policy with pop

Twilight’s Edward Cullen: Romantic or Creeper?

What if Edward Cullen is not the hero? What if he’s the bad guy?

My eleven year old sister received the movie Twilight as a Christmas present. She was overjoyed and wanted me to watch with her, knowing that I have never seen the movie before. I obliged.

On its face, Twilight should jive with my tastes. I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But, Twilight was different.

The movie lacked character development. To be fair, Buffy is a TV show, which has more time to allow for more character growth over episodes and seasons.

Besides the lack of depth, I found Edward Cullen to be majorly creepy. The dude awkwardly stares at Bella Swan (not sure if that’s in the script or if that Robert Pattinson’s “artistic interpretation”). But what takes the cake for giving me the wiggins is that Edward admitted to secretly breaking and entering into Bella’s room each night for two months to watch her sleep.

After I watched Twilight, my sister asked me my thoughts. Being the honest brother that I am, I told her, “Edward is a creeper.” Man, did I say the wrong thing to the Twilight fan. She protested the whole night.

My sister defended Edward’s action. She argued that because Bella liked his stalker-ish behavior, it was acceptable.

Now I could have simply dismissed her passionate defense as some teeny-bopper reaction but I also know quite a few friends in their mid-twenties who would bite my head off for criticizing Twilight/Edward/Pattinson.

But am I right to characterize Edward as a creeper? Should society be promoting this type of behavior? Or am I missing the romantic nature of a vampire that glows in the sunlight?

A "Precious" Sight: Poverty & Pain

I won two advance screening tickets to an episode of Glee in LA last minute (I’ll blog about the episode in another post)! With a day and half to plan my unexpected trip from Nor Cal to So Cal, I decided to take a train. What I saw before attending the Glee screening was eye-opening and heartbreaking.

The train is a great way to travel. You get to sightsee without the hassle that comes with driving. The steady speed of the train also allows passengers (or at least me) to read, study or even write a blog post without getting a headache!

Anyway, my trip started at 6:40am at the train station. As my train was going through Sacramento, I unexpectedly saw several tents scattered in undeveloped lands. At first I thought it was a little odd to set up camp in Sacramento. But, then it hit me. I remembered reading about the prevalence of people living in tents because they could no longer afford living in a home during the recession. I never saw it in person before.

Sacramento was not the only area with families living in tents. As my train went down the Golden State, I continued to see tents. In distressed towns like Merced and Fresno, I saw rows of tents under bridges.

It definitely made me sad to see so many tents throughout California. I realized how blessed I am to have what I have. But, I also wondered what could be done to help those families. I thought about that during my trip.

When I arrived in LA a day before the Glee screening, I decided that I was going to see Precious: A Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire. Now I’ve wanted to see the movie for months, but after unexpectedly seeing families living in tents, I thought watching this film was timely. Here is the trailer for the movie:

Without giving away all the details, Precious is about the struggles of a poor, obese, illiterate, black teen-mom, who is raped by her father and abused by her mother. Intense. Not only do viewers see the startling assault Precious faces at home, but it exposes the cracks in our inadequate education and welfare system. Now this movie is set in the 1987 but the problems highlighted in Precious still seem to like issues today.

One fear that some have about a movie like Precious is that it is “poverty porn.” That type of movie is one in which the rich and middle class go see to watch a story about poverty/struggle and feel good about themselves for seeing such a movie. In the end, the poor person’s story is exploited and those who enjoyed the film ultimately leave without doing anything about the problems they are exposed to.

After watching Precious, I wondered what can be done to help those like Precious. It’s been two days since, and I’m riding the train back home, passing by those living in tents. Thinking up solutions about addressing the problems of poverty and abuse is a challenge. That’s why I’m hoping to figure it out with you.

As I return to Sacramento, California’s capital, I wonder what the government can do to assist those who have slipped through the cracks. What do you think the government can do? What should it do?

