issue 15// vol 45 opinions // no. 15

In defense of public
burping and gas-passing

> Let ’er rip... it’s for your health

Jessica Berget
Opinions Editor

 

es Shrek said it best when he so
eloquently stated, “Better out than in,

I always say.” This is a philosophy I live

by, and J thought many other people did
as well. Yet whenever I burp in public,
people give me dirty looks, call me rude,
and instantly judge my character. I will no
longer stand for it.

We should all be free not only to burp
in public whenever our bodies tell us we
need to without judgement, we should also
be able to pass any type of gas freely.

I know what youre thinking. “But no
one wants to smell a stranger’s farts!” I can
agree with you there. However, according
to WebMD most gas is actually odourless,
so you don’t have to worry about that too
much.

Listen, we're all human. We have all
basic biological functions that we need to
carry out for our health. We shouldn't be
shamed, mocked, or judged for carrying
out our fundamental bodily objectives. In
fact, I think we should all learn to accept
and celebrate our gas-filled flesh vessels.
It makes no sense to be ashamed of
something that we all need to do everyday.
Also, call me immature, but farting and
burping is always hilarious. So, I say let ‘er
Tip.

We've all had times when we
are forced to hold in our gas out of
embarrassment. Whether it be on public
transit, in the middle of a quiet classroom,
or when youre with an attractive person,
we've all been there. However, belching,
breaking wind, or whatever it is you're
doing, your body is supposed to be doing
it, so you really shouldn't be holding it in.
If you don't belch it out, it can go down

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viewlng for anyon
transitioning to

adulthood

» Disney explores tl
way of sayin

Jacey Gibb
Distribution Manager

—

 

didn’t enter the theatre of Ralph Breaks

the Internet expecting to cry. Heck,
based on the now-franchise’s first film,
Wreck-It Ralph (2012), | was expecting
cute characters, some top-notch voice
acting, and a generous helping of food
puns. All the aforementioned expectations
were immensely satisfied, but I didn’t
anticipate watching anything as heartfelt
as the friendship at the core of Breaks the
Internet.

Before I explain, be advised that
this article contains significant spoilers
from Ralph Breaks the Internet, including
moments from the film’s climax. On the
off-chance you haven't seen the movie and
would very much like to one day, please
redirect your eyes to any of the other fine
article included in this week’s issue of the
Other Press.

(Seriously though, it’s a fantastic
movie and deserves better than to be
spoiled for you bya college newspaper.)

Ralph Breaks the Internet starts off
(somewhat arbitrarily) six years after its
predecessor. Ralph (voiced by John C.
Reilly) and Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah
Silverman) are having a blast, playing
in their own games and spending the

   

evenings after closing time, exploring other
arcade games. Fairly early on, however, it
becomes clear that Vanellope isn’t happy
with the same routine every day—the same
racecourses, the same drivers. She wants
something more, even though Ralph’s
happy as can be doing the same stuff.

Through chance happenings, the pair
end up connecting to the arcade’s new Wi-
Fi and find themselves in the online racing
game Slaughter Race. Here, Vanellope
meets other racers she connects with,
contained to a hellish landscape full of
danger. It’s exactly what she needs, which
Ralph resists from the very beginning.

The absence of any real villain in
Ralph Breaks the Internet is noteworthy.
The spotlight feels shared between the
two main characters. We understand both
of their perspectives and reasons behind
their individual actions. No character is
necessarily more sympathetic, but they also
selfishly make choices that will negatively
affect others. (Vanellope delays telling
Ralph that she’s not going home to her
original game Sugar Rush; Ralph unleashes
a computer virus in hopes of infecting
Slaughter Race.)

When Vanellope finds out that Ralph
meant for her new game to be ruined,
there’s genuine heartbreak between the
characters. She feels betrayed that Ralph
would go out of his way to try and stop her

your digestive tract and cause
indigestion and even more gas in
the form of flatulence.

Moreover, holding in your
flatulence builds up a lot of
pressure in your intestines and can
cause awful cramps. Seriously, it’s
not good for your digestive health.
Furthermore, the fact is that it’s
not just going to go away. It has
to be released somehow, whether
you want it to or not. It just finds
a different way out, whether it
be through the mouth or the rectum. As
Clare Collins, Professor in Nutrition and
Dietetics from the University of Newcastle,
wrote in a Newsweek article, “A build up
of intestinal gas can trigger abdominal
distension, with some gas reabsorbed into
the circulation and exhaled in your breath.
Holding on too long means the build up of
intestinal gas will eventually escape via an

7

 

i me
from making this decision for herself. He
just can’t be happy for her instead.

Things really take a turn for the worse
when the virus detects Ralph's insecurities
and the Internet becomes overrun with
Ralph duplicates looking for their friend.
The duplicates eventually form together,
creating a massive Ralph-like entity of
individual Ralphs.

The climax feels a little heavy-
handed, with the original Ralph telling the
composition of clones to let Vanellope go
and how he couldn't do that before. There
comes a time in each friendship where
you have to be selfless and learn to respect
your friend’s decisions—even if they're not
the decisions you would’ve made. In the
end, Vanellope stays in Slaughter Race and
her and Ralph video chat every weekend,
as well as make plans to see each other
the next time Slaughter Race receives an
update.

Vancouver's a transient city to live
in. If you haven't experienced it already,
you'll soon feel the sinking dread of having
your close friends move away to live in
more affordable cities, lured away by the
possibility of owning property, or maybe
even saving some of their paycheques. Even
though most of my friends have successful,
well-paying jobs, few of them plan on
sticking around in this city.

A week before seeing Ralph Breaks

mA
®

uncontrollable fart.”

Moral of the story, if you've got gas,
you've got to let it out—or it will let itself
out.

If you really have to pass gas but are
too embarrassed about it, go to a washroom

or other private place. But please, don’t
hold it in.

 
  

 

the Internet in theatres, my best friend for
the past eight years moved to Germany.
It’s an incredible opportunity for her: She’s
gone to be with her girlfriend and family,
and she’s moving to a city where artists are
more valued for their craft. None of these
reasons made our eventual goodbye any
less wrenching.

I experienced a lot of the same
emotions Ralph did, from the disbelief
toward my friend vaguely talking about
moving someday, to the hopelessness he
felt knowing it was only a matter of time.
They’re all valid emotions—expected,
even—but Ralph’s reaction is where he
goes off the rails. He attempts to sabotage
his friend moving forward in life at the
expense of her happiness. It’s not until he
sees thousands of copies of himself, all
pathetically clambering for Vanellope’s
friendship, that Ralph realizes how toxic
his actions were.

The lesson at the heart of Breaks the
Internet is this: Friendship is more than a
shared proximity. It’s a mutual respect for
each other’s values and life trajectories,
even when those trajectories take you in
different directions.

And if your friend decides to move to
Berlin—I mean, Slaughter Race—instead
of brainstorming ways to keep her from
going, you make travel plans for when
youre going to visit.