Lane Bryant on Victoria's Secret

Lane Bryant on Victoria's Secret

Awesome Video on Cat Calling

Please Click on to this link for an awesome video on youtube

The Awesome Video

Women Without Men - Shirin Neshat film

Shirin Neshat's film. Official trailer.

Go see the film!! It is playing in NY this week!

http://www.womenwithoutmenfilm.com/

Feed me something different PLEASE!!!

Watching the news or reading the newspapers in the morning is always a downer for me. I find myself in a state of sadness or anger due to the stories that are being broadcasted and/or published. I find it all to be the same thing; Hispanic girl raped in the projects, three young black males arrested for hate crime, blah blah blah blah blah! Enough!

"Almost everything we know about our country, and our world is dictated by media." The WMC speaks the truth with this statement. Who decides what is going to be feed to their public? Well being that it is a male dominated industry, the answer is pretty clear. Old rich white men! If you sit back and analysis what’s being promoted into your mind on a daily bases u realize that everything flashing across the screen or printed into bold letters is news which instills fear. When was the last time you turned the news on and found something educational, something worth learning? No seriously ... think ... we'll wait. Exactly!

"Media Ownership: Impact on Minority Ownership and Localism" tells us that when you wipe away all the cover-up, in all actuality media is just a business run by a few men; everything I’m being told comes out of their minds. This guys are insane in the membrane! I want a variety! I want options! I want to read about events that affect me and the people that surround me!

We are being worked like little puppets; know this, stay away from this topic, oh there is no way we're letting the public know about this instead let’s talk about something that DOES NOT MATTER! We live in a world in which tragic things happen on a daily bases. As we watch television or read our morning papers we are dueling on the past and rarely are we ever taking away any knowledge which will help you correct these mistakes; instead we play the blame game. We point fingers at certain races, genders, neighborhoods, lifestyles or whatever the big boys decide to entice us with. The sad part about this is that we fall into the trap.

How do we change this? Alternative media. I came across a great website which I had to save onto my favorite links after only ten minutes of exploring.

Newamericamedia.org

There are multiple topics one can CHOOSE to read from such as education, ethnic media headlines, ethnic media in the news, gender and sexuality, health, immigration, Latin America, Media, Race, race relations, youth culture and more (no worries there is still a sports section). The website is laid out wonderfully, it is very easy to find your focus and educate yourself on the given topic. The articles are wonderfully written and to top it off there are story tools next to the articles which allow you to comment, resize the font (for those that struggle without glasses), print (to share easily with others), and a share option to quickly email the articles.

Why is this a successful website? Because issues that are not emphasized in mass media is here. All this information is available at the click of a button. These articles are here to tell us what the our regular sources do not tell us! Why don't they tell us? It is not important or top priority to them, so these stories get neglected. On this website I found an article entitled, Natural Disasters Hit Women Harder Than Men. "June Zeitlin, a former executive director of WEDO, cited a study by the London School of Economics (LSE) analyzing disasters in 141 countries and providing decisive evidence that gender differences in deaths from natural disasters are directly linked to women’s economic and social rights. Gender inequalities are magnified in disaster situations. When women lack basic rights, more women than men will die from natural disasters. The LSE study also found that in societies where women and men enjoy equal rights, natural disasters kill the same number of women as men."

Finally some real news! An interesting topic which shows how woman all over the world have to deal with gender issues. There is so much on this website I wish I could post up about a few more articles but it's time for work. Go check it out and educate yourself on what matters to you! Do not let the media spoon feed you what they want you to hear. Enjoy!

WEBSITE:

http://newamericamedia.org/

IMAGES:

www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/vs9.jpg

We invent a new formula of making films

Maria Ripoll


"We invent a new formula of making films."


I read "Author/Auteur: Feminist Literary Theory and Feminist Film" and I was confused out of my mind until I found the director Maria Ripoll. My personal mission for this post was not simply to find a female director but to find someone to impact me, someone who would captivate me. After about two hours of googling and youtubing I found whom I was searching for. The first interview I was able to find was done by Cinema 3 de TV3, I was thrown off at first only to realized I understood most of what was being said; Catalan is closely related to Spanish. I was at a lost for words when Maria stated at the end "We invent a new formula of making films." What is this formula? First and for most language is not a factor in making a film successful. She takes language as a whole and imbraces it allowing people of different cultures to view and understand her films. As long as there is a message put across onto the screen, and she as a director takes this creation and makes everything come together in a strategic form, her mission is fulfilled.

