As I hung out with my best friend today, we had a very interesting convo. Due to how absurd it would look to post this as a Facebook status, I chose to make it a blog. It happened to be about how the media, many times, likes to pre-program and appeal to genders in absolutely different ways or forms and in turn, help create a massive gap which creates this self-fulfilling prophecy of Women are from Venus, Men are from Mars (although this latter piece can always be up for debate).
Let's first look at us men. War, violence, heroism, power, dominance, survival, rebellion, control. These are the ongoing themes of almost any show, program or game that boys are usually attracted to and fed with. The longing for meaning, betrayal, injustice, searching of truth, the grim reality of life and how we need to get to work because of the reality that life truly is. Being the "knight in shining armor" is rare and if anything, more like a side payoff to everything else. It isn't the centerfold.
What do we usually see women force fed with? My Little Pony, Barbie, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Sex in the City. The dream of pretty white fences, pretty house, man with 6 pack abs, prince charming, "Mr. Perfect", true love, the Knight in Shining Armor, chivalry, romance or the idea thereof, the concept of how things ought to be pretty, nice and anything not resembling their ideal or fantasy are to be dismissed. The concept of harsh reality seems to be well hidden until later on.
As a guy, I can say that I've seen these patterns, although as time has gone on, people change and also end up tackling concepts from the other side of the wall of life. I love the action, chase and adventure. The thought of attaining what I search for in life is ecstatic and having "the girl" in the end is one heck of a blessing.
Therein lies the problem -- what's next? What happens when you get a job that lets you live comfortably, fulfill the best education you desire and marry that girl? Is that really all there is to life? Money, comfort, marriage, kids, legacy, rinse and repeat? Or here's something to shake it up -- what about the people in life that get screwed over? You know, the guy that bust his rear end for 10-15 years in a mediocre job while studying for his Master's, only to end up not only unemployed but also unable to get a job with the very degree he hustled for? What about the guy/girl who's been babied to death, spoiled to the point of absolute pride and arrogance and once he/she is forced to earn and work for things without their comfort zone, they throw a fit? Or even better, the girl that keeps dreaming about a guy that doesn't actually exist because the truth is, there is no such thing as a perfect ideal mate? How about the guy that finds a woman he truly cherishes but she's all messed up in the mind because of all the emotional/mental/physical abuse, which results in an emotional retardation that results in an unstable relationship that drives him to the edge of madness?
I've reached a point where I question things. I believe that it is okay to question, to ask and to seek the truth in everything around, upon and inside of you. There are things that I myself struggle with -- like how can God love such a creation that, while beautiful in his eyes, their fallen state is absolutely deemed unworthy of anything whatsoever? I can't comprehend how he can love such a race that continuously swims in whore and warmongering, hatred, betrayal, false sense of security and madness? Perhaps I'll never get the answer but I can't help but wonder what is man that He is ever so mindful of us even though knowingly that we will betray Him from time to time like the spiritual sluts, liars and adulterers we sometimes play the part of? How is it possible that one can have what their heart has desired and once it's there and for good, it isn't enough?
It is said that whatever the mind dictates, the heart will follow but what do you do when they decide to war within? What happens when the heart wants to dominate, especially in territories where the mind and reason must reign? Why is it that at times disappointment clouds the heart and mind to the point of an inability to be satisfied? How about the mental shafting of experiencing running away and betrayals to the point that when the whack stuff is over and the harmony plays, you feel indifferent and dissonant? Perhaps as though that maybe, just maybe, that wasn't what you needed or were looking for to begin with?
My brain's shot now so I will resume this another time. Just use this to ask yourself those questions you dared not ask at times.
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