Yama144

‘By portraying so many of their female characters as evil, Once Upon a Time dwells on the many negative stereotypes of women. Traits like vindictiveness and manipulation are especially prevalent in the female villains.’

I do agree on the general negative potrayal of women in the media, but as far as’Once Upon A Time’is concerned this programme does have it’s roots in The Grimm Fairytales which are better understood if we realise that the ‘conventional flat characters’ in them , psychologically are characters with personality disorders. Snow White – the narcissist. Cinderella and Rapunzel are tales of narcissistic mothers who abuse their daughters.

Given the social pressure for individuals and adult children to evangelise mothers eg with mothers day and associate sociopathy with men, with a slight predisposition to believing that women are incapable of abuse, I think its healthy so to speak, loosely to keep a balance as far as female representation goes, because female ‘villains’ do unfortunately exist.

Typing errors : * first and second line. Sorry!

I enjoyed this article, and I have enjoyed some of Murakami’s work,despite some the existential currently I am reading Colourless Tsukuru.

Particularly ‘After Dark’, and ‘What I Talk About When I Talk About Running’. I found the former insightful,although a little pseudo-philosophical it was heart-warming in places.Hard Boiled Wonderland and The End Of The World particularly made an impression on me, as you pointed out he has the ability to create surreal, but realistic microcosms.

And despite the existential dilemmas faced by his characters, there is sometimes a naivety about them which can make them appealing.

I have never read any of Murakami’s work in Japanese , I always assume a little is lost in the translation.

‘ They aren’t looking to devote time to learning something that deviates from their modern and fast-paced lifestyle, and instead, are only looking for something that will add to it’

Although the article attempts to emphasise the cultural significance and context of yoga and find it incredibly judgemental and romantic.

Despite yoga originating in Asia (though not restricted to India I might add ) just because an ascetic practice is beneficial to oneself does not mean that should not be targeted to a wider audience , regardless of whether this means commodification. Maybe this is the question that should be asked?

Instead of singling out yoga, perhaps you should have aimed your criticisms and scepticism at the general fast food culture you have associated with the United States.

There is anecdotal scientific evidence that yoga alleviates PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder)symptomatology and allows attuning of certain regions of the brain and the body’s response to stressors. Whether this is through breathing techniques (asanas), meditation remains to be seen.

You seem to have gone into detail on the religious aspects of it, without touching on the concept of mindfulness- in a secular context.

Just a couple of references to finish off, for those that might be interested:

Damasio, A,R. 1999. The Feeling of What Happens: Body and Emotion in the Meaning of Consciousness. (an accessible science book written by the distinguished Antonio Damasio)

Kolk Der Van A Bessel Ann.N.Y.Acad.Sci (2006) Clinical Implications of Neuroscience Research in PTSD.