HELP! I need some feedback on Films to show students in Gender & Pop Culture!

Right now, I have a short list of films. My collection of movies is getting pretty dated (as far as the Hollywood ones go!) and I don't want to show all documentaries! However, I'm actually thinking of replacing one movie with a documentary and would appreciate suggestions based on the following (additions/omissions/etc)

Watch: The September Issue        (90 minutes long)        
The September Issue Documentary Website
(a documentary on Vogue's editor-- which seems really quite interesting for this course- this documentary was commercially released to the public) instead of:
Gia      (126 minutes Long)     
Gia (the version I already own) 1998
 (the fictionalized story of Gia Carangi's tragically short life as "America's first supermodel" starring Angelina Jolie)

Meet the Joneses        (96 minutes long)      
Meet the Joneses Film Website
(fiction, but relevant to consumption, advertising, capitalism, and consumerism) but I have no idea when it will be released on DVD! Anyone know the date?

I could replace Meet the Joneses with:

Consuming Kids: the commercialization of childhood  (67 minutes long)
Consuming Kids: the commercialization of childhood on MEF's website
(a MEF Documentary-- but specifically related to consumption, advertising and childhood--which could be problematic because Maymester is a 3-week summer session, and Summer Session B is 5 weeks long--which means the length of the film could be too much to dedicate to a narrow subject area).

The Codes of Gender: Identity and Performance in Pop Culture (73 minutes long)
The Codes of Gender: Identity and Performance in Pop Culture on MEF's website
The library has it, and it may work well as one of the first films in the course (due to it's focus on gender performativity and it's reproduction through popular culture) when we cover a few of the schools of thought related to theories of sex and gender. 

Killing Us Softly 3       (34 minutes long)    
Killing Us Softly 3 on MEF's Website

This film has been a staple of mine since I started teaching Gender & Pop Culture during the spring of 2007.  I was almost going to omit it because it appears beyond dated to my students.  Then on MEF's website (mediaed.org), I spotted:  

Killing Us Softly 4      (45 minutes long)      
Killing Us Softly 4 on MEF's Webiste
This edition was produced in 2010... but TCNJ's library doesn't own it!!! NOOOOO!!!
Surprise!

Beauty Mark: Body Image & the Race for Perfection     (50 minutes long) 
Beauty Mark: Body Image & the Race for Perfection on MEF's website
However, the library actually has Beauty Mark (another MEF production), which might be a good fit where I'd ordinarily use Killing Us Softly

Clearly we can't watch films for the entire 3-weeks (or 5 weeks in the case of summer session B), but narrowing down the list further is tough! 

Ideas? Thanks!!!

Jon and Kate, Plus Millions of Female Tabloid Readers

"Jon and Kate, Plus Millions of Female Tabloid Readers"

Even if you don't watch reality television, or television at all for that matter, you'd be hard-pressed to avoid the recent controversy over Kate and Jon Gosselin, and their eight children. The stars of the beloved reality spectacle, Jon and Kate, Plus Eight, are divorcing. Despite salacious rumors about infidelity, they claim that it is just a gradual growing apart and, they add, the media spotlight certainly did help matters. It's hard to feel much empathy for a couple complaining of overexposure when they signed the contract that would expose their entire family, eight little children included, to 24 hour cameras....

Click this post's title to read the entire piece on Feministing.com
Posted by Courtney - June 29, 2009, at 03:22PM | in Media , Motherhood , Popular Culture , Relationships

(Especially if you're in my Gender & Pop Culture Course and SOCS brought you here!)

Center of Gravitas: Break the Code

I stumbled across this blog last night and found this post on course evaluations too funny not to share!

For the rest of the eval interpretations, click below:

Center of Gravitas: Break the Code:

"What They Say: “The professor should post the lecture notes on-line so that we can have something to follow in class.”

What They Mean: “The professor should post the lecture notes on-line so that we won’t have to go to class at all.”

***

What They Say: 'This professor is a fool.'

