Skip to main content

The To-Do List Was Done Right

I decided to watch "The To-Do List" but I had pretty low expectations for it. The reviews were very mixed and I'm not usually into raunchy "American Pie-esque" movies. I was gladly surprised that this movie is not as shallow as it seems. It is about a teenage girl exploring her sexuality and dealing with pressure from her peers and family. She is a valedictorian and an overachiever, but she realizes that she underachieved in the romantic and sexual part of her life. She writes a list of sexual fantasies to fulfill before going to college.

There were a few stereotypes brought up in the movie that irked me, though. The biggest misconception that this movie triggers is that smart girls don't get action. The main character, Brandy, is also called a "bitch" and "uptight" simply for being smart and successful. In truth, it's possible for a woman to be both intelligent and sexually experienced. Also, the sex scenes get a little ridiculous at some points in the movie, erasing the link between sex and emotion completely. It is unrealistic that a young, virgin girl could go through so many new encounters and not feel an ounce of attachment to the men she's exploring with. Then again, each individual has their own reasons for having sex, and maybe emotion doesn't always come into play.

My favourite part of the movie is when Brandy finally loses her virginity and is sadly disappointed with the quick performance. Her temporary lover asks her if she regrets having sex with him, but she replies that young people don't have regrets. In many ways, this is absolutely true. Young people are often irrational, confused, and in the process of learning new things, sex being one of their main concerns. The main message of the film is that whether you're a prude or a tramp, there is just no winning the game of sex. Society doesn't let you rest no matter what you do, so in the end you must do what you're comfortable with.

All in all, "The To-Do List" hits many true, raw facts about teenage sexuality and presents it in a comedic, but often over the top, manner. It both emancipates and ridicules the teenage girl. The message is double-faced- it's okay for a woman to have sex with whomever she wants and she has the right to enjoy it, but at the same time if she does so, she will be deemed slutty. If the main character were a teenage boy instead, would he be called the male equivalent of a slut (like jerk or player)? And isn't being a male "player" a much higher esteemed status than being a "slut"? Although the movie tries to eradicate this double standard, it only propagates it.

Sex has many different meanings to different people. It can be done for love, for experience, for fame, for pleasure, or just for fun. It is both taboo and overrated in our sex-crazed society, leaving many young people in confusion and hopelessness. As with all other aspects in life, sex needs to be learned, acquired, and practiced before it is done right. I don't regret watching this movie. At least I learned a lot of new terminology.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Women: Living Contradictions

What does society want? For women to achieve impossible standards (and, by the way, it is NOT possible to achieve something that is impossible). Society wants us to be living contradictions...cabbage heads on stilts... airhead rocket scientists. Society wants us to be things that don't even exist in fiction, but only in the glossy pages of a Cosmopolitan magazine (look at me! I'm so skinny! So happy! Sexy all the time!). As I heard said many times before, "even Victoria's Secret models don't look like Victoria's Secret models." The way the proportions are warped, each pimple bleached, each hair trimmed down to pre-pubescence, toes and fingers without a scar, and the face angelic and so happy... it makes me sick. It makes me sick because of the contradictions, because women are expected to: Be sexy but not slutty Be innocent but not prude Be virgins but also fantastic lovers Be independent but submissive Be good mothers but maintain careers Be...

The Flood

Sometimes I feel like My insides are flooding Threatening to spill out And clog glutters in the street With all my unsatisfied ambition Sometimes I want to drown In a soup of grey water To just forget it all And become one with the tunnels, Streets, and people of the city Their shoes tracking dirt From one train station to the next Let the rain water drain it all Cleanse it all The grief and the dissatisfaction The mundanity and the boredom Of the occassional commute Let the flood take me Take us To a train station that hasn't been built yet On tracks that don't yet exist Far, far away In the meadows Where the soil can finally soak up All the grey unwanted rain

Happiness is Pink Jellybeans

Happiness is jumping in a pool of pink jellybeans Feeling the cool candy on my skin Happiness is enjoying the pleasures of life Without worrying about confessing my sins Whoever said that we are gluttons For biting juicy pears on the beach Must never have felt the sand in their toes They must have placed their own soul out of reach And what about greed? It's not all that bad To bury a pile of chestnuts for the spring All animals do it, so why shouldn't we? If it's greedy to love yourself, let it be Lust is the one that makes pastors blush Yet it's one of the greatest joys in the body A kiss and a dance, laughter and romance Why did we ever label this happiness as naughty? Have you ever seen a cat sad when it naps? It is okay to sometimes be lazy The body needs rest as does the mind Or the world will set fire from the crazy If happiness is a sin, then let me smile in hell Looking up at the do-gooders above For to live is to err, to cry, and to sing Happiness is pink jell...