The new movie IT has monsters--and they don't all wear clown makeup

I first saw IT as a miniseries. Tim Curry scared the shit out of me as Pennywise. I fell for the losers both as adults and pre-teens.

I then read the book and fell for them all over again. IT is one of my top five Stephen King novels and I love the characters. So when my husband got two days off for Rosh Hashanah and my daughter only got one day off I knew that we were going to go see the movie IT.

I am very familiar with the book.
I reread IT every so often and I just finished listening to it on audio. I highly recommend this version. Steven Weber does such a wonderful job it feels like I am listening to someone telling stories by a campfire.


And then I saw the movie today

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For those who have never seen IT and don't mind spoilers. Here's a decent synopsis of the book.

I was going to oppose most if not all screenplay choices that were different than the book, I knew that going in. But I didn't expect to find myself disgusted with the tokenism and sexism displayed in the movie. They stripped down the characters of both the sole person of color and the female member of the losers club and made both of them practically unrecognizable.

Mike Hanlon.

The only black member of the Losers Club in the book and in the 1990 miniseries is intelligent and the person who is dedicated to the history of Derry.

In this movie he was the muscle who had the gun. In this movie he was homeschooled--heaven forbid he go to school with the rest of the kids. In this movie his parents were killed in a fire for no reason I could understand.

Why would someone change a nuanced black character into a non- nuanced one?  Why make him less? It sure as hell wasn't because Chosen Jacobs didn't have the acting chops. The actor did wonderfully with what he had, but wasn't given anything to shine with. All the history geeking went to the character of Ben, a white character.

Worst of all, in this EW article, they want to change Mike Hanlon's adult character to a drug addict.  To quote one of the comments to the article, "heavens forfend that he gets through each day with his own grit and forcefulness."  I hope they don't change Mike like this. If, when the next movie comes out, that does seem to be the case, I will not be in the audience.

Beverly Marsh

The movie takes away Bev's choices. Again, the only female member of the Losers Club and it rips the choices she made in the book away from her.

In the book, Bev was the markswoman. She threw the rocks better than anyone. She used a slingshot and she hit what she aimed at.  When the Losers follow IT into the sewers she is there because she chose to be there.

In this movie she is taken from her home after nearly being raped by her father. She spends the last act of the movie catatonically floating. She is the damsel in distress, not a member of the team and that's not what Mr. King wrote.


Monsters are a staple of movies. But with the sexism and tokenism--I have to wish that they had just stuck to Pennywise.

An important bit of nothing

Today we readopted Lotus.

We filled out more paperwork.

We went to a court and a judge
smiled at our daughter
and pronounced her our daughter
now
and forever more.

When she asked,
we tried to explain?
Why?
Why did we do this?
Again?

Lotus is an American citizen
since after a flight
from China to New York
we placed her foot on the ground
Of JFK Terminal.

Lotus has been our daughter
since we dipped her foot
in red ink
and placed it on the paper
Making a blood-red footprint
that says
She is ours.

How do I tell you
My daughter,
My child,
My very own,
That our country elected a tyrant.
Who hates you?

How do I say that
I worried that
that tyrant might write
new laws. And those laws
would call
you an immigrant
and take you from me.

How do I say
that I waited because
I wanted to honor
your China Mommy.
I am saddened because
the birth certificate that
will come from the capital city
of our state
will not have her name.

All I can say
that it was for a piece of paper.
And would you like cake?

And my child will hug me.
And ask if she can
lick the beater when
we make the icing.

I say no.
We will share.
Because we are family.

Microblog Monday - Though I have been silent, I shall not be still

I refuse to give in to despair.

I have to hug a four-year-old and help her to make sense of the world around her. I have to do it with a smile. She is watching me, you see, to see how to deal with disappointments.

I scared her a little bit. I was crying. I was actively planning to grab her and leave the country. I started research, where could we live, make a living and then yet return.

This weekend we took her to a movie about Trolls who sing. It was her first movie in a theater and she's glommed onto this song.

That's what we do, we get back up again.
I had practice during infertility. After a failed cycle, I cried and cycled again. After roadblock to roadblock in our adoption of Lotus we did it.

Now she needs to watch me do it. Life is full of disappointments--big and small. Lotus will watch me and see how I act. She has to see me get up. She has to see me go on. She has to see me listen to things that make me physically ill and still defend people's right to say them. She has to see me watch a protest and explain that people have the right to do it. They don't have the right to hurt people.

My daughter is watching. Therefore sometimes I am silent. But I am not still.

This is worse than disappointment. No one has to tell me this is worse. I am viscerally scared--not as scared as some, more than others, but I do know this is worse.

And yet, I calmed down. I'm not saying I don't have an exit plan, but I'm waiting. I'm being quiet and listening. I'm reading what my friends on both sides of debate say. YES, I have friends who voted for Trump. I imagine if they had a blog they would say, of me, YES I have friends who voted for Clinton.

But I will not be still.

I am contacting my state representatives.  I didn't know who they were until two days ago. I am going to see how to make my state house blue.

I am signing up to email with the people running for New Jersey governor in 2017. I will help on the campaign. I will work.

I will stand beside my friends of color. I will stand beside my LGBTQ friends. I will stand besides my sisters. I hope they will stand beside my Jewish self.

I will not be still.

In the clearing stands a boxer
And a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders
Of ev'ry glove that laid him down
Or cut him till he cried out
In his anger and his shame
"I am leaving, I am leaving"
But the fighter still remains

I still remain. I will not be still.

