PETA is really on one. Granted it really does look like these gobblers are marching for freedom… Via ABC News reports : Tomorrow President Obama is set to pardon two turkeys – Cobbler and Gobbler – just as every president since George H. W. Bush has. The tradition finds its roots in a moment of sympathy Abe Lincoln’s son, Tad, had for their table’s turkey back in the 1860s. Now Ingrid Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, says the turkey pardon has got to go. “It makes light of the mass slaughter of some 46 million gentle, intelligent birds and portrays the United States’ president as being in some sort of business partnership with the turkey-killing industry,” Newkirk wrote in a letter sent to President Obama today. “Turkeys do not need to be ‘pardoned’—they are not guilty of anything other than being born into a world of prejudice. They are innocents who should be respected for who they are: good mothers, smart birds, and interesting animals.” “You understand so well that African-Americans, women, and members of the LGBT community have been poorly served throughout history,” Newkirk writes, “and now I am asking you to consider other living beings who are ridiculed, belittled, and treated as if their sentience, feelings, and very natures count for nothing.” Those are turkeys she’s talking about. When asked if the comparison of turkeys with minority Americans was a little extreme, PETA spokesperson Ashley Byrne answered that turkeys feel pain and fear, just like humans. “Everyone deserves to be free from suffering, and that includes turkeys,” Byrne said. So will the White House forego the fowl tradition and opt for Tofurkey? Not likely. Last year PETA similarly took issue with the term “pardon,” asking the White House to say “spare” instead. But the White House went along with its usual use of the p-word. Byrne said this Thanksgiving gives Obama a new opportunity to connect with his constituency and go vegan like another Democratic president – Bill Clinton – who gave up his beloved hamburgers, all meat in fact, for health reasons after leaving office. “With more Americans than ever cutting meat out of their diets, we hope that the president could see this as a way to get with the times,” Byrne said. Prejudice? Against turkeys? GTFOHWTBS. We understand if some people choose to be vegan or want to be vegan for health reasons but that doesn’t mean that people who enjoy eating meat and poultry should be compared to bigots! Shutterstock
Like many other feminist moviegoers, I was more than a little disappointed that Pixar’s long-awaited first female protagonist, Brave ’s Merida, is a princess. But what’s striking, even astonishing, about Brave ‘s treatment of princessdom is its historical honesty; even though Merida convinces her parents to abolish the tradition of arranged marriage, the film’s resolution essentially has our heroine accepting that she has to get married and that her nuptials will be used as a bond between rival clans. (Score one for the patriarchy.) Brave can boast some narrative complexity, if not much feminist bona fides, for having Merida occupy the role that real-life princesses have held for most of history — as insurance against war. This gloomy take on the purpose of royal females aligns Brave more closely with HBO’s medieval misery-fest Game of Thrones than with any other Disney princess movie that’s come before. The anti-princess backlash is nothing new. For decades, cultural critics have been decrying princess movies for overvaluing qualities like beauty, passivity, and femininity, not to mention wealth and social privilege. The studios have made some grudging concessions in recent years: heroines still wear crowns, but they also have more guts. The Guardian’s Jaclyn Friedman recently named this new trend of royal female ferociousness the rise of the “Action Princesses,” specifically citing Snow White and the Huntsman and Brave , though Tangled ’s Rapunzel would also qualify. These films, in which princesses are bold, beautiful, and betrothed, serve as a kind of “you can have it all” message for the 14-and-under set. Unlike Tangled , though, which merely offers a pluckier-than-usual heroine, Brave and Snow White and the Huntsman represent a more radical response to the anti-princess backlash. They feature princess protagonists, but offer serious critiques of the institution of princessdom — highlighting in particular its dangers. Nowhere has that been argument been more emphatically made than in Game of Thrones , which could virtually qualify as anti-princessdom propaganda. Virtually all of Daenerys Targaryen’s (Emilia Clarke) troubles, for example, are a result of her royal lineage. Sold to a stranger by her brother as a teenager, the “mother of dragons” gained autonomy in her initially dehumanizing marriage, but remains exiled from her homeland after two seasons for her royal blood. Even more devastating is the plight of Sansa (Sophie Turner), a wannabe princess, who quickly discovers that life as a royal daughter-in-law would be an endless parade of humiliations and empty rituals — even if her would-be hubby weren’t the most evil character ever. Likewise, take Snow White and the Huntsman , in which the fairy-tale princess (Kristen Stewart) is doomed to imprisonment for her claim to the throne. For all these characters, being a princess confers uniqueness, but no privilege; it’s a liability, if not a customized bull’s-eye target. Interestingly, it’s no longer just cultural critics decrying the uniform blah-ness of princess narratives, but the cultural products themselves. By learning how to throw a punch and ride horses into combat, princesses win battles, but lose the war for narrative sophistication. After all, princesses may be less passive these days, but they continue to be morally