In another interview (this one is in Spanish!) in the Ma'Laga 13 Festival Cine Espanol 17-24 on April 2010. She says that she is comfortable creating short and long films and so forth, simply because her passion is to direct people, manage staging, making costume and make up choices, anything and everything that has an impact on her work. Maria says that creating small documentaries or short films is a way of working under a constrained time frame. All of these works must explore in detail a problematic situation and how people carry themselves while dealing with their personal matters. She admits that it is not always an easy task but still strives to make things as close to perfection as possible. It is made clear that she takes these smaller project and later on sees if there is something bigger that can be formulated from it.


She has created many films one of which is entitled "Tu vida en 65' ". I can not believe I am admitting this, but I was almost in tears because of how beautiful the scenes are. Love is always a theme displayed in media but for the first time ever I found myself saying "Oh wow!" Maria directed the movie with such authenticity; the angles on the scenes, the close ups, the colors, the actors movements, facial expressions, the audio, the lights, the timing, the costumes, everything together creates her vision. Rather then write what was expressed in this scene, please watch it, if you do not understand Spanish, even better, just watch. Maria successfully makes you focus in on the main characters and the love they share for one another, nothing else is there except them and later the washing machine which symbolizes the clashing and alterations that happen in life. Things always become a mess but at some point, the machine that has been working you and tossing you every which way has to stop. When that stop presents itself, like the main character in the movie says, roughly translated, "... I found something that made us so, so, so happy that there really isn't a reason/purpose in living anymore."

Maria produced other films as well such as El domini de is sentits, Lluvia en los zapatos, Utopia, If Only, The Man with Rain in his Shoes, Twice Upon a Yesterday, Tortilla Soup and more. Why is Maria so important? It's because she is in control of bringing all the pieces together to expose an issue using techniques, she as a director, has perfected. She is, in a sense, the painter and the screen is her canvas. Maria is the creator, based on her judgement call things are placed in or out of a film simply because artistically she feels that how it should be; that is her vision. She is an auteur because she is aware of the power she possess and she uses it to express the suffrage of woman but also that of men. I feel as though Maria is wonderful and I plan on watching and promoting many of her films. Her story lines are great and the way she handles the camera is unique; she is not only a wonderful auteur but a talented woman who is determined to tell and produce a story the right way.

Images:

http://www.sofacinema.co.uk/guardian/images/products/9/11449-large.jpg

http://www.latidofilms.com/images/img/img181.jpg

Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWYj8gVdgZU&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kPjdDlV-is

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGsYnGMdmRM&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ykc23-sJNI&NR=1

Disney: Imposed Gender Roles

Disney: Imposed Gender Roles

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzipkEUqAVs

My Paper on Cosmetics in the Beauty Myth

My paper is about how cosmetics was a tool for women in the beginning of the 19th century to recreate their identity.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/31779658/Cosmetics-Friend-or-Foe

Hierarchy of Hotness

I've worked at Abercrombie & Fitch for over a year now. I first saw it as a privilege to work at a place filled with beautiful people; Maybe even justification of my own appearance. As time went on my interpretation of this image became tampered. Like many advertisements and images we see in the media, the idealistic brand of what is Abercrombie was not what I pictured it to be behind the shirtless models at the front door. The politics behind the organization has become over bearing. Things like nail polish color and the way you style your hair were being critiqued. It became apparent to me that the company I was so eager to worked for didn't classify me as the type of person they want working for them. I believe that I work for an organization that promotes secluding people based on what they believe is beautiful and sexy. Instead of promoting confidence in the way you look, they leave people wondering and question their own feelings about themselves. They have created t his Hierarchy of Hotness...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgegJO0RYp4

Who's Talking Feminism

Who's Talking Feminism

The project on scribd

This is my magazine about Feminism as a whole. I could not focus on one topic, but I wanted to tackle the subject as a whole. I wanted to show how necessary it is for feminism to be brought to light as a serious movement instead of the stereotypical definition (which is a bunch of male hating females). It's ridiculous for anyone to think that, but unfortunately that's what some people believe. I hope you enjoy.

Frontline - Wounded Platoon

I know that this is not women issue, but you have to see it.
It's PCS document about how army treat their soldiers.
See it HERE

Women and Parkour

Although this urban sport appeals mostly to men, women are getting in on the action too--and they are more than welcome. Watch these, be inspired and get out there, do some parkour.

