No lemons for Dear Lemon Lima

Dear Lemon Lima, a feature film at the Seattle International Film Festival, was an emotional ride through the lives of not-so-popular and nerdy kids in an underdog turns to hero movie.

Here's my take on an incredibly cute movie.

It was the beginning of Summer break. Vanessa and her boyfriend Philip are sitting on a picnic table talking about their plans. This is when it happens. Philip decides he has too many other important things going on in his life and in his future and he just doesn't have time for her any more. He breaks up with her, and walks away.

Vanessa spends her summer grieving about Philip. But things change when she is accepted and given a minority scholarship to the Nichols Academy, Phillip's school, because she is half Yup'ik Eskimo.

With Philip treating her so poorly she comes up with a plan of being a team leader for the school's biggest yearly event - the "Snowstorm Survivor Challenge." This is an event that Philip and his team had won the year before, so she sees another way of winning him back.

When it comes time to choose teams , Vanessa ends up picking all the other outcasts in school. The team name they choose is "FUBARs" which commonly means "fucked/fouled up beyond all/any repair/recognition." They are all the kids that she ends up meeting in the gym's weight room, because they have gotten hurt in gym class. It's a group of all girls except for one small awkward boy named Hercules, Vanessa's neighbor.

Hercules comes from extremely strict and overly protective parents. They decide he is not allowed to participate in the challenge and that he will be home schooled and learn to hunt in the future. Little Hercules is devastated by this news and ends up committing suicide with the same shotgun his father is teaching him to hunt with.

The movie seems to use the death Hercules as a sign of letting go and the release of caged animals. This is what I saw through Vanessa's eyes.

Team "FUBARS" is saddened by the loss and goes into the challenge with heavy hearts. They start off strong in the first couple of events but then lose one. It now comes down to the final event of the challenge and that is a native dance that is performed by one member of each team. It is the final showdown and it is between Philip and Vanessa. Predictably, Vanessa blows Philip away with her dance and team "FUBARs" walks away champions.
When this movie first started, I thought it was going to be a little childish. As you get into the storyline, you can't help but to fall in love with the outcast group and all the simple things of teenage boys and girls. There is so much humor in this movie, even the animation in the movie gets you engaged.

What I didn't realize from the trailer is that this movie is a

bout a girl learning to nurture her Native American heritage. Her father is from an indigenous Yup'ik Eskimo tribe in Alaska. It instantly reminded me of Whale

Rider, the film about a Maori girl who learns about her heritage.

The difference I see between the two movies is that Vanessa has no clue about her heritage and the only reason she does learn about it is because of the challenge at school. In the case of Whale Rider, Paikea is born into a world of Maori culture and it is her drive and strength that allows her to embrace her native indigenous roots. The common thread I find is that they are both looking for love: Paikea from her grandfather and Vanessa from Philip.

Being an athlete, I loved the competitive side of this movie, I also can appreciate the being kind and "love thy neighbor" aspect of it.

I laughed and I cried throughout this movie and loved every minute of it. I also loved seeing a girl who realized that friendship and being kind to others was much more important than chasing after pretentious boys.

Pictures are from:

www.yidio.com/dear-lemon-lima/id/2798640049

Dear Lemon Lima dearlemonlima.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/ct

Whale Rider witneyman.wordpress.com

A Touch of The Twins

When I first saw the trailer for The Topp Twin: Untouchable Girls, I knew I definitely wanted to see it. I had no idea what to expect and I'm glad I didn't. It was a pure treat to be at the opening show and to have the stars of the movie pop up on stage and introduce themselves. They were in Seattle promoting a documentary of their lives growing up as twins, lesbians and much more. The movie was released in April of 2009 and has been a huge success.

Lynda and Jools Topp have had very interesting and colorful lives. They grew up on a farm in Huntly, New Zealand and started street performing in 1981, as mullet wearing teens. They would sing and dance to street crowds (busking) and have continued performing for 25 years.

They have traveled all over the world performing for their fans and exercising their political voices. In class we read about the oppression a lot of gay and lesbian Hollywood actors and actresses felt, and the years that they had to stay in the closet or have marriages of convenience (AOF Chapter 14 pages 313 and 318). In contrast, the Topp twins were able to come out as lesbians at a young age and continue to be successful entertainers.

