Sundance 2022: “TikTok, Boom.” Interrogates the Rewards, Risks and Politics of One of the World’s Most Popular Apps

PUBLISHED 2/4/2022 by
Sundance 2022: “TikTok, Boom.” Interrogates the Rewards, Risks and Politics of One of the World’s Most Popular Apps

The documentary TikTok, Boom. by Shalini Kantayya persuasively argues that TikTok’s curation results in viewers finding themselves in narrower and narrower silos, where they only see videos that confirm their biases and undergird their beliefs, with little regard for fact, accuracy or diverse perspectives. On the other hand, the app has a potential democratizing effect.

Ultimately, Tiktok, Boom. functions as an edifying look at the experiences of digital natives, Generation Z and beyond, and how these young people try to make meaning in the world.

Of Women Who Walk: The Feelings Of Freedom and Fear

PUBLISHED 2/4/2022 by

Windswept: Walking the Paths of Trailblazing Women acknowledges the concurrent dreams and fears of women to experience the world with the privilege given to men—that privilege of power in the natural world. That privilege to do whatever it is we wish to do, see what we wish to see, for whatever our purpose, in safety, without being limited by our vulnerabilities or worrying for our lives.

The layers of history here arise from Abbs’s perspective that rivets for the richness of her inquiry, her persistence, her interaction with the works of her chosen women—and the fact that she walks their walks. 

Celebrating Black Women Trailblazers—From Shirley Chisholm to Marsha P. Johnson: Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation

PUBLISHED 2/4/2022 by
Celebrating Black Women Trailblazers—From Shirley Chisholm to Marsha P. Johnson: Weekend Reading on Women's Representation

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation.

This week: highlighting Shirley Chisolm, Marsha P. Johnson, Angela Davis and Barbara Jordan; notable Black women express support for President Biden’s commitment to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court; Biden’s continued reliance on the old-boys network; the power of incumbency for women in politics; feminist and women’s movements on the frontlines against rising authoritarianism and militarization; women’s representation and political power in the European Parliament; 50 years of Title IX; and more.

#MeToo, Charlie Rose and Newsroom Practices: Teaching Ethics and Leadership in Journalism

PUBLISHED 2/4/2022 by
#MeToo, Charlie Rose and Newsroom Practices: Teaching Ethics and Leadership in Journalism

A case study of Charlie Rose’s explicit actions in the newsroom and the workplace culture that allowed it to go on, is the center of a new teaching module designed to educate aspiring journalists in becoming effective and ethical leaders. It’s part of an effort to create media workplaces free of sexual harassment and employment discrimination.

Journalists who covered the story and individuals directly impacted by Rose’s behavior were interviewed to inform the study. Throughout the course, students are provided with knowledge of the legal tools they can use to fight sexual harassment, as they are often asked to wrestle with these issues and consider what they might have done in such a situation.

Sundance 2022: Supernatural Thriller “Master” Explores the Everyday Horrors of Racism—and the Living Nightmares They Can Become

PUBLISHED 2/3/2022 by
Sundance 2022: Supernatural Thriller “Master” Explores the Everyday Horrors of Racism—and the Living Nightmares They Can Become

Mariama Diallo’s debut feature film Master, which she wrote and directed, deftly navigates several registers in terms of genre—slipping from supernatural horror to intellectual drama to psychological thriller and back again.

The film doesn’t pull any punches. Its biting critique of the abysmal state of American race politics, particularly in the hallowed halls of the ivory tower, is vicious and direct. And while I won’t give away the end, I will say that it’s largely satisfying and entirely unexpected—perhaps offering a new and effective rejoinder when the horrors of the past inevitably bleed into the present.

Under Biden, Cruelty Towards Asylum Seekers Persists

PUBLISHED 2/3/2022 by and

Anti-immigrant politicians and pundits continue to accuse Biden of promoting open borders, even as he pursues the most restrictionist border policies in recent history. This is not a constituency the president will likely ever satisfy.

It is long past time for the Biden administration to honor its promises and establish a safe, fair and humane asylum process for people fleeing danger.

Before Burnout: The Price Women Pay To Have It All

PUBLISHED 2/3/2022 by

“How could I, a highly-trained physician, not recognize the symptoms I taught trainees everyday?”

Society has convinced women we have to do it all: be successful in the workplace while fulfilling the lion’s share of care work at home. Women overcompensate by outperforming in both their fields and families—but the cost many face to their personal well-being is not worth it. Women must forgo this illusion and work to find balance in their life that works for them, accepting that they themselves have to be their own top priority.

Americans Are Entitled to Government That Truly Reflects Them. Let’s Start With the Supreme Court

PUBLISHED 2/3/2022 by
Americans Are Entitled to Government That Truly Reflects Them. Let’s Start With the Supreme Court

When one assesses who has seats at the table—predominantly wealthy white men—it is no surprise that the issues that matter to so many everyday Americans are not lifted up.

This won’t change unless the country collectively acknowledges the literal concentration of American power among white men, decides it is not ideal, and takes affirmative steps to remedy it. The Supreme Court is a great place to start.

Harriet Tubman, Astronomer Extraordinaire

PUBLISHED 2/3/2022 by

Polaris, the North Star, is so named because it always points toward true north. Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman used the North Star to liberate herself—then went South over and over again, using it to liberate both family and strangers. 

I cannot imagine a more noble use of astronomical knowledge than to liberate people from the violent horror of chattel slavery. There is a great cosmos beyond the horrors of slavery and its wake. We have always been a part of it, and it has always been a part of us.

‘Framing Agnes’ Tells the Stories of Trans Lives Past and Present in Inventive, Captivating Documentary

PUBLISHED 2/2/2022 by
Sundance 2022: “Framing Agnes” Tells the Stories of Trans Lives Past and Present in Inventive, Captivating Documentary

“Framing Agnes,” a documentary about transgender women and men who were interviewed in the 1960s as part of a ground-breaking UCLA gender health research project, is one of the most captivating documentaries I’ve seen in quite a while.

Directed by Chase Joynt, the doc uses the relatively well-known case of “Agnes,” a trans woman who worked the system to her advantage in order to receive surgeries that were usually denied to transgender patients, as a jumping off point.