The 25th anniversary of Thelma & Louise sparked conversation about feminist films and female filmmakers. Geena Davis, one of the stars of the film, launched the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media in 2004. This institute which focuses on improving female roles in family entertainment makes its mission to "champion women and diverse voices in media." This institute is a great step in the right direction to address the lack of diverse voices in the media. Additionally, it combats the symbolic annihilation and silencing of marginalized groups.
The story of Harriet Tubman is one that we all know, however, just until recently it had never been adapted into a film. Viola Davis and husband Julius Tennon have worked to get the story told. Davis has gone on record saying that the story has not been told because it is about a black woman. In the hierarchy of the heteropatriarchy black women are the low man on the totem pole. They are often symbolically annihilated erasing them from the public mind, and essential the public discourse which then sacrifices their well being because they aren't seen as having a voice. It is important that Davis and Tennon portray this story as authentically as possible to promote positive images of black women.
Today I saw a commercial for Olay Regenerist, an anti aging cream. The target demographic is women in their 40s and 50s. But in this commercial the actress using the cream is definitely in her twenties maybe very early thirties but nowhere near the age to be concerned about wrinkles. The blatant younger casting perpetuates the discrimination against aging women in the film industry. By eliminating aging or older women, that portion of society is symbolically annihilated. Their interests such as women's rights or gender inequality are ignored in the mainstream media and therefore deemed unimportant.
The pre-show for the Met Gala consisted of four white critics who discussed the fashion choices that were made for and by celebrities and designers. These critics praised Taylor Swift for her peroxided hair and silver dress. Perhaps I have become bitter but I am tired of hearing about how amazing Taylor Swift is. Though I am a fan of some of her songs, her constant praise and media coverage cultivates the idea that traditionally white females (thin, blonde, superior, etc. ) are the norm and what young girls should strive for. Additionally the elitist aura surrounding the Met Gala perpetuates the concept of cultural class. Those who have money and control the political economy can purchase tickets to the gala and therefore effect cultural class perpetuating the hegemonic agenda.
I recently posted about Donald Trump’s attack on Hillary Clinton for using the “women’s card”, whatever that may be. With this attack, Trump had stated that if Hillary were a woman she would not have made it this far in the presidential race and she had continued to play the “women’s card” in order to secure votes. The media covered this statement to its fullest extent, with headlines everywhere you could turn discussing Trump’s latest attack on his opponent. With all of the comments Trump has made against women, this did not exactly come as a surprise, but rather more of an further acknowledgement that Trump does not feel Clinton is fit for presidency.
With the media’s uproar on covering this topic, Clinton has received immense questioning about her response to this supposed “women’s card” and this just in, she has appropriated the phrase and thankfully is using Trump’s patriarchal discrimination to her advantage. Clinton has quite literally created a physical “Woman Card” that she sending to supporters who donate $10 or more to her campaign. With the distribution of this card, Clinton has publicly stated that, “If fighting for women’s health care and paid family leave and equal pay is playing the woman card, then deal me in!” While this physical “woman card” is Clinton’s somewhat satirical way of fighting back, it is also a metaphoric statement to her supporters that she wants to be dealt into the fight for equal rights for women. Hillary Clinton happens to be a woman, yes, but as intersectionality has taught us, she is so much more. She is a woman who aims to fight for equal rights, part of which very much so pertains to women, so we no longer have to earn 78 cents to every man’s dollar. That fight for women's rights is something Clinton is proud of and should continue to be. The establishment of her “woman card” is a public statement to Trump that she may in fact be playing a “woman card”, but only in the sense that she believes in the radical notion of equal rights for all, including women, which unfortunately Trump does not appear to do.
The “woman card” is a political statement in the media that there is in fact no such thing as a “woman card” unless it pertains to equality. So thank you Donald, for inspiring Hillary to even more so proclaim her much needed activism for female rights- the media is loving it.
The UK based news outlet, BBC, is one of the most reputable international news outlets, priding itself in predominantly unbiased reporting and an accurate global perspective. Thus, I try to stay updated on their international sector and see what types of stories are being covered in BBC versus American news outlets. I stumbled upon a video the BBC created to show the racial and class divide that persists throughout Brazil, with an emphasis on the multicultural city of Rio de Janeiro. This short video depicts two young woman studying at the same private university and who grew up in Brazil, in an effort to portray the differences individuals experience based on their race and class.
Sharon was a white female of English descent who enjoyed golfing while Julianna was of black female of African descent who loves to attend Afro-Brazilian dance classes. The two girls took each other to their daily routine and realized that they were similar in the sense that they both fostered a love of sports and having strong familial influences, but acknowledged that their cultural differences were too great for them to truly understand one another’s lifestyle.
I think it is particularly interesting that BBC made an effort to put this at the forefront of their global news page this week. BBC is referring to this time as their “identity season” and are thus identifying the intersectionality of individuals and cultures around the world. I think it would make a world of a difference (pun intended) if other news outlets took after BBC’s efforts to promote cultural divides and global influences. Understanding the diversity of not only the world, but throughout cities could make an immensely positive influence on international prosperity and acceptance. The media has the ability to frame the minds of individuals around the world and using this power in a positive manner, as BBC has in fostering an “identity season” opens followers to a positive outlook on cultural appropriation throughout the globe.
http://www.latimes.com/travel/themeparks/la-et-trb-disney-latina-princess-parks-debut-20160429-snap-htmlstory.html Princesa Elena, Disney's "first" Latina princess is about to make her debut on TV this summer and in Disney parks. But what advocates and fans fail to realize is that Elena is not a Latina princess but she is the "first princess inspired by diverse Latin cultures." Latinos have not been represented in the media and if they have, they've been stereotyped. We can see this with popular films Maid in Manhattan and in politics (aka Trump). Elena also is not getting a feature film like other up and coming princesses of color such as Hawaiian princess Moana. It seems that this princess is being excluded from the opportunity that other princesses of color have had. This could be because of the all the controversy around illegal immigration in our country which could have influenced producers' decision to not make Elena a feature film. I'm not sure but I do hope is that this show actually showcases the history and traditions of Hispanic culture and moves away from stereotypical characters such as Dora. And maybe down the road we can get a feature film about a Latina princess.
