"Reality TV Analysis: True Life

True Life: I’m A Single Parent, MTV

True Life is a MTV drama series dedicated to showing the “true” life of families or people and their similar/same daily struggles. The documentary-type show typically focuses on about two to four subjects who are followed through their daily routine.

The theme of this particular episode is life as a single parent.  Thus, the show starts out by introducing a white-middle class woman, Sheena, who is raising her two-year-old daughter.  Twenty-year-old Sheena lives at home with her parents and two younger siblings.  The father of her daughter is not a part of their lives.  Her general attitude toward being single is mostly concern for the development of her fatherless daughter.   She stressed the fact that when she dates she keeps her daughter in mind and does not want to invite anyone not willing to help her.  Throughout the episode, she dates two men; the second one who is the same age as her actually proposes to her after four months of dating. 

For this family, the woman, the mother Sheena, continues to dress up and go out with her friends in order to meet someone.  Her eyes are always on men who she thinks will be able to support the idea of her being a single parent.  And it is within two or three dates that her daughter comes into conversation.  What is more interesting, though, is the fact that she wants to be with someone as well as having someone for her daughter.  Her life is surrounded by motherhood and the need for some companionship is even more pushing for her at the moment.  She is looking to be independent, but still needing a man – a husband.  Upon meeting the second man, Sheena moves from her house and into his house just after his proposal.  She looks happy watching her daughter interacting with her father-to-be.

As a person, Sheena appears to be a young woman looking for a good time since she is very young to be a mother.  However, she may also appear desperate to some as she continuously looks for stable men.  In footage where she is with her fiancé in “their” house, she seems to be dependent on her fiancé emotionally, but also financially.  She couldn’t move out of her parents’ house because of financial troubles.  As a single mother, she is left with fewer options in terms of relationship choices that are either decided by her or by others.  The men that she had dated in the show, those who decided not to date her because of the fact that she had a child, made the choice not to date her because of how she is stigmatized as an unmarried single (young) mother.

The next family is a twenty-year-old Black working class woman, Jocelyn, and her a nine-month-old daughter.  Her fiancé is in prison.  She works a full time job and has little support from her mother so she lives with her father.  Throughout the daily shots of her life, she is spending time with her daughter and trying to work to support them both.  Most, though, are showing the intense discussions she has with her mother where both women are talking about how to raise the young baby girl.  The mother, one from the days before baby care booklets and clinics, wants to give the baby table food, for example.  Jocelyn, however, wanted to give just baby food.  There is a difference between the mothers’ senses of motherhood.  By seeing so, as a viewer, I am seeing a bad and good mother dichotomy pan out.  I caught myself at one point cheering for the grandmother because her voice, in terms of her use of English, and her habits reminded me of my grandmother who managed to raise nine children with my grandfather well.                                                                  

In other parts of the episode, she is talking about her fiancé.  At one point, she makes a video of her and their daughter for him to watch in his cell.  Without him there to help her, she says it is difficult for her to go about her daily routine.  The depiction of their relationship provides only another example for people who are prejudice and/or racist to take proof in the idea of young Black women becoming single parents.  And Jocelyn is trying to be someone who is going to be only single for a bit longer.  She is doing her best to make do with her situation.  If anything, this family portrays the life women live in being juxtaposed to the prison system and single parent life.

The third and final family is white and middle-class with thirty six-year-old man, David, and 6 young children, two four-year-olds, three three-year-olds, and one ten-year-old.  Here, the man “switches” gender roles by being both a father and a “mother.”  He struggles with trying to have a relationship as well as he dates to marry.  For portion of the episode, he talks about the relationship he had with a woman for several months.  He is hoping that she is the one to be a mother to his children.  His ex-wife is someone who left him and her children because she decided she could not handle the stress it brought on.  Later, she actually shows up unannounced to spend time with her children.  David soon after asks her to leave partly because of her illegal visit not discuss within their custody, but also because he is still upset with how and why she decided to leave.  

In this portion of the episode, the women are portrayed as people who cannot handle children.  Since he can only find few women willing to date him, women who are “good” mothers are few and far between.  David’s ex-wife is even depicted as someone who came in and disrupted the life he had made.  Despite the fact that she is their mother, she was portrayed as the villain of the scenario and David was given the role of the good father.

In general, this episode of True Life spoke to the roles of men and women as parents.  As a viewer, I began to feel some pity for the women who were seemed to be just above the surface with their responsibilities.  On the other hand, the man compelled me to sigh and let an “awwww” slip from my mouth.  I think it was my reaction to the “switch” of parental gender roles.  From how my automatic reaction spoke to me, women are natural caregivers and should be more careful of their decision to have children.  But the man received some sympathy in the sense that I was thinking he is doing a great job with something that is not natural for him to be doing.  After thinking about my initial reaction, I found that I actually didn’t feel like that and should not feel like that because relationships and life in general do not take place within a vacuum.  So things like the prison system are working to fulfill some void in the economy.

Even more importantly, the fact that this reality show is perhaps the least affect by script and direction is extremely necessary to pay attention to.  Some “reality” shows are depicting a type of truth that is calling for response from views in a very dramatic way.  This show, however, with little to no scripting shows how in everyday life, watching a show that is not meant to pull from the male or female population, can still show some biased of some sort based on the thoughts and reaction we have.  It shows more so the thoughts that we have and I then I have to wonder where they cam from.  Society is shaping our minds and thoughts.  Our respective cultures give us pictures portraying the normal. 

Event Write Up- Fall Dance Show

The event I went to was the Fall Dance Show. The dance, as we have all heard, featured a dance/performance which included nudity. Thus, I had a bit of trouble even getting into the show. I went to the final performance on Sunday, November 23. The show was a matinee and I had been out the night before and was slightly stressed out, which certainly affected the way I watched the performance.
There were several particularly interesting facets of this event. First, I found it interesting that (probably) because the show contained nudity, the performances were sold out each night. I assume that this is partially because people love all things controversial. Partially, though, sex sells. I think everyone who went, to at least a degree, wanted to see what this Naked Dance was all about.
Dance Shows, to an extent, are always displays of bodies, usually primarily female ones. The distinction between bodies displayed for art and bodies displayed for baser pleasures seems to be a fuzzy one to me. It was interesting, then, to see a dance performance which was explicitly displaying nude bodies in a way that wasn't supposed to be focused on the sexuality of those bodies. I think the dance was done in such a way which pointed out this problem. Why is it that nudity is always sexualized in our society? I don't know now, nor did I know before seeing the dance performance but it certainly made me think more about it. It was mentioned in the piece that there is power/vulnerability involved in nudity. Since nudity is generally closely tied to sexuality, that would imply that power/vulnerability are important aspects of our sexuality as well. In this particular piece, the relationships of power and vulnerability seemed very clear to me. The performers are students at a small college. Their peers, families, and professors were in the audience. Their willingness to stand in front of that group of people nude certainly put them in a position of vulnerability. Thus there was a level of trust involved. The performers had to trust the audience to treat them with respect, which in my opinion happened. It also, though, put the audience in a position of vulnerability, in that they were required to face something with which they were not necessarily comfortable. We don't really live in a society where nudity is a norm.
Another interesting aspect of the dance was that it featured almost entirely white female bodies. I would assume that the ratio didn't match up with that of Macalester as a whole. I'm not sure why this was the way it was. Maybe to an extent because women are more used to having their bodies be displayed, and thus more females were comfortable being in that position. I'm not sure and not entirely willing to speculate because while it is easy to speculate about the motives of society as a whole, there is a whole new level of awkwardness when the motives are those of one's immediate peers.
Finally, I found it quite interesting that few of the dancers featured in other pieces were also in the Naked Dance.

