Since the coronavirus pandemic began, there have been numerous reports about discrimination and violence against Asian Americans. In response, now is a chance to prioritize Asian American studies as a way to work towards both racial and environmental justice.
Tag: Television
New Fiction, Old Reality: It’s Time We Pay Attention to the Pandemic Struggles of Black Women
Fox’s Our Kind of People makes audiences rethink their perception of Black workers, drawing attention to problems that the government has long tried to ignore.
Black women have not been able to bounce back from their steep unemployment loss that the pandemic generated in 2020.
Amazon’s Cinderella and Systemic Change: No More Patriarchy Means a Happy Ending For All
In Amazon’s Cinderella musical, Cinderella gets what she most wants because there is a radical shifting of structural power. The prince suddenly doesn’t have to marry for status, the queen is suddenly free to speak up and the king is suddenly understanding of how ridiculous gender bias is and anoints his daughter to be next in line.
If only in real life it were that simple.
The White Lotus: Lessons on Black Lives Matter, Reparations and Queer Liberation
This summer’s finale of The White Lotus (TWL) garnered 1.9 million viewers and has been renewed by HBO for a second season. Overall, critics cast the first season of TWL as an entertaining, if bleak, satire of wealthy whiteness. In the words of one headline, “Nothing changes on The White Lotus. That’s the point.”
What’s missing from previous critical reviews is how TWL explores themes related to Black Lives Matter, reparations and queer liberation—or how TWL offers useful lessons for white progressives.
Maid’s Crucial Message: Emotional Abuse *Is* Abuse. Is America Ready to Acknowledge It?
Maid sheds light on the crucial issue of emotional abuse and coercive control— exposing viewers to the multiple systemic reasons why it takes a victim of domestic abuse seven attempts before she escapes for good.
Alex tries out four powerful words for the first time as she’s packing to move to the shelter: “Emotional abuse is abuse.” She said it to America. Are we ready to listen?
Introducing the Women Who Invented American Television
Even though women writers forged many key genres of primetime postwar television—including the situation comedy, the comedy-variety program, and the anthology drama—their collective efforts have been largely ignored in histories of television’s first Golden Age.
The Ms. Q&A: Mariana van Zeller on Being a Woman Journalist Covering the Black Market and Shadow Economy
Award-winning journalist Mariana van Zeller discusses what drives people to work in the black market as well as what it’s like to be a female journalist covering the inner workings of the shadow economy and its players.
Naya Rivera: How “Glee” Helped Femme Lesbians Feel Seen
Naya Rivera’s tragic passing earlier this year has prompted many to look back on her legacy on “Glee.” In the years since its departure from the airwaves, Rivera’s portrayal of Santana Lopez is still making an impact in the lives of lesbian and bi women. As one of the few lesbian TV characters to ultimately have a happy ending, her story was ground-breaking and impactful from start to finish.
Lessons from the Newest, Youngest Woman Superhero: “Stargirl”
a shockingly low 12 percent of mainstream superhero comics have female leads. The women that do get to grace the pages and screens are often stereotyped tokens—either brutalized or oversexualized. It’s clear, then, that female superhero representation is dramatically lacking—which is why Ms. writer Lisa Niver was excited to speak with Brec Bassinger, the newest and youngest superhero to represent DC Comics on television.
Never Have I Ever Felt This Need to Defend My Body
Disability is not a comedic punchline, a tragic end, or a plot twist that gets thrown away in the first act. If you’ve got one, that’s part of your life, but clearly no one in Never Have I Ever’s editing room is underlining the “part” here.