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Sunday, August 31, 2003
*female soldier & pirates issues*
i saw 2 movies yesterday. first the '99 john travolta's film: "general's daughter". it's about a beautiful & intelligent female soldier who was gang-raped & tortured by her fellow soldiers during her exercise at west point - a military training school. her father (a general), who should protect her above any things, asked her to forget it ever happened and not report the crime for the sake of the army's reputation and his own career. the general's daughter then became obsessed with her father's betrayal and developed a hideous sexual world where she could draw men under her commands as a revenge.
it's a social message film which tried to touch upon one controversial issue involving the military. it makes me ponder... how much do we really know about what goes on behind the military world? how many male comrades have raped and have not been disciplined? there must be many risks military women encounter, and sexual harassment is surely one of them. it's a real fact of life that will happen if u put men and women together for long period of time. besides, who will bother to create separate sleeping areas, bathing and restroom facilities?
the army is too male-oriented and male-dominated. i guess women just aren't suited for military.
the 2nd movie is "pirates of the caribbean". as a hollywood fiction, it's quite entertaining. it gives us a picture of early 18th-century pirates - who are cruel and brutal (except the pirate hero, played by johnny depp, whose character is too lovable). but what about modern-day pirates? do they still exist?
it came to me as a surprise when i read usa today several days ago and found out that indonesian pirates are among the most frightened ones with many attacks already happened. why indonesia? it's said that there is no law in indonesian waters! plus it is widely believed that pirates have received protection from corrupt officials. they are armed with guns, knives and... speedboats! it's told that they come closer to its target with a speedboat and use grapnel hooks tied to ropes to board. they usually take hostages (sometimes they even murder the crewmembers), steal cash and belongings, but mostly they're hunting for the loots of international trade merchant ships.
so BEWARE everyone! life at sea was hard and dangerous. pirates still live!
stelly @ 11:11 PM
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