Event Write Up: The MIO Show

I attended the MIO Cultural Show on Nov 15th at 9 pm in the Campus Center. The show is described in the arts and events calendar as " a performing art show that includes dances, singing performances and skits from all over the world. It is a way of celebrating our cultural diversity." Many student cultural organizations choreograph and perform dances and there are some domestic students (both white students and domestic students of color) who perform alongside international students as well.
I'm going to preface my analysis of the MIO Cultural Show by locating myself and acknowledging that while I am critical of how the show represents culture, I am by no means devaluing the hard work on the part of the students who choreograph and perform dances and songs. I also recognize that as a domestic student, I do not have the cultural contexts necessary for understanding fully the performances of dances from other countries and regions of the world.
My questions and critiques are coming from my perspective as a white, middle-class, straight woman who lived in the Northeastern United States until coming to Macalester. My reading of the show has everything to do with who I am and my own cultural context. So with that said, here is my understanding of the context, content, and form of the MIO Cultural Show.
I view the MIO Show in the context of a college that often commodifies and uses the experiences and presence of international students for profit and image. Macalester's commitment to "internationalism" and "global citizenship" often serves to ignore domestic issues and limit the number of domestic students of color on its campus. The discourse on this campus about global citizenship and the Institute of Global Citizenship promotes a discussion of global relationships where considerations of race, power, and privilege are markedly absent. The audience of the MIO Cultural Show is always very large, and includes domestic students, local families/community members, international students, and faculty and staff of the College.
The content of the MIO Show this year consisted of an initial poetry performance of "Africa, My Africa" and dances by a variety of groups and student cultural organizations, as well as a circus acrobatics performance by two domestic students. The event was emceed by two domestic students who had a running skit throughout the whole show. The skit was about two people on a plane, one a Hawaiian "surfer dude" stereotype and the other a stuffy Englishman stereotype. As the two interacted for comedic effect, the jokes revolved around the blandness and stuffiness of the white man as contrasted with the loud goofiness of the Hawaiian man. There were also sections done where the white man dressed in drag and pretended to be a female flight attendant, and jokes about romantic attraction between the two men. The dances in the show were executed with skill and talent, and kept the audience engaged and entertained. Two pieces seemed more political: the dance about Israel which was done in a more abstract/modern dance style, and the hip-hop performance by E-Dash and Chantee Rosado, where he rapped about racism and capitalism.
A lot of the dance performances were done in clothing traditional to the country or region, while others used more hip-hop style clothing. I think the MIO show offers us a chance to have an interesting discussion about agency and self-representation. Many of the dances feature female students performing highly sexualized dance moves to the cheers of the audience, and some employ racialized sexual stereotypes. Are these engagements with stereotypes purposeful? Are they meant to be ironic or critical? Are they simply performing in ways they know the audience wants to view them? How are they received by audience members? During the chair dance by Asian female students, which featured highly sexual dance moves and seemed to reinforce stereotypes of the sexy and "exotic" Asian woman, a girl sitting behind me commented to her friend, "It wouldn't be the MIO Show if there wasn't at least one slutty dance!"
One dance in particular provides an interesting example. At one point in the show, a group of women performed a belly dance. Towards the end of their dance, a male student began to throw napkins on the stage. To my eyes, this resembled cash being tossed at strippers, and was an offensive, disrespectful act. The people sitting around me, a few of whom were female international students, groaned and rolled their eyes at this. We later talked about how this act of throwing napkins seemed to cheapen the dance and take power away from the dancers.
When I brought this incident up in class, Krasi spoke about the different cultural context from which he viewed the dance. He raised the point that in Turkey, Greece, and the Middle East, the throwing of flowers and napkins at belly dancers is seen as a sign of respect and appreciation. This was an interesting point and caused me to think about my own critique and cultural context. I feel that the issue is deeper than simply "It's offensive" or "It's not offensive." This raised several questions for me: Given that sexism and the performance of gender manifest in different ways in different cultures, how do we have a conversation about the reading of a dance that takes into account both its origins and its translation to a new audience? What do the women in the dance think about all this? How do we teach each other about our cultures in a meaningful way that addresses or attempts to transcend stereotypes? How do I, as a white American woman, critique what I see as sexism in a culture different from my own, without falling into the discourse of "colonial feminism", i.e., trying to save brown women from brown men?
The MIO show offers us a chance to think about the representation of culture here at Macalester and in a larger context of global relationships and the workings of systems of power. It gives us the opportunity to think about what it means to employ a feminist lens cross-culturally.

Reality TV analysis

For my reality TV analysis I watched America’s Next Top Model with my sister. I have totally mixed feelings about the show, and since I do not regularly watch it, I don’t know if I am qualified to comment on it. I think the sole emphasis on the body is definitely unhealthy, but if that is what these girls are really passionate about and really love, who am I to judge? I do think having these types of shows in our media portrays a false and unhealthy beauty ideal.
The show is aired on Wednesday nights at 8/7 central on CW, which is a pretty big station. This is the same time that Obama’s half-hour commercial aired, illustrating how this time block is the ultimate prime time. One of the interesting things about this show is that Tyra is the host, the creator, and one of the producers. It is very much her show. Because of this, the show must reflect her ideas and hopes about the world. The list of other producers, directors, editors, make-up artists, and other people involved in the show consists of hundreds of people, which is probably partially because it is in its 11th season. It would appear that this show is targeted mostly at young girls and women, because they are the ones who are stereotypically chiefly interested in modeling, although I would argue that it is also at least somewhat also targeting gay men, due in part to the amount of queer men on the show, and the stereotype that gay men are also interested in fasion.
The episode I watched was the “makeover,” which was an interesting commentary on the idea of beauty. The biggest problem I have with a “makeover” show is that it insinuates that all of them need to change in order to be ideally beautiful. There seemed to be little rhyme or reason to the make-overs, apart from the fact that they wanted everyone to be more “edgy.” The blondes went brown, the brunettes went blond, ones with short hair got extensions, girls with long hair got it cut. One girl they decided to make “racially ambiguous” which I thought was a very interesting decision. They gave her really thick wavy reddish hair, and Tyra said that every little girl looking at her could se themselves in her. The girl appears to be Caucasian, though I am not totally sure, but the racial ambiguity seems to boarder on exociticization. And, from what I could tell, none of the African American girls had natural hair at all, which suggests that natural hair is not attractive, and extensions and relaxation and other changes are necessary to have ideal hair. Another problematic quote was “every girl deserves to be pretty,” suggesting that the girls weren’t pretty already, but they deserve to be pretty so they will become pretty.
I wonder about some of the financial aspects. At the end they eliminated a girl, and told her she had to leave immediately and go home. But who paid for the ticket? Last minute plane tickets are extremely expensive; did the show pay for it, or did they make the girls pay for it? If the girls had to, that is extremely classist and unfair.
The girls are only ever depicted shopping, talking, or primping, from what I could tell. They were never shown reading, writing, or even listening to music. Not doing anything intellectually stimulating; indeed, even the conversations weren’t very sophisticated. This might be an unfair statement, because the audience is at the mercy of the editors as to what we are privy to, and maybe one of the girls was reading Anna Karenina on the side. But, even if this is the case, it is interesting that the editors did not choose to show the girls in more substantial activities. As far as I could tell, all of the girls were between 18 and 23, which is the typical college age, but they never spoke about whether or not they were in school or wanted to be in school. Perhaps they mentioned this on the first episode when they introduced everyone, but I think leaving this out takes agency away from them and promotes the idea that a girl should be pretty and thin, but not educated.
My sister argues that America’s Next Top Model is good because it has a variety of contestants, including various races, a mentally disabled girl, a plus-size model, and queer women, including, on season that I watched an episode of, a trans woman. I am skeptical of the motives behind these choices, and I worry that they were just to make the show more interesting and to increase viewership. However, I suppose even if this is the case, it is still good that different people get a chance to be on such a popular TV show. But, I still don’t know how I feel about it, because how many times do these girls actually win? How long do they stay on? Have they ever had anyone who is physically disabled? Has there ever been an American Indian? How far are they willing to push the boundaries, and when/where is the limit?
Amy Adele Hasinoff has an interesting article about these questions, though her article is mostly focused on race. It is called “Fashioning Race for the Free Market on America’s Next Top Model.” She argues that the explicit discussion of race on the show has been commoditified, especially narratives of racial self-transformation. One of the show’s winners had to “overcome” her rural Southern accent, because it would not be acceptable for her to have it as a model. Hasionoff uses the girl’s accent to illustrate how the girl when from “Southern rural African American” to “hip-hop glam African American,” and the show ultimately supports and celebrates this transformation by naming her the winner. One quote that I thought really demonstrates her argument is that race is “hyper-visible as a malleable commodity yet simultaneously invisible int herms of historical and structural social inequalities.”
Age is also interesting. As I said, the girls on this season were between 18 and 23, and the oldest competitor was 26, according to a Wikipedia article. The youngness of these girl implies that late teens and early twenties are the ideal age for beauty, and any older than that it is too late. At one point Tyra said something about a woman who modeled in her “time,” suggesting that Tyra modeled a long time ago, and that is way over. Tyra is 34, and incredibly beautiful, but apparently too old to model.
I am sure there are reality TV shows that promote worse body ideals and images, but I’m also sure there are better ones. Americas Next Top Model may not be extremely horrible, but there are definitely aspects to it that are unfair and, in my opinion, unhealthy and negative.

