This past weekend, I sat down with my little sisters to watch the movie, “Annie Get Your Gun”. The DVD was some kind of platinum edition with special features. We popped the movie in and with open minds(because we didn’t know what the story was about), we watched. Even before the musical started there was an intro. Some famous soap-opera looking actress thought it would make an impact on our day to let us know how much she loved the story and the songs behind “Annie Get Your Gun”. She mentioned that she played the main character (Annie) on broadway and she loved every minute. This made my sisters and I more anxious to view it. After that 10 minute waste of life, we soon learned, from the movie’s prospective, that Annie (the famous Annie Oakley) was born a poor hillbilly who had the talent of hitting whatever target she shot at. She meets the Western traveling show of Wild Bill Hickock (Buffalo Bill) and his sharpshooter Frank Butler, who Annie falls in head over heels for. At the time she met him, he was interested in “civilized” women who “couldn’t” hold a gun and knew “their place”. He became angry when she beat him at a shooting match in front of her town’s people. She decided that she need to look “civilized” and because of her changes, Frank fell in love with her. After a bit of nonsense, Annie had a gig to show off her talent all around the world, leaving Frank behind. She thought she’d impress him with the many metals she received from Queens and Kings while traveling. Later when she met him, he became jealous of her accomplishments yet again. They had one last shooting match to show how much better one was than the other. Her adopted father, Sitting Bull, faulted her gun so that she’d miss every shot. He convinced her that if she won the match, Frank would be angry and she’d lose him; but if she lost, Frank would love her and they would be together happily ever after. She decided that her genius father was right and lost the competition on purpose. And all was well.
Even before the ending credits came up, I stopped the ridiculous sliver of a story. My sisters and I looked at each other in awe. How elementary could the minds of men be? -Don’t get me wrong; I love men; I really really love men. But to the men out there(and even the hypocritical, bible- clutching females) who feel that women have “place”- a certain role in the proverbial “household”- How do I begin to denounce you?! For me to lower myself in order to get a man would be to disrespect not only myself, but my mother, sisters, and all of the women who fought so hard for equal rights. If I had a soul-mate out there and my only chance of ever being with him was to change or lower myself, or make some aspect of the very definition of me inferior, then I would end up being soul-mateless for the rest of my happy life. I will be myself. I will not conform. I will fight back. I Will Be Equal! Go Women’s Lib! Let’s Stick It Hard to the Man!
Now take that-and eat it…. Thanks for spending your time reading my post!
Peace For All!
Love,
Mika
p.s. Let me know how you feel about this one
