Thoughts on International Women's Day

Carnations for women on International Women's Day

It's International Women's Day and the first thing that comes to mind for me is when I was in Beijing in 2008 and was working in state media.

When it was noon that day, carnations were handed out to the females in the office, and we were told we could leave the office and have a half day off.

What?

It was kind of bizarre, and I said it was OK, I would rather stay, but was told no, it was an order to leave.

I can't remember what I did, but I was disappointed I was not told ahead of time!

A book to consider reading

On the other hand I'm thinking about the concept of "daughtering", where women in the family are expected to manage family dynamics, to organising gatherings to scheduling parents' medical appointments. It's a task that has no monetary value, but is assumed that the daughters will take on this role wholeheartedly.

"Daughtering" was coined by Dr Allison Alford, a clinical associate professor at the Baylor University Hankamer School of Business. She recently wrote a book called Good Daughtering: The Work You've Always Done, the Credit You've Never Gotten, and How to Finally Feel Enough.

She's done a lot of research into this topic, interviewing a lot of women, from the oldest sisters to the youngest, though it is the oldest who is the family anchor, and the other female siblings assist. However when the men decide to pitch in and organise a family event, everyone is in a twitter about how he's made such a lovely contribution. Sound familiar?

Alford says it's important to recognise this "daughtering" concept and that it is not just you doing all the work -- others are too. That said, she believes it is important to show others what you are doing, and that your efforts deserve to be valued.

Along the same vein is my last thought on International Women's Day is America Ferrera's monologue as Gloria in Barbie. It may be given by a fictional character but it resonates:

It is literally impossible to be a woman. You are so beautiful, and so smart, and it kills me that you don't think you're good enough. Like, we have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we're always doing it wrong.

Gloria's monologue in Barbie

You have to be thin, but not too thin. And you can never say you want to be thin. You have to say you want to be healthy, but you also have to be thin. You have to have money, but you can't ask for money because that's crass. You have to be a boss, but you can't be mean. You have to lead, but you can't squash other people's ideas. You're supposed to love being a mother, but don't talk about your kids all the damn time. You have to be a career woman but always be looking out for other people.

You have to answer for men's bad behaviour, which is insane, but if you point that out, you're accused of complaining. You're supposed to stay pretty for me, but not so pretty that you tempt them too much or that you threaten other women because you're supposed to be a part of the sisterhood.

But always stand out and always be grateful. But never forget that the system is rigged. So find a way to acknowledge that but always be grateful.

You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line. It's too hard! It's too contradictory and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you! And it turns out in fact that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault.

I'm just so tired of watching myself and every single other woman tie herself into knots so that people will like us. And if all of that is also true for a doll just representing women, then I don't even know.

Man Arrested for Driving Pink Jeep and Allegedly Impaired

Lincoln was stopped by an officer for driving a toy jeep

Prince George residents who were in this morning's rush-hour traffic were shocked to see a man arrested for allegedly driving a pink Barbie jeep on the street.

The police were not amused, as they were busy that day with an ambulance involved in a hit-and-run, and a prominent downtown business destroyed by fire.

An officer stopped the vehicle and found Kasper Lincoln had a suspended license and was likely impaired.

Lincoln was seen driving the toy car on the road

He was arrested for prohibited driving and given breathalyzer tests, producing two samples that police say showed he was over the legal limit.

Lincoln was issued a 90-day driving suspension and must appear in court in December.

Earlier witnesses saw Lincoln wearing aviator glasses as he drove the toy vehicle on a main thoroughfare in Prince George. Some reported him to the police, others were surprised he was arrested for driving way below the speed limit.

In an interview with CBC News, Lincoln said he was getting a slurpee with a friend, but "got lazy", and decided to borrow his roommate's child's toy car to get there, with his friend walking beside him.

"I never drove it before," he said while laughing.

However, the police didn't think it was funny and what Lincoln did was illegal.

He was arrested and allegedly impaired

He was driving an unlicensed motor vehicle -- and a toy one should not be on the road.