These were produced by female documentarist, Julie Angel.

I am not my hair.

Zoila, age 3

Click play to hear my podcast on my experiences with hair, culture and growing up. The podcast details the first and last time I ever had my hair permed. I also talk about the history behind its creation, black hair care's most important historical figure (Madame C.J. Walker), the rise of Dominican hair care and the state of the industry now. I have also included some analysis and final conclusion on the cultural implications of hair styles. The four song selections are:

Butter by A Tribe Called Quest
Superfly by Curtis Mayfield
O Happy Day - Sister Act 2 Soundtrack
I am not my hair - India.Arie

I am not my hair.

Posted using ShareThis

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On ITP (the book we saw in class)

My favorite Rocketboom host, Ellie Roundtree, interviews several students about their projects in this year's ITP Spring Show.

Women and Gentrification:Making Some Connections

Gentrification is a process of social restructuring that has been taking place in essence since the end of WWII, but just under the title of Urban Renewal. In the past four decades American citizens all over major cities of the country have seen their once "blighted" neighborhoods, and the cultural as well as social connections they have with their community, relinquished in the name of gentrification. While there has been little research or studies done on the effects of the overall process on women in particular. This is something that has to be analyzed further and more in depth, and is an issue more people in general, not just women should, should want to learn more about.

Here is a link to my personal blog where I've posted my paper and a bibliography for those interested http://bxnative.wordpress.com

Final Project

For my final project I wrote an article about our culture's obsession with youth and beauty and how the media plays a huge role in shaping our idea of what beauty is.

YouTube Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ysTXLHQhAI

My article is on scribe:

A Cultural Obsession: Youth and Beauty

Final Project!

Hi everybody!This is my final project: "Have the media influenced your life?", is a serie of interviews to differents women, who speaks about how the media have influenced her lifes. It´s really interesting the things that they tell. I decided to make these series of interviews thinking in my first final, which I changed for this one because I felt more inspired doing it. Since I am taking this class I have been thinking how the media affects in my life, so I wanted to hear the experience of other girls and compare with mine. I chose 3 girls from differents parts of the world and with differents ages and I asked them about this question, which it was running in my head during all this time. This is the final product, I hope that you enjoy it like me working on it. I know that is not the best video,but it´s my first time recording and editing,but I think that still being interesting.
Thank you,
María.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yW2mzMrMXu0

Women and Advertising

I created a website for my final project, which is about women and advertising.
I wanted to examine and show how women have been represented in advertisements in different time periods.

I wanted to create a collection or library of ads, not an academic type of website. This is a more visual entertainment so I want you to enjoy my website!

http://womenandmediaspring10.jimdo.com/

Women in Latin Music

My final project consists of a magazine-like feature where I'll discuss some of the women and the people in Latin Music that have paved the way for the new generation of female Latin stars to be successful today. At the heart of the project is my love for Salsa music, which has taken me on a journey of discovery, seeking the tunes that get my heart jumping and feet moving, and the stories of the people that created them. So think of it as yet another chapter of an ever-evolving project of keeping the discussion of great music alive. This time I've been influenced by a class that has taught me that the women's inequality problem is pervasive and improving at a glacier's pace (before global warming), and has challenged me to take an active role in making a difference through my talents and through my voice. Priorities need to change, eyes need to be opened, and a generation needs to wake up and take responsibility and action. Like Celia Cruz would say, Life is a Carnival, and I'll do my best to provide a colorful, danceable soundtrack. Azúcar!

Final

Women Directing and Producing

My final project is social network website. The purpose of the website is to gather people interested in women in film industry issues. There will be organizations or individuals invited to post on blog, add news or events. Also forums will allow people to discuss. Website happened to be larger project than originally planned, so it is still in development stage.

You can see it at wdap.webs4anyone.com

Ageism

Many are familiar with the hardships imposed by social issues such as racism ans sexism, but not many think about ageism. And when they do think about it, they usually only think about discrimination against the elderly, as opposed to youth discrimination. I researched and examined cases dealing with both sides of this issue.

ageismsk

Sexy Music Today

Women are often objectified and sometimes even set themselves up to be objectified in the music industry. This is apparent in the lyrics of the artists' songs, in their music videos, and even when they are caught walking down by the paparazzi. Such behaviors have a negative impact on their audience. My online magazine, which can be viewed here, discusses this issue, the psychological aspect of it, and polls of how we see the music industry today.

