Readings for today:
- Feminism & Popular Culture, Chaps 3 and 5.
- Handout on Ideology (on ANGEL...I'll go over this in class).
For further reading and research:
- Lindsay Abrams, "Study: We Benefit From Seeing Strong Women on TV," The Atlantic, August 31, 2012.
Masculinity in Pop Culture - Sept 12 (W)
Readings for today:
- Jackson Katz, “Advertising and the Construction of Violent White Masculinity” (ANGEL).
- "Pink Scare," Bitch Magazine #52 (Red), Fall 2011.
Assignment for today - Critical Show & Tell:
- Each of you are required to bring in two examples that deal with the portrayal of women and/or feminism in the media (a CD, website, YouTube clip, magazine article, etc). Based on what you've read for today and in the previous week of class, I want you to be able to explain--with clarity and specificity--what kind of story is being told in these 'media texts', and why your classmates should agree with your reading/interpretation of each. Ideally, I'd like you to find examples that transcend simplistic divisions between 'positive' and 'negative', since there are plenty of artists and entertainers who might offer more complicated, or simply contradictory, messages in their work. But the main idea is for each of you to apply some of what you have learned thus far in order to do a critical analysis of some specific media texts. Each of you will have time to present your findings to your classmates as if you were making arguments in a paper. We will will continue our 'show and tell' next Monday if we run out of time today.
For further reading and research:
- Cristen Conger, "Isn't He Lovely: The Cult of Muscularity," Bitch Magazine, September 8, 2011.
- Lakshmi Chaudhry, "Men Growing Up to be Boys," In These Times, March 17, 2006.