According to Mattel which produced the toy car, it can go as fast as 8km/hr and has power brakes.

In the meantime, Lincoln plans to fight the ticket, adding he has been arrested by the police several times before, but "this is the most hilarious one."

Only in Prince George?

Ken Shines in the Oscar Spotlight

Gosling as Ken singlehandedly steals the Oscars show

The golden Oscars were handed out at the 96th Academy Awards tonight, but the guy who stole the show was Canadian Ryan Gosling and his energising performance of I'm Just Ken from the movie Barbie.

It was inspired by Marilyn Monroe's Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend where she wore a bubblegum pink strapless dress and massive sparkling choker necklace, Gosling wore a sparkling pink suit, while his fellow Kens and other dancers wore tuxedos complete with striped red and white sash and cowboy hats. 

Robbie giggling as Gosling starts singing

Gosling effortlessly sang his heart out and even gave the mic to his Barbie director Greta Gerwig, co-star Margot Robbie and America Ferrera to sing the lyrics, and even his La La Land co-star Emma Stone -- who believes her dress malfunctioned while belting out the song.

The singing, dancing and cameo by guitarist Slash brought the house down and the millions of viewers around the world floored that Gosling proved he is such an stellar performer.

Producers and directors are probably pitching him movie ideas as I write this.

On X, formerly known as Twitter, people were commenting that he and Emma Blunt should be co-hosts next year when they exchanged sharp barbs at each other before presenting a tribute to stuntmen. 

"I'm just happy we can put this 'Barbenheimer' rivalry behind us," Gosling starts off.

"The way this award season turned out, it wasn't that much of a rivalry. So just let it go," she says snarkily.

Blunt and Gosling throwing insults at each other

"It's true, you guys are doing very well. Congratulations," Gosling concedes as she giggles thinking she has the upper hand.

"But you know I figured out why they called it 'Barbenheimer' and not 'Oppenbarbie'," he says. "I think you guys are at the tail end of that cause you were riding Barbie's coattails all summer." 

"Thanks for Ken-splaining that to me," Blunt replies in return with air quotes. "Alright Mr-I-need-to-paint-my-abs-on to get nominated. You don't see Robert Downey doing that!"

He grabs the microphone and says, "You're kidding! You're kidding. This is insane Emily! This has got to stop."

They are so good!

Too bad about her dress though. What is with the dress floating above her shoulders and the Y-front?!

Review: Island in Between

Chiang examines his relationship with his homeland

The Oscar nominations are out today and there were the usual suspects with Oppenheimer garnering 13 nominations, Poor Things with 11, and Killers of the Flower Moon, 10.

I have a soft spot for The Holdovers, with Paul Giamatti for Best Actor and Da'Vine Joy Randolph for Best Supporting Actress. 

Another is the Hayao Miyazaki full-length animated feature The Boy and the Heron, a science-fiction tale about life and death, and the choices you make in life.

Chiang moved back to Taipei

Barbie is a tough one... there was outrage from Oscar nominee Ryan Gosling that director Greta Gerwig and actress Margot Robbie were not nominated. It's a tough call. The film made US$1 billion at the box office, but is it Oscar worthy?

I did not see any of the nominated full-length documentaries, but in the short docs I just watched Island in Between. It's about Kinmen, an island that is between China and Taiwan.

Filmmaker S. Leo Chiang presents a historical but also personal look at Kinmen. After the Kuomintang fled to Taiwan after their defeat in the Chinese civil war in 1949, they used Kinmen as a buffer, a first line of defense, and men who did military service, like Chiang's father, were posted there. 

Chiang also talks about how his family immigrated to the United States, but then a few years ago, during the pandemic, he moved back to Taipei, Taiwan to be closer to his parents. In the film it seems like he is also trying to figure out his relationship with not only Taiwan but also Kinmen, what he is doing there and what the future holds.