To Maria and anyone else who is interested in creating an online magazine, which includes preset templates and a few major editing tools, the website I used was http://www.openzine.com.

Human Sex Trafficking

Link to the youtube video
Human trafficking, modern day slavery, is a $32 billion dollar worldwide industry which continues to grow unabated. The majority of modern day slavery revolves around the sex trade and reaches every corner of the globe. I wanted to take what we’ve discussed in class about the male gaze and the objectification of women in media and examine what role it plays in human trafficking.

Black Women In Politics

Social class, status, and power are predetermined by one’s gender and race despite society states this to no longer be true. Within today’s patriarchal society, men simply possess greater power than women, “and enjoy access to what is valued by the elite social groups. The phrase “the man is the head of the household” has filtered into our society producing male dominance and authority with multiple areas, including politics. Male society view women as being weaker and feel that our roles are set in stone as wives and mothers. Women have struggled attempting to change their position within society, regarding politics, especially black women. African American women have two strikes against them, where male society is concerned, one being female and two they are of color. African-American women have struggled attempting to change their position and how they are viewed within society. Many changes have been made throughout history regarding the place women in society, for equality especially politically.

I have observed the discrimination in the media against African Americans and especially women. I find it appalling when a black individual commits a crime the Mass Media would make headlines and be broadcasted for weeks repeatedly. I am saddened by the media’s focus on crime, drugs, gang violence and other forms of anti-social behavior among African-Americans. The media have fostered distortion, causing great damage of the perception of black people. African American women have often been viewed in the media as maids, prostitutes, junkies, unwed mothers and the list negativity goes on. However, it is funny though, when 21 year old, Katie Washington, on April 18, 2010, was named as the Notre Dame First Black Valedictorian, new of her great achievement did not make CNN, CBS, Fox 5, New York Times, Good Morning America top story or headlines.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atVy8S9rIjg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Skn-aSkJjH4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjIzxFL98Hg

My project is based on African American Women in politics. It is a compilation of great African American Women who have contributed to politics from slavery to present day.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/31793738/Black-Women-in-Politics

The Girl With The Dragon Fist

A flash animation that I made. It's about a young Asian American woman struggling with beauty images. I based it on one of our readings, Jean Kilbourne's "The More You Subtract, the More You Add: Cutting Girls Down to Size", and my own personal experience (the scenarios in the animation are not actual events, just based off of them). Kilbourne discusses how society and the media pressures women to be as small as possible, in both size and in power. The character in the animation tries to change this view, and prove that women are strong by entering into her school's talent show to perform a Taekwondo routine where she breaks boards that are symbolic of negative messages about women.

Edit:

Link to better online version, slowed down.

http://fmundergrad.hunter.cuny.edu/~chum/flash/finalproject_women.mov

An Opinion Editorial Exploring How The Media Has Contributed to The Rise of Teen Pregnancy

With most of my high school and college friends pregnant or already mothers, I decided to examine and even argue that the Media does and has contributed to the rise in teen pregnancy. It seems to me like everywhere I look either in my personal life or on TV and tabloids teen mother's have become a commodity. They are everywhere! And though I do not judge these girls, I am saddened and disturbed by this fact. I am a strong believer that women are capable of great things; enduring hardships while striving for their goals at the same time. I do however, think about the future and wonder how this present epidemic will effect my daughters and the daughters of the future. The first step to breaking this cycle is to analyze and critique some of the major forces behind the formation of culture. Today the media is one of those strong forces, because it has so much influence and impact in normalizing behaviors and attitudes.
MTV's Contribution to the Rise of the Teen Pregnancy Rate

Nazim Pelinkovic's Final MEDIA384

http://ladygagaculturalimpact.limewebs.com/Site/Home.html

My site aims to pick at Lady Gaga's many facets to examine her impact on culture and society, her charitable contributions while she embodies a sense of style and flamboyance.

At first, I listened to her with a very open mind and started getting pulled in my her live performances on YouTube. Every performance featured her with an "out there" costume and that little bit of something that just draws one in. I still can't put my finger on exactly what draws people to Lady Gaga, but I am willing to bet that some of it has to do with her stand-out-like-a-sore-thumb flare.

