Sara Bareilles is easily one of my favorite working musicians today. I particularly enjoy the way her music swings between really sad songs like “Gravity” and poppy, anthemic songs like “Brave” above. “Uncharted” was my jam when I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with my life a couple years ago. I’ve seen … Continue reading
Tomorrow, bright and early, I’m headed to Cleveland for the Latina Feminisms Roundtable with my classmate Rachel and our professor Julie. It is going to be an intense, informative, and exciting experience. Each paper is given 40 minutes, 25 for reading and 15 for questions, so it’s a longer format and more focused attention on … Continue reading
I don’t want to bury the lead. Girl Rising was beautiful, powerful, and inspiring. I know I’m pretty invested in the issue of girls’ education, but I was in tears through most of the film and afterward I sat in the car and sobbed. The film was an overwhelming experience, but in the best way … Continue reading
Oh, Glee. Why do you do the things you do? I’m going to be brief on this because it’s been talked about a lot already, but I think there’s something really complicated and frustrating about how Glee‘s school shooting episode, “Shooting Star,” played out. First of all, they did an episode about a school shooting. … Continue reading
Today I am headed to the Gender Matters Conference at DePaul University in Chicago. I am super excited, because this conference looks fantastic. Highlights include a keynote by J. Jack Halberstam about Gaga Feminism (see explanation of Gaga Feminism), there’s also going to be a one-woman comedy, “Booby Trap,” about surviving breast cancer, and a … Continue reading
In the shadow of a looming How-the-edit-do-I-get-this-all-done-and-well breakdown, I turn to my happy place, Parks and Recreation. I’ve written before about Ron Swanson’s feminism and the growth of his character while also hinting at a post about April Ludgate. I’ve been thinking about it since January. There are many loveable characters on Parks and Recreation. … Continue reading
I have written movie reviews for a local paper since I was a sophomore in high school. When I started out, I was young and still developing my voice, so it was important to me to have role models. I took it very seriously. I checked out or bought many books of film reviews, but … Continue reading
So much reading and writing to do in so little time. Four and a half weeks of the semester left and I have two conferences in that time too. But some more light-hearted posts will return to Ph.D.s and Pigtails this weekend and then when the semester breaks, lots and lots of book reviews and … Continue reading
I’d like to ask some honest questions: How much violence can you tolerate in entertainment? Where do you think the line should be drawn for violence and entertainment more generally (i.e. it might make you squeamish, but it’s fine for others)? Can we represent violence in ways that don’t contribute to dehumanizing or objectifying certain … Continue reading
Ph.D.s and Pigtails 