Reality Analysis: A Real Chance At Love

After getting kicked off of VH1 spin off, “I Love New York”, brothers “Chance” and “Real” were unfortunately given their own spin off, “A Real Chance at Love.” On the show seventeen women compete for a chance at love with either “Chance” or “Real” whose actual names are Ahmad and Kamal Givens. The latest episode of “A Real Chance at Love” consisted of a very angry Kiki calling Lusty's dead mother a bitch, Real and Chance in a limo, secretly watching the lady contestants chase stubborn animals around a farm they were asked to clean and Kiki licking chocolate off of Real's nipple in an attempt to really charm him. In short, everything that a “Real Chance at Love” symbolizes is an enforcement of patriarchy and racial stereotypes.
The story behind each womens name on the show is the logical place to start when analyzing the show. The trend in naming the female contestants began on “Flavor of Love” when Flavor Flav named each women based on something he observed about her (such as, Deelishes and Thing 1 and 2) making them in essence his property while on the show. On “A Real Chance at Love” the womens names include “MILF” the name of a woman with a 9 year old child and “Sexy Legs.”
During the episode, at one point MILF goes to talk to Real and on her way out says, “So long future baby daddy.” This loaded term used in this context is highly racialized. By referring to Real as a future baby daddy and not husband or companion MILF represents Real as someone who would at best get her pregnant but not marry her. This inherent lack of expectation is not one found on dating shows with mostly white contestants like the Bachelor where the women and men claim to be looking for marriage and companionship. In this “A Real Chance at Love” reinforces the stereotypes of the black man as a hypersexual, irresponsible, thug only capable of impregnating a women and abandoning her.
While roughly a third of the show consists of actual “test” for the women, the other three fourths focus on the women exposing their bodies to Real,Chance (and everyone else in the house), fighting one another, talking about each other behind their backs. In this space women will betray and fight each other for Real and Chance who are always the judges. A “Real Chance at Love” represents women as reliant on men and takes away all of their personal agency as they are all in a position where they are almost always willing to do anything to stay on the show. In Shooting People Sam Brenton writes,
“By manufacturing game worlds into which they slot their non actor casts, creating pressurized and untested environments, where people are manipulated in cruel and extreme ways and begin to display the confusion and loss of perspective of the incarcerated, these productions use their power without adequate or sufficient transparent checks and safeguards”( 9). I found this comparison of the environments that these shows create to prison very interesting. Although we only think of shows like survivor as obviously manipulating people in cruel ways, “A Real Chance at Love” does it to the same extent. By putting these women in intentionally difficult living conditions and preventing them from interacting with the outside world in any real way, the producers do create a prison where they have the power to do whatever they want unchecked.
The way the women look on the show is continually skewed. During personal interviews with the women slow carnival music often plays making whatever they're saying automatically sound idiotic. When the women are filmed on dates with Real or Chance this music usually plays when the women attempts to share something personal. This effect makes it so that no matter the situation the women are always in a position in which they are not as intelligent or as clever as Real and Chance and always at their mercy. In the episode that I watched after Kiki calls Lusty's deceased mother a bitch, Real asks her to apologize and later on camera she says, “I don't want to apologize to these girls, but if its going to make Real proud of me then I'll do it.” This is a key example of how for some reason she is incapable of apologizing because she as a person knows that she should but because Real has told her to do so. Watching these shows I honestly can't believe that these women are as dumb, or as mean as they seem. In this prison that “A Real Chance at Love” creates, the producers control every aspect of what viewers see, including what the contestants do or do not show; and the women do everything they can to acquire their own spin off. Unfortunately these ladies have no control of what everyone else sees once they take their position behind the camera. Like prisoners they sign away their agency upon their entrance into the world of reality television.

Reality TV Analysis: The Housewives of Atlanta Georgia

I suffered through 45 minutes of the lovely television program known as “The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Georgia” thanks to Hulu. Hulu is great, because the commercials are short, and honestly I don’t think I would have been able to watch 15 minutes more of this absolutely infuriating TV show. 11412^^43vbasjklfjqekla234kljfkas (an outward expression of my frustration)

The program itself follows the lives of five housewives in the Atlanta area (notably none of them seem to live in the city itself…): Lisa, DeShawn, Nene, Kim and Sheree. Only one of the participants is characterized as being white on the show (Kim), and one of the participants is biracial (Chinese and African-American). The other three participants all appear to be African-American. This episode (#4: Bring on the Bling) follows the short narrative line of a benefit gala put on by DeShawn at her private home for her foundation to support girls with self-esteem issues. Due to poor planning, the gala is a huge flop and DeShawn is out $20,000. Other big events include going to the spa and Lisa getting a successful jewelry distribution deal.

In terms of industrial specifics, the show is aired on Bravo and produced by True Entertainment, a subsidiary of Endemol, the international production and syndication group that made the infamous Big Brother series, as well as Deal or No Deal. It appears that season one has been completely aired on Bravo at this point in time.

As I watched the program on Hulu, a streaming television site on the web, it was hard to tell exactly who the target audience was by just looking at the advertisements (there were only four of five ads throughout the entire program… a nice and welcome change). But the program itself seems to glamorize the lifestyle of the idle, rich housewives of upper-middle class gated communities. Conspicuous consumption is what it is all about. Kim sees a bracelet she likes for over $15,000 dollars and buys it in a snap. NeNe puts down nearly $7,000 for a custom tailored suit for his son. There are Escalades everywhere. These people are portrayed as living “the good life.” Having taken the conspicuous consumption that goes on in the program into account, I’m going to say this program is aimed at lower-middle and lower class America. Only the flash of capital could make anyone want to watch this program…

Where do I begin? Should I start with the problematic “I am smart somewhere under all this blonde hair” or “You are the black version of me?” Instead I think I would like to quote Kim and just say that the whole show is just “fucking bizarre.”

In terms of structure the episode was simple. The gala sets the show up as a 45 minute long narrative, with the aftermath of the gala as the endpoint of the story. Handheld cameras, one-on-one cinema-verite-like interview sessions and participants using the speakerphone option on their cellular devices all lend the production an air of reality.

However, there are just a couple of times where I was left saying to myself that these people could not possibly be this stupid. For instance, when Kim goes to a French restaurant and picks up a menu and then exclaims “What is this, poisoned fish?! What language is this?” after confusing the French poisson with the English translation right next to it. I think in ways like this (I’m assuming that this was scripted, I really am) the program tries to attract viewers with what Susan Murray and Laurie Ouellette call “our desire for the authentic… [which] paradoxically hinges on our awareness that what we are watching is constructed and contains ‘fictional’ elements” (Reality TV: Remaking Television Culture, Introduction, 5).

There was also the appearance of a queer character on the show. Being a gay identifying male he was of course a hairstylist (sarcasm mine). Thanks for breaking the mold, Bravo. Thanks. NeNe’s hairstylist “gay boyfriend” helps her pick out a suit for her son. NeNe quickly warns Dwight (the “gay boyfriend”) that he has to “stay away from the pink,” to which Dwight responds that he is “comfortable with [himself]” as if being comfortable with pink was a qualifier for being queer. Hmm….

