Haley blogs about twice a month (although it varies) and has been blogging for about 2 years, although she recently stopped blogging in 2014--and I hope she decides to pick it back up. Her blog has a really simple layout so that her text (and the images in each post) are what draw the reader's eye. Haley encourages readers to comment on each post. She receives anywhere from 3-5 comments per blog and always engages with her readers in the comments section, which likely helps her retain readers by making her blog so interactive.
While her blogs cover lots of things--one week, she may analyze Miley Cyrus' latest music video, and in the next, she might analyze trailers for upcoming summer blockbusters--I want to particularly focus on her blogs concerning film/TV and feminism.
The first entry that really spoke to me was her excellent piece on Don Jon, Joseph Gordon-Levitt's breakout film at Sundance.
In her blog, she sassily analyzes Don Jon's "false feminism," in which Joseph Gordon-Levitt claims that his film thoughtfully analyzes how men objectify women and treat them like things, not people. However, according to Haley, it actually promotes the false, misogynistic message that women do not want to have casual sex (only men do) and that men need to learn to give up porn and kinky sex in favor of missionary in order to please women.
When I first saw Don Jon, I had a few problems with his depiction of women (namely, the objectification of Scarlett Johanasson and her one-dimensional character of the nagging girlfriend). However, overall, I thought it was a cute and entertaining film that did a good job promoting discussion about how men use porn as a substitute for sex and, as a result of watching porn, develop unrealistic expectations about what it truly means to be intimate with a woman.
Haley's blog really got me thinking. In fact, after reading her blog, I completely reversed my stance on Gordon-Levitt's film. Haley completely hit the nail on the head, and, after reading her blog, I completely see where she's coming from regarding its problematic depiction of female sexuality. As a sex-positive feminist, I am very upset with how the film portrays "falling in love" as a man basically learning how to have boring sex to please a woman.
Another piece of Haley's that really spoke to me was her praise-worthy analysis of Orange is the New Black.
OITNB is such a groundbreaking television show, and I often have trouble finding just the right words to explain just how meaningful and wonderful it is when recommending it to friends. Haley's piece does a fantastic job breaking down OITNB to explain why it is so progressive as well as why it's worth watching.
She beautifully articulates how this is one of the first female-centric show that actually shows REAL, multi-dimensional women, as opposed to the cookie-cutter women found on female-driven shows with harmful, regressive depictions of femininity like Pretty Little Liars or Desperate Housewives. She also does a great job explaining how hilarious the show is, and how refreshing it is to see females completely carrying a comedy series and getting laughs. In particular, she highlights the show's unapologetic look at sexuality, including the fact that the main protagonist is bisexual, another one of the leads is trans, and many of the main characters are lesbians. She explains how the show thoughtfully uses their sexuality as a platform to discuss how many of the women face homophobia and extreme misogyny from the prison guards on a daily basis.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Haley praises the show for featuring women from a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds, and how creator Jenji Kohan does such a smart job of transcending stereotypes when writing these complex, nuanced characters. No one in the cast feels like a "token," and it is refreshing to see so many talented actress of color be given such challenging roles; after all, these are women who audiences are not used to seeing on their television screens. She also breaks down how the series uses its diverse cast in order to bring up issues of socioeconomic inequality that many women of color face.
The impactful intro alone does a great job illustrating how the show depicts women who are not typically given a spotlight on TV.
So, in short, thank you Haley for your fabulous blog and your insight on feminism as it relates to film and television!
FEMINIST FILM/TV RECOMMENDATION OF THE WEEK: KILL BILL, VOL. 1 & 2
These films do not need much introduction. Watch Uma Thurman (as well as Lucy Liu, Darryl Hannah, Vivica A. Fox, and many more) kick ass in this feminist revenge fantasy and two of Tarantino's all-time best films. It's so refreshing to see a female lead given so much agency and the main narrative arc of the story, and it's even better to see her enact bloody revenge on her controlling, manipulative ex who tried to have her killed for leaving him.
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