Janel Monae vs. Shephard Fairey
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:…
Janel Monae vs. Madonna/Beyonce/Gaga
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…
I miss bell hooks, too.
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…
“This robot is so not a ‘dick in drag'”, Entry 1: Madonna
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…
Announcing a “series” of posts on Afrofuturism, queerness, and pop divas
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…
True Faith/She Drives Me Crazy
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…
Taking women seriously as artists
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…
The Last Angel of History
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),…
The Beautiful People: Gaga as Post-Goth
So, the Gaga-Madonna connection is a totally overworn topic. Gaga encourages some of the comparisons, but I think that Madge is NOT the artist we need to see as Gaga’s immediate aesthetic ancestor and interlocutor. It’s Marilyn Manson. Yep, Gaga…
Whatever Philosophy Is, It’s Most Certainly Not About Girls: Or, why people hate Nancy Bauer’s NYTimes column on Beauvoir and Gaga
Readers of this blog have probably safely assumed that I totally endorse Nancy Bauer’s recent contribution to the New York Times philosophy blog, “The Stone”. Her reading of Lady Gaga through Beauvoir (mainly through The Ethics of Ambiguity’s first few…
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