Sons of Anarchy provided an interesting fictionalised glimpse into the world of motorcycle clubs, but it was also painfully sexist.
Sexism on Sons of Anarchy
Category: television
Stranger Things craftily subverted a classic female archetype
In Stranger Things, the hysterical, crazed, desperate mother turns out to be the most leveleheaded of the adults around her, in a brilliant subversion of pop cultural and social tropes.
Seriously with the trans jokes, Arrested Development?
Arrested Development’s otherwise largely fun fourth season was marred by transphobia, in yet another reminder of cultural opinions about the transgender community.
What’s your ideal fall show?
Is it too much to ask that Hollywood try to have a bit of diversity on screen?
What I’m learning in my West Wing rewatch
Rewatching The West Wing provides a fascinating glimpse into the political idealism of a past era, and evidence of how little things have changed. Though the costuming may feel dated, the show itself still feels painfully relevant.
Did the X-Files revival work?
In the 1990s, I was a huge X-Files fan, watching old videos over and over again, trying to catch the show when it was live, recording it when I couldn’t. I have many fond memories of sitting around my friend Sara’s living room watching X-Files episodes and trying to untangle their complicated plots and layered conspiracy theories. Chris Carter was […]
Am I Picky or Is Television Getting Worse?
If you want a textbook illustration of the dangers of valuing quantity over quality, take a look at network television — and, to be honest, a lot of streaming programming as well. We’re supposed to be in the ‘golden age of television’ and if golden ages are counted by sheer volume, that might be true, […]
Pop culture matters: Television and consent
As a cultural critic, I constantly encounter attitudes along the lines of ‘don’t you have better things to do with your time’ and ‘who really cares about television’ and ‘pop culture doesn’t matter.’ Bitch Magazine, an entire publication dedicated to discussing pop culture through a primarily feminist lens, aside, my response is that yes, pop culture matters. […]
It’s okay to like pop culture with dubious social elements
I really enjoy Game of Thrones. Game of Thrones is filled with racism, misogyny, disablism, and hugely dubious social themes. It’s not progressive television by any stretch of the imagination, and I absolutely own that. My enjoyment of it doesn’t magically erase these issues just because I’m a critical viewer and thinker. Neither am I going to […]
Where are kids on television?
Children are part of society. In a purely functional sense, they’re the next generation, the people who live after us. But they’re also all around us — they’re in grocery stores with their parents, at reading groups in the library, riding the subway to school. Yet, the notion that children should be seen and not […]