What They Really Mean: 'My hubris as a first-semester freshman leads me to believe that I know more than the people who spent the past twenty years studying this topic.'

***

What They Say: “Discussion during class was often filled with awkward silence.”

What They Mean: “My classmates didn’t do any of the reading and therefore had nothing to say.”"

Paris Hilton v John McCain (aka "white-haired dude")

Paris Hilton, known for phrases such as "that's hot," celebrity based on family-wealth, and a Carl's Jr ad that briefly features a Carl's Jr product, decided to make a "political ad" of her own! Aimed at the ad featuring both Britney Spears & Hilton's images, produced by John McCain's presidential campaign, she rather humorously satirizes the presidential campaigns and asserts her own policy initiative.

While she may gain a few write-in votes, the highlight (as someone who regularly teaches Gender & Pop Culture @ TCNJ) of her video is the looming question:

Is there really a difference between celebrity (ala Paris) & politics (ala McCain and any other politicians whose names are well-known)?

Here's her spoof, enjoy!

See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die

Teaching Maymester- Gender & Pop Culture Blogs 4 credits in under 3 weeks @ TCNJ

This course looks at popular culture through the lens of gender, meaning that we will critically examine the messages that popular culture disseminates about men and women, and about masculinity and femininity. We will examine a range of forms of popular culture such as advertisements, magazines, television, film, cyberspace, hip hop, and sports. Some of the questions we will ask are: How is gender difference constructed and represented in popular culture?; What are the gender images and narratives that we see in popular culture and how do we interpret them?; Who creates and disseminates these images and narratives, and who is the intended audience?; Who benefits from certain patterns of representation that rehearse gender stereotypes and the objectification of women’s bodies?; How can popular culture be used both as a form of social control and social change?

Gender & Popular Culture WGS 220 Section 03 Summer 2008 – Maymester The College of New Jersey

Monday-Thursday 1:00-4:15pm May 12th-29th

Office Hours Tuesday & Thursday 11:30am-12:30pm (call or email to confirm I’m available )

Jessie Gamble (has left her contact info off of the blog-version of the syllabus intentionally!)

Required Texts

Dines, Gail & Jean M. (McMahon) Humez. Gender, Race, and Class in Media: A Text-Reader. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications: 2003. (Marked on calendar with G)

Ouellette, Laurie & James Hay. Better Living Through Reality TV: Television and Post-Welfare Citizenship. Blackwell: 2008.

Readings with an asterisk (*) on the Course Calendar are available on SOCS under “Resources.”

Course Description & Goals

We begin the course with three debatable assumptions. These are:

1. Knowledge and representations are political. Thus our ideas about men and women and sexualities are formed by cultural texts in the service of human interests;

2. Gender is not dichotomous with sex and is both socially constructed, rooted in human understandings of “biology,” and also has material ramifications.

Specifically, we approach popular culture as a significant place where our notions and experience of masculinity and femininity are created, recreated, and challenged;

3. Patriarchy – the ideology that men are superior – profoundly influences popular culture. These assumptions will give us a conscious approach to the material we seek to understand, and it will give us a foundation for discussion and debate in our class discussions.

The specific learning goals of the course are as follows:

· To examine the ways in which gender and sexual identities are constructed and circulated in popular culture.

· To read primary texts of popular culture, and to interpret those texts through a gender lens. We will focus on diverse realms of popular culture with a particular focus on advertising, popular magazines, hip-hop and rock music, television, film, cyberspace and sports.

· Study, debate and utilize critical and theoretical texts on popular culture. We will look at interpretive and historical approaches to the “texts” of culture, as well as political economic approaches to the production of culture.

· Examine how the many forms of popular culture socialize and discipline us even as they entertain us. In this sense, the purpose is to engage in a critical dialogue about how forms of popular culture work and how we can become critical consumers and producers of culture.

· Examine the ways in popular culture serves as an important site where gender intersects with other systems of privilege and oppression such as sexuality, race, class, and ethnicity.