Maybe one reason for their success is that they are down-to-earth lesbians with a ton of humor and they bring so much energy to the stage.

From the very beginning I was hooked. It was a fun-filled show and one with a great story line. I enjoyed the way they told the story of their lives as they played a concert for people they knew and loved in a candle lit venue. Along with laughter came tears when the audience learns how sick Jools was with breast cancer. It was an unfortunate part of the movie but one that added a ton of power.

One of the funniest parts of the movie is the very first tour they took when they drove around in a circus trailer drawn by a tractor. They were able to go 12 miles an hour and the whole tour lasted 91 days. It is this scene and real footage from their lives that make this movie a must see.

I loved the confidence that The Topp Twins carry and have carried through out their lives. After covering homosexuality and the discrimination that goes along with it in class, I can only imagine how shocking these twins were to close-minded, old-fashioned folks. But the audience got to know them as performers, personalizing two butch lesbians and forgetting stereotypes -- something we talked about in class as a way to fight oppression. Thanks to these women, many doors have been opened and we are a better world for that.

I hadn't participated or seen any SIFF films before; now I know that if the movies are of this quality, I am a total fan from here on out!


Photos from: Topp Twins-www.rhodo.co.nz/community.html

SIFF photo-http://www.siff.net/

Closeted Therapy

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Headed to the doctor? Be sure to check your rights!

I didn't really think about what is it like to be told you are not equal, to fully suffer from oppression until a few years ago when I saw a segment of the movie If these walls could talk 2.

I'll set the scene for you. The story begins in the early 1960's when two elderly women, who own a home together and have created a life together, are going about their daily routine. One of these things is to fill the bird feeder with bird food. As one of the women is doing this, she is spooked by a bird flying out of the bird house and falls off her ladder. She is rushed to the hospital and this is where it all changes. The healthy partner is now considered "just a friend" and is not permitted to be a part of any decisions and is shunned by all hospital staff.

The next scene shifts to the partner waking up in the waiting room and being just a little disoriented. She finally makes her way to the nurses counter and has to this time fight for some answers. The nurse working at the time decides to give in and obliges the gal with the information that her partner has died. Alone.

I want you to remember, this was just a movie. Made up scenes that told a story of lesbians, two women that loved and cared for each other, jilted by the system!

These stories aren't just made for Hollywood, these are true real life situations that people go through all the time such as The Case of Sharon Kowalski and Karen Thompson.

Consider the story of a local Seattle couple that were married and lesbians: Charlene Strong and Kate Fleming. Again, they were a couple just going about their daily routine. Kate working at her in home office in the basement of their Madison Park home. During a 2006 freak rain storm, Kate is trapped in the flooding basement. Charlene, who is now blocked out of the basement, does everything she can to get in or tear at the walls to save her partner from drowning. Without any luck, the fire department finally shows up and is able to cut through the floor and rescue Kate. Unfortunately it's a pretty grim situation. They were unable to restart Kate's breathing, and they rushed her to a local hospital.

Charlene followed the ambulance to the hospital and rushed inside to be by the side of her domestic partner, whom she had been with for over 9 years and had had a commitment ceremony to solidify it.

It was at this point she was stopped by a social worker and told that the State of Washington didn't recognize same-sex partnerships and that she would have to wait in the waiting room. As her partner lay dying in the emergency room, Charlene was helpless. She finally contacted some out of state family members of Kate's and was able to gain access to her partner. This was all done just in time for her to say I love you and to remove the ring of commitment from Kate's finger. Kate died shortly after this.

Through this tragic event Charlene didn't just fall over and die. She starred in an award winning documentary, For My Wife, and after years of work she stood by Governor Gregoire's side as she signed into law the domestic partnership bill.

Yet the story keeps repeating around the county, such as the news about the elderly gay couple Herald and Clay, who were cruelly separated and denied access to each other at the end of their lives after decades together.

These tragic stories are so real for so many gays and lesbians and straight couples alike. We don't want special rights, we want equal rights. To learn more about what gays and lesbians have to go through just to have equal medical rights, go here.