And, what can an individual do to help the poor or the abused? Should we all feel an obligation to help those in need? Or is it every man for himself?

In any case, not to get all Oprah on you, but you have to see Precious.

Fraternity Life: Exclusive or Inclusive?

So I have a few ideas for a proper policy with POP posting. But I’ve been in a retrospective mood lately so I will use a past incident in my life as the impetus of this post. Hopefully, you’ll read and give me your take.

When I was a college freshman, I joined a fraternity. Anyone who knows me knows I do not fit the typical frat guy mold. In fact, many people are surprised to learn I was even in a fraternity. I’m still shocked myself.

Anyway, when I was pledging, my pledge class had to throw a party at a club. As with any social event, we had to publicize it. Besides personally inviting our friends and making announcements at sorority houses, we also passed out flyers on campus to random students.

When it came to flyering for our party, my fellow pledges and I had different philosophies. They only targeted members of the student body who were hot or looked cool. I too gave out flyers to these Abercrombie & Fitch types. But, I also had a “invite everyone” approach.

In fact, I made it a point to give party flyers to those who did not fit the stereotype of who was deserving of a fraternity party invitation. The Star Wars t-shirt wearing engineer. Here ya’ go! The non-conformist, Goth girl . Welcome! The socially awkward econ-kid. Sure, you too!

Now there were grumblings from my fellow pledge bros. They questioned my flyering strategy. But, they didn’t stop me. So I continued to pass out flyers merrily to student from all walks of campus.

Then one of the more confrontational pledges called me out. He loudly complained, “Rich is giving out fliers to these rejects because he feels like he wouldn’t have been given an invite in the past.”

Truth.  And, I admitted it to him and the other pledges. I was a scrawny, politically-minded dork. In high school, I wasn’t eating lunch alone but I was never really part of the “in-crowd.” But here I was, in a position to invite people to a frat party, and I wanted to make those that are often overlooked feel welcomed. That was my idealistic motivation. Practically, I knew that we had an abundance of fliers we needed to get rid of and I was pretty sure none of these random kids would come. So I thought: No harm, no foul.

Confrontational pledge was mildly appeased but he was still concerned that my actions would hurt the fraternity’s reputation and make the party seem less cool.

I’m not sure if it did or it didn’t. But, I can tell you the party was a success. Plus, no one came wearing a Star Wars t-shirt!

What do you think? Were my efforts to welcome all people, especially those who are considered social “rejects,” cool? Or was my frat party an inappropriate venue to advance my personal agenda of breaking down the harsh social hierarchy of college? Did I put my fraternity’s reputation at risk? What would you have done?

Facebook Status Updates on President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize Win

Where do you go for news? I get my news from Facebook.

Of course, I also go to internet news sites to get verification and more details. But, Facebook allows me to see what stories my friends are interested in as well as their opinions. And you know how much I love to read people’s opinions (comment on my blog please)!

Anyway, yesterday I learned from Facebook status updates that President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. My Facebook friends had a lot of thoughts on the selection. Here’s a highlight of what I learned from my friends (to protect their identities, names have been changed but their grammatical and spelling errors have not):

The Harsh

Feisty  Frenchie “is wondering if the members of the Nobel Prize Committee have TV and read newspapers! As far as I can tell, Obama was not yet successful at settling the Arab-Israeli conflict…  or easing tensions with Iran… or coming to an agreement with North Korea… or bring the Burmese junta to the negotiate… I love the guy but that looks more like an ‘E’ for effort!”

Former Obama campaigner is “pretty stunned Obama got the prize. Where’s the peace?”

Mr. Protocol says, “First peace then a prize, not the other way around.”

Just Saying points out: “You Know Gandhi never got a nobel peace prize…hrmm…”

Designated (Political) Driver’s observations: “Obama receives Nobel Peace Prize. Clearly everyone has drank the Koolaid.”

