The Forward Voice

Welcome to December. I have to ask, are you feeling the Christmas spirit? I’ve got to say, I’m worn out already. Each year the decorations, parades and sales seem to begin earlier than they did the last. By the time Christmas actually arrives I am tired of it. Are we killing Christmas? You know what they say about too much of a good thing…

In my opinion the celebration should be confined to December. Only in December should retailers bombard us with jolly Christmas jingles and happy families to promote their products. Only in the month of the actual holiday should we wait hours in the freezing cold to see Santa slide on by on a beautifully decorated float. In the final month of the year and only in the final month should we be subjected to brightly lit houses and head bobbing reindeer in suburban front yards. Lets enhance the Christmas spirit by not letting it seep into November or January.

Now that I’ve said my piece I want to let everyone know I am not a scrooge. Christmas has been a favourite in my family. Who doesn’t love it? Family, friends, goodwill and of course gifts, both giving and receiving. I love watching the expressions of my fellow man when they get given a present. You can tell in the first three seconds whether it will be treasured or trashed. Any longer and they’ve covered their real feelings with a well honed expression of gratitude. It’s the thought that counts right? Right? Of course it is. Life on a whole gets more positive at Christmas I think that’s why people like to start it as early as possible. If you’ve had a good year you want to top it off with a great holiday season. If you haven’t the thought of a new year just around the corner fills you with hope. So everyone enjoy the celebrations as long as you don’t start yours too soon.

Nat

Life is interesting at the moment. There are so many things happening politically, socially and in the entertainment world I found it hard to decide on one topic to discuss. Since entertainment is my forte, my two cents are going to be thrown in this direction first.

I would like to discuss movie remakes and sequels. Not because the subject is new, it isn't, but because at present it is really grating on me.

Now I love the movies. There is nothing better than escaping your boring or stressful life through the excitement, action and adventure of somebody else's story. Despite the ever increasing price of this luxury it still seemed worth it just to forget about life for that two hours. Now I am not so sure. The amount of sequels, prequels and remakes being thrown the audience's way is nauseating. New ideas are few and far between and it feels like you're paying to see the lead actor rather than an exciting story. How is one supposed to get the motivation to take time out from their busy day to see a movie? It's hard to get excited when it feels like you've seen everything before. The trend has gotten so bad studios are digging up successful movies from the past and inflating them for a second wind. The Legend of Zorro and Basic Instinct 2 are at least ten years old, yet, in this time of repeats and follow ons they are getting the re-visit.

Of course this wouldn’t be the case if the studios did not reap benefits from this tiring and depressing trend. The two top grossing movies at the box office this weekend were Saw 2 and The Legend of Zorro. Why, can I ask, do we keep going back? I’m guilty of it myself so let me try and break it down. Even if you know in your head the movie is going to be bad, and let’s face it nine times out of ten with a sequel or remake you know it will be, you still want to know the end of the story. Not going to see the sequel would be like reading half of a novel. Do you reach the major climax in a book and not read the surprise epilogue. Oh no, it adds that little bit more to the story. A sequel often feels like a movie’s epilogue. Unfortunately you need more than one more chapter to sustain another entire movie.

Enough of movies and that beef. How about the propositions of good ol’ Governor Schwarzenegger. I wasn’t planning on getting too involved in them, because obviously I am unable to vote. That was until I read Prop 73. I think that was one of the most misogynistic, dictatorial proposals by any government I have ever read. Call me a didactic feminist if you will, but a woman should have control over her own body. Are we moving backwards people? Seriously. It seems every major policy change lately has shocked me to the core. The fact that homosexuals and lesbians are still not afforded the same marriage rights as everyone else disturbs and deeply saddens me. They are people, they are in love, but the government tells them they won’t recognise their love because they can‘t understand it. I’m sorry George Bush, if we had to live our whole lives by that policy we’d have to cut out dictionary in half.

‘No Laura, cut that word ignoramus too. Oh Lord, there’s just too much to understand.’

If you’ve found love in any shape, size, colour or sex, congratulations and enjoy every minute of it.

Okay, so according to the above, women making the decision to abort a child by themselves is wrong, Gay love is wrong, but according to current policy debate, torture is great. They can’t seriously be sitting in Government going over these issues with a rational thought process. I think they draw their opinions on these subjects out of a hat. That seems to be the only explanation.