But perhaps most interesting about the show is how it deals with questions of race, as well as how it represents them. At first glance it seems odd and maybe even subversive that four out of five of the women on the show are women of color. But implicitly the message seems to be one of containment. Best put by one of the participants themselves, the message is “don’t be a hater because other people have it and you don’t.”

Demographically, the number of people of color in the upper-middle and upper classes of America is just not that big (and definitely not 80%). In the end, the program does not simply present reality and race, but tries to produce it and make the interlocking issues of race and class unproblematic (Reality TV: Remaking Television Culture; Country Hicks and Urban Cliques: Mediating Race, Reality and Liberalism on MTV’s The Real World by Jon Kraszewski, 179). This issue of race on the program is an issue of what is and what is not making it into the frame of our television sets. The program makes it seem as though race is no longer a socio-economic issue. And as long as “success narratives” like these are propagated by the mass media, America’s race problems will be largely ignored and voices of dissent silenced.

Making consumption political...

An event that I felt compelled to write about was a panel discussion that I helped to organize related to the recent labor/human/animal rights violations in Postville, Iowa. In the past few decades, Postville has come to be known for the hybridity of its community; the town is an amalgamation of white, Christians individuals, the Orthodox Jewish community, and Mexican and Guatemalan immigrants. More recently, Postville has been the subject of controversy when immigration officials raided a kosher meat processing plant, Agriprocessors this summer, in which 388 workers were imprisoned in a federal penitentiary and/or deported – as one of the panelists noted, this incident marked the first federal criminalization of illegal immigration in the U.S.

The panel consisted of Professor Rachleff from the History Department, Rabbi Morris Allen of Beth Jacob synagogue, Melissa Rudnik from Jewish Community Action (JCA), a local non-profit committed to affordable housing, immigration justice, and racial justice, and Abby Seeskin, a junior at Macalester who interned with JCA. I was impressed by the variety of perspective and critique that these panelists provided, and I think that each was able to couch the argument uniquely within the framework of a social responsibility to engaging these issues. As the panelists established, what occurred in Postville affords us the opportunity – or serves as a microcosm, a crucible so-to-speak – to dissect a host of issues related to globalization, migration, labor rights, animal rights, and adherence to Jewish dietary laws. Though the intersections between these issues may seem a bit unclear, I think that the panelists did a phenomenal job of putting these systems into dialogue with one another.

Professor Rachleff framed what occurred in Postville as emblematic of shifts in labor and labor rights, especially within the meatpacking industry. The meatpacking industry has become more decentralized so that plants reside not in their traditional locations – Omaha, Kansas City, Saint Paul – but in small Midwestern towns like Willmar, MN, and Postville, IA. Beyond location, the experience of workers in the industry have changed with regard to unionization and wages. The level of engagement between union organizers and management has decreased in this process of decentralization, and real wages have dropped by 44% – the result is that employees are working in harsher, more dangerous conditions for longer periods of time with less pay. Furthermore, the high numbers of immigrants from Latin America illustrate how globalization operates both within and outside the United States – both a deterioration of jobs in the industry, a bifurcation of jobs in general in the nation as well as immigration resulting from a variety of political and economic establishments.

What I found particularly compelling about the aftermath of the raid is the way in which people are moving these ideas and organizing around them; a group of individuals from the Twin Cities (working in conjunction with local leaders) traveled to Postville to show solidarity with the workers and their families who had been imprisoned/deported and left without any means of sustaining their families and community economically. Similarly, a local group called Hekhsher Tzedek has been established to examine kosher certification from a labor rights perspective and is gaining visibility in the Twin Cities and across the nation. As the panelists argued, what occurred in Postville serves as an impetus to reevaluate how we consume as a political act – in addition to the traditional importance placed on the animal and slaughtering process. Essentially, the discussion underscored the necessity to break the complicity of the Jewish community (and the larger community) with regard to this issue – to take responsibility for the process by which our food is made and to bring this notion of sacredness to encompass the human dignity of these workers.

ANTM - Reality TV Analysis

As I sat to watch the premiere episode of the 11th season of America’s Next Top Model, I prepared myself to deal with some Deep culture. In describing my experience, I hope that it is OK that I spend less time summarizing the program (by incorporating its traits throughout my discussion) since it has such a popular appeal and is frequently discussed in the presence of even non-viewers.

I first thought, “wow, this show is already at 11 whole seasons!” Then, I considered the role of social capital in the rise of the media industry; analogous to the quality associated with a company’s brand… and with that realization I’ve found ANTM to be a vital cultural barometer as much as a cultural creator/perpetuator. The show has remained dynamic enough to attract more and more of the people I had least expected to watch an American Beauty competition…

I realized, that as much as this show promoted the public and personal scrutiny of women’s appearances … (below is an image of the Body Scanner used in the beginning of the show, which was necessary to gauge explicit “profitability” based on “data” collected on the contestants) … it has provided its large viewing constituency with consistent delivery of “controversial” content.



“Who’s Technologically Bankable” – Tyra
“No way he’s hitting me in the money maker”… Brittany S (referring to her face and practicing for ultimate fighting with her ultimate fighter boyfriend)

The reason I bring up the issue of scrutiny is that it is the basis of ANTM’s “expertise” (often, and arguably embodied by Tyra’s role and public life); the show is seen as a system for analyzing female beauty. The fashion/modeling industry has seen a rise in global interest (there are “copy cat” programs in almost 20 countries); and advertisers have benefitted from not only a large viewing audience, but also one that is more or less focused on beauty as the avenue to a variant of the American Dream.

One of the contestants, Joslyn, is from a “disadvantaged area” in Los Angeles and her interview snippet also highlighted her motive to be an example of the American Dream: with enough effort, anything can be done. I have realized that it’s important to consider dreams for what they embody: hopes for the future.

I think that although ANTM can and often is dismissed as another institution upholding rigid and often unattainable beauty standards… it has emerged as a leader in bringing important questions about personal standards of beauty to “the masses”. Not only has the show’s publicity benefited from incorporating some “spice” into their line-ups, but it has raised our social consciousness of marginalized identities while in hot pursuit of the show’s overarching goal of popularity, influence, and profit.

Even if the American Dream is not necessarily attainable in absolute truth for all, it has inspired many and given them a means of coping with the micro inequities they face daily. When “Alpha” Jay, as one of the three “judges” proclaimed that he believed transgendered people (re: Isis) could overcome the prejudices they face to become successful (in the modeling industry), I did want to cry out for joy… but I also wanted to shout out loud that that this doesn’t make it OK for trans people to live in our society! But, not only was Jay speaking as an authority (perhaps one that is admired in his own respect by ANTM’s fan base), in doing so he may have changed some minds over… and ANTM gave Isis a way to strive for her goals while forever impacting many viewers of the show.

This brought me back to a quote found in Kirk & Okazawa-Rey’s intro to the third chapter: Women’s Bodies and Beauty Ideals; Elise Matthesen speaks of large women: “We have a right to take up space. We have a right to stretch out, to be big, bold to be ‘too much to handle.’ To challenge the rest of the world to grow up, get on with it, and become big enough to ‘handle’ us…” I guess this is what ultimately made me feel OK with Isis saying that she was on the show with no political agenda… it reminded me that many of us continue to do important work in pushing boundaries every day.

Two other things that have influenced my thinking on this issue are:
A NYTimes opinion piece (relating India & U.S.) highlighting the American Dream’s importance to our society’s level of optimism … http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/weekinreview/23anand.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2&em&oref=slogin
&
A tribute site I saw on a friend’s Facebook status for the Transgender Day of Remembrance: http://www.transgenderdor.org/?page_id=58

And this is just because I think I fell in love with Sheena a little:

What other prices are there?