· To develop analytical writing and critical thinking skills in an interdisciplinary context; modes utilized include critical review, and text analyses, the application of theoretical, historical, and analytical readings to elements of everyday “pop culture.

Course Policies Attendance & Assignment Submission Expectations Attendance and punctuality is expected at ALL course meetings. Be in class and ready to begin at the time specified on page1. Repeated lateness and/or absences will result in lower grade for Attendance/Participation/Preparation (detailed under “Course Requirements” below—it’s worth 30% of your grade for a reason!) Attendance is crucial and absences will only be excused for: 1. Extenuating circumstances 2. Upon your return to class, the reason for the absence must have the support of the appropriate official (your parents aren’t officials!), and 3. You must notify me via phone or email before the scheduled meeting time. All readings and assignments must be completed for class on date specified by the course calendar. Late assignments will not be accepted and neither will make-up work for “in-class” assignments (during course meetings). Academic Integrity · All areas of TCNJ’s academic integrity policy (see http://www.tcnj.edu/~academic/policy/integrity.html for the policy) apply to students in this course! Students with Disabilities/Requests for Alternative Accommodations · Please contact me in person after class, via email, or by phone at the beginning of the term (whatever is the most comfortable for you).

Course Requirements

30% Attendance, Participation, & Preparation (Including assignments completed during course meetings not listed on the syllabus)

· Class time is frequently used for workshop-oriented activities and discussions of readings, we, and in class assignments occur frequently

· You absolutely must read and come prepared to discuss the readings for each class

· Peer editing and group work is not only graded distinctly as its own set of assignments under this category; it’s also imperative that you understand that your group/partner will be counting on you for assistance during these in-class activities

· Participation/Attendance/Class-work—overall rubric/grading guidelines are available on SOCS under “Resources” (as a general class participation grading scale)

· See Course Policies (above) for detailed information about class meeting absence and lateness as they factor into your overall grade and this percentage of the grade

30% Class Facilitation/Presentation (Group/Date Sign-Up on May 13th)

· Groups of up to 5 students will present on the dates marked “Student Presentation” on the calendar (dates include specific topics and readings for the class)

· Your job will be to Initiate the discussion of course readings by providing a brief overview of assigned readings (we’ll discuss how to do so on the 13th) by

· Identifying main issues from readings and outlining them for the class

· Relating them to prior readings/discussions/outside material (video clips, images, etc) to contextualize the readings or offer more depth than the readings alone provided

· Developing/Posing 2-3 questions for class discussion (analytically geared questions intended to stimulate large group discussion). However, these questions can also be used to address specific points of confusion, questions about the theoretical, empirical, concepts, etc (critiques are completely valid topics to discuss--was the author consistent with her/his theory/methodology/etc?) If you are having trouble with assessing the reading's logical congruency, or if the author seems to be conflating concepts (but you're not sure) these are great questions for discussion and for the class to flesh-out collaboratively.

· Feel free to approach the topic and group division of labor in any manner that your group feels suits your project and its members in the most productive way possible (PowerPoint, handouts, etc).

· Each group will be graded on criteria, for which a rubric will be copied and posted to SOCS under “Resources” for your reference early in the semester.

40% Blogging: Written and Visual Assignments:

Blog Posts:

Post # 1: May 20^th Toy Shopping Field Work: Gendered Consumers/Engendering Consumerism

Post # 2: May 23^rd Collage of Media/Marketing with a brief written component

Post # 3: May 29^th Rereading Reality TV

All posts are due to your blogs on the dates specified by 9pm

Detailed assignment instructions/expectations will be distributed during the first week of class and will also be posted to SOCS Resources

Course Calendar with Reading & Assignment Due Dates

*Indicates reading is posted on SOCS Resources (G) indicates reading in Dines, GRCM Reader Chapters from Ouellette & Hay have no special mark

