More "girl" than "grrrl"

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Gentlemen, for weathering yesterday’s post, you are nothing short of saints. You steered clear of the comment board (good call), and surely felt a bit disturbed by the festival of estrogen emblazoned across Maundering Pondering. Well, guess what? This blog’s for you.

I would like to talk about Batman.

For nearly 26 years, I have been able to assertively declare, “I have never seen a Batman movie.” I had attempted to watch “Batman Begins” a couple of years ago, when it was first released on DVD. My friend Bramer and I sat down to watch it on my 13” TV screen, attempting enthusiasm. But 20 minutes into the ninja fighting, we looked at each other and said, “Maybe we should just talk about our feelings instead?” My Batman effort was curtailed.

Until yesterday. Yesterday, I started at the beginning with, yes, once again, “Batman Begins.” I don’t know why. No one was pressuring me to watch it. No one had told me, “This movie will change your life.” No one had convinced me that if I didn’t see “Batman Begins,” I would surely shrivel into a dense, moronic imbecile, incapable of functioning or conversing with the effortlessly hip. Okay, so maybe a few guys told me that – but that was simply a sign of their insecurity of winding up dense, moronic imbeciles, incapable of functioning or conversing with the effortlessly hip.

Me? I just added it to my Netflix queue, and it showed up.

I watched it. I watched the whole thing. And I’ll be honest: I was relatively unmoved. Unmoved in the same way I was unmoved when I saw “King Kong,” featuring Naomi Watts accompanied by her vacuous, vacant stare. Unmoved in the same way I was unmoved when I saw “The Matrix,” featuring Keanu Reeves accompanied by his vacuous, vacant stare. At least “Batman Begins” starred Christian Bale, but am I giving myself away as a complete geek if I say that I found him exponentially more appealing as Jack Kelly in “Newsies”?

I am such a girl.

During college, most of my friends were guys. In some ways, it’s much easier to hang out with guy friends – maybe because my emotional expectations are lower. Don’t get me wrong – I have some solid, quality men-folk in my life, and they are the reason that my heart hasn’t given up hope on their sex entirely – but as a general rule, my friendships with guys are pretty surface-level. I am choosier about my girlfriends, and thus, historically, I have had fewer lady pals. But in the past two years or so, I have been overwhelmed by amazing women. I’ve been gaggled – back in Seattle, and here in Nashville. I love my girlfriends, and I love being a girl, and I honestly don’t think that I will ever see a James Bond movie.

Consider my cover blown.

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17 Comments

  1. Lyla on August 1, 2008 at 9:29 AM

    I will admit that even though I am a girl, I like Batman. I did NOT like the Batmans with Arnold or Uma or Danny Devito. However, I did like the Michael Keaton Batman ages and ages ago and I liked Batman Beyond. I also REALLY liked The Dark Knight.

    However, it doesn’t matter how many times Kyle tries to persuade me, I will not go see the new James Bond movie. I will not watch the previous James Bond movie. Or the one before that. Or any of the others.

  2. rachel rianne on August 1, 2008 at 9:35 AM

    hahah, annie,
    i think that with this blog,
    you enticed guys’ interest and excitement with the first 5 paragraphs,
    and then
    coldly deflated any hopes of theirs that you’d talk about how cool and great batman is with the last few.

    i’m not promoting any reverse sexism or anything,
    but maybe the next blog should be about great beer and hiking or something.
    just to show them some love.

  3. erin on August 1, 2008 at 9:41 AM

    i have not seen any:
    james bond movies
    star wars movies
    LOTR movies
    harry potter movies
    star trek movies
    terminator movies
    godfather movies (i know, i know, a disgrace to my heritage)

    does this make me blatantly girl, or just a movie hater in general? I prefer the former. However, there are some movies i love: Jason Bourne anyone???

  4. Elle on August 1, 2008 at 10:31 AM

    I fell in love w/Christian Bale in Newsies! So glad you referenced it…the songs are just incredibly catchy! ;)

    PS…I’m definitely with you on James Bond films. I’ve watched one. SOOO boring. I still wish to have those few hours of my life back.

  5. Marijke on August 1, 2008 at 11:27 AM

    Newsies!!
    I like Fro – the guy who wore shorts all the time and he had a Fro.

  6. bec on August 1, 2008 at 11:54 AM

    i agree, christian bale in newsies forever holds the keys to my heart. almost as much as greebs. almost.

    but i saw the dark knight yesterday, and it was seriously better than i anticipated. batman begins left me confused and bored out of my mind. but the new one is amazing! maybe we should go see it this weekend…

  7. Rebecca on August 1, 2008 at 1:31 PM

    HAHA!! Annie, I was laughing out loud at your comment about Christian Bale looking better in Newsies! :) Hilarious.

