Today I handed over another million dollar apartment. It's weird, the last time I wrote something here, I was in the exact same situation!! This post however, has nothing to do with it. I'm sure you will enjoy this.
So, curtain rises..
ACT 1
So, curtain rises..
ACT 1
SCENE 1:
{an urban spoiled brat enters a posh and classy shop that sells leather goods. As he walks in to the shoes section, a lady with a kind face - an employee at the shop, approaches him}
Guy : "Do you have anything in black ??"
Lady: (with a welcoming smile on her face, takes a pair of black shoes and shows it to him) "Sir, these shoes were made from the fin.."
Guy : (outright, interrupting her without a second glance at the product) "That's too black.."
Lady: ".." (smile toned down, still cheerful)
SCENE 2:
{guy tries out another pair, in front of a mirror}
Guy: (looks a the mirror, displeased, his tone turns pessimistic) "A little more black ??"
Lady: ".." (expression changes visibly from cheerful to exclamatory, wondering what he wants)
SCENE 3:
{a different pair of black shoes in his hands}
Guy: (takes a closer look at the shoes) "Umm.. a little less black ??"
Lady: (nods, probably thinks: Oo .. this is going to be a long night..) "Black.. "(clears throat, looks to the ceiling)
SCENE 4:
{another pair in front of him}
Guy: (walks towards them, rolls his eyes, condescending tone) "Not blaaack, just black"
SCENE 5:
{a parade of several shades of black shoes along one side of the isle. An out-of-focus pair of orange shoes sits in the foreground, atop a glass pedestal}
Guy: (doesn't even bother to look at those black ones, walks right down the isle, eyes locked on target - picks up the orange pair) "I'll take this one" (walks away with those)
Lady: "Bu.. but.. that's not black.."
Guy: (stops, gives the the confused / frustrated lady a classic over-the-shoulders-stare-down) "Who said black??
*** END OF ACT 1 ***
Now, I would call this guy an ass. Well, the actual word that I might use wouldn't be restricted to just "ass", but you get the point.
Visualize this whole setup, put yourself in place of this lady and feel the frustration first hand.
ACT 2:
SCENE 1:
{a husband and wife are seen seated side by side on a sofa, facing the camera/audience, halloween time. now think of yourself as the wife in this act.}
Wife : (a gorgeous blonde with a cheerful face, enthusiasm burning bright in her eyes which reflects clearly in her body language) "I'm picking up the couple's costumes this time.."
Hus : (each time the guy opens his very mouth, annoying levels of condescension breaks loose. add to it a corrective tone ) "She wants to pick up the couple's costumes this time.."
Wife : (smile fades and gives way to an "I'm upset"-look, but brings back the smile instantly - that's her identity, the smiley face. Seems to me like she is used to being treated this way and the smile is a coping mechanism) "We're getting a Tom and Jerry costume.."
Hus : (instantly shoots it down, like he is the rope that ties down the kite she is) "Pirates of The Caribbean is so much better.."
Wife : (she's not finished yet, a creative woman, this one) "Or a Mickey and Minnie"
Hus : (can't believe what she just said) "Do people even sell those !!"
Wife : (fighting hard to stand her ground. defending one's creative side - always an uphill battle) "We'll make our own.. And it won't cost much on clothing either, I'm a size two" (winks!!)
Hus : "She means size 4, she's a bit fat, you see" (points at her with an expression not many women would stand)
Wife : (with a broken look and a yielding tone, intends to be sarcastic but doesn't quite convey it) "Or may be we could go as the characters in that anime you were reading ??"
Hus : (a sigh of relief, or disbelief, happy nevertheless) "..Ah .. Ok !!"
Wife : (pissed) WHAT ??
*** END OF ACT 2 ***
Now I could play this from several different angles, but my point here is that, once YOU play the part yourself, you will FEEL how bad it hurts, being the two female roles that I suggested. At this moment, you, as any regular human would, despise the male characters in these ACTs.
I suggest you amplify those feelings, coz it's about to get real interesting.
So what has all this got to do with gender equality you ask??
These ACTs were a "re-enactment" of two popular ads on Indian television (one of Lavie, starring bollywood actress Kareena and the other, of Pepperfry furnitures) with genders exchanged. The links are right here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yVTlSIjJrc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYQUfDGu3SA
Now, the feelings remain the same, only the guy becomes the girl and the girl becomes the guy. I'm sure if you are a hard core feminist, you would loose your mind right about .. now.
Keep a clear head and think. You can argue that there may be a few mean / condescending women here and there and that there are ten times as many men who are so. That's not my point.
Why is it OK to degrade men in public television, hurl offensive / sexist comments at him while the world is watching, but when its a woman in that hot seat, its a serious offense ??
More to the point, why haven't the self proclaimed protectors of female lifestyle, the Feminists, raised the issue of "wrongly portraying women as shallow insensitive creatures" in these two ads ??
I'm curious, did they choose to believe that these characters do not represent / mock the manners and behavior of real world modern women ?? ( following the genuine path, very unlikely )
Or did they not to bring it up because they are done fighting and believes that the world would love and appreciate women if they didn't make so much of noise ?? ( following the non-violence path )
Or (this shall be called as following the feminist path ) do these ads actually portray the garden variety modern woman in her natural form, showcasing her native manners and behavior as familiarized to us by the global television; and that it is so realistic to their own lifestyle that the aforementioned protectors of feminine lifestyle FAIL TO REALIZE the fact that IT IS IN-FACT portraying women as shallow insensitive creatures ??
Pen in your thoughts..