Class 1 May 12	Introduction to concepts, theories, and key terms/approaches to studying popular culture through the lens of gender	Introduction to the course Discussion of goals, concepts, and assignments for the semester Mission to find a computer lab! Blog Creation / Topic Brainstorming/Link Hunt
Class 2 May 13	Approaches to studying gender & popular culture	2. Kellner, "Cultural Studies, Multiculturalism, & Media Culture," 9-20 (G) 3. Croteau & Hoynes, “The New Media Giants: Change Industry Structure,” 21-39 (G) 4. Lipsitz, “The Meaning of Memory: Family, Class, and Ethnicity in Early Network Television,” 40-47 (G) Sign Up for Presentations today & Discussion about presentations
Class 3 May 14	“Hegemony, patriarchy, & ideologies, oh my!”	5. Newman, Chapter 2, “Manufacturing Difference: The Social Construction of Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality”* 6. Lull, "Hegemony," 61-66 (G) 7. Johnson, “Patriarchy, the System: An It, Not a He, a Them or an Us,” 91-98 * 8. Hall, “By the Whites of Their Eyes: Racist Ideologies and the Media,” 89-93 (G) Watch episode "Don't Make Me Over" from Family Guy & Daily Show clips on racism and immigration
Class 4 May 15	Interpreting the media’s constructs of the ‘ideal’ & ‘pathological’ subjects	9. Newman, Chapter 3, “Portraying Difference: Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality in Language and the Media” * 10. Pozner, “The Unreal World” * 11. Rogers, “Hetero Barbie?” 94-97 (G) 12. Raymond, “Popular Culture & Queer Representation: A Critical Perspective,” 98-110 (G) Watch Further Off The Straight & Narrow
Class 5 May 19	Edutainment: (Gendered) Consumers R Us	Student Presentation #1: Edutainment 13. Newman, Chapter 4 “Learning difference: Families, schools, and socialization” 14. Giroux, “Kids for Sale: Corporate Culture & the Challenge of Public Schooling,” 171-175 (G) 15. Messner, “Boyhood, Organized Sports, and the construction of Masculinities” * 16. Ijeoma A. “Because You’re a Girl” * 17. “girls, sexulity, & popular culture” *
Class 6 May 20	The evolving discursive/material constructs of women and beauty in the media industry	18. Ouelette, “Reinventing the Cosmo Girl: Class Identity and Girl-Style American Dreams,” 116-128 (G) 19. Steinem, “Sex, Lies, & Advertising,” (223-229) 20. Breazeale, “In Spite of Women: Esquire Magazine and the Construction of the Male Consumer,” (230-243) 21. Wolf, Excerpt From The Beauty Myth * Watch Killing Us Softly 3 in Class Blog Post #1 Due (by 9pm): Engendering Consumers/Gendered Consumption