Image: If these walls could talk: http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l100udESAt1qzyieho1_400.jpg

Image: Charlene Strong testifying: http://ndn2.newsweek.com/media/8/071220_CharleneStrong_xtrwide-horizontal.jpg

The phone rings, the party on the other end gives all the details and within hours a jet is roaring it's way across the country. Sounds like the beginning of a great movie, huh? But this is not a pleasure trip or some sort of a vacation, it's a plane full of lawyers and public relations experts deployed like a SWAT team.

What's the urgent problem you ask? It's any hint or sign of that Wal-mart employees are talking to each other about unionizing at Wal-Mart stores.

How do you think the worlds biggest retailer does it? How can they afford to sell their goods for so little in yet stay on top and make so much money? Maybe they buy in bulk and then they turn around and sell products to the consumer at lower prices. Maybe it's because they don't make a ton of profit and they are just good to the people. These could, I guess all be real scenarios, but I doubt it!

What is really going on at Wal-Mart? How come they are so profitable? Maybe we should take a closer look at that great big store that has such great prices. Then maybe we should ask the employees!

Worker's at Wal-mart are forced into unpaid overtime and some long term employees who are more costly are pushed out and low wage, temporary, younger workers are brought in and given these positions. They are offered horrible benefits that they can't afford and we as tax payers are left to pay for those costs. Some employees say they work in anti-worker environments. Read more about employee benefits and working conditions from Dana Razaie a Wal-Mart employee.

How is this possible and why doesn't somebody do something about it?

One solid way of making all of this go away would be to unionize and get better treatment...right? Collectively come together and be many voices instead of one. Seems simple enough! Hold on, remember the jet in my opening paragraph? That jet is one of Wal-Marts union busting jets. They have a "union hotline" for all managers, if any talk of unions comes up. Wal-Mart has not only been successful at becoming the largest retailer in the world, (according to Wikinvest Wal-Mart made $408 billion dollars in FY2010) but they have also perfected the Art of Union-Busting.

After years of research from the Washington-based pressure group Human Rights Watch, some information is now available. It's even worse than some of us may have thought. There are security cameras and a "manager's toolbox", a manual which openly describes itself as a guide on "how to remain free in the event union organizers choose your store as their next target".

So, I ask you again. How do they do it? Well, it is very clear that it is done on the backs of their employees.

It's possible that people could give a darn about this story. They would probably say, if you don't like your job, quit! Which seems reasonable.

The problem isn't that these people should just quit, it's that Wal-Mart is taking advantage of their own corrupt system and that is what is wrong here.

I ask you to remember these employees the next time you save a couple of bucks while shopping at Wal-Mart. Think twice about where you shop and stop supporting these unfair practices. Nobody deserves it!




Wal-Mart photo from City-Data.com
Wal-Mart smiley face from www.blogacause.com

It's A Union Thing

I grew up in a home where both my parents worked, my mother an office manager for a water pipe company and my father owned his own independent insurance agency. We lived a normal middle class life and I remember never needing for anything.

Our family life seemed normal, just like most of my friends. I would get up in the morning and my mom would be getting ready for her 8-5 job. My dad would still be in bed -- owning his own business gave him the luxury to make his own hours. My parents were always home on the weekends and during the evenings. I never even questioned that aspect of my childhood and teen years.

As I headed into the working world in my early twenties, I took different jobs here and there - most of them above the minimum wage range. I remember when I told my dad that I got my first union job as a meter reader at Puget Sound Energy. He was instantly upset that I was going to have to join a union; unions are corrupt and that they make you pay extra, he argued.

I only knew of the jobs that my parents had and neither of them were union. I hadn't ever heard of union jobs and was so excited to here about all of these benefits and was really proud to have a good job. I'm not sure if I ever fully understood my father's point. I think after he saw how well I was doing and what great benefits I had, he left it alone.

I don't think it was until this last summer, some 12 years after my first union job, that I completely understood the role of unions. I was volunteering on a political campaign and one of the the issues revolved around the 1,500 container truck drivers at the Port of Seattle. Now, I'm just going to let you know that I have a bleeding heart and care for everyone, especially those that are down and out. So when I heard about the truck drivers and the way they were being treated, I really started paying attention.

Most of these truck drivers are immigrants from Ethiopia, Somalia and India. Their families invested what little money they had to buy outdated semi trucks, so these men could come to America and find good paying jobs. But due to greed in the profiting trucking companies, most of these truck drivers make very little money and have no benefits to show for all their long hours that they work.