unassailable. So while Snow White fights her usurping stepmother Ravenna (Charlize Theron) for the throne, the queen successfully launches a campaign to seize the hearts and minds, or at least the attention, of audiences. Ravenna doesn’t steal the movie because the actress playing her chews up the scenery more conspicuously than her younger co-star (though that doesn’t hurt), but because she’s a much more interesting and developed character than the “pure,” virginal Snow White. Not insignificantly, Ravenna gets as much screen time as Snow White, and the tragic nature of her back story rivals her stepdaughter’s; her thirst for power is born from a justified hatred of men in power, and her capture of the crown at the beginning of the film is actually easy to root for. The psychologically damaged and perpetually obsessed nature of Ravenna’s character makes her the female counterpart to the ethically perplexed antiheroes that are the de rigueur protagonists of cable dramas, like Mad Men ’s Don Draper or Breaking Bad ’s Walter White. Snow White and the Huntsman is far from the only example of princess movies receiving the Wicked treatment. Mirror Mirror , for example, tells the same tale from the POV of Queen Julia Roberts, who commandeers the film’s voiceover narration. And the anti-princess take will continue in 2014’s Maleficent , which will star a horned Angelina Jolie as the villainess of Sleeping Beauty . The appeal of these fairy-tale rewrites is, of course, the reorientation of sympathies. For example, the ability to understand, if not necessarily root for, the queen makes clear the audience’s fallacious identification with the princess. After a while, it seems eminently more reasonable to identify with Ravenna than Snow White, since she’s the one who more traditionally follows the hero’s path: a commoner with talent (in this case, beauty) who ventures into a strange land (the bizarro-universe of the aristocracy) and overcomes a weaker antagonist (the lovestruck king) to claim victory. Princess movies will be with us for a time yet, but it’s wonderful to see that even if princesses aren’t growing up, the movies about them certainly are. Now, if only we could convince studios that girls’ lives and experiences matter even if they don’t live in castles… Inkoo Kang is a Boston-based film journalist and regular contributor to BoxOffice Magazine whose work has appeared in Pop Matters and Screen Junkies . She reviews stuff she hates, likes, and hate-likes on her blog THINK-O-VISION .
Oliver Stone is certainly not afraid to court controversy. The two-time Oscar winner raised eyebrows with a sympathetic portrayal of Fidel Castro in his 2003 documentary Comandante , a less than sympathetic look at former President George W. Bush in W. and a positive chronicle of Latin America’s left-leaning presidents in 2009’s South of the Border and he’s long been outspoken on issues that win praise from the hard left and venom from the right. On the eve of his latest star-driven bigger budget release, Savages , Stone graced the cover of High Times magazine and over the weekend spoke of his own drug use, how it helped him through Vietnam as a twice-wounded soldier, and about his new movie opening Friday. In an interview with CBS This Morning Stone spoke sympathetically toward marijuana, which is at the center of his latest feature, and which he used while doing two tours of duty during the Vietnam War. “When I was in Vietnam, [pot] made the difference between being human and being a beast,” he said. “There were a lot of guys who were drinking and doing a lot of the killing that was so unnecessary and raping. The guys who did dope were much more conscious of the value of life.” Stone said he had served well, was a “good soldier” and added, “I wasn’t a slouch.” His latest crime-thriller is based on a novel of the same name by Don Winslow. Starring Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Johnson, Blake Lively, Salma Hayek, Benicio del Toro and John Travolta, the story revolves around two California marijuana growers who share a girlfriend who is kidnapped. The pair (Johnson and Kitsch) are then faced with confronting a Mexican drug cartel lead by Elena Sanchez (Hayek) and Miguel (del Toro) to rescue her. “I like power [stories], I like people who do the cat and mouse game,” Stone said. “You never get what you expect and that’s like life.” In order to prep for the film, Stone headed south of the border to get a proper feel for some real-life figures in the drug underworld. “Benicio and I hung out with some pretty heavy people on the other side of the border,” he said. “Don Winslow knows that world because he’s written other books about the subject.” Stone noted that “thank God” the cartels have so far had a limited role in cannabis growing in California since it’s still a comparatively small business vs. their much bigger and violent operations, but added: “Like California wine, the stuff being grown there is very high in its potency.” [Source: CBS This Morning ]
