Thursday, April 10, 2014 • Page 4
Opinions
Editor: Katelyn Kennon letters@wildcat.arizona.edu (520) 621-3192 twitter.com/dailywildcat
Dystopia lit shows us better future BY Brittany Rudolph The Daily Wildcat
W
hen I was younger, I wanted nothing more than to slay vampires, demons and the forces of darkness. Perhaps I should have dreamt about cell phones and Hollister (a middle school girl’s biggest luxuries), but instead, I wanted to fight evil. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was my hero, and I didn’t just look up to her. I wanted to be her. In a world where nothing was certain, Buffy remained cool, calm and collected. She manipulated authority figures and dismissed the rules, conquered seemingly insurmountable obstacles and demon-spawn enemies. She did it all with a flip of her perfectly unruffled hair and the delivery of a pithy one-liner. Recently, there’s been a resurgence of strong, female characters like Buffy tackling difficult odds, often in dystopian worlds. From Katniss in “The Hunger Games” to Tris in “Divergent,” women in worst-case-scenario universes have become common. While it’s easy to roll your eyes when you see yet another woman kicking her away across a screen, we shouldn’t forget the — ironically uplifting — value of dystopian media. Dana Stevens, Slate’s movie critic, explained some of the appeal of consuming dystopian media in a recent article. “[Young adult] dystopias externalize the turmoil that’s already taking place in adolescent minds, hearts, and bodies,” Stevens writes. “The social, interpersonal, and biological phenomena that define teenage life — competition and jealousy, anxiety about exclusion and belonging, shifting alliances, first crushes, wet dreams — are codified and, in some way, dignified by their transmutation into fiction.” I may no longer be in middle school, but there’s still something oddly satisfying about seeing characters solve problems that are much more difficult than even real-world struggles. Regardless of age, we can see ourselves within these stories. As college students, we’re past adolescence, but obstacles and issues never really disappear. We are still learning about life and discovering who we want to be. Buffy routinely faced the apocalypse, but we’ve all been there. If anything, as adults, we’re more acquainted with what it means to suffer now than we were five or eight years ago. Still, seeing worlds much worse than our own, in which monsters run rampant and the government mandates battles between youth, provides relief. Though our lives may be relatively ordinary, our problems can still feel extraordinarily hard. Our obstacles may be fights with friends and rising tuition, rather than monsters or oppressive regimes. However, when we see others flawlessly executing takedowns and railing against corrupt authority, we start to believe we can, too. We may have problems, but we don’t have fictional characters’ exact problems, and for that we ought to feel grateful. Seeing a character successfully overcome astronomical odds also reminds us that we, too, can persevere. We’re inspired to emulate those we see on the big screen and take action. We’re not obsessed with books like “The Hunger Games” and “Divergent” because we’re forever 13 years old and uncool. We like them because they reflect our lives on a larger scale. The physical demons Buffy fights symbolize ordinary demons — like heartbreak and rejection — that plague us all. This type of media shows us that it’s OK, even celebrated, to be different. They make us feel that with hard work, we can be extraordinary, too. We can overcome anything. These lessons, while particularly appealing during the middle school years, are important for everyone. In the midst of our own hectic lives and flawed world, we want to see the good guy win. If you go to see “Divergent” this weekend, there’s a chance you may be surrounded by hordes of middleschoolers, but don’t let that deter you. Seeing characters conquer situations much worse than our own is oddly uplifting, and there’s no better time for it. After all, finals are only a few weeks away.
— Brittany Rudolph is a sophomore studying English and art history. Follow her @DailyWildcat
Br
Rank and File
ill
The Editorial Board calls brilliant, blah or bogus on what’s been trending recently
ia
“Microaggression” projects taking off — Racial slights can be subtle, but they aren’t minor. Starting to acknowledge all the interactions that lead to tensions is the first step in dismantling systems of oppression. Now we just need a UA blog.
— Compiled by the Editorial Board
nt
Guaranteed tuition — Finally.