Clever guy writes “What?! Is it true? Barack Obama just won project runway???”

Burn… And these comments are from my liberal-hippie buddies. Now a few words from my pals from the vast right-wing conspiracy.

Female, minority GOP supporter wonders: “is this a joke, Nobel Committee?????”

Conservative movie critic’s review: “Barack Obama winning the Nobel Peace prize is like Shakespeare in Love winning the Oscar for Best Movie. If it’s a bad year, just save the award….”

Wordy-McWord-Word publishes, “You’ve got to be kidding me!! Some people spend their entire lives working towards achieving peace in their home regions and don’t even win the prize. This guy only makes a few passionate speeches…and he’s automatically qualified to become a Nobel laureate? Moreover, he’s been in office for less than a year and hasn’t even done anything worth writing home about. This the HYPE surrounding Obama is utterly absurd, and its way out of control. But who knows…maybe if future presidential candidates use the term ‘hope’ in their campaign slogans, they too can win the Nobel Prize.”

The Happy

Guy who drank the Kool-Aid exclaims, “Well done! Celebrate this and let it embolden you to further action.”

Deep Thoughts proclaims, “The world is bigger than one self-important nation. Keep the message alive, President Obama.”

ObamaFanBoy240131 writes, “Congratulations, Mr. President!!!”

In the Winner’s Circle points out that “Thorbjorn Jagland, chairman of the Nobel committee, said the decision was ‘unanimous’ and came with ease. Hope prevails :)”

In the Middle

Makin’ It Work states, “So I'm definitely an Obama fan...but really??? still pondering this one. Maybe it was retitled ‘Noble (Potential) Peace Prize’ How about ‘Nobel Peace Prize - Most Improved’?”

Mr. Analysis concludes, “Apparently Obama just won the Nobel Peace Prize for not being George W. Bush”

Historian-in-the making scribes: “Today cannot be real: Barack wins Nobel Peace Prize, Marge Simpson on Playboy’s cover, Limbaugh to judge Miss America!?”

In Other News

Unemployed’s stream of consciousness: “I want a Nobel Peace Prize! Oh, wait. A freaking JOB would be good enough at this point.”

Observant but hungry writes, “haven’t eaten today, just watched people eat. that’s all.”

With that, my summary ends. But what are your thoughts on President Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize?

Aubrey O’Day Bares All

Aubrey O’Day…  I knew the girl during college. We had two classes together. In fact, I studied with tutored her.

Then Ms. O’Day became a controversial reality star on MTV’s Making the Band and a member of the defunct girl-group, Danity Kane. With her crazy antics and all the rumors swirling around about her, Aubrey has her fans but also incites the haters.

While I have my own opinions of Aubrey from personal interactions, I’ll keep them private and won’t weigh in on the fray. But I will share one positive incident that made a lasting impression on me.

One night Aubrey picked me up for one of our study tutoring sessions. One of her sorority sisters was also in her car. Aubrey had just come from an interview for a waitress gig at Hooters. She then playfully declares that she had to wear her PUSH-UP, push-up bra for the interview. She goes on to say that she needed it because she wasn’t as busty as her sorority sister and needed all the help she could get for the Hooters interview.

Even in college, Aubrey always dressed… provocatively. We all knew she was confident in flaunting her body. But this incident showed me that Aubrey was truly comfortable with her body.

That was 2003. Since then Aubrey’s breasts have expanded exponentially… Now I’m not saying the girl got implants, as some say. I haven’t seen or talked with her since 2005. For all I know, Aubrey had a natural growth spurt… that only occurred in the chest area.

The very vocal Aubrey O’Day is not letting these plastic surgery rumors go unaddressed. In her new song “Never Fallin,” she sings that she is all real when it comes to her chest. Apparently, you can ask Hugh Hefner.

Back when I knew her, Aubrey seemed secure with her body. And, I respected her confidence in her body image, even if I did not always understand her choice in clothing (or lack thereof). But, if she did get breast implants, did she sell out?

