The Fault in Our Stars- Lauren M

So I’m extremely confused about what was required for us blog-wise this week so I responded to my two literature homies and now blog a little about the book I’m reading. I also apologize for the lack of punctuality, it is very uncharacteristic of me I promise but it’s just been a really rough week. Anyways, to the book….

I’m only on chapter five because I keep finding poetry books and reading those entirely in one day (BTW PLEASE KIM JAXON CHECK OUT SALT- Nayyirah Waheed. It’s FREE for kindle on amazon. She covers a variety of controversial subjects ranging from love, to white supremacy, to racism, etc. creatively and romantically put together in the form of thought provoking poems. A MUST READ.) Okay back to the beginning of The Fault of Our Stars, I’m just starting so not much has happened although I have been caught multiple times imagining the movie while I read. There is however, differences so if you have watched the movie and don’t feel like reading the book, trust me you don’t know it all. I feel like I can relate to the book version “Just Hazel” more because there is more detail and more of her thoughts described in the book versus the movie that give you a more well-rounded idea of “Just Hazel”. The way the “Just Hazel” recounts what it feels like to have cancer reminds me of how I felt while I was going through various things. I know the statement I just made is very vague and how could I possibly compare a life threatening disease to “various things” but her struggle hits home with the feelings I’ve felt before.

But something that bothered me about the book is when Hazel (the author) calls V for Vendetta a boy movie. 1.) It upset me because AS A GIRL it is one of my favorite movies of all time and 2.) Goes back to social constructs of society, what it means to be a boy or girl, and how literary works (As well as personal statements, media, advertising) define and impact the way we think. I am completely aware that John Green’s intentions were not to imply or make the assumption that all girls are not allowed to watch movies of intelligence or action such as the historical and futuristic satire like V for Vendetta, and they are only allowed to watch shallow movies where the main concept is a girl falling in love with a boy, aka “girl movies”. Do not get me wrong I loved the movie the Fault of Our Stars, I will probably love the book as well, and I don’t mean to personally attack John Green because it’s not just John Green who has contributed to the social construct that imprisons both genders – it’s everyone. I don’t mean to make something out of nothing but after our class discussion I have been more conscious of what is said by people or in the media; even if it is, just ONE sentence in a book, The Fault in Our Stars is read by many girls who will now think V for Vendetta, a highly intellectually stimulating movie, is now off limits because it has been deemed a “boy movie”. These comments people make are the equivalent of littering, at first it’s just one piece of trash and soon it escalates to an even bigger problem, like pollution or ocean contamination.  So think before you expel your trash and trashy thoughts out to the world.