Final Project: Basic Kubotan

Behold: Basic Kubotan

Inspired by a discussion in class where most of the women believed that they were limited in defending themselves, I decided to create this website which will hopefully lead to opposite perceptions. Basic Kubotan focuses on a dual function object called the kubotan; it is used both as a key chain and a self-defense tool. Defending yourself with the help of a kubotan can be achieved with the most basic knowledge of pressure points. Beginners are usually advised to merely strike at any bony part of the body. This website was aimed to contribute in solving violence against women. By incorporating the kubotan in their daily lives, women can raise their confidence and freedom when going out into the world and living in our current society knowing they are equipped with a tool that they can personally use to protect themselves; to have the feeling of security even in the most shady areas. This website contains a short introduction to what a kubotan is, its history, applications and techniques, and where to buy them.

"For Women Inspired By Men"

I was very drawn to menswear for women and where it began. I found many images and facts that I was blown away and moved by good and bad. Women have worn men's clothing for a such a long time, yet it was never looked at as menswear. Women's fashion as evolved and that includes women wearing mens clothing for their own use. There has always been gender specific clothing, and the fact that women can walk around wearing mens clothing is beyond beautiful and inspiring. Coco Chanel designed clothes that were decidedly for the women wearing them, not for the man in her life! There are always those who say the women wearing mens fashion are cross dressing, however that stigma has been broken. I just wanted to say this class has been a pleasure, and creating my final has been more of a challenge, then writing short stories. I enjoyed every minute of this final and I hope you all enjoy it as well.

~Zoila Ponton

On Television

Television is a drug. from Beth Fulton on Vimeo.

All-Girls Education

What if this class were all women? How might it be different? Would you learn better, or at least differently? How might you be taught? How might you learn? How might you grow?


Excellence Girls in Bed-Stuy, the Spence School on the Upper East Side.

These are the answers I looked to find with a magazine article exploring the rise—or return, for after all, a century ago, this is how it was—of single-sex education in America, and particularly New York. Like many things, there are many camps surrounding this issue, those who argue boys and girls learn and behave differently, particularly at a younger age, and thus need to be separated. At the same time, there are those who simply believe in offering different choices to parents, advocates of charter schools and the like, a rationale I was not expecting to find. To further humanize this story, beyond talking to academics and experts, I talked to recently founded charter schools and decades-old private schools, all all-girl, to see what their approach is to single-sex education and how it has changed over the years, even visiting one of each to observe their approach first hand. The results may surprise you.

You Go Girls: How two all-girls schools in New York are reshaping the educational landscape

The Art of Self-Publishing

Red Dragon

The digital age has afforded us the ability to produce information in a manner that would have been very expensive, if not impossible, to do in the past.

Social media sites and the myriad of information found on the internet provide us with an excellent venue in which to evolve our ability to communicate.

For my final project I have created two chap books of poetry. The first, Red Dragon, is a book of poetry written by Gloria Fontanez.

The second book, Turbulencia, was inspired as a result of this project and is written by me. Please change the view on the lower left hand corner from "scroll" to "view" for optimal reading.

The third document is a bibliography of sites that provide information on ways to self-publish.

Turbulencia

Works Cited - Self Publishing

Single Ladies at Seven?

Art or sexualization of children? As reported by CBS news, the original post of this video has been watched two million times. The CHILDREN in this video are extremely talented dancers. However, the burlesque style of their costumes can be easily construed as an evocation of child pornography.

Dorthy Arzner

In the reading "Author/Auteur: Feminist Literacy Theory and Feminist Film" , it describe auteur as an individual who create films who portray how they view life. The auteur i would like to discuss is Dorothy Arzner.

Dorthy Arzner was a pioneering director during the the "Golden Age " of Hollywood. She was one of a few women who establish a name for herself during the film industry in the 1920s and 30s, despite sexism. Dorothy Arzner was the only female to be a member of the Directors Guild. Many of her work focus on gender and the representation among women. Her works described the lives of strong , interesting women. They are as challenging the dominant, phallocentric mores of the times. Arzner was an lesbian who presented a masculine look to be compared to the men in her field of work.

In a movie she created called The Wild Party, it was both critically and commercailly. This movie was set in a women's college and introduced some of the codes lesbian themes. The Wild Party is about these women who are know to be party girls and display bad behavior. One of the girls named Stella found out that a professor of hers is someone that she had a sexual encounter with. The professor being ignored by these girls behavior don't even notice Stella . Stella tries to gain her respect with the professor.


