My Class, Questioned
I'm always checking my pageviews and stuff for this blog. I like seeing how many people are coming here and why. I can look at words and phrases people search to get them here (like HERE and HERE), and I can also see links to pages that bring people to my posts. A lot of times it's a Google search page or a Reddit post or stuff like that - stuff I know about. However, sometimes I find a strange one. Sometimes it's a blog or comment or something out there on the interwebs that talked about or linked to one of my posts. It's like Christmas when I find one of these.
For 1, it assures me that at least one person out there reads my strange ladygasm ramblings, and 2, it's incredibly exciting to think that someone liked it at least enough to share it (seriously, it makes me straight up giddy).
So, this happened a couple days ago, and the circumstances of this link and the comments were pretty much awesome. My class was called into question. It was a thread on The Digital Fix, and they were talking about the movie Blue is the Warmest Color. Someone had said they just saw it and really liked it and then the conversation went a variety of places, but one place was to the controversy around the explicit and long lesbian sex scenes. It was started in October of last year and so it's a fairly old thread with comments trickling in towards the end - which was were I saw the link. I'll just quote it all here.
driver8 28-05-2014, 08:49
As we were discussing earlier in the thread, I think it's a missed opportunity and wish the sex scenes were less porny and more realistic.
Here's a good new review specifically of the sex scenes - Blue is the Warmest Color - TheSSL Review
From an excellent blog by the director of Science Sex and the Ladies (2013) [IMDB] - a documentary that attempts to dispel the Hollywood myths about p-in-v sex.
We blog critically on a specific intersection of science, sexuality, and feminism; particularly paying attention to how female sexual response is discussed, portrayed, and studied in our culture. So...if you're interested in science, sex, lady stuff, or indie movie making...this is the blog for you.
Ratfink 28-05-2014, 09:40
It's a dreadful review. Rating a film in vulvas? Yeah, that's not tacky at all.
driver8 28-05-2014, 10:10
hehe ... well it's not a film-review site, it's a sex blog ! And you didn't even mention that it only reviews the sex scenes and not the movie as a whole! :)
Ratfink 28-05-2014, 10:19
Yeah, I probably shouldn't have clicked at work.. But any site that reviews only sex scenes is itself tacky, even when written from a feminist perspective.
I honestly do not get the fuss over this film - it was three hours of boring. The sex scenes were nothing. Their relationship was not in the slightest bit interesting. I found the whole thing the height of tedium.
baloobas 28-05-2014, 16:18
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ratfink
I honestly do not get the fuss over this film - it was three hours of boring. The sex scenes were nothing. Their relationship was not in the slightest bit interesting. I found the whole thing the height of tedium.
You sir, have a cold, cold heart. I bet you laughed when Bambi's mother got shot.
So, this is what I want to say about this.
1. driver8 - I don't know who you are, but you said my blog was excellent. I rarely hear anything about my blog, so this was just plain lovely. You get a full 5 vulva rating for bringing my SSL review into a thread (!)(!)(!)(!)(!). If you contact me at trisha at ancmovies dott com I'll send you a free, limited edition cast and crew copy of Science, Sex and the Ladies. Hopefully you'll still read the blog after you see the movie. :) (this offer stands even if you really do live in Maldives like your profile says.)
2. Ratfink - you cranky ol' dog you! I know you didn't like that slow artsy French movie, and I get it. Honestly, even though I liked the movie, I could have done without the chewing sounds Adele would sometimes make. We can't take our frustration out on others though. Now, I'm not gonna argue that rating films in vulvas or reviewing only the female orgasm and masturbation parts of a movie is exactly high class, but I'm partial to it and it kinda goes with the whole lady-gasms-are-depicted-ridiculously-too-often-in-the-media-and-we-need-to-recognize-this vibe of the blog so it's staying. I'd love if you could come to terms with that, but for now, I'm going to have to give your comment a 2 out of 5 vulva rating (!)(!). Your tone was just too flippant for my taste, but you did seem to read at least a little of the blog, so that counts for something.
3. Baloobas, I believe you were the fella who started the thread. You just wanted to share and discuss a movie you greatly enjoyed. I respect that - even if ol' cranky Ratfink doesn't.
Thanks again driver8!
And to anyone else out there, feel free to let me know if you see or post links to my blog. I don't always catch them, but I do adore them.
***UPDATE 7/29/2014**** Driver8 posted this link onto the thread above and Ratfink, you classy ol' dog you, was quite cool and thoughtful about it all. I have to give it up. I'd like to up the vulva rating. I really would, but unfortunately a vulva rating can absolutely not be changed under any circumstances once issued. Ratfink's reply is below, but you can check it all HERE.
Ratfink 28-07-2014, 16:35
That was nicer than expected.
I feel I should address a few points though. Firstly, yes, I am a cranky old dog - guilty as charged. And I'm often flippant. However, I didn't have an issue with it being a 'slow, artsy French movie' as was implied - I watch a lot of films that fall under that category - I had an issue because I spent three hours with characters I felt no compassion or affinity for. I recently watched the three hour director's cut of Betty Blue, having only previously seen the theatrical cut, and that was a far more invigorating, passionate dissection of a doomed relationship, with a star-making performance from Béatrice Dalle. Point being I think the sex scenes oversold an underwhelming character drama.
But I digress. Had I read the post leading to the review, or the review itself, properly, I may not have responded so critically. Hard to say, I can be cranky, but I doff my cap to Tricia in apology and respectfully accept the poor vulva rating.