Grad School breakdown

First semester is over and done! It was pretty hard, harder than I expected. There was a ton of readings- maybe 300 plus pages a week, plus writing, all with my 40 hours a week job. The classes were pretty quality, I think. Even though the same people talked every sessions (and yes, I was one of those talkers) each class seemed fairly lively and interesting.

Any problems I had seem to be with the pacing- sometimes I felt like we were going too fast, or too slow, over the material. Or I felt like what I wanted to talk about did not get addressed, or not in a helpful way to me. But this was the minority of the experience.

Writing my papers was also an interesting experience. One was fun, and flowed basically without much prompting- the challenge was editing for coherence. The other was very dry to me, but probably more logical and cohesive. I remembered how much I like to write. 

Downton Abbey meet & greet!

I had the great opportunity to go to the screening of the new season of Downton Abbey, a new Masterpiece show on PBS (and Thirteen :). Downton Abbey is sort of a brushed up and sexified version of Upstairs Downstairs, of the Jane Austen oeuvre. There's unrequited love, and awkward situations, and talk of women getting the vote!

The event was quite fun, as you got to see the cast in modern day attire. I got a few autographs and was pleasantly surprised by how nice (and good looking!) the cast was. Although they did seem smaller in person, which is always kind of funny. I can't wait to watch the next season, and enjoy the escapism.

Judith Butler at OWS

If you already have an established acronym, you are in good shape as a social movement! Last week I went to see Judith Butler down at Washington Square Park for an Occupy event. She spoke for about five minutes using the human mike, which gratefully limited the use of overly complex language. She made some good points about the "body" politic and asking for the impossible. I'm very interested in this academic trend where OWS uses theorists as their celebrity representation. It says a lot about ideas of "quality" and authenticity that Kanye just can't give to them.

Next week: Angela Davis!

3 classes in

So here's my preliminary evaluation of grad school so far

• The classes seem to be just as hard, but not harder than, Swarthmore. Basically, a lot of Swattie profs treated undergrads like grads, which is awesome. 
• there is a lot of reading, but I would not have any trouble with it if I was working 20 hours a week instead of 40, and trying to have a social life too
• NYU, just like Swarthmore, has those annoying people who have to overshare and connect everything to their lives. I've already learned about one student's love life and another cried when an article connected with their personal life. And all of this was in class. 
• grad school is awesome because you get lots of free booze and most of the socializing is in bars 
• my fellow grad students seem really smart, easy to talk to to, and very interesting.
• profs are good, seem passionate about what they are teaching
• I'm back to making bullet points!

My classes this semester

MCC-GE 2001 Media, Culture, and Communication Core Seminar
Monday 7:15 - 9:25 pm (section 1)
Rodney Benson
Class number: 3235 (4 credits)
Examines theoretical approaches that are central to the study of media, culture and communication. Provides students with a historical and critical framework for understanding the literature and research traditions within the field of media studies with an emphasis on media and communication as institutional actors, technological artifacts, systems of representation and meaningful cultural objects

MCC-GE 2182 Communication Processes: Gender, Race and Cultural Identity
Deborah Borisoff
Wednesday 4:55 - 7:05 pm
Class number: 3243 (4 credits)
Students examine the processes and approaches to the study of communication theories, language and aspects of verbal and nonverbal communication with a particular focus on gender, race, and cultural identity. These processes are examined in both personal and professional contexts, across relationships (e.g. friendships, romantic, marital, and work settings) and are connected to current local and global media representations.
S. Douglas & M. Michaels (2004), The Mommy Myth; S. Keen (1991) Fire in the Belly: On Being a Man; L. Arliss & D. Borisoff (2001), Women & Men Communicating: Challenges & Changes; S. Hewlett (2002), Creating a Life; A. Hochschild (1997) The Time Bind. Course readings include also works by Julia Wood, Cheris Kramarae, Marsha Houston, Ronald Jackson, Frank Wu, Judith Butler, Fern Johnson, Pepper Schwartz and others who have written widely on the topic.
[MA Areas of Study: Interaction and Social Processes & Global and Transcultural Communication]

Game of Thrones- the female reader pov

I just read Game of Thrones, all 807 pages of it, on a plane trip to Denver from NYC. Game of Thrones is a medieval fantasy book now in its first season as a HBO show. From Wikipedia:

Set in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, where "summers span decades and winters can last a lifetime," Game of Thrones chronicles the violent dynastic struggles among the kingdom's noble families for control of the Iron Throne; as the series opens, additional threats from the snow and ice covered region north of Westeros and from the eastern continent across a narrow sea are simultaneously beginning to rise.[2]