Class 7 May 21	Marketing Sexual Subjectivities: Masculinity & Femininity Commodified	Student Presentation #2: Advertising Masculinity and Femininity 22. Jhally, “Image-Based Culture: Advertising & Popular Culture,” 249-257 (G) 23. Higginbotham, “Teen Mags: How to Get a Guy, Drop 20 Pounds, and Lose Your Self-Esteem” * 24. Kilbourne, “The More You Subtract, the More You Add: Cutting Girls Down to Size,” 258-267 (G) 25. Kirkham & Weller, “Cosmetics: A Clinique Case Study,” 268-273 (G) 26. Katz, “Advertising and the Construction of Violent White Masculinity: From Eminem to Clinique for Men,” 349-358 (G)
Class 8 May 22	Body=Big $$$ The embodiment of ideals	Student Presentation #3: Body Businesses 27. Hesse-Biber, Chapter 1, “A Cult Grows In America” * 28. Hesse-Biber, Chapter 2, “Men and Women: Mind & Body” * 29. Hesse-Biber, Chapter 3, “Selling the Body Beautiful: Food, Dieting, & Recovery” * 30. Hesse-Biber, Chapter 4, “There’s No Business Like the Body Business: Fitness & Cosmetic Surgery” *
May 23	No Class—Memorial Day	No Class Friday Blog Post #2 Due (by 9pm): Collage Assignment
May 26	No Class—Memorial Day	No Class Monday
Class 9 May 27	Defining Identities & Audience Identity using the Music Industry	Student Presentation #4: Identity-Production in Rock, Rap, & Hip Hop 31. Coates, “Moms Don’t Rock: The Popular Demonization of Courtney Love”* 32. Perry, “Who(se) am I? The Identity and Image of Women in Hip Hop,” 136-148 (G) 33. Cole & Guy-Sheftall, “No Respect: Gender Politics and Hip Hop” * 34. Rose, “Hidden Politics: Discursive and Institutional Policing of Rap Music,” 396-405 (G)
Class 10 May 28	It’s everywhere… There may be a few reasons: Rereading “Reality TV”	Student Presentation #5: Reality TV’s Multidimensional Power 35. Ouellette & Hay “Introduction,” 1-31 36. Ouellette & Hay “TV Interventions: Personal Responsibility and Techniques of the Self,” 63-98 37. Ouellette & Hay “Makeover TV: Labors of Reinvention,” 99-133
Class 11 May 29	Defining the boundaries of inclusion and otherness	38. Ouellette & Hay “TV & the Self-Defensive Citizen,” 134-169(?) 39. Ouellette & Hay “TV’s Constitutions of Citizenship,” 170-202(?) Final Class Wrap-Up Blog Post #3 Due (by 9pm): Rereading Reality TV

Teaching Maymester- Gender & Pop Culture Blogs 4 credits in under 3 weeks @ TCNJ

I'll be the first to admit my uncertainty in my first experience at teaching a 4 credit course (that I usually have 16 weeks to cover the material in a typical semester) in under three weeks!

I have consolidated my syllabus, added a new book (what was I thinking!?!?!) and have all 20 of the "Maymester" (TCNJ's name for this 3 week summer session that precedes the 5-week sessions during June, July, & August) students blogging!

Am I nuts...well...don't answer that if you know me ;o)

So, here are the "Maymester" bloggers:

"Maymester" Bloggers: Summer 2008

• Pop Culture and Why It Pops
• Sarah Lauren
• Sima's Pop Culture Blog
• Ashley
• Jillian's Pop Culture Blog
• Jackie's Pop Culture Blog
• Kelly's Gender in Media Blog
• Dana's Blog
• Mike's Gender Pop Culture Blog
• Whatev is Whaev
• Melissa's Gender & Pop Culture Blog
• Danny Boy's Blog
• Tracey's Gender and Pop Culture Blog
• Erin's Gender & Pop Culture Blog
• Juliana's Pop Culture Blog
• Rob's Gender & Pop Culture Blog
• Kristin's Blog
• Brianna's Pop Culture Blog
• lisa's blog **
• Dawn's Gender & Pop Culture Blog
  

Gender & Pop Culture @ TCNJ
Women's & Gender Studies Program WGS-220

• Blogging in College: Gender & Pop Culture's Blog Project Home
• Gender & Pop Culture's Website
• The Professor's Page
  
• Our Guest Contributors
• Class Notes

FOX News Leading the Call for Attacking Iran--An Open Letter & Petition

I received this disturbing piece of information from a family member; the video from Fox (via youtube) is embeded below, in addition to a link to the site orchestrating the petetion to try to curtail the bullying of other 'news' organizations to follow Fox in this 'prediction'-turn reality.

Here are the comments I added to the petition at http://foxattacks.com/iran
Unfortunately, like every cable-news(ish) channel, Fox has 24 hours to fill. Obviously, the powerful players in the global catastrophe are not doing enough to keep Fox's teleprompter comfortably replete with stories to cover.
Instead, they appear to care nothing about their role in this "news," for which incitement to war is certainly an indicator of involvement. Each person at Fox (not just Murdoch) is personally responsible for the outcome of the actions of this media conglomerate. Furthermore, the advertisers are not mere bystanders, but are instead active participants in the perpetuation of 'wars for profit' vis a vis this media outlet.
To Fox, its affiliates and advertisers:
If you plan to start a war to increase your flow of advertising revenue, don't expect the "masses" to all be complicit sheep, and to those involved at Fox and it's affiliates, don't plan to sleep well.
Do you have a dollar-figure to cap your willingness to engage in the production of stories to cover? Or is this an equation that you'd have to cap at a certain number of dead people?

