Another day, and we have yet another racist incident involving a fraternity and a viral video. When racist incidents happen on college campuses, we hear repeatedly how universities and colleges are supposed to be spaces of learning and enlightenment. In the case of the University of Oklahoma chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon and the recent video of a racist chant, the university president David Boren released a statement about how “real Sooners” are not racist. Booting SAE off of the university’s campus “sends a signal” that the university community cannot and will not tolerate racist acts. Continue reading
CaptainSnarky
52 posts
Friday, February 14 will be a momentous day across these United States. No, not because of Valentine’s Day. No, anybody can get chocolates or jewelry from Kay or Jared on any other day of the week, but a new season of the American version of “House of Cards”?
That is worthy of special note.
It’s no secret that Law and Order SVU has been going off the rails for years now. Now in it’s—what? 70th?—season, the show’s “writers” (you can’t convince me it’s not a room full of pot-addled monkeys churning this shit out) reach into a grab bag of the nation’s most offensive headlines and do a twisted mashup that’s so confusing, that on many occasions, the end of the episode literally has nothing to do with the beginning.
The world of gay porn will never be accused of being socially forward. It is a field of entertainment that caters to men’s sexual desires/fantasies, and isn’t generally concerned with social issues. After all, one watches pornography in order to experience sexual stimulus, not to engage in social critique. However, like every other cultural production, pornography is shaped by social forces and contributes to particular kinds of discourses, like race and racism. What makes all this interesting (at least to me) is when a porn “model” (that’s the word they’re using these days) decides to comment on racial diversity, the lack thereof, and “types.” What follows is usually a Sharknado-level crapstorm. Continue reading
There few movies that have been as anticipated as Warner Brothers’ reboot of the Superman movie franchise. A lot is riding on “Man of Steel,” especially after the somewhat disappointing 2006 “Superman Returns,” including the future of a “Justice League” movie that could rival Marvel’s “The Avengers.” In short, “Man of Steel” is an exciting, yet thoughtful movie that succeeds both as a summer popcorn movie and a treatment of one of the most venerable figures in American popular culture.
Warning: Some spoilers follow after the jump. Continue reading
Star Trek Into Darkness is the latest entry in what has been characterized as director JJ Abrams’ revival of Star Trek. Re-assembling the cast from the 2009 blockbuster, Abrams and writers Damon Lindelof, Robert Orci, and Alex Kurtzman attempt to weave a tale of adventure, romance, and revenge. Unfortunately, this attempt is not only an utter failure; it’s also an assault upon the senses, and an insult to human intelligence. Warning: spoilers follow. Continue reading
We come to it at last, the great battle of our time.
No, it’s not the battle between Mordor and the world of Men. Rather, it’s the battle between Daniel, Patricia, and Michelle for Fashion Supremacy (or, ten more minutes of relative “fame”).
We finally get to see the collections they’ve designed for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week (You have to say “Mercedes-Benz” or it’s not really Fashion Week). I’m sure there will be a lot of hideousness walking that tent (which, as I understand, will be set far away from the rest of Fashion Week, so as not to upset the delicate sensibilities of actual fashion designers). Continue reading
Oh, my god. There are TWO more episodes of this? What more can they have these hapless designers do? And last week’s episode was two hours, people. Really, the only good thing about that overlong episode was the elimination of Layana.
Wait–tonight’s episode is also two hours long. Thank the gods that Scandal is a repeat. Continue reading
Both Man of Steel, the Superman movie franchise reboot, and Star Trek released their third and possibly final full-length trailers. As a die-hard fan of both Superman and Star Trek, I cannot help but notice that these trailers present very divergent understandings of their respective source material. I look at both these trailers and think that both are visual feasts, but only the Man of Steel trailer gets the essence of the source material, while JJ Abrams’s Star Trek Into Darkness trailer highlights action and adventure, but precious little else to distinguish it from any other large-scale space opera. Continue reading
Oh, hai, fashionistas and connoisseurs of “reality” television! We still have three episode of Project Runway left? This season is a lot like that old friend who comes to visit for a weekend and makes you feel every torturous minute of it. Won’t you go home, season 11 Project Runway?
Well, the remaining sewtestants (no one got booted last week, quelle surprise) are off to different parts of the globe (read: Europe) to be “inspired” by the same landmarks and tourist destinations that you saw when you went on that study abroad trip during college. Don’t ask me how they’re going to stretch this out into next week and the week after. Continue reading