On November 20th, in Olin Rice, Robert Jensen came to Macalester to speak at a screening of the film, The Price of Pleasure, about the pornography industry and its effects on our society. Before the film started, he spoke a bit about himself and his work with pornography. His interest started in 1st amendments rights, freedom of speech and grew to include whiteness and violence against women. As there grew a feminist anti-pornography movement, Jensen became interested and involved in that dialogue, looking at how pornography (in addition to other forms of mainstream media) support and perpetuate systems of domination and violence. His last comment before starting the film was about two paradoxical trends he has noticed in the last 20 years of his work with pornography:
-on one hand, there's a trend in the content toward more cruel and degrading portrayals of women, and more overt racism
-at the same time, pornography has become more mainstream, normalized, and centralized in our society (not to say that there are no critiques)
He asked: how is it that pornography could, at the same time, become more naturalized in our society, and at the same time continue on toward more extreme patterns of male domination and degradation of women?

The creators utilized multiple voices to create the narrative of this film. There were clips from interviews with: anti-pornography activists, porn actors and directors, college students with exposure to porn, adult men who explained how pornography affected their sex lives, people at pornography conventions, and women who had been directly affected by partners' use of pornography (and I'm sure I'm missing some other sources). I thought it was fairly comprehensive look at mainstream pornography trends through its producers, consumers, actors, and critics. Some of the more poignant and disturbing points/quotes that I heard were:

An exchange that was juxtaposed thus:
Scene 1: A male producer or consumer (I can't remember which) says: "We live in a free-enterprise system where women can make a quarter million dollars a year on their bodies"
Scene 2: A female anti-porn activist: "It obscures a fundamental question - why do we live in a society where economic inequality is so normalized. So that women must sell themselves - and the most intimate parts of themselves - to make money?"
So, the directors are taking arguments for the "empowerment of women" through buying into the commodification and assignment of value to their bodies and bringing them close to feminist arguments against pornography as one of the most lucrative fields for women. In addition, it appeals to the humanity of the viewers in sympathizing with the very gendered nature of the entertainment industry - the decisions women must make and what they must subject themselves to in order to make good money in entertainment. And this isn't only in pornography, this goes into music as well and Hollywood films. In music videos, even when the artists have such superstar status as Britney Spears or Madonna, they are filtered through the lens of the directors, and end up often being objectified and sexualized for the pleasure of, largely, the viewing males (but not exclusively). And, one point of the film is: this objectification and sexualization in mainstream media has become more blatant and normalized, as a result of pornography's widened acceptance and normalization.

Another similar dyad is the quote: "it's all about choice," which I believe was said by a male at one of the pornography conventions in relation to women acting in pornography.
Feminist critic: "when your best choice is taking off your clothes and sticking toys in your cunt for money, I think here's a real problem with the labor system."
This was some serious stuff...I mean, I was just so taken aback. The second quote really breaks it down, and it makes me want to add my own questions: "this is what you call choice? This is a good job to you?" (and that's not to say that women can't or don't enjoy acting in pornography, I'm trying to get at the fact that these male viewers aren't even questioning the enjoyment and pleasure they receive from this system of commidifying women's bodies). A lot of these guys don't even think about how watching pornography influences the ways they see women. I heard a quote from one guy who claims to, in different words, compartmentalize his views of women into a "good girl, bad girl" dichotomy, where the women in pornography, he has no respect for, yet he respects women as a whole. This reminds me of the discussion about the use of "bitch(es) and ho(s)" in Hip-Hop and the idea of "that's not me they're talking about." His claim is, in effect, saying that when he's not watching pornography, he leaves that world behind, and enters the "real world" where he respects women as completely different from those who choose (or "choose") to be in porn. So...how does that work? It doesn't. The women are the bad ones, of course, not the system in which they live, where, as quoted above, their "best choice is taking off [their] clothes and sticking toys in [their] cunt[s] for money...," and that's one of the least extreme acts that women have to do in the pornography industry.

Speaking of extremity, during the section Harder and Harder, there were a lot of very disturbing and provocative quotes. I think the most insightful (for me) thoughts came from this section.
"The future of U.S. porn is violence." Disturbing.
"Pornography takes violence against women and sexualizes it. And when you sexualize it, you render the violence invisible." YES, this is it. This was like...the holy grail. Don't get me wrong, I'm not happy about this, just that there was such a concise way to sum this up. And I would take that further and extend it to the way that many other dynamics operate in pornography - race, for example. When all of these violent and degrading acts are put under the umbrella of pornography (read: sex, to many viewers), and when it is a common occurrence for boys to be socialized into their sexualities by pornography, these days, and when people spend an increasing amount of time in isolation on computers, listening to iPods, playing video games, etc. and not communicating with other human beings, it becomes accepted as "how it is." At least, in the argument of this film, many of the male testimonies showed that boys had grown up with pornography, thinking that sex was supposed to be violent, that pornography was an accurate portrayal of sex and sexualities, that the acts performed in the films were enjoyable for all parties involved (because the women always "looked" like they were enjoying it too - yet one man's confession that he never thought to question the idea that people would get pleasure from ATM sexual acts...which I don't really want to elaborate, but it stands for ass or anal to mouth. Of course they aren't going to show the cut scenes where the women are gagging or throwing up because it's fucking DISGUSTING). When real sex with another person(s) proves to be inferior to that in the pornographic imagination, these men are forced to fantasize during sex to stay aroused. If that does not prove effective and they don't find sex pleasurable...guess who they take it out on - their partner(s). Of course. And I'm curious how they think women are supposed to know the roles that they're expected to fulfill by their male partners? Pornography is not aimed at women, and they certainly do not watch as much, statistically. But, of course, asking that question would be too critical of these guys who could just sit in front of their computers, alone, without any conflict or challenge, and have a good time. And one final quote from this section:
"Pornography shows the lack of questioning inherent in a system that values and rewards profit by any means possible. They'll explore every kind of sexual perversion, misery, sadness, and torture for which there is a market, and if there isn't a market, then they'll try to create it."

So, to sum up some points of what I'm trying to say:
This film was heavy. It was graphic, showing actual footage from porn videos (blurred out, of course, as if that would magically lessen the impact); it was scary, what (some) people in the industry do, and what trends they see coming; but, perhaps the most influential pieces of this film were the quotes from viewers of pornography. Their matter-of-fact language reflected their entrenchment in privilege - so deep and effective is (white, heterosexual) male-privilege that, for some of these men, there isn't even the thought of questioning the systems or even the porn industry itself, and everything falls on the individual actresses who become "whores," because they'll sell themselves and take part in acts that degrade them. I'm not sure if it was in this class or not, but I heard of a trinary (is that a word?) of types of people - those who read everything at face value, those who think there's something under the surface, and those who take a completely different reading than face value. The men interviewed in this film are, for the most part, the former of the three. I think I find it so interesting because I just don't understand what that's like...at least in this context. I just cannot seem to see into that mindset where porn is just "how it is" and my sexual interactions with other people are not; where those interactions must live up to images, to productions.

A quote from the website of the film: "Going beyond the debate of liberal versus conservative so common in the culture, The Price of Pleasure provides a holistic understanding of pornography as it debunks common myths about the genre."

I found this a bit problematic... "a holistic understanding of pornography" and "pornography" are parts that I'm not sure about. I question how holistic it is, or, to interrogate the other side, what they mean by "pornography." It is a fairly holistic approach, if they are talking strictly about hardcore, mainstream porn. But, I don't recall them ever making a statement of what sector of the porn industry they were looking at, or how the subject of the film fits into the larger body of pornography (I imagine a scale much like that of Hip-Hop, and how mainstream Hip-Hop fits in as a small fraction of the whole culture). Also, this whole film is so focused on "mainstream porn," they don't discuss homosexual or queer pornography, there are maybe two or three contributors/interviewees who are non-white. I'm not sure what the think. It seems that MEF films are very much like this. Beyond Beats and Rhymes suffers from a similar constricted view. Just as Byron Hurt speaks of the box of manhood that black men (and men in general) are put into, the film suffers from being in its own box of "mainstream Hip-Hop." I am a bit concerned that these films do not engage their subjects beyond a certain point. And I do understand that movies have limited amounts of time and budget, but what about just throwing in a sentence or two, even, saying "I know there's so much more out there in this genre, but here's what I'm/we're looking at...."

