Volume 25 Eyecandy Staff

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF PRINT WRITERS debra bilodeau lior ayalon debra bilodeau HEAD CONTENT EDITOR jasmine lee ehrhardt jasmine lee ehrhardt catie ellwood larissa sturm gonzalez diana joves CONTENT EDITORS marisol medina-cadena lior ayalon brian mislang debra bilodeau jasmine lee ehrhardt BLOG WRITERS emily landa nick campolito mollie goldberg BLOG EDITORS larissa sturm gonzalez amara channer michelle goodman larissa sturm gonzalez erika mejia diana joves brian mislang laura santoro MAGAZINE DESIGN stephanie villanueva lior ayalon debra bilodeau FINANCIAL MANAGER ren brownell brian deangelis larissa sturm gonzalez SOCIAL MEDIA diana joves larissa sturm gonzalez michelle goodman WEB DESIGN melissa weiner nick campolito CONTRIBUTORS COPY EDITORS seth temple andrews mollie goldberg celia fong larissa sturm gonzalez annie d. emily landa melanya hamasyan josh “grassy” knoll remy dixon FACULTY ADVISOR megan needels l.s. kim jenny panush EDITORS' NOTE

Everyone tells you to write what you love, but nobody tells you how. They (whoare they?) teach you to write in arguments, to state your claim, to confine yourself to that eight-page essay — but they don’t tell you how to put yourself on the page. And nobody tells you how difficult, gut-wrenching, and exhausting it will be.

That’s exactly what this whole process has been— difficult, gut-wrenching, exhausting beyond belief. No one could anticipate how much this extended process of emotional and theoretical digging would reveal about our identities, how important this catharsis would be, or how friggin’ hard! We want to put our heads down just writing this.

But we wrote — and drew, and photoshopped, and edited — these pieces because it is hard, because we know that understanding the media is not only to understanding society, but to changing it as well. We aren’t going to rattle off a list of themes and ideas presented in this year’s issue. Doing so would be a disservice to the stakes every one of us had in our articles and submissions, to the communities we come from and write about. We made this for ourselves — and for you. We hope our words and images make you think, and we hope they make you talk. Table of Contents 4 megan needels untitled (tvs) 5 lior ayalon we’re here, we’re queer, and we like to be scared! 11 diana joves from cool girl to sociopath 17 debra bilodeau them are us too // in their own words 25 jasmine lee ehrhardt with artwork by celia fong #fresh off the bandwagon 31 jenny panush please like me 32 larissa sturm gonzalez i get my books from my mother 37 marisol medina-cadena screening mi gente: the watsonville film festival 45 melanya hamasyan de-historicized 47 catie ellwood boyhood vs girlhood: gender dynamics in coming of age films 54 annie d. untitled 55 brian mislang the cult of 61 grassy knoll the old masters 62 remy dixon rhetorical devices 63 debra bilodeau dad hard: reconciling feminism and dad culture... with a vengeance. 70 seth temple andrews infrared tree veins

UNTITLED (TVS), megan needels 4 5 ... We're Here ... We’re Queer and We LikeScared ! to Be Lior Ayalon Queer Identification, Subtext, and Aspirations Within the Horror Genre

You know, vampires have no reflections in a monsters that showed me that I am not a monster. mirror? There’s this idea that monsters don’t I am queer, and I want to make horror films. I have reflections in a mirror. […] If you want don’t really know how it started. I mean, I remember the to make a human being into a monster, deny queer part pretty vividly. But the horror part? I remember them, at the cultural level, any reflection of watching one of the Child’s Play films on late night themselves. And growing up, I felt like a monster television when I was about six or seven, and I guess in some ways. I didn’t see myself reflected at all. the rest is history. It’s possible I always had some sort –Junot Diaz [i] of predisposition towards all things creepy, crawly and spooky, but it does not seem to be a coincidence that the Though this speech that Junot Diaz1 gave to a genre that I always felt most attracted to is also one that group of students specifically addresses the lack of capitalizes on difference as a form of fear. Could it have representation of people of color in all forms of media,2 been that I always felt so weird, so different, so “other” his words instantly spoke to me and my own search that I grew to identify with the monster? Could years of for cultural representation. The relationship between middle school bullies calling me a “dyke” and shunning cultural absence and feelings of monstrosity is one that me at the lunch tables made me begin to see myself anyone of a marginalized underrepresented identity can as Frankenstein’s monster, eating lunch all by himself understand, and one that I understood as I came into my in the bathroom? Ultimately, the representation of the queer identity. As a kid, I consumed seemingly endless classic horror monster as the cultural “other,” the genre’s amounts of film, television and other mainstream media preoccupation with the body as a source of fright, and during my early adolescence, but I always felt like internalized feelings of alienation and exclusion from there was something missing. I never felt like I could mainstream media led many queer filmmakers, including relate to conventional images of heterosexual romance myself, to turn towards the horror genre. and domesticity when I was struggling so much to Identification within the horror genre is understand my own identity, one which was clearly complicated. We’re not supposed to identify with “the not a part of the picturesque landscape I had come to monster;” after all, he (and it’s almost always a “he”) expect from Hollywood. Ironically, it was a genre about is the reason the genre is called “horror” instead of