While there is mention of the cross-strait tensions, Island in Between also shows the slow pace of Kinmen, from people buying food from outdoor stalls to two women chatting in a salon about how the pandemic has made it difficult to go back to China.

He looks at Kinmen and its role in Taiwan

Chiang also goes beyond the China (bad), Taiwan (good) storyline, that the lines between them were blurred when Taiwanese could visit China and vice versa. 

He talks about how he feels like a child caught between a three-way custody battle between the US, China and Taiwan that Chiang describes as "hostile, co-dependent, manipulative". "They all think they know what's best for me. They don't care what I want," he says.

His reflections about Taiwan and himself aren't just a single voice -- his observations and questions on what will happen next is on the minds of all Taiwanese especially following the recent presidential election. 

Watch it here: http://tinyurl.com/4kutvp8v

Review: Barbie

Robbie as Barbie in her perfect Barbieland world

I was really keen to watch the box-office blowout sensation Barbie, with the hype around it. Most people seemed to enjoy the film starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, but perhaps I was expecting too much?

It's an interesting take on the Mattel doll, setting the scene at the beginning to explain that previously girls only had baby dolls to play with, and so they were forced to role play being a mother and who wants to do that? (ask your mother, says narrator Helen Mirren).

And so the introduction of Barbie changed all of that, empowering girls everywhere that they could do everything and anything they wanted, without addressing her impossible body measurements until later. 

Gosling's Ken (right) is teased by Liu's Ken

She lives in Barbieland which is perfect, and features all of her homes, cars and wardrobes. And just like the real Barbies, she doesn't actually drink milk or eat or walk down stairs.

Perhaps the funnier bits were of Gosling as Ken who was desperate for Barbie's attention, and having to compete with other Kens like that of Simu Liu. But it is true -- he really was her arm ornament.

An interesting storyline develops when Barbie suddenly develops flat feet and needs to find her owner which results in her facing the real world of California, and Ken discovering patriarchy and horses. It also involves Mattel headquarters headed by Will Ferrell being a clumsy boss who likes an entourage of minions around him.

The most integral scene is America Ferrera who gives a long monologue about how women in real life have to walk a very fine line that is full of contradictions that make it impossible to be the perfect woman, let alone be yourself.

"It is literally impossible to be a woman. You are so beautiful and yet so smart, and it kills me that you don't think you're good enough. Like, we have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we're always doing it wrong," she starts off.

An all-inclusive Barbie land abounds

"You have to be thin, but not too thin. And you can never say you want to be thin. You have to say you want to be healthy, but also you have to be thin. You have to have money, but you can't ask for money because that's crass. You have to be a boss, but you can't be mean. You have to lead, but you can't squash other people's ideas. You're supposed to love being a mother but don't talk about your kids all the damn time. 

"You have to be a career woman but also always be looking out for other people. You have to answer for men's bad behaviour, which is insane, but if you point that out, you're accused of complaining. You're supposed to stay pretty for men, but not so pretty that you tempt them too much or that you threaten other women because you're supposed to be part of the sisterhood.

"But always stand out and always be grateful. But never forget that the system is rigged. So find a way to acknowledge that but also always be grateful. You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line.

"It's too hard! It's too contradictory and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you! And it turns out in fact that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault. 

Amusing doll-like situations in Barbieland

"I'm just so tired of watching myself and every single other woman tie herself into knots so that people will like us. And if all of that is also true for a doll just representing women, then I don't even know."

Suddenly this is all deep and existential -- but wait -- the Barbies need to figure out how to get their Barbieland back and becomes mildly funny, not hilarious funny which was what I was expecting...

At any rate, it's a very inclusive movie, featuring all of the past Barbies, including discontinued ones and shamelessly plugs her and Ken's outfits.

Robbie is really good as Barbie, and Gosling's having a lot of fun, making fun of Ken.

Hopefully there will not be a sequel. We're good with just this one.

Barbie

1hr, 54 minutes

Written and directed by Greta Gerwig

Co-written by Noah Baumbach