I did not watch the original Swedish version because I know it will effect my judgement on "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." I will watch it on Netfilx, but I want to interpret Rooney Mara's version separate from Noomi Rapace's version (I saw her in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, she's a good actress).

*Trigger Warning: this movie/book is violent and graphic especially the rape scenes (yes, there are more than one), which I will go into some details.* Also major spoilers!

When I read the book, I was rooting for Lisbeth Salander. She has such a complex character that can't be understood until you continue the trilogy. Something I do notice about female characters in the media is that she can only be part of one category: innocent, bitch, or slut. Lisbeth can be all three. The great part of that is it makes her human. Let's face it a woman can be all three because there are times when she's a innocent, bitch, and/or slut. In the media, there is always one female character who fits in one category and another female character who fits in the other, but she can't be more than one, which is off and messes up people's reality about others.

Lisbeth is very smart, but doesn't show it because she is asocial. She is a hacker genius; she is able to break through any firewall. She is a Ward of the State, which means by law she must always have a guardian because she is declared clinically insane and retarded. However, the reason she got there (spoiler warning) is because at the age of 12, she tried to kill her father "I got 80% of him," which gets into details in the second book. (Can you guess how she tried to kill him in volume two?) Because she is declared insane and retarded, she is suppose to have a guardian.

It is a wonder in the first book, why she is declared insane and retarded by the state because she is very capable on her own. She has been convicted of assault, underage drinking, and using drugs, but she isn't a bad person. In the scene when Lisbeth gets mug, you can see her emotions on her shoulders. She hesitates for a second because in the back of her head, she knows what will happen to her if she tries to get her backpack back. She goes after the mugger and assaults him. People around start to record the attack, which I hate because those people won't record the whole story. She gets her backpack back and is able to get on the train in time. When the camera gets close to her expression, I can see that she isn't angry, but frightened of what will happen to her if she is convicted again, and then she gets anger when she finds her laptop broken.

Her first guardian Palmgren, who surprisingly more of a role in the Fincher's movie. You don't see her interact with him until the second book because Palmgren has a stroke and left in a coma for the first book. In the book, there is interaction with Lisbeth's mother, who probably has something mentally wrong with her because she can't recognize that the daughter who is visiting her is Lisbeth, not her twin. Some think that it's hard to tell the difference between twins; however, Lisbeth looks so different from normal people she probably looks different than her sister because based on how the sister is described in the second book, she can't look like Lisbeth.

After Palmgren gets a stroke, Lisbeth is assigned a new guardian, her rapist, Bjurman. Bjurman took advantage of his position (like rapists do) and took control of her finances. In the book, he says she's a prostitute that he can pay with her money, which makes him grin. When Lisbeth comes to get money out of her account to pay for a new laptop after hers got broken in a mugging, he forces her to perform oral sex on him. In the movie, the scene made me want to step out of the room because we can see him taking pleasure out of forcing what he believes is a mentally disable woman to perform oral sex on him (*Side note: people who are disable have a higher chance of getting rape or sexually assaulted because people who take care of them have power over them and believes they are mentally or physically incapable of reporting them, *Rape Crisis Center).

First thing that can come up to people's mind, why didn't she report it? If you don't know the answer to that, you should start researching rape and how crappy the legal system is. In Lisbeth's case, she is considered retarded, so many would not take her seriously. If you put her next to Bjurman who is a successful lawyer, while she is a convicted felon, she won't be taken seriously based on that, too. She has her DNA on him, but he can claim it is consensual (that excuse is used a lot by rapist).

When she asks him to access her money for food, he takes this opportunity again to rape her again. In the movie, he puts her in a neck hold until she passes out. He chains her on the bed and wraps her mouth to prevent her from being heard as she screams for help. It also shows him ripping her clothes off. The question comes in like the book "Do you like anal sex?" Lisbeth continues screaming. She later gives up because no one is going to rescue her and he isn't going to stop. My friend next to me, who hasn't read the book covered her eyes. I couldn't look away because of how horrible this scene was.

When she goes home to take a shower, the camera shows the bruises and stuff coming out of her as the result of the rape. I know rape and the aftermath is horrible, but when shown directly to me, it's harder to stomach than the stories I've read about rape and the details rape victims give.

For Lisbeth, she gets some kind of pay back that sorta satisfy her (From what I hear, rape victims don't ever feel they have "pay back" even if they're lucky enough to get their rapist gets convict). She comes back to Bjurman's house to ask for some money to pay her rent. When he lets her into his apartment again, Lisbeth tasers him to knock him out cold. I cheered for her at this point because I know what's going to happen to him next, however, what she does to him is hard to look at, too. While reading, I was smiling a bit because that pig got what was coming to him. (Note: I do know there are male victims, I apologize for that remark if that offends you.)

