I love a good documentary, especially one that takes you on an unexpected journey.  I recently watched the documentary The Search for General Tso and it was fantastic. The film tells the incredible history of the Chinese-American community, the rise in popularity of Chinese-inspired cuisine in the United States, and the origins of our favorite take out dishes.  It is heartfelt, fun, and way more informative that I thought it would be.  I highly recommend it.

I'm normally not a huge Woody Allen fan.  Before you throw rocks at me, hear me out.  Besides his scandalous past, I just haven't been captivated by his movies.  Mostly I think they're too hyped up.  BUT I recently saw the trailer for Magic in the Moonlight and I have to admit I can't wait to see it.  I think that's because it's staring Emma Stone and Colin Firth.  Are you a fan of Woody Allen movies?

Storytelling is such a beautiful part of the human experience.  Wherever you are in the world, stories are a part of the cultural framework.  They delve into moments of triumph, failure, love, tragedy and everything in between.  Every story whether simple or grand has deeper meaning.  Cultural constructions can be teased out.  At the core of any story you will find the storyteller's values and beliefs.  Through their words you can understand how they see the world around them. 

As part of my usual ritual, I came home from work, threw on some lounge pants, and sat at my computer to check out my favorite blogs.  I was reading through the wonderful blog A Cup of Jo and I noticed that she had posted a video by StoryCorps called "Marking the Distance".  StoryCorps is an amazing nonprofit organization whose mission is "to provide people of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives".  I had heard StoryCorps sound clips before but never had I seen animated versions of their stories.  For the past hour I have been watching their clips and I have swung through the full range of human emotions.  I chuckled and I cried.  I felt my heart sink and soar in a matter of minutes. Below are a few of my favorites:

For the first time in my life, I am living in a city where the NFL team is making it to the Super Bowl.  I'm pretty excited about watching the Broncos take on the Seahawks.  Both teams are so likeable: Peyton Manning seems like an amazing human being and seeing him win another Super Bowl would be incredible while the Seattle Seahawks have a young team with incredible talent plus they have the first hearing impaired NFL player in history on their team.  Although I'll be cheering for Denver, I won't be disappointed if Seattle wins.  

Even though I enjoy watching the game and get swept up by the pageantry and competition, it's hard for me to shake a pretty serious issue with professional football: CTE.  I recently watched League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis and it definitely left an impact.  If you haven't seen it yet I highly recommend watching it.


 It's a Frontline documentary about traumatic brain injuries (most notably CTE and concussions) in the NFL.  The sentiments expressed in the documentary mirrored a talk by Chris Nowinski I attended my senior year of college.  Contact sports, especially football, put players at an extremely high risk of traumatic brain injury.  These traumatic brain injuries can lead to a lifetime of mental problems.  This isn't just contact sports either, extreme sports like skiing and snowboarding have high risks of concussions and the potential for long lasting repercussions.  The Crash Reel, is another great documentary that follows professional snowboarder Kevin Pierce before, during and after a career-ending crash.  It discusses traumatic brain injuries for extreme sport athletes, discussing Kevin's struggle and the tragic story of professional skier Sarah Burke.

I mention this extremely depressing topic to raise awareness, not to rain on your Super Bowl parade.  We often forget about our brains and how fragile they can be.  Over the years so many of my teammates and friends have suffered from concussions. Hopefully, most won't have long-term problems associated with their concussions. As you watch the Super Bowl and in a few weeks the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, remember the sacrifice these athletes make not only to their bodies but also to their minds.  Hopefully, the athletes we watch and cheer for stay healthy and avoid a career-ending or life-ending injury.  Most importantly, remember to take care of your brain.  Wear a helmet when riding a bike, when skiing, or participating in any other "high risk" activity, learn about proper safety measures, and seek medical attention after a suspected concussion.

I hope I didn't bum you out to much.  I know that I'll be conflicted watching the game.  I feel guilt for supporting a league that doesn't acknowledge the danger for players but I also love the hype, the competition, and supporting my new "home" team.

 

I love SNL.   Last week I posted about this hilarious "GIRLS" skit.  This week Miley Cyrus was the host/musical guest and she killed it in this hilarious skit about the government shutdown.  The rest of the skits were mediocre at best but this video short was genius with the help of Taran Killam.  It's a parody of "We Can't Stop" and I can't stop watching it.

Earlier today I FINALLY watched the documentary "Miss Representation".  It's fantastic and I highly recommend it.  The film shows how mainstream media contributes to the under-representation of women in positions of power in the American context. "Miss Representation" challenges the media’s limited and often simplistic portrayals of women and girls.  It features interviews with inspirational women like Condoleezza Rice, Katie Couric, and Gloria Steinem as well as men in politics and the media who recognize this inequity.

