The End (or We All Fall Down)

Two quick things before I start on my usual (or, more recently, not so usual) rant and escapade this time:

1. Happy birthday to Harry Potter! He turns 31 today. And also to J.K. Rowling, whose age I will hold back.

2. Yeah, I realize that it has been 29 days since I last posted. To that I say, whoops!

If you know me personally, as I assume most people who read this publication do, you know of my fondness (see: obsession) for the Harry Potter series. If not, refer to the 2nd sentence of this post. Since the ripe age of six, I have drooled over the adventures of this bespectacled hero, and have become famous among my peers for my knowledge of the series.

16 days ago, the final Harry Potter film was released. It was a momentous occasion, but it also marked the end of an era for me. No more books, no more movies, only Pottermore remains to me (and it doesn't look all too great.) I decided, before seeing the movie, that I would need to change who I am, or at least how the world looks at me.

This all got me thinking of the End. Not the End of the World, because we have until December 21st of next year to think about that, but rather Ends in general.

I'm not going to talk too much about the big End, death, because I hope to address that in a topic sometime in the next 29 days. Why are we so sad when something comes to an end, I thought to myself. We all know it will come, and it isn't a surprise, most of the time, so why are we so hung up over it?

Why was I so sad to see Harry Potter go? The old books are still here, the movies haven't gone anywhere. It's just new content that is gone, and if I really craved it, that is what fan fiction is for. No, the reason we all dread the end is because it is when we have to evaluate ourselves.

'Okay,' I thought to myself. 'Harry Potter is no more. I have to dump that image of the Harry Potter kid, or get left behind in the dust.'

People forget easily. Do you guys remember the end of TV shows like Ned's Declassified or Drake and Josh? Remember how hung up we all (or at least, I was) about it?

Three years later, I couldn't tell you what happened in the finale of Drake and Josh. Because the world moved on, and I was forced to.

One of my biggest fears is not being remembered after my death. Yeah, George Washington's name is still spewed about, but no one remembers Clive Davies. Once I come to my end, people will be sad, yeah, but no one will hang  on to me forever.

We hate the end, because the end means we need to let go. We need to change who we were, what we loved, who we love, and how we do things. The end brings change, and change is scary.

The end of Harry Potter has come. I doubt a series, books or movies, will come around like that in a long time. It is time to let go. But not to forget.

Never forget.

Thanks for reading and considering,
-J. Valett

Strictly Sexual (or Can't We Just Talk About Violence Instead?)

For the second week in a row, I'm going to address a topic from my first post, mainly sexuality in our country. I'll get around to the actual meat of the issue later on, but for now, let me talk about how our country views it.

Let's start out by looking at how movies deal with it. Here are the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America, the group of people who rate movies) ratings for two movies, namely Avatar and Love and Other Drugs (which I admit I've never seen, but researched for this post). Avatar received a PG-13 rating for " intense epic battle sequences and warfare, sensuality, language and some smoking", while the other receives an R rating for "strong sexual content, nudity, pervasive language, and some drug material."


Similar rulings exist in video games, as reactions to the ban of a California law banning the sale of any violent games to minors. This country has the attitude of the 17th century when it comes to nudity, but men ripping each other's faces off is okay to show to children.


I think the world needs to chill when it comes to nudity. People freaked out to a huge extent when one of Janet Jackson's breast was shown blurry on a small TV, but were okay with watching people get shot in movies like Inception. 


To throw in a disclaimer, this isn't a four-year-old's fit when he can't watch a PG-13 movie. I, very recently, complained to my friend about Jennifer's Body, for being little more than an excuse for Megan Fox to take off her clothes. I support movies and video games, but can't support the ratings association that holds attitudes that might have been okay when arranged marriages were. 


The ratings boards are trying to hold on to a little piece of yesterday in a world that is revolutionizing very fast. THe problem is, its not even a good part of yesterday. Hold on to like, Pulp Fiction, or something.


Thanks for reading and considering,
-J.Valett