Apr. 22nd, 2017 01:12 pm
E&P: Chapter 7- Park/Eleanor
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missabnormalIn which things just get stupid and unreal.
missabnormal: So, everyone's here? Good. We're now on chapter 7, so let's go!
So, we open up in the library from Park's perspective with some guy named Cal deciding that he's going to ask out a girl named Kim on a date. And, I assume that this Cal guy is one of Park's friends, since Rowell doesn't really say as to who he is, but whatever, who cares.
Park tells Cal not to ask Kim out, even though "they were supposed to be looking for poems". Apparently, "Cal had already picked out something short about a girl named Julia and the 'liquefaction of her clothes'". Oh, look! He's Park's pervert friend, laugh at him! *disgust* Bleh.
On a side note, I looked up 'liquefaction of her clothes' and it is indeed from a real poem called 'Upon Julia's Clothes' by an 17th-century English poet named Robert Herrick, who you might know for his book of poems Hesperides. This poem is basically him marvelling over the clothes of a woman named Julia. It's a simple poem, really. But I don't know if it would be good for studying in a high school English class.
Yamini: Back on the subject of Cal asking out Kim, Cal remarks about how she is a "Betty". Oh, by the way, according to the Urban Dictionary, a Betty is slang for an attractive girl. Park tells Cal that he sounds stupid, to which he says that "[a] Betty is a thing". So Park asks whether he got it from "Thrasher or something like that".
Wolfgang: What's that?
Yamini: A skateboarding magazine from the 80's. Therefore-
IT'S THE 80'S!: 6
I didn't even know stuff like that even existed. We also get a description of Kim, who's basically the hot girl and "the only kid in the school with a Swatch". And yes, we're talking about the Swiss watchmaker that was competing against Asian-made digital watches in the 80's! Again-
IT'S THE 80'S!: 7
And Cal declares that this year is the year that he's going to get a girlfriend.
Ruki: Park tells him that he's not going to be able to date Kim because apparently "[he] had kind of a tall Barney Rubble thing going on...". Cal also decides to get Park a girlfriend despite his protests. He also suggests double dating in his Impala, but Park tells him not to get his hopes up. Why? Because "Park's dad had decided to be a fascist about Park's driver's license; he'd announced last night that Park had to learn to drive a stick first".
Yamini: *incredulous* Really? You used friggin' fascism to describe how Park's dad has control over his driving privileges? Fascism is a political movement and an ideology in the extreme far-right wing of radical nationalism! You can't use it to describe strict parenting! Besides, whenever fascism comes up, people always think of Mussolini, Hitler, Franco, and Primo de Rivera, not a strict parent! Use your terms right!
Ruki: If you want to say how his dad is being strict about his license, just say that he was strict! Don't use political ideologies to describe that!
Kala: So Cal points out that "there's a girl who might want a piece of [Park]", also saying "'[looks] like somebody's got jungle fever'".
missabnormal: *annoyed* Really? Jungle fever? Are we supposed to laugh? Because it's not friggin' funny!
Mako: *sour* That is used to define a non-black person who is sexually attracted to a black person in a very fetishizing manner. The original term was used to describe a severe form of malaria, but now it's changed and defines a racial fetish.
The term he's looking for is probably 'yellow fever', not that it would make it better. Also, according to the Urban Dictionary, it's defined as "a term usually applied to white men who have a clear sexual preference for women of Asian descent, although it can be used in reference to white women who prefer Asian men". In addition, yellow fever is an infectious tropical disease carried by mosquitoes.
Ever noticed how both these terms are named after a disease? Fetishizing a person of colour isn't funny at all.
FETISHIZING BASTARD: 4
Kala: Park points how it's not "even the right kind of racist". *peeved* There's no such thing as a 'right kind' of racist! There's different forms of it, but there's no 'right kind'! Racism is wrong!
*sighs* Anyways, he's referring to Eleanor, or "the new girl" who is staring at them. Park points out how she is staring, waving at her only for her not to blink at all.
Wolfgang: Park had apparently made eye contact with Eleanor once last week in history, where she was also staring at him. And we learn that she's wearing mismatched clothing, specifically, "a pair of Vans he liked, with strawberries on them. And she had a green sharkskin blazer that Park would wear himself if he thought he could get away with it".
*raises an eyebrow* Why is Park being judgemental about her clothing? He knows nothing about her situation. Anyways, Cal asks Park if he knows her, to which he says that he doesn't, but she is on his bus.
Mako: Cal repeats that "[jungle] fever is a thing", to which Park responds that it's "[for] black people. If you like black people", also saying that it's not a compliment.