Work Cited:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002188/bio

http://archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/directors/03/arzner.html

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0020590/plotsummary

Mother's Day Fail

From failblog.org:



"Happy Mother’s Day, Mom. Now do my laundry."

http://failblog.org/2010/05/09/epic-fail-photos-mothers-day-fail/

Breaking through the advertising machine

full video does not fit....watch it here

(via clusterflock)

Best figures ever!

First women chosen for sub duty excited

They never expected to get the chance, but the Midshipmen chosen to be the Navy's first female submariners are ready to go -- after some more training.

http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/first-women-chosen-for-sub-duty-excited-19605966#video=19605966

THANK YOU!!!!

Before semester's end, I want to take this opportunity to thank Professor Cacoilo as well as everyone in the class for a great semester!

This class has been, by far, my favorite!! I have learned much from all of your comments, presentations and blog posts.

The anti-adverts of this week made me laugh - which is a good thing because much of the content covered during this class really made me angry.

The images clearly convey the point to which a society is willing to disintegrate in pursuit of the dollar bill.

How we are being portrayed as citizens is a disgrace and quite sadly, a depiction of who we are as a country. What are we teaching our children and those of the world at large?

There is a bigger picture at stake here.

Fire, Earth and Water

Chuyia is a vivacious little girl, she is not a teenager yet, she is the kind of little girl that asks a million questions and is curious about everything. We all know a little girl like her, except probably not exactly like her. Little Chuyia, despite her young age, has been a wife to an older and sickly man and is now also a widow. “Water”, is the third film in a trilogy by director Deepa Mehta, it chronicles the plight of widows in India during the time of Mohandas Gandhi’s struggle against the British in 1938. Deepa Mehta resides in Canada but was born and raised in India. Her films help spark conversations and challenge blind Indian traditions. Mehta is quoted as saying, “I seriously wanted to break the stereotypes of India, the 'exotic' India of the Raj and the princes and the mysticism. Exotic India doesn't really exist" (Kirkland). Her films have won her international acclaim; “Water” was nominated in 2007 for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Some of her other films such as “Sam and Me” received awards at the Cannes Film Festival and “Fire” the second movie in her trilogy has been awarded over 14 international awards. While her films are loved internationally, Mehta’s films have sparked violent controversy in India, where her stories are set and the films are shot. Mehta is constantly having to face criticism in India, her latest film Cooking with Stella was harshly received in an article in The Times of India by Rashmee Roshan, just one of the latest critics of Mehta (Roshan). Whenever she shines a light on the problems of India or women in India it seems she is branded a traitor who has forsaken her native India for her new home in Canada

Deepa Mehta was born in Amritsar, India in 1949; her father was a film distributor and theater owner. Mehta received her bachelors and masters degree in philosophy from the University of New Delhi. Initially she did not want to pursue a career in film; she got started in film when she took a part time job at a place called the Cinematic Workshop, while she planned to do her PhD dissertation. Slowly Mehta learned the different steps in film making from sound production to camera work and editing; eventually she made her own documentary and in the process discovered how much she loved it (Hanggi). While at the University of New Delhi she met her husband, Canadian filmmaker and producer Paul Saltzman; the couple immigrated to Canada but had a short-lived marriage. Mehta began her career as a screenwriter for children films and producing documentaries until in 1991 she produced and directed her first feature film Sam and Me. Following the success of Sam and Me Mehta went on to guest direct two episodes for a George Lucas project, Young Indian Jones. During the 90’s Mehta went on to produce and direct more feature films that garnered critical acclaim. During this period Mehta began work on her trilogy Fire, Earth and Water that focus on exposing some of the ridge norms that exist in India. Mehta’s films are always influenced by her experiences as an Indian woman, her films tend to closely mirror Mehta’s struggle with national pride and her belief systems that run contrary to many oppressive Indian traditions.

Water, is the third film in Mehta’s film trilogy, released in 2005. This film is set against the backdrop of political upheaval in India in 1938 during Gandhi's struggle against British colonialism. It focuses on the practice of placing widows in “widow ashrams”, temples or poor houses where widows are marginalized from the rest of society. Mehta tells the story of the widows by following a child widow, Chuyia, which is placed in an ashram when her elderly and sickly husband passes away. Kalyani is a beautiful widow living the ashram and the head of the ashram is pimping her out but she takes to caring for Chuyia. Kalyani meets a handsome young man, Narayan, from a wealthy family who, against his family’s approval, is a follower of Gandhi's movement that includes new rights for women (such as enabling widows to remarry). The story questions if Kalyani will be able to escape the ashram and marry Narayan and what will happen to Chuyia if she does. Is Chuyia doomed to spend the rest of her life in the ashram and take Kalyani’s place of being pimped for funds to maintain the ashram?