Breakdancing in Kagin

The event that I chose to attend was the Break Dance Battle in Kagin Ballroom on Macalester's Campus on November 7th.
Although the event was intended to showcase music and break dancing I also found it to be an interesting space to observe representations of masculinity in a very masculine space. The majority of those battling appeared to be boys between the ages of 10 and 16. I suppose this was my first disappointment.
I attended the event hoping to see far more B Girls and only saw two, both of which clearly served the purpose of being “the girl on the team.” When they performed I could physically feel the expectations in the room change the same way they did when the smallest boys performed.
“Oh she's good, for a girl.”
An interesting parallel I drew was between the battle and the movie Paris is Burning about black queer balls. I saw the similarities between the two in the act of “shading.” In Paris is Burning the drag kings and queens use shading as a subtle form of intimidation while competing. One example of this may be miming the act of putting make up on your opponent while participating in a voguing competition. During the break dancing battle I saw the shading when the boys would give pelvic thrust or movements mimicking masturbation after doing a move they believed out shined their opponent. It's interesting to me that these two forms of intimidation were so reminiscent of one another even with one being in a queer context and the other being very heterosexual and masculine.
Another aspect of the break dancing that I was interested in was the fact that the space was not dominated by black males as I expected going in. I don't know a lot about break dancing but I do know it was started in black neighborhoods with hip hop. It was really interesting to see how this art form has been re-appropriated as a form of expression by other marginalized groups.
This being said I can't help be return to my earlier point about the lack of female representation I witnessed. It's too bad that a space thats doing so much good in so many ways still falls victim to patriarchy. Then again, when hasn't this been true?
I'm really glad I attended the break dance battle, although it was at the expense of other important events happening on campus. At times I think that being on this campus prevents me from interacting with real people, in the real world, doing real thing. This is not to romanticize the struggle of those “on the outside” but rather to keep things in perspective.

Events Break Off and MIO Show

NOV7 8:00 PM Bodacious Presents: 1st Annual Fall Break Off
Alexander G. Hill Ballroom, Kagin Commons
Come watch the hottest Breakdance crews from the Twin Cities battle it out during Bodacious Week. The Breakdance battle will be followed by a dance and party. Tickets for the battle sold in the lower level of the Campus Center for $2 or $5 at the door the day of the event. Sponsored by Bodacious.
Nov15 MIO SHOW.
It is part of Bodacious week. A whole week that had interesting cultural events and Friday came. My girlfriend purchased the tickets in advance and we were ready to enjoy a new event in Macalester that we hoped to bring a different perspective for a “Kagin” event. The result was better than expected; the organization was brilliant as there were judges, people for collecting tickets and answering questions.
More than that there was great variety of different crews that battled and the event kept it’s fast pace until the end. There were different parts of the battles – one to one, and crew to crew. All participants came to show their skills and their unique style and it was great to see that. One of the teams had two girls on the team that were very good and the audience liked their performance. They showed that although break dancing is accepted more as a men dance, girls can prove to be very good or better than some men. What I saw in the event reminded me to the talk that Maria gave us and when she explained how hard it was to be accepted as an artist and to be on the same stage with men.
Looking at the audience I saw that there was no separation between girls and boys, all people came to enjoy the Break Off performance and there is no reason to think that girls are not of equal importance of developing of the breakdance culture.
Another very important detail was that breakdance crew were from different ethnicities, there were Asian, Afro-American, Caucasian and other. Teams were not from different ethnicities and they had a common love, the love to break dancing.
Break Off competition is so great because it shows us that it doesn’t matter who you are and if you are girl or boy but if you put the hard work you can obtain amazing skills.
To be part of these crews is a great honor. There were even several boys that were not older than nine that inspired big part of the audience.
Next week, there was another event that I attended and figured out that what we study in the class is interpreted very differently from people from different cultures. In class we share ideas and comment on other’s people writings but it is always different when we express our own thoughts on a subject. The MIO show presented different cultural dances and it tried to show some of the world culture. Some people cannot understand and perceive that belly dancing is a popular and socially accepted dance in Greece, Turkey and the middle east. More than that throwing of flowers, napkins and breaking special plates was a popular way of entertainment in Greece and other Balkan countries. It is very different how the dances are perceived from the audience. A way to show respect and to show appreciation of some of the dances could be wrongly perceived as disrespectful and unacceptable behavior by some people. The cultural borders are made to be broken by people that want to do that. MIO show is trying to give audience a sampler of what is out there and entertain people. It is not to be judged is belly dancing is disrespectful dance for women as there is no one able to judge that as there is no one able to judge if dancing country music or watching a wrestling federation game is not right. Everybody have some cultural flavor to add and that is what makes the world such a great and culturally rich place. Place, where you can find something to amaze you and a place where you can learn a lot. It is not about if you a girl or boy, it is all about who you are.

Pleasure is not Free

Event Name: "Price of Pleasure" film
Date of Event: Thursday, November 20, 2008

I went to the screening of the film “Price of Pleasure: Pornography, Sexuality, and Relationship,” and had the great opportunity to hear Robert Jensen’s talk on the pornography industry. While the film contained some very sexually explicit images (and left me literally numb afterwards) I thought that it was especially important to see everything. As I continue to watch the distributing images in front of me, my hands clenched in fists, and my body tensed, but I could not force myself to look away. I watched on as images of women’s face soaked in cum and scenes of men forcing their genitals down women’s throat appeared onscreen. I was disgusted and horrified. No matter how much I think, I can not come to terms with the fact that pleasure and sex is so often times, associated with brutality.

Before showing the film, Jensen highlighted some very important facts about the pornography industry in which he described as this over-commercialized business that has become mainstreamed. Today, porn is at its peak with mass consumption from all over the world, depicting different genres that targets specific groups of people. For example, with the growing use of the internet today, porn can easily be access by anyone and as a result, kids today are being exposed to porn more than ever before. Little boys learned early on in life that women’s role in the world is to fulfill men’s sexual needs. They are taught that women should be view as sex objects and to believe that they have the power to assert their masculinity over women’s right to be treated as a human being. As a result, little girls are also told that they must exploit their bodies to be considered beautiful.

One of the biggest problems with pornography is that it helps perpetuate male dominance. Proponents of the porn industry argued that they should have “free speech” to express their sexuality. “There’s nothing wrong with having an orgasm!” they said. However, the truth is that pornography has been abused and sex, exploited. Sex is supposed to be a very intimate and somewhat, sacred act between two loved ones. Porn, however, depict derogatory images of women as animals or the hypersexualized schoolgirl who f**** her teacher. A woman from the film expressed her concerns with pornography and how it has affected her relationship with her partner. She talked about her role as a woman to fulfill her partner’s need and the insecurities that arises from it when her partner watches porn.

The most popular type of porn generating the web today is anal sex. Most of the men interviewed in the film were very arrogant of the injustice that porn does to women. According to one of the man, performing anal sex on a woman is a great way to punish her. As porn continue to be incorporate into our everyday life, the line between “fantasy” and “reality” merged and overlapped. As a result, women become victims to rape, domestic violence, and sexual abuse. One interesting point that the film brought up is the fact that pornography dictates sex life instead of enhance it. For example, the more exposure to porn, the more men are unable to receive orgasm. In other words, instead of helping increase sexual pleasure, porn has done the opposite by making it harder to reach sexual gratification.

Even though the film was tough to watch and like Jensen pointed out, one not for the feminist anti-porn movement, the film convey a strong message that was painful, but necessary for discussion. It helps us “see” and reexamine how we look at porn in a way that makes us realize how corrupted our culture is. One thing that I felt has been overshadow is the idea of agency and the right of choice. While it was evident that a lot of female porn stars choose to work in the business by so-called “selling their bodies”, it was also clear that to some of these women, choice was not an option. The point is, choice is not the problem. The problem lies in the content and the context of the pornography industry and how it has shaped our identities and relationships with each others. As a result, this film is a woman’s wound, a men’s guilt, and a society’s responsibility.

