So, the local cable news channel interviewed me today about the idea that listening to violent music can cause someone to murder cops: http://charlotte.news14.com/content/top_stories/630138/trial-brings-up-debate-over-music-s-influence-on-behavior The short version is: The idea that “the gangsta rap made me do it” rests on…
So, Gaga’s new cover for Vogue Japan is making the rounds on teh internets today: Interestingly, nobody is mentioning that it’s basically a take on Jana Sterbak’s relatively famous and important piece of feminist art, “Vanitas: Flesh Dress for an…
As promised, here is an excerpt from a work in progress where I read Monae as critiquing Shephard Fairey’s appropriation/use of images of radicalized non-Western women of color. First, let’s put some images in play. They are, in this order:…
So, commenter Andrew asked why I wasn’t including Janel Monae in my series on Afrofuturism. There are a few reasons, including: 1. She’s not a “pop diva”–i.e., she’s a critical darling, yes, but she’s neither a multiplatinum-selling nor an arena-filling…
You should check out Gina Ulysse’s post in the Ms. Magazine blog, “Why I miss bell hooks”. A short excerpt: “Where was the feminist response to this incident? I don’t doubt for a minute that Black feminists talked about it…
Precisely because she extols the liberatory power of hetero sex, Madonna remains firmly within the humanism that Lee Edelman identifies as “reproductive futurism.” In spite of all the love she gets from 80s white feminists and from gay men, Madonna’s…
I’m happy to announce that, over the next few weeks, I’ll be writing a series of posts related to some research I’ve been doing this summer. The title of the series is: This robot is so not a ‘dick in…
So, last night I was watching VH1 Classic, and the video for Fine Young Cannibals’ “She Drives Me Crazy” was on. With the paired dancers, bright colors, and sort of carnie/Geek Love aesthetic, it totally reminded me of the video…
So, it is often the case that women’s accomplishments (in art, research, business, politics, whatever) are often overlooked for, read in terms of, seen as dependent on, or otherwise secondary to their appearance. Adrian Piper has commented on the tendency…
Here’s a clip from the beginning of “The Last Angel of History,” an awesome and seminal 1998 film about Afrofuturist music. The film is REALLY hard to find (I haven’t been able to get my hands on a complete copy),…
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