And then Cal tells Park, "Your people come from the jungle" before asking "Apocalypse Now, anyone?". *angered* First of all, Apocalypse Now was during the Vietnam War in Cambodia, which is in southeast Asia! And are you seriously trying to refer to the guerrilla battles against the Vietcong?
Also, east Asian people did not come from the jungle! Korean people are descendants of ancient peoples who settled in the Korean Peninsula, said to be migrants from south-central Siberia during the Bronze Age! Han Chinese people are descended from late neolithic/early Bronze Age agricultural tribes that lived by the Guanzhong and Yellow River basins in northern China! They call themselves Yan Huang Zisun in reference to Yandi and Huangdi, the legendary ancestors of the Huaxia people believed to be from the Yanhuang tribe! And Japanese people descend from the Jomon and Yayoi peoples during the Paleolithic times!
Just for that racist statement?
PAN-ASIAN FUSION: 6
FETISHIZING BASTARD: 5
ORIENTALIST BASTARD: 6
We then end Park's perspective with him telling Cal to ask Kim out.
missabnormal: Wow. Why is it that Park's sections are so tough to get through? *sighs*
We start off Eleanor's section with her deciding not to "fight over an e.e. cummings book like it was the last Cabbage Patch Kid" before sitting down in an empty table in the African-American literature section. She then starts to talk about another "effed-up" thing about the school.
Yamini: According to Eleanor, "[most] of the kids here were black, but most of the kids in her honors classes were white". Right, because apparently black kids aren't as good enough or smart enough as white kids. *annoyed* Yeah, tell that to my best friend. She's black, born in Abidjan but raised in Toulouse before moving to Toronto, and not only is she one of the smartest kids in my school, but she's a rising opera soprano. She aims to be as big as Leontyne Price!
Ruki: Eleanor wishes that she had more honours classes, claiming that "[honor] students-- black, white or Asia Minor-- tended to be nicer". However, she also thinks that maybe that they were mean on the inside but afraid of getting into trouble.
Kala: She also guesses that they were just as mean, but have been trained to be polite. And yes, that is also a viable concern.
Yamini: Kinda reminds me of how my mother was trained as a warrior back in Naraka.
Kala: *interested* Really?
Wolfgang: *curious* How was she trained?
Yamini: *smiles* According to my dad, my mother always called herself an oleander. You know, those pretty flowers that are incredibly poisonous? Like those. Anyways, she was trained to be demure, gentle, docile, and sweet, along with being taught very proper etiquette. However, she also received vigorous training in fighting and was taught to be deadly, fierce, and lethal. Basically, when enemies invaded, they'd always believe that Naraka demonesses were subservient and dainty, and they'd fall straight into their traps! Once their guard was let down, they'd be defeated and killed before they even knew it. That's why my mother called herself an oleander. She was like a beautiful blossom, but extremely deadly.
Kala: *impressed* Wow! That sounds really cool!
Wolfgang: Your mother sounds pretty awesome.
Yamini: *wistfully* She was.
Ruki: My mother was also similar to hers. *smiles* They would've gotten along if they were still around.
Mako: I'd much rather talk about this than Eleanor and Park.
Wolfgang: Unfortunately, we have to. So Eleanor's honours classes are English, history, and geography, "but she spent the rest of her day in Crazytown. Seriously, Blackboard Jungle". *frowns* And you're implying that because the black kids aren't in the honours classes, that they're uncouth and uneducated?
missabnormal: I guess it's time for this count to be used as well!
I'M DOWN WITH DA HOOD, YO: 2
Mako: So Eleanor settles for Maya Angelou's poem 'Caged Bird', and with that, we finish chapter 7.
missabnormal: I'll bet that Ms. Angelou is rolling in her grave after seeing the name of her poem being associated with this book.
Yamini: Like how Jane Austen, William Shakespeare, and Emily Brontë were rolling in their graves after seeing their works being associated with Twilight?
Ruki: This chapter was just... bizarre.
Kala: While not as outrageous as the previous one, it was still pretty bad.
Wolfgang: Which group was this book trying to offend? East Asian people? Jewish people? Or Black people?
Mako: Everyone, from the looks of it.
missabnormal: And with that, we'll see you in Chapter 8!
Counts
IT'S THE 80'S!: 7
PAN-ASIAN FUSION: 6
FETISHIZING BASTARD: 5
WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE!: 2
MADAME BUTTERFLY MUCH?: 5
HERE COMES MISS SAIGON: 4
ORIENTALIST BASTARD: 5
DRAMATIC ANGST: 10
I'M DOWN WITH DA HOOD, YO: 2
ZERO TOLERANCE, MY ASS: 23
Total= 69
missabnormal: So, everyone's here? Good. We're now on chapter 7, so let's go!
