The recent Chanel window displays show female manikins in elegant gowns wearing large, feature-hiding, white-feather-covered, Venetian masks. One of these women is also sitting in a large, human-sized, golden birdcage. Chanel’s design, while intended to capture a woman’s attention and draw her into the store, is extremely derogatory toward women. The masks objectify women, turning the manikins into body parts for passersby to look at anonymously. The manikin positioned happily in the birdcage suggests she is submissive and passive. Chanel, a high quality brand that sells to wealthy, influential women, has determined that showcasing stereotypical attributes of women will sell... Continue reading

There is a generally accepted belief that book versions of stories are better than the movie versions and that in general, movies cannot match up to the “rich, thoughtful experience” of reading a book. While I do understand that books have more opportunity to set the scene explicitly and to develop a character’s thoughts, movies have the unique ability to show actions and setting complexity often overlooked in a book. Great examples one of the advantages of movies are often found in action movies. The action-packed tale would not be the same if you had to read through all the... Continue reading

The television show 30 Rock is an NBC comedy that is, in itself, satire. It pokes fun at corporate America and television networks by being a parody of itself. It shows the "behind the scenes" of a fake an NBC show "The Girlie Show," and shows idiotic moves of the people in the business. The very first episode is filled with irony. About seven minutes into it, Liz Lemon meets her new boss, who just happens to be made successful by his invention of the GE trivection oven. This is situational irony because you'd expect the new Vice President of... Continue reading

Disney's Pocahontas was written as a love story between two star-crossed lovers. While the intent of Disney was probably just to put a Romeo and Juliet story in a different historical context, on the way, the writers managed to depict two stereotypical visions of Whites and Native Americans. The English settlers come across in the movie with the stereotype of greedy, selfish, and dim whites. Governor Ratcliff sings multiple songs about how much he wants wealth and glory. He also very easily tricks all of his crew that the trip is for them and that the Indians are out to... Continue reading

Today, the accepted understanding of race is that it is a synthetic idea created by humanity as yet another way to define people we don't know very well. That makes for a pretty negative connotation. While I won't say I disagree with that definition, I must say that I see race as more complex than a vague, bad idea. Race, to me, is the combination of your biological family's place of origin and your family's culture. Contrary to the original definition I gave, race does have to do with your biology. If I, a very pale blond-haired, blue-eyed girl, grew... Continue reading

The Scarlet Letter begins at the prison door. We see Hester emerging with a baby in her arms and an "A" on her heart. The book then proceeds to follow her through her life and part of her daughter's life. My question is what her life was before her emergence at the prison door. I think the lead up to the story could be just as interesting as the famous novel. It is never explained how Hester and Dimmesdale fall in love. I'm not asking for a dramatic, Romantic romance novel, but the two characters don't seem like the most... Continue reading

As I thought about The Scarlet Letter (first the book and then the pin), I couldn't help but ponder our unfinished discussion about whether Hester received an effective punishment. I have concluded that the answer resides entirely on what you determine the objective of the punishment to be. The magistrates could have wanted to get the point across to Hester and make sure she can never to it again (which tends to be the purpose of modern day punishment). However, the more likely reason is that they wanted to provide an example to the women of the town so there... Continue reading

The award-winning movie from 2009, Avatar became famed for its new uses of technology for three dimensional effects and computer generated images. While Avatar is very much a modern movie, it still maintains many of the Romantic characteristics developed in the later 1700's. A few of those characteristics that are evident in the film are preferring emotion to logic, appreciating nature, and valuing individualism. In the movie, the main character, Jake Sully (a human), joins the Na'vi people of the distant world Pandora through the use of an Avatar that is of the same species as the Na'vi. While his... Continue reading

One of the most controversial arguments of the day is about abortion, but it really shouldn't be. The problem is that the argument is set up as a logical fallacy. The two sides, pro-choice and pro-life, create an either/or statement. "Either you are for abortion, or you are for government control over women's personal decisions" or "Either you are against abortion or you are for killing babies." There is absolutely no way to win. For the most part, every American approves of women's rights and opposes murdering people, but the either/or statement makes it seem like you have to choose.... Continue reading

Johnathan Safran Foer's novel, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, has what many would consider an unsatisfying ending. Oskar's adventure to find what his father's key opens turns out to not be about his father at all, and we never find out what the deal is with the sixth borough and Central Park. The lack of a full, satisfying conclusion, however, is, in my opinion, what makes the book great. One of the messages of Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is that tragedy happens and it might be difficult to move on, but, in the end, you need to accept the... Continue reading

The celebrated television hit, Glee, has won the hearts of many because of its relatability and "great messages". Although many view Glee as a show about the underdog coming out on top and the importance of individuality, the topic of an undying social hierarchy remains one of its main themes. The ultra popular TV show ends up reinforcing the overrated ideology of a high school social structure instead of encouraging deviation from the status quo. In one episode, Rachel, one of the "outcasts" decides she wants to influence the popular fashion at her school. To do that, she recruits one... Continue reading

Obama's recurring statement, "Pass this job act right away" bothered some people, but I found it extremely effective in getting his point across. Besides urging congress, with every "right away" and "now," Obama is reminding the Americans that this past summer, congress delayed the passing of an increased debt limit. The bill was not passed until a day before our government was going to run out of money which frustrated many Americans. The president was appealing to that very powerful emotion in order to hit home with his ideas. He also appeals to frustration when he mentions the next election... Continue reading