Open Letter

Dear ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, and CNN,
"My station was intimidated by the administration and its foot soldiers at FOX News."
That is CNN's Christiane Amanpour explaining why the major television networks failed to accurately inform the public in the lead-up to the Iraq war, choosing instead to follow FOX's lead.
Now, FOX is beating the drums for war with Iran. Robert Greenwald's short film, "FOX Attacks: Iran", outlines the evidence from the station's own broadcasts, comparing their reporting before the Iraq war with what they are saying now about Iran.
You have a sacred responsibility to the American people to provide accurate and reliable information so we can best make the decisions which affect our lives. We urge you to accurately and thoroughly report all sides of this important story.
Please do not blindly follow FOX down the road to another war.

Sign the Petition too (comments are optional, and you can sign anonymously)

Gender Ads.Com: An incredibly thorough examination of gender issues in advertising/marketing

I frequently use this blog for acumulating info for current and future sections of Gender and Pop Culture (sort of like my own social bookmarking service).

Because my "real" social bookmark accounts (i.e. clipmarks.com and stumbleupon.com) resemble my blog, Defying Gravitas far more than the Women's & Gender Studies/Feminist content of the course for which I am trying to 'not forget' information I've found :o)...

Back to my original reason for posting...

I found GenderAds.com through XY.com (a site devoted to the study of men, masculinities, and gender from a feminist perspective) and because the paragraph that precedes the quoted material (see below, under link to GenderAds.com), specifically references the National Women's Studies Association (NWSA), I read through the site author's work and it's relevant to my course, quite comprehensive and well done (though hasn't been updated for over a year).

Gender Ads.Com:
"Why This Project addresses the reasons behind the formation of the site. How to Read Ads is an overview of some of the major approaches to the analysis of advertising, including semiotic analyses. Constructions of Gender is a representation of some of the major associations of gender and advertising, and is a good place to begin your study of the topics. Side by Side also offers an introductory approach to the subject, and I have collected side by side comparisons of men and women from major spreads in magazines. Controversy features some of the criticisms of the project that have been provided by viewers and students. Ambiguity addresses the idea that advertising, because of its ambiguous visual and literary messages, is difficult to interpret. Gender Landscape is a study that involves the public displays of billboard advertising, and it makes the point that gender ads are not limited to the “private” screens of print media. The Hall of Shame feature presents some of the most troubling images from the archive, but, in reality, any number of images could be placed on that page. How to Reference is a brief description of how you can reference or link to this site for research purposes."


1. BACKGROUND
What's New?
Why This Project?
How To Read Ads
Constructions
Side By Side
Controversy
Ambiguity
Gender Landscape
Hall of Shame
How to Reference
Comments
Links to This Site

2. FEMALES IN ADS
Roles
Strippers
Normalized Women
Exotics, General
Exotics, WOC
Exotics, Surreal
Feminine As Difficult
As Dolls
As Naggers
Body As Tool
Nymphomania
As Stupid
Consumers
As Nature
Bodies Only
Politics
As Violent
Faux Power
Female Masculinity

3. MALES IN ADS
Males, General
Male Sex
Violence Ag. Males
Males As Culture
Phallic
Male Fantasies
Normalized Males
As Stupid
Male Heroes
Men, In Control
Male Objects

4. TOGETHER IN ADS
Competition
Marriage
Violence
Death
Lesbians
Gay Men
Dual Objectified
Hetero Relations
Sex and Ads
Sexual Violence

