Course Description

At the core of the course is the question how feminism has become a demonized and ridiculed “F-word” in an age when issues of gender and sexuality are at the center of constant, often explosive political debates. These debates often connect media representation and political representation but tend to do so in simplistic ways that bypass or distort decades of sophisticated feminist theory and practice. We will trace back such representations through the decades around case studies that encompass film, video, television and new media practices. The case studies come from the United States and beyond, taking into full account the global interconnectedness of media production and consumption as well as the transnational travel of feminist ideas. The main goal of the course is to evaluate how useful feminist thinking is to understanding the relays between media and political representation; and to develop a lasting critical apparatus to analyzing the politics of gender and sexuality in the media.


Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Class Presentations

I thoroughly enjoyed the different variety in the presentations that happened yesterday. Two of the presentations that made me really think about the perceptions of feminism were the Disney Princesses and Celebrity Feminists. The way that the Disney Princesses was broken really made me think about the evolution of the princesses personal journey and the narrative behind them. When it was brought up about the earliest princesses having a father figure in their lives versus the current group where it is most often not mentioned really made me start to think. Is this evolution a means to try and reduce patriarchy in Disney princess movies? In the early films there would most often be a father figure and then his role would be placed upon the prince charming to look after and guide the princess. She never really has a say in any action that she partakes in, it's already laid out for her. Yet, now these young women are defined by their personal traits and end up either saving the male figure or not needing one. Now it just makes me wary of when I have young girls which princess movies I want to show them, so they don't turn up with a "happily ever after" complex.

Then with the celebrity feminists, I think that the definition of feminism is so broad and has a negative connotation to it, it's hard to pinpoint who is and isn't. If one is defining being a feminist off of independence and female empowerment then there are plenty of role models. Yet, it's a slippery slope especially with pop stars to maintain a strong empowered female image, while still being their own individual and not the label's puppet. Being a feminist can encompass a lot of different aspects, which I think is the defining reason many people don't want to take on that title. So then just be an educated and self-aware female, that still loves men, but won't take crap for nobody.
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