So, we open up in the library from Park's perspective with some guy named Cal deciding that he's going to ask out a girl named Kim on a date. And, I assume that this Cal guy is one of Park's friends, since Rowell doesn't really say as to who he is, but whatever, who cares.
Park tells Cal not to ask Kim out, even though "they were supposed to be looking for poems". Apparently, "Cal had already picked out something short about a girl named Julia and the 'liquefaction of her clothes'". Oh, look! He's Park's pervert friend, laugh at him! *disgust* Bleh.
On a side note, I looked up 'liquefaction of her clothes' and it is indeed from a real poem called 'Upon Julia's Clothes' by an 17th-century English poet named Robert Herrick, who you might know for his book of poems Hesperides. This poem is basically him marvelling over the clothes of a woman named Julia. It's a simple poem, really. But I don't know if it would be good for studying in a high school English class.
Yamini: Back on the subject of Cal asking out Kim, Cal remarks about how she is a "Betty". Oh, by the way, according to the Urban Dictionary, a Betty is slang for an attractive girl. Park tells Cal that he sounds stupid, to which he says that "[a] Betty is a thing". So Park asks whether he got it from "Thrasher or something like that".
Wolfgang: What's that?
Yamini: A skateboarding magazine from the 80's. Therefore-
IT'S THE 80'S!: 6
I didn't even know stuff like that even existed. We also get a description of Kim, who's basically the hot girl and "the only kid in the school with a Swatch". And yes, we're talking about the Swiss watchmaker that was competing against Asian-made digital watches in the 80's! Again-
IT'S THE 80'S!: 7
And Cal declares that this year is the year that he's going to get a girlfriend.
Ruki: Park tells him that he's not going to be able to date Kim because apparently "[he] had kind of a tall Barney Rubble thing going on...". Cal also decides to get Park a girlfriend despite his protests. He also suggests double dating in his Impala, but Park tells him not to get his hopes up. Why? Because "Park's dad had decided to be a fascist about Park's driver's license; he'd announced last night that Park had to learn to drive a stick first".
Yamini: *incredulous* Really? You used friggin' fascism to describe how Park's dad has control over his driving privileges? Fascism is a political movement and an ideology in the extreme far-right wing of radical nationalism! You can't use it to describe strict parenting! Besides, whenever fascism comes up, people always think of Mussolini, Hitler, Franco, and Primo de Rivera, not a strict parent! Use your terms right!
Ruki: If you want to say how his dad is being strict about his license, just say that he was strict! Don't use political ideologies to describe that!
Kala: So Cal points out that "there's a girl who might want a piece of [Park]", also saying "'[looks] like somebody's got jungle fever'".
missabnormal: *annoyed* Really? Jungle fever? Are we supposed to laugh? Because it's not friggin' funny!
Mako: *sour* That is used to define a non-black person who is sexually attracted to a black person in a very fetishizing manner. The original term was used to describe a severe form of malaria, but now it's changed and defines a racial fetish.
The term he's looking for is probably 'yellow fever', not that it would make it better. Also, according to the Urban Dictionary, it's defined as "a term usually applied to white men who have a clear sexual preference for women of Asian descent, although it can be used in reference to white women who prefer Asian men". In addition, yellow fever is an infectious tropical disease carried by mosquitoes.
Ever noticed how both these terms are named after a disease? Fetishizing a person of colour isn't funny at all.
FETISHIZING BASTARD: 4
Kala: Park points how it's not "even the right kind of racist". *peeved* There's no such thing as a 'right kind' of racist! There's different forms of it, but there's no 'right kind'! Racism is wrong!
*sighs* Anyways, he's referring to Eleanor, or "the new girl" who is staring at them. Park points out how she is staring, waving at her only for her not to blink at all.
Wolfgang: Park had apparently made eye contact with Eleanor once last week in history, where she was also staring at him. And we learn that she's wearing mismatched clothing, specifically, "a pair of Vans he liked, with strawberries on them. And she had a green sharkskin blazer that Park would wear himself if he thought he could get away with it".
*raises an eyebrow* Why is Park being judgemental about her clothing? He knows nothing about her situation. Anyways, Cal asks Park if he knows her, to which he says that he doesn't, but she is on his bus.
Mako: Cal repeats that "[jungle] fever is a thing", to which Park responds that it's "[for] black people. If you like black people", also saying that it's not a compliment.