Lisbeth tied him up on the end of his bed. She shoves a long metal dildo up his ass and at one point she kicks him while it's in there. She reveals that she recorded him "raping a mentally disable girl" and threatens to broadcast it everywhere on the internet, media, and to the police. Even if she dies, it will automatically broadcast. She tells him that based on the state it is true, "I am insane" (I rooted for her when she said that because the camera zooms on her face covered with her eyeliner she does look crazy, but she's cool looking like it). She orders him to return control of her finances, leave her alone, report to the guardian bureau that she is doing well, and months later, recommend the guardian bureau that she should no longer be a Ward of the State. Her last demand is that he no longer has sex with any other women. To make sure he follows the last demand, she tattoos his abdomen "I AM A RAPIST PIG" (In the book, she also put SADIST). When she's done, he passed out and she left him a tool to untie himself.

Holy crap, I know that's a lot of horrific details. Since I studied rape in some of my classes, it's hard not to focus on it because these scene did have a huge effect on Lisbeth's character. How Mara shows it that after Lisbeth gets revenge on the rape, she somehow feels freer from everything. Lisbeth gets more promiscuous, which happens with rape victims. She sleeps with Mimmi Wu, who I should have gotten to know more than a one night stand in the movie because she does play an important role in Lisbeth's life.

When Mikael comes into the picture, Lisbeth's life is thrown into the mystery behind the death of Harriet Vanger. When Mikael (Daniel Craig) asks her "I want you to help me catch a killer of women." There is a click in Lisbeth's eyes that I can see how this effects her personally. Lisbeth later sleeps with Mikael, well she really jumps on him. She and Mikael's relationship develops a little more in the movie than the book. Maybe it looks like the relationship develops more because I can visually see it. After she rescues him from the serial killer, they lay side by side to each other as he asks her a personal question: "How does a 23 year old become a ward of the state?" Lisbeth bluntly gives him the answer. His reaction, "Oh." Their relationship continues until after she helps him trash the same company that destroys Mikael's credibility in the beginning of the book/movie. In the book she was going to give him an Elvis cut out, but in the movie, she buys him a custom leather jacket that resembles one she found him in during his younger days. Like the book, when she sees Mikael with his partner, she throws away the gift broken hearted.

I do like the much more character development in the movie. The details Fincher took out and changed, I didn't mind as much as other Dragon Tattoo fans do. I love how Mara makes Lisbeth much more human than the book did. In the book, she is too different for readers to remember she is still human with emotions and is much more complex than an asocial hacker genius. I was a bit distraught that the rape scene is more graphic than I was expecting. I know it is anal rape, but I didn't expect most of her body to be expose because in the book, she still had her shirt on and her pants should still be half way on. I do agree with this article about how Hollywood movies handle rape to be more sexual than violent (http://natashavc.tumblr.com/post/14813977472/what-makes-a-good-rape-scene-if-we-are-to), which rape isn't. Rape is about control not about sex, which Bjurman had a lot at one point and Lisbeth takes back in the next. Think about it. All in all, I'm not pissed off like other fans who didn't like Fincher's interpretation of the book. I thought he did a decent job and wouldn't be angry if he makes Girl Who Played With Fire.

This year, there is construction on one of the busiest freeways in California, 405. (http://www.octa.net/wc_overview.aspx) I'm from Orange County and I go up the 405 to get to Cal State Long Beach. 7th Street Exit, which is basically the 22 West, is closed. It's the exit students usually took on their way to the campus because it spits us out right there. I didn't mind when they started construction in the beginning of the year because it was Spring semester, all the students who stopped showing up in the fall don't come back in spring. During the summer, I worked in Long Beach and the only time I've experienced bad traffic was when there was a car accident on the freeway. Now that the fall semester has started there is more tension on the freeways.

Cal State Long Beach is a commuter school. A good percentage of students are from the OC and believe since the school isn't so far away they don't need to dorm or live near campus--let's face it, it's expensive. The first week of school, traffic was mild and parking was decent, but I left home at 7:30am. I don't let the traffic get to me because I leave the house an hour and thirty minutes before my class starts, I know I won't be late. I'm pretty sure a lot of people who use this freeway during the summer was surprised about the amount of cars jamming the freeway.

A few weeks later, a bunch of students stop showing up to school because they don't understand the responsibility they must have to be in college, but that hasn't made traffic easier or made people nicer. I've seen more people giving the middle finger and honking in the last three weeks than I have the past three years I've been going to CSULB. For the first time, I saw the surface street (Westminster/2nd Street) backed up to reach both ends of the Naval Base there because many people are trying to use alternative routes from OC to Long Beach. I've been told by my fellow friends from the OC not to use PCH because it's worst. Nothing is helping ease this tension.