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Microblog Monday--What next

There is a lot of shit going on in the world.
Innocent black men being murdered by policemen on a power trip.
Innocent policemen being murdered.
A horrific attack on adults and children in Nice.
A coup going on--or not--it seems to be unsure in Turkey.
Likely between the time I post this and the time you read this there will be something else unimaginably horrible happening.

Seriously I tried to think of a good post that would somehow lend words to these horrible tragedies.

I want to comfort those who mourn.
I have no words.  How do I tell the families of those grieving their loved ones anything. I didn't know these people and policemen and innocents who were killed. Yet, my world is diminished because they left it.

For the politicians who can't get it together to agree that guns don't belong in the hands of children without a lot of restrictions, I want to do what my daughter's preschool teacher does. When two children are fighting, the teacher sits them down looking at each other. They have to say one nice thing about the other and then put a jigsaw puzzle together. If they refuse to do even that they are put on the "get along" seat until they can. I would like to see Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell on a get along couch and then doing a puzzle.

I want to fix something--and I don't know how to fix it.

How would you fix the world? What change would you like to make that would be snowballing?

Doc McStuffins Is More Than Just a Children's Show

Dear Disney,

We love you.

By we, I mean my beautiful little girl, Lotus, and to a lesser extent--me.

My love is the love of nostalgia. I remember sitting in a movie theater, my hands greasy with popcorn, watching Mary Poppins with my grandmother. I was so excited that I recognized her voice as Maria from The Sound Of Music (which I had seen on TV a few days before) I spilled the popcorn on Grandma. She was so excited, she went to get me more. I remember watching The Rescuers with my brother. He had been complaining that he had to babysit and take me to a  "baby" movie. By the end of the movie, he was planning to return with his friend.  That was Disney magic for me.

My daughter is one of the many who watch Frozen at least once a week. More than Frozen is her obsession (and, as a Trekkie  I don't use that word lightly) with your show PJ Masks. The day is not complete unless she can watch one of those episodes and ask the myriad four-year-old questions that come to her mind. She also loves The Lion Guard and, of course, Doc McStuffins.

Through my daughter's love of PJ Masks I watch how important representation is. You see my daughter is Asian, as is Owlette--her favorite PJ Mask. Representation changes "I love that superhero!" to "I could be that superhero!"

Now I hear that you are considering taking that representation away from millions of African-American children. Why would you do this? From everything I've read the show has a massive following and good ratings. It has won the NAACP Award and the Peabody award for excellence. It is not played out. Moreover it started the most amazing adoption storyline. One that again spells representation for many who are not represented.

Let me end with what happened on Christmas. Santa gave our daughter a beautiful "Frozen" doll kit.  In two seconds she was playing with it.  In two minutes Anna's arm broke off. The next day we went to the Disney store at the mall to see about getting it fixed or replaced. The absolutely amazing cast member examined the doll and then knelt down to talk to my daughter.

"Sweetie, this is a bit beyond me."She told my daughter. "But don't worry, We're going to send Anna to Doc McStuffins and she'll send her right back to you as soon as she can."

"Will she need the surgery?" Lotus asked. Tears were filling her little eyes. She had seen the episode where the toy required overnight surgery with the doc.

"I don't know," the lady said. "that's up to Doc."

"Will Doc hold her other hand?"

"I think Hallie usually does that when the doc is busy." Was the response. Lotus considered it and nodded.

"Thank you!" I said to the cast member.

"Don't thank me." She said with feeling. "Thank Doc McStuffins." Then she took my information and two weeks later we had a brand new Anna doll. For months whenever Doc McStuffins was on, Lotus would get Anna and watch with her. Why on earth would you take that away from the employees of your stores?

Please consider this my request to renew Doc McStuffins.

Diversity

It's been now almost five days at my new job.

I like it so far.

I think one of the things that is really impressing me is the diversity.

Towards the end of my last job, I couldn't help but notice that my old publishing house was falling down in that regard. It wasn't so much that the new hires all looked the same--or similar--though they' did.  They were shaped the same--or similar.

I tend to notice that.

You see, I'm fat.

I am not trying to "rectify" this as it is as much a part of who I am as my eye color. I'm struggling to get in better shape while chasing a toddler, but I refuse to let the numbers of a scale equal my self worth. I tried that and I didn't enjoy it.

When I started at OPC (Other Publishing Company), in 2004, there were plenty of large people there. Plenty. Large women, large men.  All shapes, all colors, all races, all ages.

When I left--was asked to leave--okay told to leave, the people around me were white and thin and young.

In fact, the November before, we were asked to get on this program for a discount in our health insurance. Healthy Company.  For $500 off the price of our health insurance we would give the employer HR department access to our medical records and take actions that they might require.

I outright refused. What is said between my doctor and myself is between my doctor and myself. That is how Doctor-Patient privilege works. I did not want my employer knowing anything about it. Period.  I was willing to pay the $500 and my husband backed me on it, 100%.

Three months later I didn't have to worry about it because I didn't have a job.

To be honest I haven't thought much about it. but I got in touch with some of my former co-workers and I found that quite a few who were laid off the same time I was also opted out. Some were thin, one was a smoker, and two others were black. I've begun to wonder if the reason I was in that part was my refusal.

I look around at my new office.
Diverse as anything.
Bodies as well as backgrounds.
I'm wondering if that is why I feel so comfortable there.

We'll see.