Lyft — It’s nice that Uber finally has some competition in town in the super-convenient-forcollege-students market. Lyft is cheaper and faster than cabs, and a totally valid D.D. Plus, it makes us so happy to see those cars driving around with their fluffy pink mustaches.
Bl
BuzzFeed quizzes — Yes, we probably would be Kanye in a rapper situation, and we are very similar to Chipotle (free guac, though), but other than a weird sense of satisfaction from confirming that, what are these quizzes giving us? Worse grades and annoyed Facebook friends.
ah
Other people using Tapingo — There’s inevitably a guy named Chad remotely cutting you in line with Tapingo. It’s mysterious, and we don’t understand its power to supercede the traditional line structure, so maybe we aren’t paying proper reverence. But god it would be nice to not have 10 invisible customers standing in front of you at IQ Fresh.
“How I Met Your Mother” finale — Spoiler alert. The mother, Tracy, becomes terminally ill, and Ted ends up running to Robin with the blue French horn that started it all. Ted and Robin have been dead and gone for a long time; why bring them back? The showrunners wanted to please everyone and ended up pleasing no one.
Bo
gu
s
Pulse of the Pac Columnists from around the Pac-12 write about campus cultural centers, female solidarity and leaderless leading From “Campus cultural centers important for maintaining cohesion” by The Editorial Board
From “To fight injustice, women must be unified” by Rini Sampath
Being able to spot someone “like you” in a crowd is so easy for most of us that the cultural centers feel like an afterthought that isn’t very important, and that they don’t have any affect on us or anything to do with us. But for those of us who can’t just look around and feel like we belong, the cultural centers are a haven. They’re somewhere we can go to relax. It’s amazing how much stress sloughs away when you’re in a space you think of as safe. … True, a white student dropping by the Centro Cultural Cesar Chavez center, the Asian & Pacific Cultural Center, the Lonnie B. Harris Black Cultural Center or the Native American Longhouse might feel a little out of place. But probably not more than a student of color feels when looking around our predominantly white campus. The Daily Barometer Oregon State University
The Daily Wildcat Editorial Policy Daily Wildcat staff editorials represent the official opinion of the Daily Wildcat staff, which is determined at staff editorial meetings. Columns, cartoons, online comments and letters to the editors represent the opinion of their author and do not represent the opinion of the Daily Wildcat.
Rather than digging into the world of Katniss and Peeta, I dove headfirst into Sheryl Sandberg’s feminist manifesto and couldn’t get enough of it. … Undoubtedly, most of the criticism targeted toward Sandberg comes from other women. Rather than supporting one another in their endeavors for success, women tear each other down. … But this isn’t just my own take. It’s not just a conclusion I arrived at from witnessing the cattiness of college girls. … [At] the end of the day, I value my friendships with other women and credit their love and support for much of my own progress in life. But looking at the larger picture, such support isn’t as commonplace as you might think. … In the way that groups of different ethnicities or identities have joined together to fight back against intolerance and create progress, women must do the same. Daily Trojan University of Southern California
contact us |
From “Leaderless does not mean chaotic” by Nafisa Masud
For many Americans, our professional lives are centered around “moving up the ladder” in pursuit of positions that offer us power and authority. What if that wasn’t the case? … Leaderless organizations represent a new way to function — they equally value the members of each system, allowing for a flow of ideas among peers. … Leadership in itself is a valuable quality, and peer-based organizations don’t reject that inherent value. Instead, they recognize that leadership can be shared, fostering dialogue and creativity among equals and allowing participants to be vocal and respectful. … Our biology proves we don’t need to think in hierarchical terms, that the structure of our organizations is an extension of our mentality. It’s about time that mentality changed. The Daily Utah Chronicle University of Utah
The Daily Wildcat accepts original, unpublished letters from all of its readers
•
Email letters to: letters@wildcat.arizona.edu
•
•
Letters should include name, connection to university (year, major, etc.) and contact information
Snail mail to: 615 N. Park Ave., Tucson, AZ 85719
•
Letters should be no longer than 350 words and should refrain from personal attacks