Even though she is famous, Aubrey is not the only person who comes under scrutiny for how she looks. We all deal with body issues. Should we learn to accept our bodies and avoid plastic surgeries? Or is cosmetic surgery a perfectly acceptable means to achieve the body we want?
 

To Glee or Not to Glee

This week marks my twenty-##### birthday… 

With a twenty-something birthday coming up, it’s only natural to question what you’re doing with your life. It’s kind of cliché though. Like a TV show…

Sometimes figuring out who you are and who you’ll become is melodramatic, like Felicity. Sometimes it’s awkward and funny, like Glee.  Here’s hoping my quarter-life crisis is Gleeful, filled with catchy pop tunes, a little bit of dance and sarcastic humor.

As the Glee trophy says, “By its very definition, glee is about opening yourself up to joy.”  Some people follow their passions, regardless of financial insecurity or social expectations. Will Schuester chose the glee club and teaching over being an accountant. Happiness won over money in this narrative.

However, others value wealth and/or prestige as the prevailing objectives and do jobs they don’t like. I have plenty of buddies who eagerly go through the hazing process that is law school - the Socratic Method, class rank, law review, etc. - to gain a $160,000 big law firm job.  Hopefully, the rewards make up for the sacrifice.

As I ponder my life - what I really want and how to achieve it – I want to know your perspective. Let’s call it your birthday present to me. Tell me: What are “good life choices?”

Independent Pop Day!

It’s time for the annual PolicyWithPop.com song of the summer speculation and declaration! This time honored event occurs around the fourth of July and is celebrating its 2nd year in action… As you recall, I went with the Jason Mraz tune of “I’m Yours” last year.

This year is a bit more difficult for me to choose my personal favorite. I’ve been busy in DC and hardly have time to listen to new music. I do have a radio alarm clock but I only have it on one station (94.7 Fresh fm). It plays 1990’s and early 2000’s classics. Listening to old songs like Oasis’ “Wonderwall” or DHT’s “Listen to Your Heart” is actually comforting after a long day. However, it makes it hard to keep track of current popular music. But I will try.

I’m actually digging Jordin Sparks’ “Battlefield.” Not sure if it is a huge radio or iTunes hit but it’s stuck in my head (Why does love have to feel like a battlefield?). Watch her video:

Jordin Sparks - New Music - More Music Videos

Beyonce’s “Ego” is pretty sweet too.

Beyoncé - New Music - More Music Videos

Which song is dominating your head this summer? Sound off.

Happy Fourth of July!

The Torkelsons: Dress Matters

One of the most endearing shows in history is The Torkelsons. You’ve probably never heard of the show as it only lasted one season. The Torkelsons follows an Oklahoma family that has little money but a lot of heart and quirkiness. The most relatable character on the show is Dorothy Jane.

Dorothy Jane is a dreamer’s dreamer. She’s the smart, responsible girl, who’s an outsider. She wishes to be part of the in-crowd. She dreams of escaping her small town life for one of metropolitan sophistication and romance. She pines for the older, boy-next-door Riley Roberts. Essentially Dorothy Jane wants what she cannot have (don’t we all?), and it’s really touching and funny. 

The second episode, The Cotillion, is one of my favorites. Dorothy Jane has a school dance to attend. With no money for a new dress and with hopes of going with Riley, will she have the dance of her dreams? Or will it be a hilarious disaster? Watch:

When Riley steps in and tells Dreama that no one would look better in Dreama’s donated dress than Dorothy Jane, CLASSIC. And when Dorthy Jane declares it her “reincarnated” fall cotillion gown, that was… too cheesy.

This episode made me think of a high school incident I had. But my incident has nothing to do with a dance or any crush. In fact, by recounting this (ancient) story, I will be confirming that I am a bit of a… nerd (shock!), but here goes.

