Sally Field Channels Molly Bloom

"If mothers ruled the world, there wouldn't be any goddamn wars in the first place."
--Sally Field, uncensored, accepting an Emmy award on Sunday night for her portrayal of Nora Walker on BROTHERS AND SISTERS

"I don't care what anybody says it'd be much better for the world to be governed by the
women you wouldn't see women going and killing one another and slaughtering."
--Molly Bloom in James Joyce's ULYSSES (1922), Chapter 18

Comments

[ProfessorVP]

05:22 PM on 09/19/2007

Has it ever occurred to you, Kitty, that women over the centuries may have listened more because they were told to shut the %&$# up by men?

Even if there is scientific evidence of a better listening gene, does it mean all women possess it? Or that those who do would wind up making peace-or-war decisions? Just as a matter of policy, I stay away from such broad stuff- women are less prone to war, gays have better taste, black women accept wife-beating as a normal part of marriage, Jews think of little but money, and other ancient crap.

[kittycago]

02:04 PM on 09/19/2007

I didi not generalize I simply stated a scientific fact.Sorry but the genders have skills that are unique unto themselves .If you had read and mentally "listened" to what I stated you would have challenged the science and asked for documentation of this fact not accuse me of generalizing.I suspect your already aware of this fact.

[kittycago]

11:59 AM on 09/19/2007

It is a proven scientific fact that women by the make up of our DNA have stronger listening skills than men.That in itself is a roadmap to less wars and more diplomacy.

[ProfessorVP]

12:24 PM on 09/19/2007

Then what about Condi Rice, who not only won't listen, but won't even meet with adversaries? The fact that she's a lesbian is irrelevant; she's still a woman.

I don't think it's that simple, to generalize men as bad listeners, women as good listeners, men as prone to fighting wars and mothers biased towards pacifism. One could even argue it's insulting.

[mooph]

03:36 PM on 09/19/2007

Skills -- even listening skills -- are learned behaviors.

On the physical side (DNA, etc), women's hearing range (range of frequencies) is typically greater than men's, especially in the higher frequencies, which lend clarity to voices.

Women also retain more of their hearing ability as they age, whereas men typically lose a range of frequencies that make it difficult to hear voices clearly and distinctly.

(Some great metaphors in there)

[ProfessorVP]

11:28 AM on 09/19/2007

I like Sally Field. I really like her. I have since Gidget, that's how old I am. But I have no evidence she's a deep thinker or expert on history or political matters. I wish she had just trashed the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq. The business about mothers being on higher moral ground just made her seem ditzy.

[ProfessorVP]

02:52 AM on 09/19/2007

Margaret Thatcher, Golda Meir, Hillary Clinton... not exactly shy about war.

[AngryAmish]

11:08 AM on 09/19/2007

Sally didn't say there would be no more wars if women governed one or two nations in a world otherwise governed by men. We cannot imagine what a matriarchy might look like based on the actions of the handful of women who have held high office in the last 50 years. Thatcher, Meir, Mrs. Clinton--all were/are merely stewards of the patriarchy; we can hardly be surprised that they often reinforce(d) patriarchal rules: That's how you acquire & sustain power.

Sally and Molly posit that things would be different if we were somehow able to erase history and install women in power from the very beginning. More than a tad essentialist, but the sentiment has some resonance for those of us who love and respect the women in our life, especially our moms, and despise war.

Sally Field rawks, by the way, and I always wonder why so many film snobs (of which I am one) are embarrassed to admit their love for one of the greatest film actresses of her generation. Whether doing comedy or drama, the woman has perfect pitch.

[PADDYWHACK]

09:36 PM on 09/18/2007

I spent some time gazing on "the snot-green sea" he spoke of.

[twgbonehead]

08:29 PM on 09/18/2007

Wavewhite wedded words, shimmering on the dim tide.