My deep thoughts about bullying revealed by The Newsroom

Olivia Munn as Sloan in "The Newsroom"

At the time of the writing of this blog post, I have just finished the "Bully" episode of HBO's "The Newsroom". Just like all the other episodes, this one got me thinking. When the title credits started to roll, I wondered if they were going to talk about the rash of gay teen suicides. Or perhaps they were going to tackle the documentary called "Bully". But instead, they led with the Fukushima disaster in Japan. What on earth does Fukushima have to do with bullying? I'll tell you.

This book was great. You guys want a
review? I could write a funny-ass review
of this book. It had me ROFLMAO.

Sloan, played by Olivia Munn (author of Suck It, Wonder Woman! <== yes I own this book. Yes I think it's awesome), is put on the air to talk with a TEPCO representative about Fukushima. She had previously spoken to him by phone and learned "off the record" that the disaster was very serious. It was going to be raised to a level 7 which is the same level as Chernobyl. But "on the record" the Japanese company was only going as high as level 5 (Three Mile Island).

Because she was frustrated that she had this knowledge and believed that the public deserved the truth, she cornered Will McAvoy (lead anchorman played by Jeff Daniels) and solicited his advice. He told her that she needed to stick to her guns. She needed to go after the guy and make sure that he fessed up to this knowledge. Only then would she be a "true reporter."

So that's exactly what she did. She pursued it with such fervor that it nearly got her canned, cost the guy at TEPCO his job, and panicked an entire nation. But she reported the truth. The only thing is, she was a huge bully. And the whole point of the episode was to show that this is bad.

Workers at the Fukushima disaster last year.

Now that I've had some time to digest Aaron Sorkin's clever writing, I have to agree with him. Just because we have truth as a wind beneath our wings does not give any of us the right to bully someone else with it. That goes with all subjects whether it be religion, politics, atheism, science, or any number of other topics.

I think bullying will never get eliminated from the human race. But to minimize the danger of it, we all have a responsibility to keep an open mind and to be accepting to change of any kind. In the least, these are my deep thoughts about bullying revealed by "The Newsroom."

Have a great Monday

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Cars, Confidence, Communication, and the Celebration of You

This post is taken from a Tumblr called Long Live Lemons which is no longer around.

"The car who has her headlights as her eyes from Cars 2.

I drew her the way I see her in my mind - beautiful; like all the of the lemons. I even gave her a name, Claudette. 

One of the lessons of Cars 2 can be interpreted [as] bullying is a bad thing. The movie gives us the examples of cars from an era of which they just couldn’t catch a break; this is true. The movie shows these characters as what we’re supposed to see as mature men...so it leaves us to believe that their bullying happened the most when they were younger.

As the years passed and they progressed into the adults they are today, they finally broke down...and they took it to drastic measures. 

One of my signature things in the Cars fandom is drawing the characters the way they want to be seen. I don’t draw the lemons with rust and angry faces. At the same time, I don’t draw them as incredibly happy cars as well. Here we have a lemon because her eyes weren’t built the way the other cars were built. I guess we should interpret this as a disability. At least, that’s the way I write it in my fan fiction. I didn’t draw her rusty and crazy like the movie portrayed her to be. I drew her casually. 

The thing about Cars is that when you change the way they look, you’re changing their character. Each character is made to look a certain way. If people did more research and looked up the meanings of colors, one would find that the color of their paint jobs actually means something that has to do with their personality (besides the tuners and modified cars). I can see how some would think that I change the characters when I draw them the way I do. I agree, I do change their character. I make them more confident, but they’re still the same character. 

If you were someone who didn’t feel so great about himself, you would tend to wear clothes that match your mood; your own looks will mimic your own feelings. However, that one day you smile and your clothing and appearance matches your attitude now, does that mean you’ve changed your character? No, it doesn’t. Confidence does not equal a personality change and I say that because people think that moods are the same as personalities. Personalities are permanent while moods are not, no matter how permanent they seem. If you’re feeling sad one day, even if you’re entire day feels like it’s been sad, there was a change in your mood at some point in the day, even if it were for a split second. 

Not everyone can be the super cool, super agent car

I think most people don’t sit there and take the time to analyze the Cars movies. They just see that it doesn’t work and they don’t give it the chance they deserve. There’s a lot to pull from both of them. Yes, I said both of them. 

You know what else doesn’t work? Talking toys, fish, rats, and so on. None of it works because none of it is real. This, my friends, is the beauty of fiction. To be able to be pulled into a world that is crazy; that is completely insane. That’s why it’s so fun."

I have nothing to add to this.

I agree totally.

Learn from Cars.

Celebrate you.

Write fiction.

Buy the book that critics say
is a "mind-blowing sci-fi read from
start to end." $4.99 from Amazon
now. Begin your journey today.

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