And then Cal tells Park, "Your people come from the jungle" before asking "Apocalypse Now, anyone?". *angered* First of all, Apocalypse Now was during the Vietnam War in Cambodia, which is in southeast Asia! And are you seriously trying to refer to the guerrilla battles against the Vietcong?
Also, east Asian people did not come from the jungle! Korean people are descendants of ancient peoples who settled in the Korean Peninsula, said to be migrants from south-central Siberia during the Bronze Age! Han Chinese people are descended from late neolithic/early Bronze Age agricultural tribes that lived by the Guanzhong and Yellow River basins in northern China! They call themselves Yan Huang Zisun in reference to Yandi and Huangdi, the legendary ancestors of the Huaxia people believed to be from the Yanhuang tribe! And Japanese people descend from the Jomon and Yayoi peoples during the Paleolithic times!
Just for that racist statement?
PAN-ASIAN FUSION: 6
FETISHIZING BASTARD: 5
ORIENTALIST BASTARD: 6
We then end Park's perspective with him telling Cal to ask Kim out.
missabnormal: Wow. Why is it that Park's sections are so tough to get through? *sighs*
We start off Eleanor's section with her deciding not to "fight over an e.e. cummings book like it was the last Cabbage Patch Kid" before sitting down in an empty table in the African-American literature section. She then starts to talk about another "effed-up" thing about the school.
Yamini: According to Eleanor, "[most] of the kids here were black, but most of the kids in her honors classes were white". Right, because apparently black kids aren't as good enough or smart enough as white kids. *annoyed* Yeah, tell that to my best friend. She's black, born in Abidjan but raised in Toulouse before moving to Toronto, and not only is she one of the smartest kids in my school, but she's a rising opera soprano. She aims to be as big as Leontyne Price!
Ruki: Eleanor wishes that she had more honours classes, claiming that "[honor] students-- black, white or Asia Minor-- tended to be nicer". However, she also thinks that maybe that they were mean on the inside but afraid of getting into trouble.
Kala: She also guesses that they were just as mean, but have been trained to be polite. And yes, that is also a viable concern.
Yamini: Kinda reminds me of how my mother was trained as a warrior back in Naraka.
Kala: *interested* Really?
Wolfgang: *curious* How was she trained?
Yamini: *smiles* According to my dad, my mother always called herself an oleander. You know, those pretty flowers that are incredibly poisonous? Like those. Anyways, she was trained to be demure, gentle, docile, and sweet, along with being taught very proper etiquette. However, she also received vigorous training in fighting and was taught to be deadly, fierce, and lethal. Basically, when enemies invaded, they'd always believe that Naraka demonesses were subservient and dainty, and they'd fall straight into their traps! Once their guard was let down, they'd be defeated and killed before they even knew it. That's why my mother called herself an oleander. She was like a beautiful blossom, but extremely deadly.
Kala: *impressed* Wow! That sounds really cool!
Wolfgang: Your mother sounds pretty awesome.
Yamini: *wistfully* She was.
Ruki: My mother was also similar to hers. *smiles* They would've gotten along if they were still around.
Mako: I'd much rather talk about this than Eleanor and Park.
Wolfgang: Unfortunately, we have to. So Eleanor's honours classes are English, history, and geography, "but she spent the rest of her day in Crazytown. Seriously, Blackboard Jungle". *frowns* And you're implying that because the black kids aren't in the honours classes, that they're uncouth and uneducated?
missabnormal: I guess it's time for this count to be used as well!
I'M DOWN WITH DA HOOD, YO: 2
Mako: So Eleanor settles for Maya Angelou's poem 'Caged Bird', and with that, we finish chapter 7.
missabnormal: I'll bet that Ms. Angelou is rolling in her grave after seeing the name of her poem being associated with this book.
Yamini: Like how Jane Austen, William Shakespeare, and Emily Brontë were rolling in their graves after seeing their works being associated with Twilight?
Ruki: This chapter was just... bizarre.
Kala: While not as outrageous as the previous one, it was still pretty bad.
Wolfgang: Which group was this book trying to offend? East Asian people? Jewish people? Or Black people?
Mako: Everyone, from the looks of it.
missabnormal: And with that, we'll see you in Chapter 8!
Counts
IT'S THE 80'S!: 7
PAN-ASIAN FUSION: 6
FETISHIZING BASTARD: 5
WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE!: 2
MADAME BUTTERFLY MUCH?: 5
HERE COMES MISS SAIGON: 4
ORIENTALIST BASTARD: 5
DRAMATIC ANGST: 10
I'M DOWN WITH DA HOOD, YO: 2
ZERO TOLERANCE, MY ASS: 23
Total= 69
