Is it immoral to be a tourist?
A few weeks ago we returned from spending a week long vacation in Cuba. You may have even read my last post with suggestions for anyone else who might be interested in traveling there.
So, why, out of the blue, am I asking you about the morality of tourism?
Well, it’s probably because of Jamaica Kincaid and her book, A Small Place.
Posted in business, Economy, Europe, history, money, morality, politics, Travel
Tagged A Small Place, Antigua and Barbuda, beaches, check your privilege, colonialism, colonization, Corruption, economy, ethical tourism, ethical traveler, ethics, finances, gender, government, Jamaica Kincaid, money, morality, opportunity, race, relaxation, school, sexual orientation, slavery, social classes, social justice, social stratification, Tourism, travel, university
It should be absolutely no secret to any and all of you that I’m an advocate for diversity. There are a myriad of different reasons for this, from the “it would be nice…” of seeing a little more colour in popular media to the more specific “think of the children” that pertains to White boys specifically [not White girls or Black boys and girls] having their self-esteem boosted by watching TV. What some people don’t realize is that the need need for diversity extends beyond actors and the characters they portray to the actual creators involved.
I’m not going to say that a White man cannot ever be involved in the creation of art that discusses or features minorities and their struggles- it’s a topic I touched on when discussing children’s author Rich Michelson and the books he’s written about the Civil Rights Movement. These stories can, and have been, and will continue to be valid, the question remains as to why we live in a world where a James Brown biopic can be created as a summer blockbuster and have “all the producers, writers, and the director [. . . be] white.” At what poi
nt should anyof these people stopped and thought to themselves, “Maybe a Black person would be able to provide a perspective on this that none of the rest of us could?” “Immediately” is the answer in case you were wondering.
This is all a lead-up to how, if this is definitely a problem in our current culture, we can change things. As history would dictate I am going to be coming at this from a distinctly comic-related perspective, but the issues therein can be paralleled across the board to TV and movies. Continue reading
Readers, I try not to abuse Shame Day.
These posts are meant to be condemnations of terrible events, trends, or people- not platforms for us to roust the things we simply don’t care for. I’ll actively avoid researching certain people or subjects which just generally annoy me- I don’t want to hastily pull together some indignant exposé to justify my dislike of something. And for the longest time, the works and career of American pastor John Piper have been one of those things.
Until now. Continue reading
Posted in bizarreness, Christianity, feminism, lgbt, media, morality, religion
Tagged 1 Corinthians 7, 1 Timothy 2:12, Authority, Bible, biblical, complementarianism, Game of Thrones, gay, gender, Homosexual, homosexuality, inerrancy, John Piper, megachurch, pastor, Paul, Rachel Held Evans, Rachel Pietka, roles, Romans, Saint Paul, sex, shame, Silent, Teaching, women
Spoilers below… and all that jazz.
Unabashedly a Story about Women
At this year’s Oscars Cate Blanchett happily exclaimed that her award proves that women are not a niche market. Some of this year’s top films are evidence that people care about women and their stories. There were the Hunger Games films, which blazed the trail for future female heroines, then Frozen, which is now the fifth highest grossing film ever. In fact, movies that pass the Bechdel test are now doing better at the domestic box office than those that don’t. But the latest trend in female heroines tends to imbue them with traditionally male traits, and rarely celebrates the issues that the majority of women regularly engage with. In contrast, Maleficent is a story that is unabashedly about women, and its success demonstrates that people care about the issues that affect the “other” gender.
I felt this was fitting, what with female protagonists breaking out of their “niche” market.
Posted in family, feminism, film
Tagged #yesallwomen, abuse, adoption, angel, Angelina Jolie, Aurora, Bechdel Test, box office, cannibalism, Cate Blanchett, curse, Disney, evil, fairy tale, female characters, feminism, Feminist, Frozen, gender, good, healing, hero, Maleficent, metaphor, Monster, motherhood, murder, niche market, Prince Charming, rape, revenge, sex, Sexual Violence in War, sleeping beauty, Snow White and the Huntsman, The Hunger Games, true love kiss, Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, wings
I have never been asked to “check my privilege”. That is by no means indicative of my actual status in life, one that’s already vastly higher than most by virtue of being born in a First World country. Not only do I come from a middle class family in a wealthy nation, but I also happen to be both male and straight. Those two facets of my person alone have freed me from a world of verbal [and potentially physical] abuse. It’s no mystery to me how good I have it going.
Replace “U. S. of A.” with “Canada” and this pretty much sums it up.
Taking all of that into account, and I really do dwell on the reality of how much better off I am than others on an almost daily basis, I can say with confidence that I would not enjoy hearing those three words. I acknowledge that they would feel like not only an admonishment for not thinking through whatever I had just said or written, but an outright dismissal of my viewpoints.
I want to state this as clearly as possible: no part of me supports the usage of any phrase to “strike down opinions” or otherwise silence others. I am a strong proponent of discussion and this activity flies in the very face of that. My issue is that the purpose of the article I’m responding to appears to be the throwing out of these three words completely, and generally appears to completely miss the point. Continue reading
Posted in education, feminism, language, money, race, writing
Tagged advantage, apologize, check your privilege, disadvantage, gender, gender discrimination, hard work, hardship, Jennifer Kabbany, meritocracy, poster child, princeton, privilege, race, racial profiling, suffering, Tal Fortgang, white, white privilege
KAT: Hello there ladies and gentlemen, princesses and princes, woodland creatures and dwarfs and all those who fall somewhere in between. Today, if you haven’t already guessed, Evan and I will be discussing Disney films and gender roles.
EVAN: I’ve been reading blogger extraordinaire the Unshaved Mouse review each installment in the Disney animated canon beginning with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and believe you me there is a lot for us to go through-
KAT: Speaking of Snow White, I also unexpectedly came across the Disney film in my literary theory class. In their essay “The Madwoman in the Attic” Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar use Snow White as an example of the angel/ monster dichotomy imposed on women. Snow White is quite literally the personification of purity, meanwhile the only powerful woman in the film (the Queen) is purely evil.
That being said, I feel like gender roles in Disney films have evolved considerably since then.
What kind of gender issues was the Unshaved Mouse bringing up on his blog post about the character? Continue reading
Posted in cartoons, Culture War Correspondence, feminism, film, relationships
Tagged cartoons, Culture War Correspondence, Disney, female, Frozen, gender, gender roles, girl power, Goofy, Jane Porter, love interest, male, Mulan, Prince Charming, Princess, princesses, realistic, Snow White, strong female characters, Tangled, The Princess and the Frog
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