-
Some thoughts on the WDCE/SWCE
The Writer’s Digest Conference – East was held in concert with the Screen Writers Conference – East, at the Times Square Sheraton in Manhattan. Mere blocks from the electric gloaming at the heart of the Square, I was fortunate to join the audience of several highly informative, entertaining, and enlightening panels and classes that were…
-
10 More Female Comic Book Characters That I Can Think Of
Once I stopped typing before, I realized that I could think of 10 more female comic book characters. Below is exactly everything I know about them 1. She Hulk – I’ve learned about this one late. Somewhere in between the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling and the Wicked Witch of the West, we got She Hulk.…
-
Genuine Ken: Courting and Gender Roles in Neoliberal America
Examining both the methodologies of reality television and the history of the Barbie brand, this paper seeks to identify the neoliberal methodologies present in the Genuine Ken narrative, from the gamedoc rubric, to the selective casting, to the manner in which the participants are portrayed. The show seeks not only to commodify romance, but also…
-
Slave To The Needle – a Monkey Science Project
This obsession began via roundabout means. The front page of CNN featured an art focus on a local Seattle Artist known as Moxie. I was mesmerized. I myself longed to stab doll pieces with needles. Closer examination yielded a generous amount of information regarding her projects and gallery showings. I don’t know why I found…
-
Review: Interior Design: Commodifying Self and Place in Extreme Makeover, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and The Swan
“For what makeover programming reflects is the extent to which the self is now regarded as a project and cultural construct, something that must be self reflexively worked on and continually performed.” (Deery, 161) If there is one overarching agenda the Neoliberal machine wishes to push forward through these shows, it is that happiness is…
-
Sucker Punch: The New Feminist War Anthem – Sexuality, Fantasy, and Themes of Self-Actualization
A sucker punch is a blow made without warning, allowing no time for preparation or defense on the part of the recipient. – From Wikipedia The surface nature of Zack Snyder’s 2011 film Sucker Punch evokes images of a middle school locker room’s storyboarding session for Inception. Arguably it panders to an adolescent demographic; gratuitous,…
-
Review, Part 2 – Makeover Nation – Selfhood, Citizenship and Celebrity
Though the first half of my review focused on those methodologies in the makeover gamedoc which resembled “tabula rasa” style indoctrination and enslavement techniques, this second installment takes a closer look at the methodologies which turn appearance into a commodity that helps or hinders an individuals market value in regards their human and social capital. …
-
Review, Part 1 – Makeover Nation – Selfhood, Citizenship, and Celebrity
Throughout the spectrum of what appear to be a unique variety of makeover shows, Weber identifies a universal framework of cultural indoctrination and re-education. Prejudicial and stereotypical notions of racial identity, sex and gender identity, and social conformity are drilled into the minds of the insecure, who willingly hand themselves over to a governing body…
-
Disturbing Mental Images #1
It’s 1994, and Robert Downey, Jr. has found himself in the heart of the Mojave Desert with no food, no water, and no pants. All he can call his own under the harsh desert sun are a loaded .22 pistol and a restaurant sugar jar filled with pure Columbian nose candy. As he walks in…
-
Follow
Following
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Off The Spectrum 