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May 2, 2007

OPINION
Titan Editorial
Providing insight, analysis and perspective since 1960

My Humps Satire Not Revolutionary, Just Recycled

Alanis Morissettes parody is just a reaction to oversaturation of pop
BY JOHN SAKATA
Daily Titan Sta Writer
opinion@dailytitan.com

The Advocate
BY Robert

A Veto is Not a Victory

President Bush vetoed porting the war or lacking the Iraq funding bill, as ex- patriotism. Our government chose to pected. Of course this isnt a vic- make a run on Baghdad over tory for the hawks; they still a cautious advance. Now the U.S. is poised to have a minority in Congress and their man in the White betray our soldiers, the Iraqi people and what trust the House is on his way out. Its not a victory for the public has left in it by refusing to make doves, eithis latest ther. ey dont have Whats clear is that decision. e Demthe vetoare o v e r - r i d e this country is increas- ocrats power that ingly disaected with refusing to theyd need war. Whats also clear is compromise. e Reto put any teeth into that Iraq is in no shape publicans are refusing to any bill to stand on its own. compromise. they pass. And in the W h a t s meantime, clear is that U.S. soldiers this country is increasingly disaected and Iraqi civilians are still with war. Whats also clear dying. Its necessary to look outis that Iraq is in no shape to stand on its own. Its a dif- side the box when handed a cult place our government damned-if-you-do, damnednds itself in mired in a if-you-dont decision, but dicult-to-win and unpopu- refusing to do anything does lar war that seems impossible not advance any causes. It simply deepens the political to abandon. But this is just another rhetoric and further conlong line of Devils dilemmas vinces Americans that their that weve been handed since representatives are untrustworthy and more concerned this war began. Citizens were forced to with a paycheck than their make the false choice of sup- country.

From the obscurities of YouTubes vast vault of video clips, Alanis Morisettes mock video of the Blackeyed Peas My Humps video catapulted to the front page of the L.A. Times Calendar section last week. My Humps is a good example of music with an infectious beat but little more. It falls in line with the latest movement that includes e Pussycat Dolls, a group with music laced with sexual provocation that prances around on stage in lingerie. Morisettes video hits on a chord of the supercial state of pop music. It gains more attention now because it hits on a chord long touchy with Americans: the struggle of women in society. Still, the condition of pop music isnt any dierent today than in the past. Pop culture works like a pendulum. It gravitates in one direction to the point of over saturation until it becomes so bloated it weighs itself down and swings o in the opposite direction. In the 1990s, there was the over saturation of grunge music following the genres rise into popularity. In the late 90s, there was the boy band craze. en came the public backlash against the cheesy lyrics and the bomb that hurled the

boy band members o to the four corners of the globe, never to be reunited again. Behind the costumes are industry experts eager to earn a buck, who work behind the stage and control the fate of pop music with puppet strings. e music industry follows pop culture in search of something that sticks and resonates with the public. Once the music industry nds something, it rides the act into superciality, stripping it down to the bare essence of what makes it sell. en nally with the act on its last legs, the music industry comes out with bats and clubs to beat the act to death and rides the subsequent wave of public anger o into another direction. Its the sad fate of pop icons who stick stubbornly to the same path that brought them fame, only to watch the music industry glut the medium with similar acts before it becomes a joke. Britney Spears career followed this arc and as she grabbed at the tattered remains of her music career, more and more of her clothes fell o. In the absence of any substance, sex is where all music goes to keep the publics attention. e fate of todays pop-music acts are approaching that point now. e radio is oversaturated superciality, busting at the seams full of acts with little to say. But this is the ebb and ow of pop. It gets burned to the ground only to be born again in a dierent manifestation.

Moran

Women and the Extreme Man

While Baron-Cohen refers Lets face it, men dont have a clue about women. We just have to the autistics apparent lack no understanding of the other of empathy as mind-blindness, half. But if misunderstanding women would just call it by anwomen is a problem for normal other name: jerkiness. Yet despite autistics seemingmen, just imagine how it is for a ly emotional obtuseness, women man with Aspergers. While most men come o as seem in some ways to be drawn insensitive, Aspies come o as to the out-of-the-box mindset of people with Aspergers. In fact, even more so. Simon Baron-Cohen, a pro- men with Aspergers do marry fessor of developmental psycho- women who do not have autism. pathology at Trinity College, Psychologist Kathy J. Marshack Cambridge, has conducted re- wrote in her book Silver In search into the autistics inabil- Mind: Loving ose with Asity to connect emotionally with pergers Syndrome that Aspies other people. In his research he are attracted to compassionate, discovered that men and wom- strong, intelligent women who ens brains were wired dier- can deal with the social aspects ently. Womens brains allowed of life for them. Women who them to express empathy while engage in relationships with mens brains allowed them to Aspies often are attracted to analyze and systemize. Baron- our unconventional and boyish ese women feel that Cohen referred to the autistics charm. mind as the extreme male brain we will allow them to be indebecause it was more systematic pendent. Like other men, we Aspies and more analytical than that of dont realize that the ability to a normal male. If a normal systematic and eectively communicate with analytical mind cannot com- women about their feelings and pletely understand the opposite opinions is part of what makes a sex, how can someone with an relationship work. On the other extreme male brain be expected hand, it is important for women to understand that they need to to do so? It cant. No matter how much any interpret their body language so man tries, he will never really that it is more apparent to us. e ability to read body lanunderstand women. rough the process of socialization, men guage is a decit that all autistics are taught not to express their have to deal with. Its already dicult for normal emotions and not to talk about them, but there are biological men to do this, yet normal men are able to read body language. factors as well. I wrote earlier that Aspies do Imagine what it is like to not be experience love, but for men, able to do so. All I can say to the women given the extreme maleness of our brain we dont always get out there is be kind to us, we are men, albeit extreme men. that women love us back. E-mail Robert at opinion@dailytitan.com

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