Port truck drivers pay for all of their own maintenance fees, insurance, fuel and any other upkeep on the trucks. They start lining up at the terminals around 4:30 am every morning, because it's first come first serve and if you miss out on containers, you don't get paid. As you can read in this article from the Seattle Times, these truckers work hard for very little.

In this specific industry, there are lists that are kept on who is top and who is not and if any of these truck drivers make a stink, they can be sent away with no runs. The companies have all banded together to keep it this way and protect their own interest and their profit margins.

These truck drivers would love to unionize so they can have the opportunity to make decent money and have benefits. But they are afraid. Most of them are the only bread winners for their families and if they lose their jobs, they may not find anything else. I hope that in the future these drivers will finally get their fair shake at life and what they deserve.

I have a feeling that if my dad was still with us today and he was able to meet some of these fabulous, hard working truck drivers, he may just have a different opinion of unions and how they work and who they are good for.

Paris, Texas: Trapped in Time

I have seen the Hollywood period movies (like O Brother, Where Art Thou) with the Klu Klux Klan men in white hoods, fire burning on crosses and the stage set up high for everyone to see with a noose attached to a beam, blowing in the wind.

It's really sad to know that this actually used to happen and it was so real for so many people. I can't imagine what this must have been like, to be black and live in fear of others who hate you and want to kill you because of the color of your skin!

Oh, wait, I said used to happen! This isn't really going on anymore, right? Well then somebody should ask what the heck is up in Paris, Texas?

In 2007, within a 3 month period, two girls did two separate and totally different bad deeds and got themselves into trouble. The first, a 14 year old white girl was charged with arson and only got probation as punishment. Then, just a few months later in the same town a second girl, also 14, shoved a hall monitor and got sentenced to 7 years in prison....why the drastic difference? Well because, silly, she was black!

There was then the story most of us heard about in October of 2008, where a young black man, Brandon McClelland was run over, dragged under a vehicle and partially dismembered. At first when authorities came upon the body, it was considered a hit and run. Two white men with ties to supremest groups were arrested, sparking protests from the KKK and counter protests from NAACP and other groups in little Paris, Texas.

So, I guess with this type of racism still going on in Paris, Texas I shouldn't have been shocked to read just one more piece of garbage that I came upon last week while browsing the CNN link on my phone.

Now it's 2010 and for more than a year black employees at Turner Industries' pipe factory complained of racism. Some examples include nooses hung around the plant, confederate flags on lunch boxes and racist slurs written on walls. The complaints have gone ignored by management and it has gotten so bad that some have been threatened with retaliation for even bringing it up. One specific worker was quoted “I’ve been called colored boy, coon, monkey,” Dontrail Mathis, 33, a painter’s helper, told the Dallas Morning News.

Things escalated once Barack Obama became president. A white man at the plant made a comment about the President: "if it ain't white, it ain't right."

Finally on April 14th, 2010 the EEOC came in and determined that African American workers were subjected to racial treatment and targeted by the management and threatened to be fired if they complained.

Now, not all the white employees were involved here, many tried to stand up for their co-workers but they too were retaliated against and even fired.

After the EEOC finished its investigation, the company came out with a letter to both its employees and to its customers. In his letter to employees, Turner Industries chairman and CEO Roland Toups said:

“As you may be aware, the EEOC has issued a statement that certain employees in our Paris, Texas fabrication plant were harassed or were victims of retaliation. I want you to understand that we strongly disagree with the EEOC’s findings, and we are defending our employment practices at that facility, as well as any job site that may be mentioned... Because of the personal and professional relationships we have forged with you, we are concerned that you might be misguided by any negative inferences or portrayals in the media,” Toups wrote.

What disgusts me most here is the blatant denial of the company's racism and the CEO's arrogance in blaming this on the media and the EEOC. Has he seen the pictures taken at his own plant?

According to No4Corners.com "Mathis, a painter’s helper, said one co-worker who found out he was married to a white woman told him, 'In the Bible, it says that white women shouldn’t mix with monkeys.' When he called Turner’s corporate office to complain about that incident, he heard nothing back, Mathis said."

When I read this I checked my watch -- is it really 2010 or are Mathis and his co-workers at Turner Industries stuck in a 1950's movie set?