One of my best high school friends – let’s call her “Allie” – loved to shop and dress in trendy clothes. I believe she shopped at Macy’s and Forever 21. One day I wondered if she would be willing to wear clothes from a thrift store or from K-Mart or Sears. So I asked her.

Allie immediately responded, “Hellz no!”  I tried to sweeten the deal. I told her I would pay for an outfit from K-Mart, if she would wear it to school. The answer was still “no.” I then told her I would buy her whatever outfit she wanted from K-Mart and she could tell our schoolmates it was from Macy’s. Yeah… that didn’t work either. She refused to be associated in any way with any thrift store, K-Mart or Sears clothes (apparently she hadn’t seen the softer side of Sears).

This incident and The Torkelsons episode got me thinking. By wearing “cheap” clothes, do we signal to others that we are “poor?” Does it matter?

Apparently it mattered to Dorothy Jane and my friend, Allie, who were both high school girls and came from working class families. Would it be different if they were older? Younger? Male? Richer? Out of school? Working?

Do clothes make a statement about the person wearing them? Should it? Is it superficial to judge people by their clothes? Or is it an important method to analyze people?

PETA to Ben & Jerry's: Moo to Milk

I scream. We all scream for ice cream!

Apparently, PETA is screaming too. PETA stands for the People of the Ethical Treatment of Animals. It is the largest animal rights organization in the world.

PETA is asking ice-cream chain favorite Ben & Jerry’s to make a seemingly radical substitute in ingredients. Ice-cream is traditionally made with milk. PETA wants to replace it with… milk.  Okay, so PETA is asking for the same thing but with a twist. Instead of milk from cows, PETA suggests Ben & Jerry’s to use human mother’s milk.

PETA argues that mother’s milk is a more natural and healthy alternative. It states that humans are the only species to drink another species’ milk. The organizations also cites research that drinking cow milk is linked to allergies, stomach cramps, autism, chronic ear infections, “juvenile onset diabetes, acne, obesity, flatulence, constipation, mucus and other illnesses.

PETA is also trying to make another point. The organization believes it is cruel to force cows to produce an un-cowly amount of milk – ten times more than they naturally do. Cows are forcefully impregnated every nine months to produce this amount and often times in filthy conditions. Would having women (theoretically) take up this responsibility highlight this point?

Anyway, if ice-cream was made with human milk would you eat it?

In any case, Ben and Jerry’s politely rejected PETA’s suggestion.

(The picture above was provided by foxypar4)

Abercrombie & Fitch: A Hot Mess?

Looks matter. But should it be the be-all, end-all?

Apparently it is at Abercrombie & Fitch. The clothing store has a policy of rating its employees’ hotness weekly. The scale is from a 0 to 5 scale. 0 means the employee is… not hot enough to help customers and is banished to the stockroom, away from customer eyes. And, a score of 5 means the employee is hot enough to be a “model” (known as “sales rep” at normal stores) on the retail floor. Oh, and there’s no in between score. You’re either hot or not.

If you recall, in 2005 Abercrombie was sued and later settled a lawsuit that claimed that the store racially discriminated against minorities in the hiring and promotion process. In the settlement, Abercrombie paid $40 million to the class action lawsuit participants, hired a diversity recruitment coordinator, and implemented specific policies to attract minority employees and have fair workplace practices.

Despite these steps, Abercrombie apparently still has questions about its treatment of minority. A court-appointed monitor recently noted that Asian Americans and Latinos were “entirely absent” in the store’s marketing campaign.

Minorities are legally protected by anti-discrimination laws. Being discriminated because of one’s appearance is not illegal, unless it is being used as a guise for racial discrimination or discrimination to any other protected group under the law.

Assuming that Abercrombie is not using the hotness test as a guise for racial discrimination, is it okay that the store dismisses an employee as sales representative because of his/her look, regardless of skill and ability? What message does this send to its youthful buyers? Should appearance-based discrimination be illegal?