in the blink of an eye

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I don't figure that people are inherently bad, or inherently damaged, or inherently incomplete. I figure we start out fine and if we go bad at some point--and, for the record, "bad" is entirely subjective, defined by societal tradition and whatnot...

I'm not exactly sure what I mean to say. I saw Mustang this evening. Since you probably haven't heard of it, it's a French/German/Turkish film--though the language of the film is Turkish, Mustang is France's official Oscar entry. It is about five young sisters who, after having a little too much freedom, are basically locked in their house until their uncle and their grandmother can marry them off. Since the five actresses are all pretty new to film, I'm not sure how old they actually are, but I'd say they range from around 11 to 18, and in their world--which doesn't seem all that far off from the one I live in--they are expected to remain pure and virginal until their wedding night, and that night their bedsheets are even checked for blood. I'll be frank. I think it's despicable. It is unfortunate that the situation in this film, in a small, conservative Turkish town, is not all that far off from places here in the supposedly free United States.

Maybe it's because my sinuses have been angry at me all day but I don't feel like lingering and/or sugarcoating. I'm tired of there being standards and traditions about actions that don't hurt anyone. You know, the whole requirement that women be pure for their husbands is just one. Gay marriage is another big one lately. I'm tired of it. If what someone else is doing offends you because of some made-up standard in your head, keep it to yourself... Better yet, get the fuck over it.


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