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Recommended: The Holy Bible - 1st Samuel Book

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 No worries, this will not be the only time the Bible makes an appearance on this blog. But we will start with one of my favorite stories - the story of King David. And while we are at it, we will be discussing one of my favorite Bible characters, Abigail. Abigail was the wife of a rather abusive man but met David in an intense situation. Due to her wits and keeping her cool, she was able to sway David into not making a giant mistake.      As time passed and Abigail’s husband is struck down, she and David marry. She becomes his second wife (please keep in mind that the Bible takes place in a different time), second to Ahinoam. (Saul’s ex-wife)     Which brings us to our passage that we will be focusing on. David is working on his way to becoming king. He has a large following and had set up a base in the Philistines. During that time, an army known as the Amalekites came in and captured all the women and children. Lucky for everyone involved, the army did n...
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Recommended: Star Wars - A New Hope (1977) Film

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      No surprise here as this classic movie makes an appearance on this blog. Normal people rising to heroism, a beautiful princess, a terrifying villain, and all taking place in the vastness of space. While other movies will eventually make their appearance on this blog, we will focus on the movie that started it all.      Leía is not your typical classic princess either. It takes a lot of strength of heart to stand up to someone like Darth Vader, the torture methods used, and even the death of her planet. (Which can be debated that this planet’s death was brushed off so easily, but thankfully extended universe stories go into the deeper impact at the loss of life.)      Even with all this tragedy, she still kept her resolve. Especially once her rescue scene happened.            The three characters here to rescue her are a very unconventional. We have a farm boy who is a bit over his head. We have a smugg...
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Recommended: Shot by The Rasmus (2005) Song

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      The music world is filled with inspiring songs of heroism. Many give a call to arms, rise up against the enemy, and defend that in which you love.      So it makes sense that there would exist songs that sang about defending your loved one. In today’s recommendation, we have just that song.      Shot by The Rasmus came out in 2005 and is on their album Hide from the Sun. Rasmus is an alternative rock band from Finland. In this song, we listen to the point of view of the man protecting his lover from an enemy. Lyrics such as “I’ll stay awake if he finds us” and “I’ll stand in your way” paint a literal picture of how far the singer will go to protect his lover with his life.      There’s a lot of power in the vocals as he pours his passion into protecting his loved one. It also allows for the fantasy of the situation to be whatever you wish. A pretty perfect example that matches with the theme of this blog. The villain is v...
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Recommended: Lady and the Tramp (1955) Animated Film

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     Our first recommendation is Walt Disney’s 15th animated film, Lady and the Tramp.      We have a very classic story of a wealthy lady and a man of the streets. The main couple get off to a rocky start as many do. Tramp swaggers his way into Lady’s life and frightens her about the coming changes. He doesn’t quite show much of a charming side and instead gives her what he feels is the honest truth.      Writers love to do this to show a development in the couple’s relationship. However, then they need an opportunity for the leading lady to trust the hero. Especially in a short amount of time. Many writers do this by having the hero save the lady from something. In Titanic, Jack convinces Rose not to jump, then pulls her up when she slips. In Beauty and the Beast, Beast rescues Belle from the wolves. In this movie, we have a scene where Lady is running for her life from violent dogs. Tramp catches this disaster and jumps in front of Lady to...
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The Damsel in Distress trope is not dead

      In our western world of modern media, we often associate female characters with the “strong” archetype. They fight like a man, have a cold attitude about them, and don’t appear to struggle with their powers. At least in the blockbuster world, this is how female characters are written. If you stray into more obscure or lesser known media, female characters tend to have more nuance to their writing. But that’s not to say they still don’t fall into the trap of “strong”.      While the growth of the female character is rather welcome, especially when given more substance than just eye candy, there still is a lack of true connection with them. It’s like we’ve gone too far with their personality into the other direction, thus making them unlikeable for completely different reasons.      All this said, media is still an art form. Art to be enjoyed. Art to be challenged by. Art to be critiqued. Nothing portrayed in movies, shows, books, or musi...
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