Fortunately, I haven't heard reports of people getting shot on the freeways the news reported a few years ago. I hope it stays that way. I know traffic is bad, but that doesn't mean everyone should have a stick up their asses. I hope many other college students would relax about the traffic. It's SoCal, there will always be traffic. It's best to always leave the house early especially since parking on campus sucks, too. The remodel freeway better be worth it.

My friends had an idea to host a Holiday Masquerade Ball. The moment I saw it, I decided to go all out for it. I really wasn't expecting myself to make everything I did, but it happened. The results, my friends loved my outfit and were surprised that I made it. One of my friends was going to ask me where I bought it.

This is very sad: almost of the pictures that I took for this post are gone due to a computer malfunction. So I can't really show the step by step on how I made the dress, the clutch purse, and the mask. I can walk you through some parts of my adventure and show you where I got the tutorials and ideas for the stuff.

For the dress, I wanted to buy this dress from Windsor:

The dress cost $169.99 without tax. Too much for one night and since it was a "Special Evening Dress" it was not returnable. So I purchased the McCall's Pattern 6075, which is a dress pattern very close to this dress. Sadly, I don't have the skills to do the bead pattern. I don't know anything about beads just that they are pretty, but it wasn't a big lost for me. If you want to make the dress, get that pattern.

When I went out searching a fabric for the dress, I wanted to use the same fabric as the dress from Windsor. Sadly, when I did find it, it was $9.99 per yard (I could understand the price of the dress). I settled for a silk coffin, which I got half off. I choose the blue color because it is my favorite color.

I really struggled with this dress. The bust was the hardest part because of the wrinkle patten it had. I litterally had to redo it four times before I got one half of the bust perfect. I also decided to put some padding inside the bust, not for a push up, but so I don't have to wear those stick on bras.

It took me three months to make the whole dress and in the process I got stabbed on my thumb (the part where the skin and nail start) by my sewing machine--it fucken hurt! When the dress was done, I unstitched many parts of it because it wasn't perfect. I got frustrated because the dress didn't hug me perfectly. Two nights before the ball, I finally hemmed the gown and settled with what I had and put it in the washing machine. To my surprise, the washing machine and dryer made the fabric less stiff and fit well. On the night of the ball, I used fashion tape to make it form the way I wanted it to. I also put the flower on my chest to hold my bust area tighter. (It fell off in the beginning of the ball, luckily only one of my girl friend saw it) Finish results:

Cost of making the dress: $85 total (fabric, thread, pattern, extra fabric because I've made my mistakes, padding for the bust)

I also made the clutch purse I am holding. I've made clutch purses many time as gifts for my girl friends. They each love the purse. Honestly, I don't like the idea of paying almost 20 dollars for one clutch purse. One yard of the fabric I used is around $7.99 can make me three or more purses depending on the size of the clutch purse. I think I'll make a separate post in the near future on how to make a clutch purse. Here's the result without the flowers:


On this purse, the flowers I made came from Threadbanger: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7ARJWsPVXY. This is also a tutorial on clutch purses. I followed some parts of this tutorial, but I went off on my own because I wanted a flap instead of just a zipper. I used cardboard to make the flap and shape the purse.

Cost of this: FREE since I used left over fabric from old designs and the cardboard are from shipping boxes I saved from my textbook purchases on Amazon and Chegg. It is good to reuse and recycle

For the mask originally, I was going to buy it, but I couldn't find one the goes with my dress or price line. I found some on amazon for $6.99 without shipping, but it didn't go with my dress. I went to Peir 1 Imports because a friend of mine told me they sold some at the location in Long Beach Town Center, but their mask cost $28.99 and didn't go with my dress. So I followed this tutorial from Threadbanger: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdKlqp-aiSM

Instead of shaping it on my face, I used my older sister's mask, which she received as a gift from her friend who went to Italy. I used the face side of the mask and put a plastic wrap over it because I didn't want to damage my sister's mask. After three layers, I put it in front of my heater to make it dry faster. It wasn't completely dry, but it was dry enough that it could keep it's shape without the mask. I continue adding more layers. I left it overnight to dry, but it took longer than overnight because it's freaken cold in my room. Here's what it looked like when it was dry:


I painted it black. After I waited for the paint to dry, I put fabric on the face side so it will feel comfortably on my face. I used leftover lace I had from my Greek Goddess costume for a design on the front. (Note: I used hot glue to put the fabric on) I used blue sparkle glue to make it look like the mask has eyeshadow and black sparkles for eyeliner on my mask. I made some flowers out of the left over lace and fabric for my dress using the tutorials for the clutch. Instead of a ribbon to tie it on my face, I used elastic band so I can keep it on my head when I want. Finish results:

Cost: $10 (plaster wrap, gemstones, and paints)

It was a fun night and worth making all of this stuff.

Oh and side note: Happy 2011