Postville Discussion

Bagel Brunch: Postville and Immigration and Labor Rights Discussion
11-2-08
Sponsored by MJO (Macalester Jewish Organization)
Location: Old Main (Macalester Campus)

This event was a panel discussion about the raid in Postville, Iowa on May 12 of a Kosher meat packing plant. The raid was the largest of its kind, with over 390 immigrant workers arrested and detained. The panel consisted of four people: Professor Peter Rachleff, Rabbi Morris Allen of Beth Jacob Congregation, Melissa Rudnick of Jewish Community Action (JCA), and Abby Seeskin, a student at Macalester who did an internship with JCA last semester.

The raid in Postville shed light on the way immigrant workers are treated in the United States. The workers were being paid under minimum wage under unsafe conditions. There were also a number of other aspects of this particular plant that were particularly unsavory. A family of Hasidic Jews owns the plant, however the managers of the plant were two Palestinian brothers who also sold used cars. The workers in the factory were forced to purchase cars from them in order to keep their jobs. Women were also forced to have sex with these men to get/keep their jobs. All of the training materials were in English, even though many of the workers only spoke an indigenous language of Guatemala.

The speakers on the panel filled in much of the background information about the plant in Postville, and then they discussed the ways in which the community has responded. Before the raid itself, members of the Jewish community visited Postville and made recommendations to the owners about ways to make the plant safer, as well as recommending an increase in wages for the workers. The raid has sparked many discussions regarding the Jewish community’s view of immigration, as well as a discussion regarding the kosher food industry itself. There was a huge march in support of the detained workers and their families earlier this year, which involved education about the history of the issues involved in this case. The groups working in Postville have collaborated with a local church in Postville, and they have really focused on local community action.

This raid brings up many problems regarding the food industry as well as issues involving immigration and immigrants’ rights. Because the raid occurred at a kosher meat packing plant, much of the response has been within the Jewish community, although the problems of the case are not exclusive to this one plant. Many of the issues surrounding this plant (such as pollution and treatment of workers) can be seen in many other similar plants throughout the country, and the response of the Jewish community should be a response of the American people.

Prop. 5 Vs The Prison-Industrial Complex.

If Proposition 5 goes down to defeat on Tuesday Nov 4th (it did), the five governors who lined up to condemn it Thursday will have won a Pyrrhic victory. Not one has offered an alternative to Proposition 5 for dealing responsibly with California's prison overcrowding crisis, the exploding prison budget or the outlandish power of a union whose interests lie in incarcerating as many of their fellow citizens as possible.
Full Article:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oew-nadelman3-2008nov03,0,3924232.story

Film Event: "Breakfast with Scot"

I don’t know where to start with “Breakfast with Scot”. It’s Canadian, and Scot has one t (why it’s abbreviated I’ll never know). The film itself was released in Canada in 2007, but has only recently made its way around American art house theaters this fall. It played for a limited time (only about a week) at the Lagoon over in Uptown.

The plot of “Breakfast” is pretty simple. There’s an (gay) ex-hockey player (Eric, played by Tom Cavanagh) who lives with his partner (Sam, played by Ben Shenkman) in a swanky house in a not so swanky neighborhood (is Toronto part of the rust belt now?). His partner unexpectedly becomes the legal guardian of his brother’s son when his sister-in-law dies of a drug overdose. Since the brother is in Brazil, the gay couple is stuck with a kid on their hands (the aforementioned Scot). Awkwardness, love, and searches for a true self ensue.

At the core of the film is the idea that everyone has a true self, and to what degree that true self is oppressed (maybe even erased?) is decided by external forces, i.e. society. I’m always a little wary of true self narratives, as its hard to believe that everyone is born with some inherent essence that makes them exactly who they are. I lean more towards the experience-as-self model of things. But films can be unrealistic, and characters appear in them implying that they have psychologies that have been developed through life experiences similar to mine (I won’t say ours). So uh… pick and chose, yeah?

In any case, Eric (the hockey player) is confronted with his own semi-out-ness by his partner’s brother’s kid, who turns out to be furnished with very pink clothes when he arrives at the couple’s house. In the end, a new kind of family love is born out of all of this and Eric seems infinitely more comfortable with himself and entirely accepting of his newly acquired son.

Most notable about the film’s production is that the NHL and the Toronto Maple Leafs allowed their names, logos, and spaces to be used in the making of the film. This is the first time that a major league sports franchise has ever endorse a queer-themed film.

Alright Canada. Alllright.

READING "REALITY" TV Assignment [due by NOON on 12/2!]

WATCH at least 30 minutes of “REALITY” TV. 60 minutes is recommended (if you can handle it!)



Watch at least one episode of “reality” TV (shows focused on, or targeting women, girls, or queer audiences are ripe for analysis). Makeover, dating, family, weight loss, plastic surgery, model competition, sweet 16s and others would be great choices.

Some suggestions:
Network television examples - Wife Swap, Extreme Home Makeover, American Idol, Survivor, America’s Got Talent, Search for Next Pussycat Doll, Amazing Race, Next Top Model, Apprentice, Beauty and the Geek, Big Brother, Nashville Start
MTV - Juvies, Sweet 16, Real World, Made, 50 cent show, Diddy shows
VH1 - Real Chance at Love
TLC - What Not to Wear, A Baby Story, Surviving Motherhood, Miami Ink, Honey We’re Killing the Kids, Shalom in the Home, My Life As A Child, Bringing Home Baby
BRAVO - Top Chef, Real Housewives of Orange County, Project Runway
WE (Women’s Entertainment) – Bridezillas
OXYGEN – Girls Behaving Badly,

There are many sites on reality TV that could point you to some shows currently airing:
http://www.realitytvworld.com/
http://www.realitytvworld.com/realitytvworld/allshows.shtml
http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/
http://www.realitytvmagazine.com/

You can choose to watch something you watch often (but watch it again critically) or you can choose something you would not watch unless you were forced to. If you don’t own a television, you can view shows online (clips are viewable on some websites or can be purchaed for $1.99 on itunes for PC or Mac).

2. READ CRITICAL ESSAYS (use essays from our book, or browse the articles from the special issue of Feminist Media Studies focused on feminist analysis of “reality” television, available through the library’s searchable database, this database of readings on reality television (http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/realitytv.html) or find a scholarly article that can help you theorize to your “reading” of the show you watched.

3. WRITE AN ANALYTIC BLOG POST on our COURSE BLOG

Your essay should include:

a – A brief summary of the program you viewed (don’t go into EXTENSIVE plot details, just frame the show’s plot line as needed). THINK CONTENT [most significant details]

b – Discussion of the context (where does this program air, when, who produces it and for what purpose). You can find most production companies on the web. Hint: Watch the CREDITS and note the logos at the beginning and end of the programs).

c – A brief discussion of the intended audience (who do you think this show targets). Clue –what sorts of products are advertised during this program (cosmetics, fast food, minivans?)

d –Do a feminist intersectional analysis (a feminist “read”) of the show, using the theoretical concepts we’ve discussed and/or read. Think about how gender, race, class, bodies, identities, and sexualities are represented. Consider the portrayals, stereotypes and processes (like socialization and normalization) at work, the context (what you researched about the show’s producers and distributors), and the (potential) affects on audiences.

!!! Feel free to include image or screen grabs (if you watch your show online), to illustrate points that you may make about form.

!!! Suggested length 800-1000 words (around 2-3 pages). Make sure you cite at least ONE READING to support your analysis!

From today's NYT; related to our discussion about military recruitment strategies today.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/11/business/media/11adco.html?_r=1&ref=business&oref=slogin

Military Recruitment Videos

ARMY FAMILY



Kid Rock "Warrior"



Three Doors Down "Citizen Soldier"



AlJazeera TV: "Latinos become focus for US army recruitment - 10 Oct 07"



Student documentary about military recruitment (6 min)

Lots on Sarah Palin and the Media

There is an image of Sarah Palin, published in the New York Times, in which she appears sitting on a couch, presumably in the Governor’s office in Anchorage, Alaska. On the back of the couch is a bear, a dead bear of course, but with an intact head still attached to the skin. Seeing this bear-as-throw motif, I realized, again, as I do periodically, that I was in a different country...