5. OBJECTIFICATION
Body Parts I
Body Parts II
No Subject
Sex Object
Dehumanized
As Literal Object
No Product Connection

6. VISUAL MEANS
The Gaze
Wetness
Reductionism
Landscapes
Captured/Controlled
Linguistic Violence
Fear
Legs as Framing
Written On
Contorted

7. SPECIAL FEATURES
Billboards
A&F
Rejected Ads
Video Games
Men's Magazines
Man Show
TV Commercials
Progressive Ads
Mock Ads
UK Gender

8. OTHER TROPES
Kids and Ads
Ageism
Racism
Military Ads
Global Ads
Values Ads
Social Class Ads
Miscellaneous Ads

9. RESOURCES
Bibliography
Links
Taking Action
Educator Resources

Inserted from <http://www.genderads.com/>

Much ado about Nothing- the "nothing" is now a newsworthy topic in its own right?

Much ado about Nothing- the "nothing" is now a newsworthy topic in its own right?

Who hasn't pointed out the lack of fame-producing credentials that are absent from Hilton's celeb-cred-lacking resume...

Yet, the coverage continues...even when the coverage is on the fact that they are covering an individual whose newsworthy status is beyond the reporters' comprehension (which, today, doesn't exactly illuminate the state of Paris moreso than it does illuminate the absurdity of the reporters covering her "celebutante status").

If anything Paris is a great lens into the US (dare I say it) populations great love of demonizing that which they oh, so desparately desire, yet simultaneously deplore, and -(somewhere...lest you be fooled by the "Sweet 16-ers" on MTV...lurks the reality-stinging stuff that no TV shows would dare be made of ... :oP ...that the voyeur will never be her/his subject...there is no "Paris" rung on the career ladder (or the full-o-shit American Dream either) yet, they still keep covering her...


With news outlets and the paparazzi dutifully assembled outside of the L.A. County Correctional Facility in Lynwood, California, the unintentional queen of all media Paris Hilton made her grand exit in front of a live, international television audience early Tuesday morning.If history so chooses to refer the socialite's exodus as a circus, then Hilton is the undisputed ringmaster -- leaving those of us in the media looking like clowns. Seriously.I'm pretty sure Hilton is the only inmate that has ever been released from prison with such a spectacle. Sashaying down the walkway as if it were a red carpet, Hilton gave high-fives to the gathered crowd and ran into the arms of her mother, who gave her what would have been a heartwarming hug if she had bothered to actually get out of the SUV she was riding in. No matter. The crowd ate it up. Photographers, both still and video, bum-rushed the vehicle to try and get a closer look.

Tools for White Guys who are Working for Social Change

Tools for White Guys who are Working for Social Change: "Tools for White Guys who are Working for Social Change … and other people socialized in a society based on domination

Chris Crass outlines practical strategies for minimising everyday domination.

1. Practice noticing who’s in the room at meetings - how many gender privileged men (biological men), how many women, how many transgendered people, how many white people, how many people of color, is it majority heterosexual, are there out queers, what are people’s class backgrounds. Don’t assume to know people, but also work at being more aware – listening to what people say and talking with people one on one who you work with.

2a. Count how many times you speak and keep track of how long you speak.

2b. Count how many times other people speak and keep track of how long they speak.

3. Be conscious of how often you are actively listening to what other people are saying as opposed to just waiting your turn thinking about what you’ll say next. Keep a notebook so that you can write down your thoughts and then focus on what other people are saying. As a white guy who talks a lot, I’ve found it helpful to writing down my thoughts and wait to hear what others have to say (frequently others will be thinking something similar and then you can support their initiative).

4. Prac"

Defying Gravitas- Jessie's stream of (sub)consciousness: Logan's Webkinz Introduction- Picassa's Web Album

Nope, still a part of the big system of pop culture...no professional immunity here!