Placing widows in ashrams is still practiced to this day; as such Mehta’s film was not popular in India. Many saw it as a criticism of their religious text; thousands of people led by various religious groups protested the film and violence erupted during the filming. The set for the film was destroyed and burned down and the project was stopped amidst the protest and violence surrounding the film. Mehta did not let her vision about this film change; she had a story to tell and knew how she wanted to tell it. Mehta picked up production of the film a few years later but shot the film in Sri Lanka in order to tell the story how she envisioned. When asked if she ever considered abandoning the project after the fundamentalist violence Mehta responded by saying, “Not even for a second. I just knew it had to happen at the right time, a time when I no longer had anger about what had happened, particularly with a story this fragile. My anger would have distorted the film and changed the story I wanted to tell” (reverseshot).

Work Cited

Kirkland, Paul. "Deepa's values are down to Earth." Toronto Sun 25 Sept. 1999.

Roshan, Rashmee . "An expat idea of India: damn lies". The Times of India. April 18, 2010 .

Hanggi, Katy . "Deepa Mehta". English Emory. February 2010 .

Catsoulis, Jeannette. "Deepa Mehta: An Interview". Reverse Shot. Spring 2006 .

What Advertisements Should Say!

Picture found at http://i512.photobucket.com/albums/t329/ladyventino/17-adbusters.jpg



Picture Found at http://5thandprospect.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/dngsub.jpg

Graffiti and Body Image

Images were found on this blog.

"Pickpockets and Loose Women"

http://sedatedartist.deviantart.com/art/Pickpockets-And-Loose-Women-63245475

Not art, but it's funny.

Women in the Media

These two pictures from http://aseachange.com/blog-illusionists/category/inspiring-women/


A weblog entry about female objectification in the media: http://sherryx.wordpress.com/2009/03/ (you'll need to scroll down a little to find this picture and the entry about it.)

Comments to this picture: http://roflrazzi.com/2009/11/05/celebrity-pictures-tyra-banks-objectifying-women/


Women are strong enough to do anything!

Absolute Hangover

http://jilliandana.wordpress.com/2009/07/27/guerilla-marketing/

Photoshoped Subway Ads exposed

http://gizmodo.com/5130163/photoshopped-subway-ads-get-exposed-in-berlin

Male-Controlled Media

http://manhunt.deviantart.com/art/Censorship-86831505

Artist's Comments

This photo represents how censorship takes place... how you are not allowed to speak or see what you want, and only allowed what is chosen for you.

It also deals with how females are over powered by males in society.

Check out Activity Grrrls' Radio Revolution!

Hi guys! If you're ever free on a Tuesday afternoon, you can stream the show I co-host on Hunter Radio (WHCS) called Activity Grrrls' Radio Revolution with Steph and Danielle. We air live at whcs.hunter.cuny.edu every Tuesday at 2pm.

We have gotten to interview some awesome bands this semester, including The Dollyrots. They are a three-piece pop/rock group fronted by Kelly Ogden, who I think is one of the coolest female bassists since Suzi Quatro declared "Your Mama Won't Like Me!"



You can access our 2010 archive here:

http://whcsdjs.tumblr.com/post/414902502/activity-grrrls-radio-revolution

Here is the link to our 2009 archive:
http://tuesdayfall09.tumblr.com/post/326063502/activity-grrrls-radio-revolution

Join our Facebook group here:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=331037703392

I'd love to keep in touch with everyone, even after the class is over. Feel free to friend me on Facebook (Steph Koppel) or email me at steph.koppel (at) gmail dot com

Also, our radio station is having our first off-campus party this Friday night (May 7) at The Knitting Factory in Brooklyn. We have a really good line up of bands for this event, including one of my favorites, J'aime & I. Tickets are only $5 for Hunter students and can be purchased at Thomas Hunter 101. Go to http://whcs.hunter.cuny.edu/ for more details.