READ ON

FlowTV is a critical forum on television and media culture published by the Department of Radio, Television, and Film at the University of Texas at Austin. Flow’s mission is to provide a space where the public can discuss the changing landscape of contemporary media.

FLOW Issue 8.10 Special Issue on Sarah Palin and the Media

From Ms. Magazine: Academic Freedom?

Academic Freedom?
The right-wing campaign against women's studies turns a treasured ideal on its head

By Martha McCaughey

Within a month of the horrifying mass murder at Virginia Tech last spring, Phyllis Schlafly was busy on her Eagle Forum blog, blaming left-wing professors.

“Why was [shooter Seung-Hui Cho] consumed with hate, resentment and bitterness?” Schlafly asked. She then pointed to a course taught by Bernice Hausman, a feminist professor in English and former director of women’s studies, whose class syllabus Schlafly found online: “One of the assignments…[was] to ‘choose one day in which they dress and comport themselves in a manner either more masculine or more feminine than they would normally.’”

“It sounds like just the thing,” Schlafly declared, “to confuse an already mixed-up kid.”

Professor Hausman never taught Cho, however. Her theory course was for graduate students. But why let facts get in the way of a good diatribe? Schlafly concluded by asking “why taxpayers are paying professors at Virginia Tech to teach worthless and psychologically destructive courses.”

Schlafly’s vicious attack is just one of many far-right shots fired over the bow of academe. Targeting the “leftist university” as part of a broader political and cultural project to restore America’s “traditional” values, ultraconservative activists condemn women’s studies, ethnic studies, LGBT studies and other scholarship that questions dominant Western culture. Criticisms of this scholarship as “ideological” are not new. Nor are they entirely rational. But they are now particularly well organized.

Women’s studies programs, and even individual feminist scholars, have always had to cope with professors, students, alumni and others engaged in anti-feminist intellectual harassment. On my campus, an alum sends a yearly letter to the dean and other high-ups declaring his horror at our annual Queer Film Series, each time closing his missive, “Heterosexually yours.”

READ ON...

The Coat Hanger Project

This is the film I mentioned in class. The trailer devastated me (personally), so if watching "The Abortion Diaries" or our in-class discussion was too much, this isn't the doc for you.






Click this link to see info about the film. Trailer is on top of right sidebar.

Now FOX hates Palin. Because she's a woman or because of her "knowledgeability"

She didn't know Africa wasn't a country.
She didn't know what countries are in NAFTA.

Great.



From this article

Winona LaDuke TODAY!!!

Winona LaDuke, "Environmental Justice Locally, Nationally and Globally"
Thursday, November 6th, 5:00 pm, Hill Ballroom
Ms. LaDuke is an internationally respected Native American and environmental activist. She is the founding director of the White Earth Land Recovery Project and the co-chair of the Indigenous Women's Network. She is the recipient of many awards and accolades and the author of numerous books and articles.

Reception to follow in Weyerhauser Boardroom

Sponsored by: Lealtad-Suzuki Center, Office of the President, Dean for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life, the Program Board, Environmental Studies,

If you have any questions or would like to be involved in any way, please contact Emma Sheppard (esheppard@macalester.edu) or Afifa Benwahoud (benwahoud@macalester.edu).

"A Vision of Students Today"

a short video summarizing some of the most important characteristics of students today - how they learn, what they need to learn, their goals, hopes, dreams, what their lives will be like, and what kinds of changes they will experience in their lifetime. Created by Michael Wesch in collaboration with 200 students at Kansas State University.

Today's Special Guest: Invincible

http://www.myspace.com/invincilana

"Invincible in Two Worlds": "Every A&R's worst nightmare" carves out her own path in hip-hop. READ ON



Bio from clnet download.com: It is truly rare to find an artist like Invincible. Her spitfire wordplay has gotten her acclaim from Hip Hop fans all across the world, while her active involvement in progressive social change has taken her music beyond entertainment, and towards actualizing the change she wishes to see. Repping Detroit, MI, many are already familiar with her work with Waajeed and the Platinum Pied Pipers, Finale, the all-female ANOMOLIES crew, Black Star, and many others. Dubbed by XXL Magazine as "every A&Rs worst nightmare" for rejecting major label deals and general industry politrix, Invincible started her own record label, EMERGENCE, self-releasing her long-awaited full length LP, ShapeShifters, June, 2008.

Invincible's versatility shines through on ShapeShifters over production by Waajeed, Black Milk, Lab Techs, House Shoes, and more. She is part of a community on the frontline of innovating the future of music, including featured guests Tiombe Lockhart, Finale, Wordsworth, Indeed, and Buff1. Every track stands alone in style, subject matter and concept. Together, the tracks form a cohesive unit that covers issues related to self and community transformation such as: the journey of a struggling artist, J Dilla and Proof's legacies, media monopoly, love/hate relationships, gentrification, faith, and beyond. Invincible's visual lyricism is interwoven with heavy hitting musical backdrops, creating a compelling cinematic sound-scape.

The lead 12" Single and title track, "ShapeShifters," produced by Waajeed, is a ride in itself, beginning with the urgent declaration, "Music is not a mirror to reflect reality / It's a hammer, with which we shape it." The song proceeds to take the listener to a post apocalyptic future where a time capsule of Hip Hop and cultural resistance is unearthed, sampled, and evolved for generations to come.

From Hip Hop enthusiasts to everyday people working for change, Invincible's ShapeShifters will give hope to listeners searching for substance within their daily dose of music. Invincible has created an album for the ages to transform the way people listen to emcees for years to come.

Invincible rhymes on prison at Oakland Unity High School:



Invincible with Talib Kweli:



Invincible and Finale "Locusts" (Docu-Music-Video):



Invincible's "Sledgehammer" video:



Invincible with her all-female crew The Anomalies:



Invincible's "State of Emergency"



"No Easy Answers"

From Bao Phi: First ever CD release: ¿Nation of Immigrants?

Hello Equilibrium Supporters,

thank you all for making EQ's Fall season so spectacular!

Please come and help us celebrate our first ever CD release, ¿Nation of Immigrants? - a compilation of spoken word and performance poetry by Minnesotan Indigenous, immigrant, adoptee, refugee, and people of color - that seeks to explore, challenge, and explode the blanket-term "nation of immigrants". We gave preference to Minnesota artists that do not have their own CD out yet. It is really a spectacular collection, educational, thought-provoking, and inspiring, and it's just in time for the gift-giving season!

And did we mention there will be free food? The CD will be on sale for $10 and there will be some short performances by some of the featured artists.

Help us celebrate Minnesota poets and political art! And spread the word...

¿Nation of Immigrants? Minnesota spoken word artists and poets question the world

A CD featuring spoken word artists and poets Robert Karimi, Marcie Rendon, Juliana Hu Pegues, Tatiana Ormaza, Ibe Kaba, Khalid Adam, Preeti Kaur, Bobby Wilson, Lorena Duarte, Ka Vang, Ed Bok Lee, Tish Jones, Diego Vazquez, Christy Namee Eriksen, and Charlotte Albrecht.

Produced by the Loft Literary Center

Curated by Bao Phi, Associate Program Director, Equilibrum: Spoken Word at the Loft

Recorded, Engineered, Mixed and Mastered by Antonio Del Rosario

Original CD Cover Art by Ricardo Levins Morales

Graphic Design by Douglas Kearney

CD Release Party

Saturday, November 22, 8 p.m.

Featuring short performances by featured artists

At the Loft, 1011 Washington Avenue South

Free.

Food and beverage provided at reception following performances

Thien-bao Thuc Phi

Associate Program Director

Spoken Word and Community Collaborations

The Loft

1011 Washington Avenue South

Minneapolis, MN 55415

612-215-2585

bphi@loft.org

www.loft.org