Defying Gravitas- Jessie's stream of (sub)consciousness: Logan's Webkinz Introduction- Pictures from Easter Morning --
Just click "The Logan" to continue (seeing more pictures, that is) :o)

What the snobs don’t understand

Talker from Salon.com's "The Fix" section on arts and entertainment:

What reality can teach us: If you can get past the fact that the author of the pro-reality-TV story in the new Atlantic Monthly, Michael Hirschorn, is also an executive vice president at VH1, a channel with its fair share of reality programming, the piece does put forward an interesting thesis. Hirschorn calls reality TV "the liveliest genre on the set right now. It has engaged hot-button cultural issues -- class, sex, race -- that respectable television, including the august 'CBS Evening News,' rarely touches. And it has addressed a visceral need for a different kind of television at a time when the Web has made more traditionally produced video seem as stagey as Moliere." ("The Case for Reality TV," Atlantic Monthly)

The article can be found here (but keep the above information in mind when reading because the article is from The Atlantic Monthly, but was highlighted with the above information on Salon.com):

What the snobs don’t understand

The Case for Reality TV

by Michael Hirschorn

.....

his past January, I had the pleasure of serving as official spear-catcher for a CBS Evening News report on the increasing levels of humiliation on American Idol and other reality-TV shows, including some on my channel, VH1. The segment featured snippets of our shows I Love New York (a dating competition with an urban vibe) and Celebrity Fit Club (which tracks the efforts of overweight singers and actors to get back in shape, and, by extension, reignite their careers). “VH1, among other things, showcases faded celebrities who are fat,” said the CBS correspondent Richard Schlesinger.

Disney's Prepackaged Weddings from: The Fix | Salon Arts & Entertainment

The Fix | Salon Arts & Entertainment:
Disney weddingsFairy-tale weddings for all:
Gay marriage is OK in the Magic Kingdom -- gay couples can now participate in Disney's popular Fairy Tale Weddings program. Disney Parks and Resorts spokesman Donn Walker says the move to include gay couples 'is consistent with our policy of creating a welcoming, respectful and inclusive environment for all of our guests.' Until recently, Disney allowed gay couples to organize their own ceremonies at its resorts, but didn't allow them to buy the Fairy Tale Wedding packages, which start at $8,000 and include a wedding planner, the ceremony, food and beverages, flowers and table decorations. The 'Lavish Wedding' option includes a ride to the ceremony in a Cinderella coach, costumed trumpeters heralding the couple's arrival, and attendance by Mickey and Minnie Mouse characters dressed in formal attire. But Disney has predictably incurred the wrath of religious conservatives, including the Southern Baptist Convention, which lifted an eight-year boycott of Disney -- for things like giving health benefits to same-sex partners of employees -- in 2005. (Fox News)"

Lisa Soccio - From Girl to Woman to Grrrl: (Sub)Cultural Intervention and Political Activism in the Time of Post-Feminism

...Multiplicity and contradiction have become strategic elements in the analysis of subjectivity, especially in contemporary feminist theory that utilizes psychoanalysis and post-structuralism, and their articulation in and out of the academy can be recognized as a constituent symptom of post-feminism. The Riot Grrrl phenomenon has similarly defied definition as a movement, and is self-consciously heterogeneous in structure and constituency:

EVERY GRRRL IS A RIOT GRRRL. All you need is a healthy dose of pissed-off-ness at the treatment of womyn in our society. We are NOT all punk, all white, all lesbians, all musicians/zine editors/vegetarians/victims of abuse/straight edge. There is no "stereotypical" Riot Grrrl. And there is no "hierarchy." You don't need our permission to be an "official" Riot Grrrl. You don't need us to set up an "official" Riot Grrrl chapter.[4]
Riot grrrl has been further described by two members of Riot Grrrl NYC as an organization "that promotes women's intelligence, creativity and achievement," in which members "... support and encourage Grrrls to publish zines, create and show their artwork, start bands in a supportive and non-judgmental atmosphere, and do anything they want to do."[5]

Click below for the entire work...

Lisa Soccio - From Girl to Woman to Grrrl:
(Sub)Cultural Intervention and Political Activism in the Time of Post-Feminism