Posts Tagged Popular Culture

By zerlina • 11 years ago

Rihanna going back to Chris Brown doesn’t make her a “bad girl”

I’ve noticed a theme emerging in the mainstream media of late.  Namely, the idea that singer Rihanna is a “bad girl.”  Yes, she has an album called, “A Good Girl Gone Bad,” and certainly is living the “rock star” lifestyle of late night partying  and traveling all over the world, but all too often these are not the types of things that are being discussed in the context of her “bad girl” behavior.  Instead, she is being labeled “bad” for returning to the man who abused her.

The most recent example of this trend, is a piece in BuzzFeed titled, “What Chris Brown Will Cost Rihanna.”  The piece details the myriad reasons why Rihanna risks losing lucrative endorsement deals ...

I’ve noticed a theme emerging in the mainstream media of late.  Namely, the idea that singer Rihanna is a “bad girl.”  Yes, she has an album called, “A Good Girl Gone Bad,” and certainly is living the ...
By Chloe Angyal • 11 years ago

Happy almost-weekend, ears!

It’s Friday morning! I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling pretty sluggish. And you know what gets me out of bed when I’m feeling sluggish? One Direction.

Sometimes, after I’m done dancing around my apartment, I feel bad about doing it to One Direction, yikes, some of their lyrics. So after I’m done listening I always say ten Hail Glorias.
Today, though, I encourage you to join me in playing some saccharine boy band pop, dancing at your desk, and then reading this really smart piece about why they might be “the first gay boy band,” by friend of the blog Rachel Hills:

No sooner had the band’s Kiss You video hit YouTube than a parody emerged with jokes ...

It’s Friday morning! I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling pretty sluggish. And you know what gets me out of bed when I’m feeling sluggish? One Direction.

Sometimes, after I’m done dancing around my apartment, ...
By zerlina • 11 years ago

Quentin Tarantino is trolling you and “Django Unchained” is awesome for what it is

If you found yourself upset about the new movie “Django Unchained,” your first mistake was probably listening to anything Quentin Tarantino said about his new film before it premiered. In an interview with The Daily Beast, Tarantino claimed his new movie “Django” is more authentic than the classic miniseries Roots and I’m here to tell you that Tarantino is out here trolling you, and it’s working.

He’s baiting folks like Spike Lee and other critics of the film, who find Tarantino’s portrayal of slavery “disrespectful.” By comparing his film to “Roots,” Tarantino is simply creating controversy, so that more people go see the movie, and it’s totally working as “Django” has made $64 million in a few weeks time.

First ...

If you found yourself upset about the new movie “Django Unchained,” your first mistake was probably listening to anything Quentin Tarantino said about his new film before it premiered. In an interview with The Daily Beast, ...
By Syreeta McFadden • 11 years ago

Quick Hit: The Smiths believe in raising a girl in command of her own body

Let us all take notes on parenting girls to be self possessed women from Jada Pinkett Smith:

A letter to a friend…

This subject is old but I have never answered it in its entirety. And even with this post it will remain incomplete.

The question why I would LET Willow cut her hair. First the LET must be challenged. This is a world where women,girls are constantly reminded that they don’t belong to themselves; that their bodies are not their own, nor their power or self determination. I made a promise to endow my little girl with the power to always know that her body, spirit and her mind are HER domain. Willow cut her hair because her beauty, her value, ...

Let us all take notes on parenting girls to be self possessed women from Jada Pinkett Smith:

A letter to a friend…

This subject is old but I have never answered it in its entirety. And even with ...
By zerlina • 11 years ago

Did Chris Brown get a tattoo of a battered woman’s face?

I’m so sick of writing about Chris Brown. I’m sick of constantly having to explain to victim blamers that Chris Brown was too quickly forgiven and Rihanna, his victim, was too quickly blamed for her assault.

But now, hopefully, folks will once and for all view Chris Brown as the awful person he is. Brown has decided that an image of a battered woman (which looks a lot like Rihanna’s now infamous police picture) would make a great neck tattoo. Now leaving open the possibility that this could be a publicity stunt, Brown’s tasteless choice really should let those holding out hope that he is reformed know exactly where he stands.

Brown doesn’t appear to be reformed, remorseful, or ...

I’m so sick of writing about Chris Brown. I’m sick of constantly having to explain to victim blamers that Chris Brown was too quickly forgiven and Rihanna, his victim, was too quickly blamed for her ...
By Syreeta McFadden • 11 years ago

Quick hit: Nicki Minaj endorses Mitt Romney? Also, Bonita Applebum dismisses claims of putting anybody on.

Sometimes, rap lyrics are clear. Other times they’re just oblique disses drawing from zeitgeist. Many times they’re persona pieces, a metafictional voice that is easily conflated with the actual identity of the MC who spits them. But I’m going to go out on a limb here and say this: NICKI MINAJ IS NOT ENDORSING MITT ROMNEY.

Speculation around the great watercooler that is the internets are drawing this leap of conclusion from a line Minaj’s verse on Lil Wayne’s latest mixtape, Dedication 4, where she says,”I’m a Republican voting for Mitt Romney/You lazy bitches is f*cking up the economy.” The line falls in the category of oblique diss in my view (cringeworthy), not a patent endorsement of ...

Sometimes, rap lyrics are clear. Other times they’re just oblique disses drawing from zeitgeist. Many times they’re persona pieces, a metafictional voice that is easily conflated with the actual identity of the MC who spits ...
By Syreeta McFadden • 11 years ago

On Helen Gurley Brown.

Helen Gurley Brown, legendary editor of Cosmopolitan Magazine (1965-1997), died yesterday. She was 90 years old. Admittedly, I knew nothing of the legacy of the woman who would be responsible for informing and influencing my views about femininity, sex and sexuality in the media. My earliest relationship with Cosmopolitan Magazine amounted to annual purchases in January to read the Bedside Astrologer as if it were the mystical diving agent to determine what my year in relationships would garner.

Still, Brown’s Cosmopolitan shifted the culture around lady magazines, removing the taboo around frank talk about sex and desire that the women of Sterling, Cooper, Draper and Pryce certainly could appreciate. Brown’s covers were graced by voluptuous models, celebrities and her taglines ...

Helen Gurley Brown, legendary editor of Cosmopolitan Magazine (1965-1997), died yesterday. She was 90 years old. Admittedly, I knew nothing of the legacy of the woman who would be responsible for informing and influencing my views ...
By zerlina • 11 years ago

Matrix director Lana Wachowski promotes new film after transition

The director of my favorite movie The Matrix and The Matrix Reloaded (real Matrix fans like me pretend the third movie in the trilogy doesn’t exist) has transitioned and is the first director in tinsletown to come out as transgender.

Lana Wachowski announced that she was transitioning nearly a decade ago but now in promotions for a new film out October 26th named Cloud Atlas, she is seen with her brother and Matrix co-director Andy Wachowski, gearing up for the new film.  Lana appears in the trailer announcement with pink locked hair and a beaming and contagious smile.

Check out Lana’s big announcement below (if anyone can find a transcript to put in the comments I will be forever in your debt):

The director of my favorite movie The Matrix and The Matrix Reloaded (real Matrix fans like me pretend the third movie in the trilogy doesn’t exist) has transitioned and is the first director in tinsletown to come out ...

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