Changes over time

Lately I've been thinking about change and how inevitable it is. What I would do to be in control of this wild beast that has a mind of its own. The first thing I would do is to make sure any change in my future will be in my best interests. Too many changes in my life has only brought upon obstacles that takes me forever to overcome. The next thing I would do is to make sure that any change that comes, gives me time to adapt to it before another one comes sauntering by.

Why exactly do I hate change so much? Actually I don't. It's an irritating guest that doesn't leave, and that doesn't mean I hate it; I just can't wait for it to leave.

Change is often used as a synonym for progress. I have always seen it as another step away from the simple things in life.

Here's how:

Art

I've been reading up on Art History lately only because I've always had this complex of not understanding paintings and being able to identify them. When I started on it, I became addicted to it. There's so much beauty in the world and so much talent.

Art- a very long time ago- was mostly about rendering images of gods and goddesses on walls and ceilings and then canvases. Then slowly, as change and industrialization came about, Art became about expressing human emotions and beauty. Till then everything was fine and dandy. Great painters were born and their artwork is still cherished after all these years. The landscapes were painted in vibrant colors, then in softer hues and the people drawn were striking.

Much as we use a camera to take a picture for that one perfect moment, all those years ago, the artists did the same- they wanted to capture one perfect moment, treasured it in their minds and then drew them on their canvases.

But then another change came along. The thirst to do something different and to shock and awe people became the main motive to paint or sculpt. When I look at the artwork years after the renaissance, I see no beauty or feel any tranquility that paintings usually bring about. Instead I saw the coldness of progress and not the benefits, so to say.

Paintings were just jumbled up forms and the colors used were contradicting to each other. It seemed as any piece was only meant to shock the viewer. For example, in a recent incident, an artist was awarded the top prize for submitting a blank canvas. He claims to have forgotten to send in his actual work and that makes this story all the more hilarious to me.

The contest judges apparently wanted something of shock value and not of an aesthetic value.

Human emotions have become redundant in paintings nowadays. A splash of paint on the canvas is what is called artwork. I distinctly remember a cartoon where the character splashes paint on his bottom and sits on the canvas and that is highly appreciated by the art enthusiasts. In the end, a small girl throws tomatoes at the canvas and that's what is held in high regard.

Is that what art has become? Not years of practice and perseverance or looking deep inside the soul to remove that one emotion that can be rendered on white. No, it's just anything new and shocking.

Books

Over here I'll talk about young adult books. Though published before I was born, I was in love with the mysteries. Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, The Famous Five- I read them all and imagined myself having those adventures.

Back then there used to be these strong girls and boys who wanted to help people and make a change. They fought off evil, saved innocent lives and were morally good citizens.

Nowadays it's all about these angst-ridden teenagers whose only aim is to find the guy or girl of their dreams. Literally the only theme magnified in every young adult book is about that. It's not about studying and getting good grades- which okay I get; may seem preachy- or finding the value of friendship or being a strong person who does something for the community.

No, it's all about falling for the dark mysterious boy who harbors a supernatural secret. I'm all for a romantic angle in stories, but fifty thousand words about a girl fawning over a boy is a bit irritating to read.

I miss when girls were strong and solving mysteries and tackling their own issues on the side. They had boyfriends but they didn't make having a love life the sole purpose of their lives.

In my books, I try to stay away from the girl character chasing after a boy. Who has time for that when you have mysteries to solve and twists to uncover?

Repeated Lives and the sequel  had Talia searching for her true destiny that was her mystical powers.

Francesca and Eliza had Tara wanting to live again and be with her family.

Awakened One Night had Kara trying to solve the mystery of her own murder.

I remember sending off an idea to a popular romance books publisher. The story was about a strong woman who wasn't swooning over a man. It was no surprise that was rejected and the reply I received was basically about how the character wasn't what they were looking for. Instead of being disappointed, I laughed because I had sort of expected this reply for them considering the books they publish.

Still thought I would give it a go....

In short, to write a book that would be easily accepted write one about a girl having a topsy-turvy relationship with a boy. Or better yet, make the boy only profess his love for the girl right in the end after she had jumped into fire hoops for him.

That's Young Adult books nowadays...oh and yes, Vampires as well; lots and lots of vampires in young adult books because of eternal life and therefore eternal love. It doesn't matter that the supernatural couple still breaks up over and over.

TV and Films

I haven't watched a lot of dramas and comedies from yesteryears. But yes, the dramas and comedies from the late nineties and early two thousands were pretty good, perhaps even better than the shows today.

Everyone still remembers Buff the Vampire Slayer because she was strong character who kicked vampire ass. I didn't catch a lot of episodes, but I still loved it. Indian television shows too portrayed strong women like Tulsi and Parvati who took a stand against injustice even against their in-laws wishes.

The shows nowadays are mostly about how many sex jokes you can get in, how much actors are ready to go nude and how dramatic and shocking the ending of a series can be.

Indian TV shows have started to discard strong women in favor of helpless women who live only to gain love and respect from their husbands who treat them harshly. The viewers are led to believe that the man truly loves his wife from the inside but is afraid to appear vulnerable. Yeah, Right!

Does he love her too when he's dragging her by the arm and throwing her out of the house? Or twisting her arm or making her sleep in the cold?  Apparently the viewers are also brainwashed into believing that what they are watching is romance.

As for movies, the same thing repeats. I am reminded of Family Guy's theme song: It seems today, that all we see, is violence in movies and sex on TV....

Yes, Family Guy is a risqué show and they are often criticized for abusing Meg- the daughter of the abominable patriarch, but then there's also Lois the wife who is a strong woman and stands up to bullying.

Back to movies. Movies too used to have different themes and strong female characters who weren't only added for the purpose of glamour and give the hero a respite from his hectic action-packed life. She was a person who had her own problems and who had to be wooed with kindness and not tricked into being with them.

There were many female protagonists in movies and those movies worked. Nowadays, the actresses have only one purpose- to loose oodles of weight, perfect their facial features and bust lines and learn how to dance. Their sexiness is taken advantage off and used to promote movies, fooling viewers into thinking that the actress was going to have a meaty part. Nope!

The progress of ideas used in TV and Movies has only hindered actual progress of humanity. How women are portrayed in the media has only resulted in more abuse to them. That is the price of progress in media that many women have to pay.

Conclusion

Change should be a wave that transforms something for the better. Not something that takes us a step back. Yes, it is inevitable, but we don't always have to accept something that will have a negative effect on the progress already made.

What we accept without voicing our opinion will always make the other think that we readily accept whatever they will offer in the future as well.

If we raise our voices against certain story lines that will only encourage the writers to write something that will influence the viewers to behave a certain way against the other gender.

If we choose not to accept anything shocking in art then perhaps true aesthetics in art will be appreciated once again instead of something that only hold shock value.