Watching this film made me seriously think about growing up female in the United States.  Life as a girl possesses its own set of challenges.  I won't deny the many issues that plague boys and men, but I do believe there are still gender inequities in the USA.  Issues about body image, self-esteem, and empowerment are very real.  I spent a very large portion of my childhood believing that I wasn't pretty enough, skinny enough, smart enough, or worthy enough. Although the media has a huge role in establishing unrealistic norms about being a woman, we as a society continue to perpetuate them.  We complain that the media is a destroyer of reality, yet we buy up tabloids, trash talk female politicians based on their looks and personality as opposed to their stances on issues, continue to support movies that create a very mindless and soulless female narrative, and as women we continuously put each other down.  After watching this documentary, I feel the need to continue to fight for gender equality and to create a world where any child I bring into the world (if I decide to have kids) will be treated fairly and respected based on who their are on the inside and not on the outside.  I hope you get the chance to see it too.

Disclaimer: I traditionally do not agree with beauty pageants. I dislike the fact they emphasize very specific notions of beauty and what it means to be a girl in America. I hate that they reinforce the notion that the female body is an object that should be judged based on heteronormative ideals. I also hate that it encourages young women to fit into a very specific model of "femininity".  I'm a feminist, the objectification of the female body irks me.

However, I will say the documentary "Miss You Can Do It" was incredible.  Abbey Curran, the first ever Miss America Contestant with a disability, created the Miss You Can Do It Pageant for young women with developmental and physical disabilities.  In this HBO documentary, the crew follows eight young girls with various disabilities competing in the pageant.  I sobbed.  But I also felt uplifted.  These young women were encouraged to be confident in who they are and to believe that they are beautiful both inside and out.  And they truly were beautiful girls.  This documentary showed each and everyone of them as individuals with their own hopes and dreams.

Every girl received a makeover (that were very tasteful for girls, no spray tans or flippers here) and got to dress up in something they thought was pretty. They bonded with the other contestants (and Disney princess look-a-likes) at a pizza party.  As part of the process, each girl is interviewed even if she can't communicate clearly.  Through this, they are each encouraged to not only have a voice but to use it.  Sure there's formal wear and casual wear, but it doesn't seem similar to the strutting and parading present in traditional pageants.  Several of the girls who were filmed had used the goal of walking across the stage as their motivation in physical therapy.  For many it took courage to stand up in front of a crowd.  Every contestant receives an award whether it's pageant queen or most likely to be a good friend.

I grew up during the advent of the "Disney Renaissance", the period beginning with The Little Mermaid and ending with Tarzan. As a result, I spent a good portion of my childhood admiring Disney Princesses.  I had Disney Princess toys, I watched Disney animated films religiously, and found myself wishing to be part of their world.  As I've become older I've learned to recognize both the good and the bad associated with classic Disney animation.  My senior year of college I took an anthropology class called "Decoding Disney".  It was entirely about understanding portrayals of gender identity, gender roles, race, and spirituality.  The class looked at Disney's commentary on society at large through their animated features.  We also spent a good portion of class time actually watching Disney movies which my inner 8 year old absolutely loved.

One of the biggest critiques of Disney films is their portrayal of gender roles. Although Disney tries to create powerful female characters their attempts often backfire.  For example: Ariel is portrayed as feisty, rebellious, and free spirited character.  However, she spends most of the movie without a voice because she wants to be with a man she's only seen once.  Jasmine is portrayed with similar character traits but has to be saved by Aladdin and succumbs to the ideal that she has to be married in order to rule her kingdom.  Belle too falls into the category of being described an "empowered female" but in actuality her relationship with The Beast closely resembles that of an abusive relationship.  She is held captive by him, is knocked over by him, and subjected to violent behavior but eventually falls in love with him.  It reinforces the notion that women in abusive relationships can change their man, that there must be something good deep inside of him that she is capable of bringing out.  Don't even get me started on Cinderella, Aurora, or Snow White who although pre-renaissance, portray weak women who must rely on their Prince to save the day.  Granted, those three films came out during a period of time where a woman's role was solely directed on marriage and family: Snow White in 1937, Cinderella in 1950, and Sleeping Beauty in 1959. Most of the Disney princesses fall into this category of being identified as a strong female role model but really subverting to less than ideal gender roles (except for in Mulan which brings up other interesting issues concerning gender identity).  That being said, Disney put out this interesting ad about what it means to be a princess:

Interesting right? I'm glad Disney is moving in a direction that embraces young women of different backgrounds and with different dreams.  This ad promotes inner-beauty, strength, bravery, compassion, and trust.  I really hope that Disney moves past some of their previous shortcomings concerning the portrayal of gender and continue to move in this direction.  What are your thoughts? How do you feel about Disney films?  Would you show your children Disney movies?

This weekend I watched "Butter".  It's a movie about the art of butter carving. And America. And family. And sex. And privilege. It's a creatively written and smart film with an impressive cast (Ty Burrell, Jennifer Garner, Hugh Jackman, Alicia Silverstone, and talented child actor Yara Shahidi).  Set in Iowa, the film uses a butter carving contest to explore the lives of its contestants: the domineering wife of a past champion, a foster child, and a stripper. It's upbeat even though it deals with tough themes like loss, death, and the failure of a marriage. If you're looking for a fun movie to watch I highly recommend it!

(P.S. It's on Netflix)