, you and I are different in every single way.

What do you love about the human body?

Reblog and add an answer…

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It is all about attitude

I attended a first aid course today to recertify (I'm a St John first aider) and the trainer told us a story (among the million that he told) that really resonated with me. We were discussing about spinal injuries and here is the story that he told us (he's a nurse - this actually happened at his hospital).

Two patients came in with identical injuries to the same vertebrae level (both motor accidents).

The first was actually quite happy to let his mother and girlfriend take care of him. Even though he was capable of doing simple things, he'd pretend that he couldn't when his mother and girlfriend were around.

The second patient came into hospital and said, "In six months, I'll be walking." Six months later, he pretty much regained full lower limb function. 

It's all about your attitude. 

The next story the trainer told us: some guy came in with a C6 spinal injury. Theoretically, he should be able to regain upper limb functions. But his attitude was "you owe me one, the world owes me one - so take care of me, I ain't gonna do shit" (yeah I added the shit bit on, but you get my point). Instead of recovering upper limb functions after a few months, he pretty much wasted into a piece of cardboard. 

A spinal injury is tough, as are many things in life - but it is all about your attitude. 

Note to self (and moral of the story): stop complaining about what you don't have - instead, maximise the potential of what you DO have.

[i-am-self-medicated]

Oh Miley, oh dear

The day after the VMA award, my facebook got flooded with images of Miley Cyrus twerking in front of Robin Thicke's junk. So I watched the video, and my face pretty much looked like Willow Smith's.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, well, here are a few images to burn your eyes.

So what is so wrong with this? For all my feminist talk, isn't Miley free to sexualise herself if she wants? 

I asked myself: will I be as disapproving if this were someone else? (Because maybe I'm just jealous that she's engaged to a hunk like Liam Hemsworth.) But yes, if another woman was in her place, I'd still have a problem with it.

It's slightly disturbing that I find it somehow hard to pinpoint what exactly is wrong with this performance. Maybe it's the teddy bear - which I very much associate with my innocent childhood - that has its tongue sticking out provocatively and has its ears barely covering her boobs. 

Oh right! it's her performing such a sexual act with Robin Thicke. Robin Thicke of all people, for fuck's sake. And the song they're performing? Blurred lines. That song trivialises rape, and even frames it in such a manner that suggests the girls invite violation. Don't even get me started on the objectification of women in the video clip. So as a woman, how can she perform with such a man? As a role model to young girls, as a female, how can she degrade herself like this?

How can she find so much enjoyment in making herself nothing but a piece of shaking ass and boobs.

While I wouldn't have a problem with her twerking and being half-naked at another location, at another time, it is the fact that she's doing this with Robin Thicke, and looking as though she enjoyed it. 

Grow up, Miley, and have some self-respect.

[i-am-self-medicated]

It's that time again...

Yes, it is the federal election again, and unfortunately, this time I actually have to vote. Oh, who is the lesser evil. 

But that's not what I'm referring to (well, it'll probably end up in another rant at another time) - what I'm talking about is the Student Union election at uni. 

For some reason, my uni is so dysfunctional when it comes to the student union, and so, after being attacked by flyers for two weeks, we're getting more flyers (the same ones, mind you) shoved in our faces - AGAIN.

While it's pretty cool seeing my friends campaign for their party on facebook (different uni though, I have to admit), it's a completely different story when I try to walk 100 metres to the bus stop and get three different flyers shoved in my face. Once, I took a flyer from one of the new parties - a member from the current tyranny party followed me and proceeded to shove her flyer on top of the one I was reading.

Rude.

And do they really need to chop down a whole forest to tell us that they want to bring a sushi train to uni? As great as free alcohol is, I really don't care about how much money you'll give us for bar tabs. Why don't you give us vouchers for textbooks instead? I am BROKE from buying 1 textbook (out of the billion compulsory ones). 

No flyer-shoving-minion will probably ever read this, but if you do, please stop shoving your bullshit in my face when I'm listening to my Legally Blonde musical songs. Cause next time, I'll change it to Fuck You and sing along to it.

[i-am-self-medicated]

Contagion

While finishing my bacteriology PBL, I decided to put on a movie (because well, who needs to concentrate while reading about the pathogenesis of Legionella). Contagion, for some strange reason, came to mind.

It wasn't as thrilling as I expected it to be, but it was surprisingly scientifically accurate, and I really fangirled over that (I mean, have you seen how Benedict Cumberbatch tested his chemicals in Sherlock? BAM and it's this chemical. BAM and it's that chemical.) I loved how they mentioned PC4 labs, and how they talked about fomites. 

But the best part? "Somewhere, the wrong pig met up with the wrong bat." NIPAH VIRUS. Which coincidentally, was the topic of my virology PBL. 

Such a nerdy moment, but it was pretty awesome.