Shis issue: (¥Y Better social media means better content (¥ Commercial Drive tagging: art or vandalism? (Y War of the Words: Sibling rivalry And more! Have your voice heard! Contact: Elliot Chan, Opinions Editor M opinions@theotherpress.ca www. theotherpress.ca The death of the simple date » How online dating has ruined a man’s ability to engage women publicly _ Patrick Vaillancourt “8. News Editor ra i = Ginews ay @theotherpress.ca here was a time when there wasn't all that much to dating. The process was simple: approach someone, introduce yourself, and begin a social interaction. It’s with a heavy heart that I report to you that those days are gone. Social media and online dating sites, such as eHarmony and Match. com, have effectively made the simple act of engaging someone : : single man is approached at : a pub by anattractive woman : who shows some interest—the : man is most likely thinking : about buying her a drink and : engaging with her socially. : Onthe flip-side, a man who : approaches the same woman : in the same pub is likely going men consider being approached : : Well, because the woman a setup for failure. In an age of political correctness, this is particularly difficult for men. A man approaching a woman can be regarded as—and is, in some cases—an unwanted approach or, in extreme cases, harassment. On the other hand, by a woman as something to be : proud of. Men are simpler beasts, and : so I have chosen to focus on : “men seeking women.” As social media becomes increasingly prominent in our : lives, we become more awkward : in live social situations. It seems : that asking someone out for : coffee or on a date has become > easier to do via Facebook or : Twitter than it is ina real- : life encounter. In addition, : meeting people online through : well-established dating sites : has become that much more complicated for men. Consider this: a typical, to get turned away. Why? : knows absolutely nothing about the approaching male. : Some exceptions apply to the : uber rich and those who look : influential or powerful, and : such is the influence of online dating sites. A simple eHarmony profile : for someone looking for other singles contains a whopping : 400 questions. The answers : to these questions formulate : an algorithm which enables : the website to match one up : with potential mates. When : did looking for a life partner : become an exercise akin to taking a final exam? Other sites, such as : Craigslist personals, don’t : provide a sufficient and free : alternative to online dating, : want to hear. “I’m not perfect” : or “I’m getting out of a bad : relationship” are not the types : of sales pitches people want to : hear, yet are all over Craigslist. One could argue that : both social media and the : online dating world have each : contributed to a collective : unless you like women who start : skepticism around dating, : off with all the things mendon’t : cohabitation, and marriage. : Our grandparents never had to : contend with divorce rates as : high as 50 per cent, yet the most : : wired generation everdoes—__: : and there are no indications By www.tomhaakhr.com : that the trend will stop at that. Everyone agrees that : technology has allowed us : to advance as a society in : immeasurable ways. That being : said, there are some things that : technological advances should : not bea part of—one of those includes matters of the heart. The masked vagina » The film industry, female empowerment, and superheroes—or lack thereof Natalie Serafini B, Assistant Editor pe © assistant Fi @theotherpress.ca enI wasa child and Catwoman came out, I was ecstatic. Eleven-year-old me watched the movie several times, thrilled by the fact that this woman was avenging herself, kicking ass, and taking names. It wasn’t untill wasa few years older that I realized it wasa travesty ofa movie. I can only excuse my brief hero-wor- shipping because Catwoman was a drop of water in an other- wise arid desert—and it still is. The examples of female superhero movies are few and far between. There are movies with strong female leads who verge on being superheroes, like Uma Thurman’s Kill Bill or Natalie Portman’s V for Vendetta. There are super- heroes of bygone years, like another Catwoman (played by Michelle Pfeiffer in ’g2). Ensemble films feature female : heroes, like the X-Men fran- : chise with its various female : mutants, or the Fantastic : Four films with Sue Storm : (Jessica Alba). Even more : astonishingly, said character : might be enigmatic and : complex; Catwoman’s more : recent incarnation in the The : Dark Knight Rises, with Anne : Hathaway purring away as the : feline fatale, comes to mind. Yet, even with the indica- : tions that female-led films put : asses in the seats (as evidenced : by Jennifer Lawrence’s : performance in The Hunger : Games films), and the cult-like : adulation of powerful female : characters (e.g. Sarah Michelle : Gellar in Buffy), female super- : heroes are a rarity; and the list : of them is pretty abysmal. There are glimpses of : successful, female superhero : franchises: Wonder Woman : was the focus ofa TV show : from 1975-79; was Meant to : be reincarnated ina TV show : reboot which never came to : fruition; is the titular subject : of Kristy Guevara-Flanagan’s : documentary, Wonder Women!, : to be shown at the BFI on : International Women’s Day; : and Gal Gadot is reported to : be starring as Wonder Woman : in Batmanvs. Superman. All the attention on : Wonder Woman is great!... but : where have all the other female : superheroes gone? The calls for : more of such productions are : out there, as both Esquire and : Newsarama.com list the top 10 : get their time on the big screen. The easy excuse is that : female superhero films don’t : doas well at the box office. : You only have to compare : Catwoman (witha worldwide : gross of $82,102,379) with 2004's : Spider-Man 2 (worldwide gross : of $783,766,341) to know that’s : true. The easy answer to that : easy excuse, though, is that you : get out what you put in. Produce : abad movie and you'll get bad : turn-out. It’s elementary. Part of the issue with these : onarchetypal characters. The : female superheroes represented : : are often homogenized to the : point where if you were to : remove their powers, character- : : istic quirks, and costumes, you : : might not even be able to dif- : ferentiate them. They’re sassy : but ina vaguely psychotic way, : so their power is largely in their : : erratic unpredictability; they're : : simpering; their one-liners : aren't particularly biting; and : they might not needa man, : but you get the impression that : female superheroes who should : : their life with anyone. With : the film industry generally : handling female superheroes : in this manner, it’s no wonder : the movies get left in the dust. they lack the capacity to share The superhero is the per- : fect specimen. Superheroes are : paragons of virtue, strength, : and intelligence, yet women : generally aren’t afforded such : arepresentation on the silver : screen. That’s why you end : up with 11-year-olds thinking : Catwoman is a good movie or, : : God forbid, an ideal role model. : films is that they lean so heavily : : generations of girls not having I like the idea of future to hunt down examples of Superheroes are paragons of virtue, strength, and intelligence, yet women generally aren't afforded such a representation on the silver screen. : female empowerment. I'll grant : you that female superhero : films, comic books, video : games, and the likes aren’t : the only avenues for empow- : erment—but right now they : aren’t avenues at all, they're : more like dead ends. This isn’t : because women aren't capable : of carrying the titular role; : this isn’t because there aren't : enough filmmakers or financial : backers who could bring a : female superhero to cinematic : life; this isn’t because people : don’t go crazy for superhero : films. It’s because the film : industry doesn’t know what to : do with female superheroes.