you know, women uniting rather than turning against one another to protect a man like on Springer… but ended up re-inscribing all the old values: glorifying and forgiving male infidelity and hyper-sexuality, dragging out tired old female stereotypes and making pms jokes, and ultimately undoing the message of feminine strength and unity by having the women turn on one another and compete for the man (who is surprisingly heroic and even Christlike in the climactic scene)… as bell hooks might say, “just another shitty movie”

Basic, helpful recommendations.

Specific, useful information on relevant things… from how to enter class the first day (early? just on time? take your coat off first!) to difficult students in discussion groups (how to handle a “silent glarer”). Much appreciated gift from the graduate student teaching center here.

Lesbian movies are made with such a different tone than movies about gay men… compare this one and Kissing Jessica Stein with, say, Edge of Seventeen and even Not Another Gay Movie. Lesbian movies are about a secretive emergence— the whole plot is about a woman realizing she is gay while enmeshed in a life that is totally at odds with being gay. Sometimes its about carrying on a very dark, very sexy secret affair (think of Bound). With the partial exception of Brokeback Mountain, the movies about men are glorious displays of sexuality— drag, lots of edifying sex, parties, community, pride, and also about struggles within an existing and strong community, particularly AIDS and discrimination. I think it shows that female sexuality is something that’s just coming to the surface (of the culture) and doesn’t really have a place yet— the films are about finding a place.

I love this book… I’m not sure everyone would, though. I showed the first page to my boyfriend (who is wonderfully capable of treating any topic as worthy of consideration and who is appreciative of even my deepest quirks), and he seemed confused and a little bit horrified.

But I think I’ve finally found a feminist like me in Julia Doucet. Her “if I was a man” panels are perfect. Her work descends directly from R. Krumb and co., the great underground comix artists, and their influence is brilliantly taken up in her ink style and humor.

note to self: re-read May 2007

I don’t think I was in the mood— I found myself annoyed as hell rather than amused and empathetic, and couldn’t keep watching.

Note to self:

Here’s his other book: http://www.amazon.com/Voice-Earth-Exploration-Ecopsychology/dp/1890482803/ref=pd_sim_b_5/103-7035108-6426253

Straight up ecopsychology, like David Abram.

Re-reading it now.

The cliche of a cliche (Warning, spoiler, if there is such a thing as a spoiler for a cliche: She’s rich, he’s poor, she goes to college, he goes to war, her mother wants them apart and hides his letters, she finds a rich guy, but then finds out about the letters and has some amusing dialogue with her mother and they come to An Understanding, and she ends up back with her old true love.) Kind of a made-for-tv feel, dangerous romantic misinformation about dementia, magical thinking. Love is real, y’all! Like, real real— no need to “romanticize” love by way of an unachievable fairy tale.