 

The first thing I heard about GOT was a NYT article declaring it "for boys only." Here's the actual quote:

"The true perversion, though, is the sense you get that all of this illicitness has been tossed in as a little something for the ladies, out of a justifiable fear, perhaps, that no woman alive would watch otherwise. While I do not doubt that there are women in the world who read books like Mr. Martin’s, I can honestly say that I have never met a single woman who has stood up in indignation at her book club and refused to read the latest from Lorrie Moore unless everyone agreed to “The Hobbit” first. “Game of Thrones” is boy fiction patronizingly turned out to reach the population’s other half.  "

And I can understand where that thinking comes from. The HBO show is very obviously seeking out the coveted youngish male viewer. There are random sex scenes not present in the book that add a little pizazz to show for both genders.  The book is often times very dry and political. There are pages and pages describing battle tactics, actual battles, and then some more political intrigue. I'm not very interested in that. In fact, I admit to skimming the battle pages with no regret. 

But I think it's inaccurate to say that GOT is only accessible or appealing to men. I would say it's mostly appealing to men but there is something there for female readers. There is something in the text that points to a consciousness in the author to include strong women and many female story lines. We have the three Stark women, diverse within themselves (the matriarch, the princess, the tomboy); Cersai, the evil temptress & schemer who really holds the plot together with all her villainy; Dany, the lost girl who becomes a dragoness; and Osha, the peasant from the true North where the "others" live. Bellafante's point becomes clear when you see the character that HBO has inserted into the show- Rose, the rosy prostitute, there for the (male) viewer's pleasure.

It's Britney, Bitch

So I went to the Britney Spears concert at the Izod Center in New Jersey on Friday night.

First of all, when you go to a Britney Spears concert, when you even contemplate buying tickets to a Britney Spears concert, you are taking into account several factors. For me these were 1) Britney's songs are catchy and fun to dance to 2) it's no secret she lip syncs so there is no built up expectation of singing 3) her shows are known to be great spectacles 4) the nostalgia factor of a bunch of late twenty somethings getting together to see an idol they have grown up with and 5) the nerd-media factor of attending a concert and unraveling the spectacle-ness of it.

So taking all of that into account, I really enjoyed myself. The ambiance was great, the show was over the top, and Britney was interesting to observe. The show was structured around  "plot" videos of Britney, trying to link the album's Femme Fatale theme. They were faux grainy bits of Britney trying to escape from prison, being handcuffed and captured (handcuffs featured prominently in the show). And then the videos introduced a male character, who was a mix of prison warden, CIA agent, and stalker. He was a very scruffy detective type trying to pin down Britney as a "sexy assassin"- those were literally the words on the screen to get the point across.

All of this was intermixed with dance sets and medleys that were very thinly attached to the video plots. There was a great jazzy remix of "If U Seek Amy" where Britney had a Marylin Monroe skirt and a good breeze. There was an Egyptian themed set, a Biker Chic set, Ninjas, Cops and Strippers, rainbow gangs. The big bang was the end of the world and Britney's resurrection as a flying angel. 

UCB- John and Scott

Last night I went to see John and Scott at UCB. These are two actors/writers for 30 Rock but also UCB veterans. In the long line waiting to see the show, there was more than one aspiring comedian come to see their nerdy comedy role models. Outside of their 30 Rock characters, these two comedians were a lot darker & dirtier, which was great fun. I was amazed at their confidence- how they really milked every improv skit to the max, building on the tension without caving in to the audience demand for a laugh. The skits included (in no particular order):

• aliens
• goats
• pearl earrings
• Psycho
• diet sprite
• the Grand Canyon
• shaving
• slapping, hitting, punching
• "Mayhaps"
• babies
• mules (Bert)

becoming a jaded celebrity stalker

This time it was an "up front" party which I did not even know about until I was there. Apparently, they are TV Advertising parties where channels brand themselves, network and present upcoming deals. I saw Ellie Kemper (Erin from The Office) which was cool. Jay Z, which I didn't much care about. And Aziz Ansair, which didn't count because I saw him like a week ago at the Time 100 Party. I mean really, I already got you on my list, I don't need to see you again!

Harry Potter (said with English accent)

So on the same day that I get Harry Potter and the newest movie title of the never ending series, I see Daniel Radcliffe in person! It was like magic! He was, as you would expect, short and pale. I was impressed by his very blue eyes and large head. Someone was telling me that movies really favor actors with large heads and faces because you can see emotions easier on broader expanses of face. Which sort of makes a weird kind of sense.