    But, I have to be honest, and honesty is the best, especially at such a new stage in our relationship (but come on, let’s really be real – I feel like I’ve know you my entire life!) – I LOVE many ‘action’ films. LOVE THEM. Snatch? I own it. Batman Begins? Loved it. Casino Royale? Saw it twice in the theater. The Matrix? That it was awesome…although can’t say that I’d own it and watch it over and over. Now, King Kong? Thought it was horrible and turn it off once it hit two hours in length.

    Christian Bale as Batman and Daniel Craig as Bond? Oh yea.

    On the flip side, I’ve never seen a Harry Potter film and don’t intend to. I got half way through the first and was extremely BORED. But, LOTR are some all time favs :)

    I totally love me some chic flicks, though.

    Ok…I’ll stop rambling. Have a wonderful weekend my dear friend!! xoxo

  8. Rebecca on August 1, 2008 at 1:33 PM

    Jason Bourne?? Yes, please. :)

  9. Tad on August 1, 2008 at 2:17 PM

    The Bourne movies are VERY good indeed, and if she hasn’t seen them yet, Annie is missing out in a big way.

    But… I must register my dismay at the general sentiment toward Bond. I think the series is getting tired and drawn out, but the Old School Bonds (Sean Connery and Roger Moore) are awesome. When the gadgets were turely outlandish and not currently available at Best Buy.

    Seriously though, knowning that you were at least willing to try Batman Begins, gives me hope that you women aren’t a lost cause.
    Talk about our feelings… Please! Better to go chop wood or something. ;)

    I agree with Becca, you need to see Dark Kniht. Much Better Movie!

  10. Tad on August 1, 2008 at 2:18 PM

    Dark Knight

    I’m a guy, and therefore, can’t spell.

  11. Jason Michael on August 1, 2008 at 2:43 PM

    Batman Begins > Dark Night

    Just putting it out there.

  12. Case and Los on August 1, 2008 at 3:02 PM

    Okay, so I’ll chime in too, because Annie, in general, I think you can trust me (and Newsies is a top 5 on my movie list- I think I still have the cd).

    I’m obsessed with the Jason Bourne trilogy (and Matt Damon in general, I suppose, I like almost everything of his), so give that a try. The countries it’s filmed in and cool music makes it worth it, alone:)

    And I was nervous going to the Dark Knight, b/c I don’t like creepy movies; but I loved it! So go watch it with your sis and report back! It’s the only Batman movie I’ve ever liked.

  13. MB on August 2, 2008 at 6:43 AM

    I think girls have to force themselves to like boy movies (i.e. a movie in which anything blows up, or flips and blows up, or better yet is flipped by someone and then blows up) during the summer months, and then guys have to like girl movies the other three seasons. Even though my kind is getting the raw section of the deal, it seems like an acceptable compromise. Don’t you think?

    Personally, I like most genres of movies to an extent. I love girlie movies like Love Actually or Moulin Rouge (ones that are a little different), but not the cheesy ones so much. If you haven’t, you HAVE to watch the Bourne Identity movies. The books are good, but totally different, too.

    Oh, and thanks for giving us an outlet to comment after making us squirm yesterday. Sheesh.

  14. Allie, Dearest on August 2, 2008 at 11:00 AM

    But i LOVE King Kong.
    And I like Batman.
    And I loved the last James Bond movie.

    But I like girlie movies, too, I swear.
    I feel so left out.

  15. Annie Parsons on August 2, 2008 at 12:20 PM

    Allie, you are not left out. You are simply cooler than I am. :)

  16. Sarah on August 2, 2008 at 9:02 PM

    Hello Annie!
    Thanks for leaving the post on my blog–I love being a part of a blogging community!
    –No, I don’t know Allie personally, though she seems like such an amazing kind soul. I have read all of Cameron Conant’s books, and have been a regular blog reader of his for a few years, and found Allie’s blog there. She is such a wonderful writer, it has become one of my favorites to read! I found yours thru her page, and love reading yours as well! :)
    –Thank you as well for the amazing music selections–I wrote a bunch down and have been itunes sampling over here. Music is a little like air for me in general, but especially so in China! :)
    –Awwwh, that’s sweet that you would like to be over here with us! It is one of my favorite things (ok, bad pun :( ) as well to be touring over here. I’ve done 2 US tours, and the adventures simply doesn’t compare to Asia. That being said, we’re all very sad that our tour is finishing early–we were supposed to go to Taiwan, Thailand, Philippines and Korea, but there were presenter problems…so I’m enjoying the heck out of the next 3 weeks!
    –Thank you so much for words for me on transition…I know it is an important time, but also a scary one. I took this trip in part to save for schooling, and that goal is now not possible…for now…Thanks so much for your advice!
    –I will continue to read your blog as well! Blessings to you! Thanks for leaving comments, please leave more! :)
    –Sarah

  17. Sarah on August 2, 2008 at 10:19 PM

    I love Christian Bale. For him alone, I will probably go see the new Terminator movie, when it comes out… yeah.

    Btw, I love the “Weepies” song on your muxblog mix. Very nice. Everything else was very nice, too, but I really enjoyed that one.

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