{I first published this list in December 2014, after the grand jury decisions in the killings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. I’m revisiting it today as there are riots across the country after a string of events including the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, MN. So much has happened in between and yet … Continue reading
If Veronica Mars is Philip Marlowe in teen girl form, Alex, the protagonist of The Female of the Species is Dexter. The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis is one part revenge fantasy, one part teen romance. It pairs angst over stolen boyfriends and uncertain futures with more serious subject matter focused on grief, trauma, and … Continue reading
“But what ‘Maria of the Desert’ proves to me is how much more I care about the world The Bridge has built than the murder that precipitated this entire affair” –Molly Eichel, AV Club “The show is interested in the message the killer is trying to send, but it’s not reveling in the twisted and … Continue reading
Last night was the much anticipated (for me, at least) premiere of The Bridge, the new FX drama about homicide detectives on the border between El Paso, Texas and Juarez, Mexico. As I wrote earlier, I was curious and nervous about the prospect of a TV show dealing with the staggering number of murders committed … Continue reading
Monday night I saw this ad on TV: First of all, it is super creepy, but it also uses the now iconic image of the pink crosses honoring the dead and missing in the Juárez, Mexico feminicide. My interest was piqued, not from an entertainment standpoint, but because I just did an analysis of literary … 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’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
When I saw the trailer for The Call starring Halle Berry and Abigail Breslin (embedded below), I was kind of horrified. It looked so violent and like it played upon very real fears about abduction and violence against girls. Yet, because I study the portrayal of girls in the media, I also felt that I … Continue reading
Ph.D.s and Pigtails 