I also saw John Larroquette, who is in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (which is on my street, next to the Gentlemen's Club). I did not see the show, but I heard it's pretty good. I love him from The Tenth Kingdom, one of my favorite pieces of media- well it was a TV mini series, which really doesn't fit in the usual categories. Great show. 

watching buffy while sick

Great scene- Scooby Gang makes fun of Giles for having a working TV. He squeaks out "Public Television!"

I got in to NYU!

Which means this blog will be revived as I puzzle through my readings and screenings.

And in other news I saw Robin Williams, Tina Fey, Will Ferrel, Andy Sandberg, John Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Bruce Willis!

It's been a good couple of weeks :)

Best Picture

The Oscar Noms are:

Best Picture

• “Black Swan” Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin, Producers
• “The Fighter” David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Mark Wahlberg, Producers
• “Inception” Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers
• “The Kids Are All Right” Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Celine Rattray, Producers
• “The King's Speech” Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers
• “127 Hours” Christian Colson, Danny Boyle and John Smithson, Producers
• “The Social Network” Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
• “Toy Story 3” Darla K. Anderson, Producer
• “True Grit” Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
• “Winter's Bone" Anne Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Producers

I've seen Inception, The Kids Are All Right, Toy Story 3 & The Social Network. 

The film I want to win I haven't seen- The King's Speech. Who doesn't want Darcy to win an oscar? And have Colin Firth give an adorable acceptance speech. 

The Social Network will probably win. After watching Inception last night, that's perfectly all right with me. Inception was pretty much a one trick pony spun out to the maximum. Once you figure out the sleep sabotage and dream layering concept, the rest of the film is a shoot-em-up action flick with cardboard characters just going through the motions. Nothing new there. Even the mind trip is old news. Ever seen Memento or the Sixth Sense? 

I'm glad to enjoy Inception for what it is, a smart action film, but it's nothing better and it's certainly not original. The Social Network, on the other hand, is interesting for its here-now-ness. The film is about a current socio-political-media moment and tangles with the messy issues of today. Gender & technology- that's interesting. The Social Network  has flaws but it has generated useful and though provoking discourse. That already makes it 10x more interesting than Titanic, a previous best picture win. 

The Kids Are All Right was another messy movie that certainly had some problems when it came to representing queerness. It's too alternative to win best picture, but I'm glad it was nominated. Toy Story 3 was awesome. The first #3 of anything to be that good! 

Rent...a bridesmaid dress!

Everyday life doesn’t present much opportunity for glitz and glamour. So before now, I had never considered using Rent the Runway’s Netflix like service for designer clothes. But this summer I have three weddings to attend and suddenly the new RTR Wedding collection is making a lot of sense. I want to look good, I don’t want a shcmancy dress I will never wear again crowding valuable Manhattan closet real estate, and I don’t want to spend a lot of money. Problem solved!

Rent the Runway is a website where you can rent designer fashions. They mail it to you, you wear it & mail it back. Now they have added fashion rentals for the bride, bridesmaid and guests. Bridesmaid dress rentals will start at $65 and include a one-day fitting in addition to an 8-day rental period.

The best feature of the Rent the Runway Weddings collection is without a doubt the Bridesmaid dresses. They were designed exclusively for RTR in collaboration with designers like Badgley Mischka, Robert Rodriguez and Nicole Miller. Jenny Fleiss, President and Co-Founder of Rent the Runway stated, “Bridesmaid dresses are the quintessential dress women only wear once. With Rent the Runway Weddings, we’ll finally solve the ‘27 Dresses’ problem.” The bride can retain control of her color scheme- there are a variety of different styles all with the same color. Which means if you are busty, you can rock the dress with straps. If you are leggy, go a little shorter. And it’s already coordinated! I’m definitely sold on this feature. Just enough direction for the bride and freedom for the bridesmaids.

There are no traditional wedding dresses, which makes sense because wedding dresses are such emotional minefields that you really can’t do that whole process online. But they do offer a range of social dresses you might need for your wedding- engagement party, rehearsal dinner, bachelorette party, etc. Jennifer Hyman, CEO and Co-Founder of Rent the Runway stated, “We found on average that each bride was buying up to six dresses for all occasions surrounding her wedding. As a result, we’ve made a portion of the site dedicated to helping the bride find dresses for all of these events with personal recommendations from our RTR Stylists.” Those stylists can also answer your questions and provide fitting guidance, which is an extra bonus for the DIY bride. And if you really wanted a modern bride look in a great designer dress, you could just search through their database of existing dresses in white. They also have some great bling to rent. People will be looking at your cleavage for all the right reasons!

The Wedding feature will be up and running on Tuesday so check it out.