Christiansen Media Literacy Blogs

Reflection: C'est fini                 I consume a lot of media, much of it older, in the form of music and movies, and I can safely say that I know some films like the backs of my hands. I know that older media, that is not advertised to me has a large effect on my life, but sometimes I lose myself in my obsession with these things that I consider to be art and I forget that newer media can be genuinely toxic. I like to think media doesn’t control my life, but after these blogs, I have found myself more and more feeling like a marionette doll with a credit card. I do a good job of keeping ads at bay because my parents raised me to be anxious about making purchases over 20 dollars, an that has become a part of my life. This helps suppress ads for things that are “cool” and “trendy” that I don’t need nor have the cash for. Critical thinking has only made me more hyper-aware, in the best possible way as I become increasingly more aware of unethical abuse, advert

Chasing Amy Review: Representation of Queer Women in Media Welcome to my Ted talk. Today, we will be discussing something that infuriates me-the representation (and lack thereof) of queer women in the media. I was flipping through Netflix and I came to this movie that proclaims itself to be about how “Comic book artist Holden meets the perfect woman, only to learn that she’s a lesbian. But that doesn’t stop him from falling in love with her,” and while the description alone isn’t really appealing, it’s a 90s movie with Ben Affleck so it seems like a good way to waste some time. Now as I’m watching, at first I find it funny to see him figure out she’s “into chicks”, as they put it, and I honestly appreciate the way that she describes herself when asked “why she likes women.” So far, I was pretty surprised. Before I continue with the trash, I would like to clarify that this movie uses the “d-slur” and “f-slur” quite a bit before Holden even bothers to acknowledge that that isn’t ok.

Can Feminists Love Movies By Evil Hollywood Men? I had the sad realization that almost all of my favorite movies were made by or employed men that have been accused of assault or improper conduct. Rosemary’s Baby ? Roman Polanski raped a 13-year-old girl. Pulp Fiction ? Quentin Tarantino defended Polanski, allegedly harassed Rose McGowan, and endangered Uma Thurman filming Kill Bill: Vol 1 . Also, it was produced by the Weinstein brothers. Scream ? Produced by the Weinstein brothers. The list goes on and on and on. So, besides the violation of women’s autonomy, over-sexualization, perpetuation of rape culture, and capitalizing on women’s vulnerability… I have a few more issues with these movies that I love so dearly. I’ve been thinking a lot, and I believe that rape is a crime at the same caliber as murder (no, I’m not being dramatic) and sexual harassment is a baby step in objectifying women and setting a precedent that validates rape. My personal struggle, is that these evil peop