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has just named its pair of the sexiest herbivores and no shock here, they’re celebrities. There were some downright good looking contenders for this year’s organically grown animal-friendly crowns including people across the age spectrum from Alyssa Milano, Anne Hathaway, Chrissie Hynde, Ashley Judd, Cloris Leachman, Ellen DeGeneres, Hayden Panettiere, Rooney Mara and Venus Williams among the women, while the hot veggie dudes include Casey Affleck, Bill Clinton, Forest Whitaker, Joaquin Phoenix, Jason Schwartzman, Mike Tyson, Moby, Mos Def, Prince, Richard Linklater and Tobey Maguire. In all 100 men and women were up for PETA’s “Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrities” of 2012. And the winners are… Can you guess? Hint: the victorious herbivore hotties were not mentioned in the previous paragraph…. OK, congratulations to Jessica Chastain and Woody Harrelson, PETA’s Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrities of 2012. The meat free duo – in fact animal-product free – are both vegans and keep their stealth good looks on a diet sans cheese, milk and the like. Chastain, who received an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress for her role in The Help has been vegetarian for 15 years and went full vegan five years ago. “I don’t want to torture anything,” she said. “It’s about trying to live a life where I’m not contributing to the cruelty in the world. While I am on this planet, I want everyone I meet to know that I am grateful they are here.” Harrelson, who will be 51 later this month hails from Midland, TX, but beef is a bonafide no-no for him. He has been vegan for three decades and said that his moment of veg-revelation came while working as an actor in New York. “I was on a bus and some girl sees me blowing my nose, I had acne all over my face, which I’d had for years and years. And she’s like: ‘Hey, you’re lactose intolerant. If you quit dairy, all these symptoms you got will be gone in three days.’ I was 24. And I was like, ‘No way.’ But three days later: gone.” PETA, which recently won assurances from Olympics opening night organizer Danny Boyle that its animals in the opening pageant will be treated to long lives, estimates that Chastain and Harrelson’s combined 45 years of living animal-free have “saved 4,500 animals from being neglected, genetically manipulated, put on drug regimens that cause chronic pain, and killed in gruesome and violent ways.” [ Source: PETA ] [ And who is your choice for sexiest vegetarian? ]
‘What’s draggin’ on the floor is Kanye’s reputation as a man with no empathy for animals,’ PETA tells MTV News in response to Yeezy’s ‘Theraflu.’ By Rob Markman Photo: Theraflu/ Getty Images/ MTV News Not everyone is in love with Kanye West ‘s “Theraflu.” While Yeezy’s fans are fawning over his new track, PETA (or People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) took exception to the song’s hook. “Someone tell PETA my mink is draggin’ on the floor,” Kanye spits in the song’s opening bars and then again on the chorus. Well, the animal-rights organization heard the Louis Vuitton Don loud and clear and fired back with a message of their own on Thursday (April 5). “What’s draggin’ on the floor is Kanye’s reputation as a man with no empathy for animals or human beings,” PETA’s senior vice president Dan Mathews said to MTV News in a statement. “He’s a great musician but doesn’t seem to have the fashion sense to design anything more than caveman costumes.” Seems like PETA also caught wind of ‘Ye’s fashion outing in early March when he presented his fall/winter collection during Paris Fashion Week ; the rapper used quite a bit of fur in his women’s line. PETA hasn’t closed the door completely on Kanye, however. They’re still hopeful that he will eventually have a change of heart. “We keep hoping that one day he’ll find his heart and join evolved style icons — including Russell Simmons, Pink and Natalie Portman — who have dropped animal skins,” Mathews said. The MC’s fashion taste isn’t the only topic addressed on “Theraflu.” Kanye touches on his ex-girl Amber Rose, Wiz Khalifa (Rose’s new man), and his feelings for Kim Kardashian. “The whole industry wanna f— ya old chick/ Only n—a I got respect for is Wiz/ And I’ll admit I fell in love with Kim/ Around the same time she had fell in love with him,” Kanye spits over the Hit-Boy-produced beat. He even threw a perceived shot a Kim’s ex-husband and New Jersey Nets star, Kris Humphries: “Lucky I ain’t have Jay drop him from the team.” What do you think of Kanye’s “Theraflu” track? Tell us in the comments! Related Artists Kanye West
Willis McGahee’s treatment of women might be a little questionable, but he’s got a redeeming factor: he’s all for the ethical treatment of animals. Willis is the latest artists to rock nothing but tats for PETA’s “Ink Not Mink” campaign. Here’s his full poster. And he can talk too. We’re still trying to understand the use of football players in this campaign: yeah, PETA’s giving them synthetic balls. But what about the balls these guys handle every at every practice and in every game?
Justin Bieber for PETA 16-year-old singing sensation, Justin Bieber, has done a heartwarming ad for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). The Bieber is encouraging pet adoption, which is nice. Aww! Isn’t he sweet. The Judiciary Report is active on this front as well and has joined PETA too, but the clandestine version of it on the internet, known as People Eating Tasty Animals. Because it’s, “Finger licking good.” It’s good to help chickens . Cluck, cluck! RELATED ARTICLES Justin Bieber And Selena Gomez Continue Their Intimate Relationship Justin Bieber Hospitalized Is Justin Bieber’s Black Eye From A Beatdown? Teen Singer Justin Bieber Gropes Selena Gomez’s Butt Justin Bieber And Selena Gomez Play Down Romance Mag: Justin Bieber And Selena Gomez Checked Into Hotel Teens Under Pressure By Hollywood To Have Sex Justin Bieber And Selena Gomez Get Close
Filed under: Music News , Videos , Justin Bieber Justin Bieber is on board with PETA’s campaign to adopt pets rather than purchase them. According to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, roughly 8 million dogs and cats enter animal shelters every year in the United States. “It’s … Read more
Lady Gaga may have smuggled in a few extra guests to the MTV VMAs last night — because the people at PETA think it’s likely that her raw meat dress was “crawling in maggots.” A rep for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals tells us that Gaga… Read more
