Category Archives: Popular (and unpopular) culture

Confederate Flags Belong in Museums Not at Speedways

Apparently, many NASCAR fans have a penchant for Confederate Flags, and some of them are upset about this editorial discouraging people from flying the Confederate Flag at a race at the California Speedway.  They decided to come into the newspaper’s website … Continue reading

Posted in Popular (and unpopular) culture, Race, racism and related issues | 231 Comments

Sexualized Images in Media Harm Women and Girls, Duh!!

Sometimes its hard not to laugh at these headlines because they are so obvious.  I guess it is nice to have some research to back up the obvious–hence this report from the American Psychological Association on the negative effects of media sexualization on … Continue reading

Posted in Feminism, sexism, etc, Gender and the Body, Gender and the Economy, Media criticism, Popular (and unpopular) culture | 32 Comments

We don't like to make our passions other people's concern

Audra Williams has a really great question“: I said at a Mediawatch board meeting this weekend that I feel like it’s impossible to get upset with young girls dressing in revealing clothing without also signing onto the notion that it’s … Continue reading

Posted in Buffy, Whedon, etc., Feminism, sexism, etc, Popular (and unpopular) culture | 19 Comments

Honda Pilot Troll Commercial and American Indian Mascots

While we are on the subject of minstrel shows and blackface, I thought it would be appropriate to discuss how widely accepted “redface” is in American culture.  From the moment I saw this Honda Pilot commercial, I was struck by … Continue reading

Posted in Popular (and unpopular) culture, Race, racism and related issues | 21 Comments

Martin Luther King Day for White People???

Yes folks seems like we can’t even go a day without college students hosting “racially themed” parties. Today, the Smokinggun.com featured some pictures from a Martin Luther King Day party at Clemson University. The theme of the party was “Living … Continue reading

Posted in Popular (and unpopular) culture, Race, racism and related issues | 104 Comments

Review: Shortbus

I went to see Short Bus tonight. There are a lot of good things you could say about this movie. It’s got lots of lovely and real moments, humour and wit, and, most importantly, it shows people having sex. Not … Continue reading

Posted in Feminism, sexism, etc, Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans and Queer issues, Popular (and unpopular) culture | 14 Comments

Dude You Kissed a Girl

The first episode of Ugly Betty aired in New Zealand a couple of days ago. My short review is that it looks awesome (although the ending was way too pat, and if the point is supposed to be that if … Continue reading

Posted in Feminism, sexism, etc, Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans and Queer issues, Popular (and unpopular) culture | 43 Comments

Review: Children Of Men (reasonably spoiler-free)

Children of Men is a distopian movie, about a world where no woman has given birth for 18 years. It contains the most powerful scene I’ve ever seen on film. Kee, a young black woman is going into labour on … Continue reading

Posted in International issues, Iraq, Palestine & Israel, Popular (and unpopular) culture, Race, racism and related issues | 10 Comments

70s Comedies Featuring Men In Costumes Raped By Gorillas — Anyone Else Remember This?

Does anyone else remember that in the 1970s and 1980s, there were multiple movies which featured the “comic” situation of a man somehow getting stuck in a gorilla suit, and then being stuck in a cage with a randy male … Continue reading

Posted in Popular (and unpopular) culture, Rape, intimate violence, & related issues, Sexism hurts men | 18 Comments

Review: The Break Up

My friend Besty and I were possibly the only people to refer to The Break Up as the new Peyton Reed movie. Ever since we watched Bring It On in a mostly empty cinema in the middle of the day, … Continue reading

Posted in Feminism, sexism, etc, Popular (and unpopular) culture | 5 Comments