We ARE better than this!

from The Happy Feminist

Agnieszka Holland

In theory term auteur describes a director as creator of his movie, which is his personal vision. “’Auteuris’ developed in the 1950s from the critical ideas of the French journal Cagiers di Cinéma… …the camera which Astruc identifies as write’s pen, or metaphorical penis, and as the mechanism with which directors inscribe their idea onto film” (Author/Auteur, 96). Many directors (and their films) can be seen as auteurs, especially in European cinema.

Agnieszka Holland, Polish women director, is a great example of these kinds of movie creators, who want to express some important (not only for them) ideas. Many of her movies are close to her heart and reflect on her own experience. Like many film directors in Europe, who want to amplify some important thoughts, not easy to talk about, Holland was rejected many times. She couldn’t get money for her production. “During the 1970's, she came to this building only to bang her head against bureaucratic walls. Her scripts were always rejected, generally without reason” (Times, 1).

Agnieszka Holland, born in 1948, is daughter, Irene Holland (mother), a Catholic journalist, who fought in Polish underground in the Warsaw uprising of 1944; and Henryk Holland, prominent Jewish journalist. (Times, 2). When she was 11, her parents get divorced and 2 years later her father felt from a window to his death. Official version is that he committed suicide, but some belief that he was pushed. Magdalena Lazarkiewicz, her five years younger sister said: “Like Agnieszka, he could be hater by somebody because he was very volatile, very dangerous” (Times, 2).

This incident played a big role in her art she confessed. She sought salvation through writing and film making. She couldn’t study in Lodz, Polish best film school, so she applied to Prague, where she was accepted (one of seven students of 220 applicants). (Times, 2)

Yet, from her first movie (“The Sin of God”) she created her trademark. Her movies merge “deep pessimism regarding the human condition, yes interlaced with dark humor” (Time, 3).

She had a lot of experience in her life. She Spent 6 weeks in jail in Prague after her underground activity, where 2 “prisoners [from left and right cell] could only exchange their erotic messages through Holland” (Times, 3). Also she had to leave Poland, where she left her 8 year old daughter, Kasia. When Kasia finally could get to France after 8 months, she didn’t want to talk to her mother.

Agnieszka Holland had a lot of (usually bad) experience in her life, but this helped her lot to see things different, more closely. All of her experience has expression in her movies.

In example her 1985 film “Angry Harvest” was story of love-hate bond between a Polish Catholic farmer and a Jewish woman. I’m sure she used a lot of her childhood memories to tell this story.

Her most famous film “Europa, Europa”, 1990 international co-production (Germany, France and Poland), is the greatest example of auteur’s work. The film is based on real story of Solomon Perel. He was a Jew, who on fall of World War II escaped with his family from Germany to Poland, then just with his brother to Russia. When Germans trespassed into Russia, Solek (that’s his short name) pretended to be German to save his life. He had to keep pretending till end of the war, which was very hard for him.

Even though the story is interesting and film was made after publishing by Salomon his autobiography, Holland made the movie as her own point of view. “Holland isn't a dour moral instructor; she's an ironist with a deft ability to capture the absurd aspects of her material and keep them in balance with the tragic. It's a sign of the Polish director's low-key humanism that she refuses to denounce Solek for seeking the approval of his instructor and with it the solid ground of normalcy by essentially joining the enemy.” (Washington Post)

After this movie she entered to Hollywood, where did a few great, no Hollywood style movies, like The Secret Garden (1993), Total Eclipse (1995) with Leonardo DiCaprio playing main role, or Copying Beethoven (2006).

There’s no doubt that Agnieszka Holland is auteur of her films. Asked about women issues, “in a 1988 interview, she said that although women were important in her films, feminism was not the central theme of her work. Rather she suggested that when she was making films in Poland under the communist regime, there was an atmosphere of cross-gender solidarity against censorship, which was seen as the main political issue.” (Wikipedia)

Work Cited:

Humm, Magie. “Chapter4: Author / Auteur: Feminist literary theory and feminist film.” Feminist and Film. Indiana University Press, April 1997.

Cohen, Roger. “Holland Without a Country.” New York Times. August 8, 1993. <http://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/08/magazine/holland-without-a-country.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1>

Hinson, Hal. “Europa, Europa.” Washington Post. August 9, 1991. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/europaeuroparhinson_a0a6d7.htm>

Wikipedia. “Agnieszka Holland” <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnieszka_Holland>