"The Captains", and oh, hey, it's summer
Monday, April 23rd, 2012 08:10 amI'm sure for some of you, it's still actually Spring. That's normal in places that aren't here; but this weekend it hit over 100F degrees, and boy, I am not ready for this nonsense. Yuck! Fortunately the forecast suggests it might cool off a bit for the next week, with some rainclouds in to help mitigate the unfaltering heat.
No luck finding the little cat a home, but mom says she has a friend at work who can tell her what days are good days to bring in an animal for the humane society. (I don't want to bring him in on a day he's likely to just get euthanized.) He does seem to be a kitten, and aside from needing to be fixed is a super sweet, friendly sort that I don't doubt would do well in most cat-friendly homes. I do sort of wish we could have him, but our apartment's so small it'd be hard to try to properly introduce him to Cid. Add to that the fact that Cid is terrified of other cats, and it's not really an option.
We watched "The Captains" finally, which is a documentary my parents inexplicably gave us for Christmas. I severely enjoyed seeing the way the other Star Trek Captains responded to Shatner's overwhelming ego, even if in some spots I nearly had to leave, I was so insulted. (I have championed Shatner's work as Kirk in the past, separating the character from the man-- the man, I don't really care for, and find kind of hilarious but also kind of irksome; the character, I actually like, though he's not my favorite ever, or anything.)
With Patrick Stewart, Shatner seemed to be seeking some sense of validation. It's well said that Stewart brought dignity to the franchise, and Shatner seems to want Stewart to promise him that, in fact, he is dignified at least a little. You know, when he isn't busy engaging in a pissing contest with Stewart, who politely endures it.
With Avery Brooks, Shatner literally seems to be looking for a spiritual experience (which was hilarious and strange):
Shatner: ...What happens, when we die?
Brooks: *laugh* Tell me!
With Mulgrew, Shatner seemed willing to treat her the most like an equal-- except when he tried to assert his sexist bullshit notions. On the upside, that lead to us learning way more about Kate Mulgrew than we'd known. (In a good way, I gained a lot of respect for her.) Nothing offends me quite as much as the absolute falsehood of the argument that men are hormonally different from women, and that that is somehow the reason why men and women are different.
Here's the thing. Hormonal changes, with the exception of a mental disorder or a pregnancy, are not noticeable enough to account for differences in behavior. The differences between men and women are societal, and they are learned. They are taught. They are not something that women or men are hardwired to believe in, but it's easy to mistake social conditioning for simple, unchangeable truths because everywhere that a sexist person looks, they're going to see societal reinforcements of their beliefs. Anyone who willfully uses their hormonal imbalances as an excuse to act like a jerk to other people is simply failing to own up to their own behavior. It's cowardly, and it doesn't make you less of a jerk; same goes for people who hide behind being inebriated, or high, or 'stressed out'. If it wouldn't normally be okay, these extenuating circumstances don't magically make it okay.
Likewise, being hormonally different doesn't somehow exclude you from the rest of a standard human condition. A woman is just as capable of doing anything as a man and on an individual level, just as there are some men who wouldn't do well in certain positions of power or don't desire to do certain types of jobs, there are some women for whom the same is true.
Shatner's discussions with Bakula and Pines were honestly of least interest to me; I thought Pines handled himself well, and Bakula always comes across as a pretty nice guy, but Shatner spent more time plying Bakula for sympathy and had little to say to Pines, overall.
All in all, it was fun to watch, and the segments with Brooks, Mulgrew and Stewart were great and frequently had us laughing. I still don't know exactly why my parents gave it to me, but I think they just find Shatner's wacky self-centered nonsense funnier than I do. Don't get me wrong, it's funny; just maybe not a whole documentary's worth of funny. Danny and I both felt the same after. It would be nice to see someone else interview all of these people for a similar project, and to also interview Shatner. Then we wouldn't have Shatner interrupting just about every statement Stewart makes, for example, and that would be sort of nice.
No luck finding the little cat a home, but mom says she has a friend at work who can tell her what days are good days to bring in an animal for the humane society. (I don't want to bring him in on a day he's likely to just get euthanized.) He does seem to be a kitten, and aside from needing to be fixed is a super sweet, friendly sort that I don't doubt would do well in most cat-friendly homes. I do sort of wish we could have him, but our apartment's so small it'd be hard to try to properly introduce him to Cid. Add to that the fact that Cid is terrified of other cats, and it's not really an option.
We watched "The Captains" finally, which is a documentary my parents inexplicably gave us for Christmas. I severely enjoyed seeing the way the other Star Trek Captains responded to Shatner's overwhelming ego, even if in some spots I nearly had to leave, I was so insulted. (I have championed Shatner's work as Kirk in the past, separating the character from the man-- the man, I don't really care for, and find kind of hilarious but also kind of irksome; the character, I actually like, though he's not my favorite ever, or anything.)
With Patrick Stewart, Shatner seemed to be seeking some sense of validation. It's well said that Stewart brought dignity to the franchise, and Shatner seems to want Stewart to promise him that, in fact, he is dignified at least a little. You know, when he isn't busy engaging in a pissing contest with Stewart, who politely endures it.
With Avery Brooks, Shatner literally seems to be looking for a spiritual experience (which was hilarious and strange):
Shatner: ...What happens, when we die?
Brooks: *laugh* Tell me!
With Mulgrew, Shatner seemed willing to treat her the most like an equal-- except when he tried to assert his sexist bullshit notions. On the upside, that lead to us learning way more about Kate Mulgrew than we'd known. (In a good way, I gained a lot of respect for her.) Nothing offends me quite as much as the absolute falsehood of the argument that men are hormonally different from women, and that that is somehow the reason why men and women are different.
Here's the thing. Hormonal changes, with the exception of a mental disorder or a pregnancy, are not noticeable enough to account for differences in behavior. The differences between men and women are societal, and they are learned. They are taught. They are not something that women or men are hardwired to believe in, but it's easy to mistake social conditioning for simple, unchangeable truths because everywhere that a sexist person looks, they're going to see societal reinforcements of their beliefs. Anyone who willfully uses their hormonal imbalances as an excuse to act like a jerk to other people is simply failing to own up to their own behavior. It's cowardly, and it doesn't make you less of a jerk; same goes for people who hide behind being inebriated, or high, or 'stressed out'. If it wouldn't normally be okay, these extenuating circumstances don't magically make it okay.
Likewise, being hormonally different doesn't somehow exclude you from the rest of a standard human condition. A woman is just as capable of doing anything as a man and on an individual level, just as there are some men who wouldn't do well in certain positions of power or don't desire to do certain types of jobs, there are some women for whom the same is true.
Shatner's discussions with Bakula and Pines were honestly of least interest to me; I thought Pines handled himself well, and Bakula always comes across as a pretty nice guy, but Shatner spent more time plying Bakula for sympathy and had little to say to Pines, overall.
All in all, it was fun to watch, and the segments with Brooks, Mulgrew and Stewart were great and frequently had us laughing. I still don't know exactly why my parents gave it to me, but I think they just find Shatner's wacky self-centered nonsense funnier than I do. Don't get me wrong, it's funny; just maybe not a whole documentary's worth of funny. Danny and I both felt the same after. It would be nice to see someone else interview all of these people for a similar project, and to also interview Shatner. Then we wouldn't have Shatner interrupting just about every statement Stewart makes, for example, and that would be sort of nice.
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