Conquest

The White Stripes - 'Conquest,' from 'Icky Thump'

So, what a week; we talked about some exciting things: pro-wrestling, conquistadors, violence, the conventional sexual and physical abuse of women by stereotypical 'manly' men, you know, the good stuff. So, enjoy a little White Stripes, and I'll break it down as follows.

Wrestling:

I didn't believe it, 'Wrestling With Manhood' had to have just been spin; the director of the film was just bitter about the WWE. So I thought, well, WWE was in our fine city last weekend, I'll just watch a neutral episode of Raw and see for myself. Holy s**t. I saw for myself.

Although there weren't scenes quite as horrific as the simulated rape or physical abuse of man on woman, the female characters were still objectified, stripped of their clothes and femininity, and made a joke. There were at least (I couldn't watch the entire episode of You Tube fault and my own disgust) two 'Diva' matches featuring scantily clad female 'athletes' locked in fierce battle. And what toasted me the most was how loudly Columbus was cheering for this...I had to ask, isn't my city better then this?

I can't even begin to imagine the scores of fetish-like pleasures men derive from this act. However, I can imagine how destructive it is on the already impossible to achieve imagine of man. Power, Dominance, Overt-Sexuality, these factors of man's manhood not only show up during the circus of the profane in WWE, but also in....

Sex (Wedding Crashers)

Manhood, hoorah. Nothing says total "dude-ness" like a good round of alcohol and some commitment free sex. After all, commitment isn't for real men, just countless acts of sexuality with innumerable nameless women. At least Wedding Crashers is funny about it, learning lessons in subtlety that the WWE could borrow from...

Not unlike our conquistadors trading women for gold, Vaughn and Wilson spend the first half of this narrative following an almost religious in scale doctrine on the art of catching women at weddings. Luckily, their characters settle down and into steady, more WOman friendly relationships, so its a happy ending.

With that being said, sexuality is deeply rooted into the foundries of our country, after all, look at the conquistador tradition found in the South Americas. Surely it was the same with our American pilgrims. It appears to be the same in our native literature.

New Spain:

The first thing I wanted to do with this book was find something in it I could relate too. Problem: I'm no macho man, no gun slinging sword slinging kill first ask questions later kind of tough guy. Then I remembered a few things about the life and times of Tony DeGenaro:

I have been to Tucson, Arizona.

During my visit I can vividly remember a few things, and the most striking was a sense of history and pride that comes from our neighbors to the south. It was amazing how pieces of culture from Mexico had made its way into our popular culture around Tucson. It is as if the spirit of those conquested by Spain trying to in turn slip into the US, and its all real cool stuff, so I'm in no way nervous or complaining.

Another comparison I cannot help but make, particularly in the wake of reading about our Indian friends, were the reservations. Even though I was quite young, I can still remember a serious feeling of defense; protecting their tradition, cultures, etc...I know what was felt when New Spain marched up through Now-Mexico, and it's sort of saddening.

As I consider the text, the hyperbole, the mess of violent images, I can see a lot of todays pop culture bleeding the violence, manliness and sexuality of this text.

Here in this island the Captain began to command energetically, and Our Lord so favoured hm that whatever he touched succeeded, especially the pacification of the people and towns thereabouts (Diaz, 58)

I think this quote best exemplifies the nature of what Diaz saw and wrote about.