Melissa Leo Controversy

When Melissa Leo won the Oscar on Sunday for Best Supporting Actress, she gave probably one of the most honest reactions anyone could ask for. She said "fuck."

Yes, it's an offensive word but if I won an Oscar, I'd react the same way.

We were discussing the scandalous moment in my Arts Criticism class yesterday and one girl couldn't believe that a 50 year old woman would use such language and was disappointed that Leo couldn't get it together and, "act like a lady."

My inner feminist became my outer feminist. I groaned and said in my head, "YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!?" Only, it wasn't just in my head. The whole class stopped and turned and waited for an explanation.

After taking a breath, I responded, "If I just won an Oscar - which just so happens to be the highest prize for my profession, the last thing I would be concerned with is acting like a lady, whatever that means. Age, class, gender, race, I don't care who you are but you are probably going to react like a human being first and foremost. She's no less feminine because she said fuck, definitely more human, but no less feminine. Telling her to 'act like a lady' is far more offensive to me than her using the word fuck.'"

I may have officially become a feminist in that moment.

Unbearable Lightness by Portia De Rossi

I finished this book a couple of days ago and I'm still blown away. Portia De Rossi wrote this autobiography to chronicle the darkest days of her life. She boldly exposes her battles with her self-image, self-loathing, and her paralyzing fear that someone would out her as a lesbian and her career  (and life) would come crashing down around her. 

She began abusing her body through eating disorders at the age of 12 when she decided to become a model to prove to others that she was beautiful (even if she didn't believe it herself.) She talks about her days obsessing over her eating rituals, her obsessive workout routines and manic episodes. Every costume fitting for her on the set of Ally McBeal (which I watched religiously as a kid) was a battle always ending in either victory or defeat. 

She writes so beautifully that when she reaches 82lbs, it feels as though you're holding her entire weight (via the book) in your hands. 

America's Sweetheart

Natalie Portman.

More girls should look up to her. She is such an incredible example of brains, beauty and talent. She was quoted once saying, "I'd rather be smart than be a movie star," after she had already made a name for herself. She is known for taking thought provoking roles, like her role as an 11 year old assassin in "The Professional" or a woman caught up in an anarchist movement in "V for Vendetta" and then her small role as a Hasidic Jewish woman preparing for marriage in "New York, I Love You."

She risks everything while compromising nothing. She is proud of her heritage and Jewish faith. She attended and graduated from Harvard University. She is an actor, a director, a published scholar, a ballerina, soon-to-be mother, and now, Oscar winner.

She is the definition of a role model- in a time when our culture is in DESPERATE of positive examples of women.

So kids, stop following Kim Kardashian on Twitter and stop tuning in each week to see if Snooki will finally meet a "juice head." Do your homework, stay true to your convictions, and strive to the Portman standard- settle for nothing less.

Formula Proven!

I found this article weeks ago and wanted to do it for my Cultural Commentary but decided to wait until the Oscars were over.

Is Hollywood glorifying mental illness? Or is it one last genre that can scare the hell out of us because the horrors and tension of psychological thrillers come not from super powers or a shadowed figure with a knife... the fear we experience comes from the possibilities? Could that be us?

What defines "crazy" and why when a man takes a role dealing with mental health issues, are we less afraid (example: A Beautiful Mind?)

Perhaps the "crazy chick" is more than that. It seems to be such a phenomenon. We watch them on TV as Real Housewives, we watch them battle it out on the Jersey Shore, and we mock them as they make fools of themselves during American Idol auditions, and we follow their lives on TMZ... always wondering what will they do next?

Give me a break!

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!

American Apparel defends the use of porn star models. [Link]

This is so obnoxious. They think they are being pro active by not using models with silicone, collagen, or retouching and for using "average" models or varying ethnicities. The most variation in ethnicities I see is the occasional girl with dark hair and busy eyebrows with slightly exotic but mostly white appeal.

They like the irony in using porn stars to sell clothing. I remember when American Apparel started gaining momentum and they loved to praise the fact that they use "real" women. Now are using women whose entire purpose in life is to simulate/recreate/perpetuate male fantasies.

In the image above you BARELY even see the tube socks porn star Sasha Grey is wearing. What's the point if I can't see the product? 

(Disclaimer: I only know Sasha Grey from her role, playing herself, on Entourage.)

Tom Ford

Artist? Pornographer? Sexist? Pervert?

Golden ticket?

The image we discussed today in class had me wondering what else Tom Ford had to offer. Was the perfume in front of the vagina an isolated incident or no?

The answer is no.

What could he possibly be selling in this advertisement? Suites? The main focus of this ad is clearly the couple having sex on a park bench, not the nicely dressed man in the foreground or the man presumably enjoying a smoke and a free show.

Since he IS a gay icon, I wondered if he portrayed men in the same way --by explicitly sexually objectifying them. Again. Nope.

I still gave him the benefit of the doubt until I saw this overtly sexist ad: 

A man reads his paper while ignoring the naked woman ironing his pants. The woman is both servicing his domestic needs and his sexual desires (whether he wants her or not.)

Lady Gaga's Drunk Diet

Link to Article: Drunk Diet

Whether or not Lady Gaga is trying to be ironic or not, telling the world that she constantly drinks whiskey while working or being hungover is irresponsible and destructive.

With fans of varying ages ranging from male to female, Gaga has devoted fans worldwide who look up to and imitate her. Promoting destructive behavior in order to lose weight is a poor use of her name. And she is apparently working on a book that details her dieting methods.

Give me a break!

Perhaps I'm being overly sensitive as I'm currently reading Portia De Rossi's Unbearable Lightness where she chronicles her battles with anorexia, bulimia, and depression.