1. A writer whose powerful work focuses on his Dominican ethnicity and immigration experience. 2. In other interviews, Diaz has stated that his love of science fiction and other genre fiction is directly couched in his experiences immigrating to the , and that despite genre’s overwhelming whiteness, he was able to see himself in science fiction and fantasy rather than in realistic fiction. 6 “romantic comedy.” But with whom should audiences of for the villain. I do not wish him triumph, nor do I wish horror identify? The angry villagers? The mad scientist death upon the victims. It is, in way, almost a self- who created the monster? The victims? It feels hard to hating identification. I see how his difference harms identify with the victim when they seem to make the and endangers the villagers, or the teenagers of the wrong decision at every turn. No, don’t leave the group; no, sleepy suburban town, and I want him to be punished don’t go down those stairs; no, don’t have sex right now,3 for it. I want the respectable villagers and the pretty, you’re supposed to be running for your life! However, as heterosexual teenaged victims to Carol J. Clover writes in her seminal essay on the Could triumph over the horror that psychoanalysis of gender, sexuality and sex plagues them. I want the in horror films, Her Body, Himself: Gender years of middle difference to go away. in the Film, audiences are school bullies calling Ultimately, despite my encouraged to identify with the “Final me a “dyke” and shunning peculiar position as Girl,” the inevitable female character a femme-identified who survives, eventually either to be me at the lunch tables Have queer, I still occupy rescued from the monster or killing MAde Feel Like Frankentein’sthe male gaze and its him herself.[ii] Clover writes that the monster, eatingin lunchthe hegemonic virtues and Final Girl is signaled as a main character all by himself expectations. In order for through her own subverted femininity, as well bathroom? the expectations of a traditional as her intelligence, ruthlessness and will to survive. narrative to be satisfied, deviance must be In this analysis, Clover assumes, and perhaps rightfully punished, and I expect that. However, despite the self- so, that audiences of horror are “by all accounts largely loathing nature of my identification, it was nonetheless young and largely male (Clover 192).”4 Clover’s essay is a identification, which was more than I could find in any fascinating analysis of this cross-gendered analysis, but other genre. for me it ultimately begged the question: if straight male Much of the monstrosity in horror films comes teens can identify with the female victims/heroes of a horror from a subversion of gender roles.5 For example, Norman film, can I identify with the male villains of horror films? Bates, Buffalo Bill and Dr. Frank-N-Furter all, in some Recently, I stumbled across a website advertising a call way, were used as a betrayal of traditional masculinity as for submissions for “a new multimedia festival of genre a scare tactic. Though these characters are undoubtedly works by queer artists, performers, and filmmakers” in problematic and rooted in transphobia, queer fans and Portland, Oregon, which explained some of the appeal: creators of horror can appropriate them -- in fact, horror Maybe it’s the fact that queer people are so genre’s preoccupation with subverting gender roles can often relegated to shadows of otherness that be appealing to queer individuals who, despite their the horror genre is more immediately relatable gender orientation, may be grappling with gender roles for us. We grew up with boogeymen. We’ve in their own lives. One queer horror filmmaker who lived with boogeymen. Goblins and ghosts are a played with gender roles and sexuality in his own works welcome escape from real-life monstrosities.[iii] is Don Mancini, the writer of all the Child’s Play movies. I have to clarify that identification with a character is Don Mancini also directed the last two installments of different than supporting their actions. I do not root the Chucky franchise – Seed of Chucky (2004) and Curse

3. The horror genre is notorious for its morality lessons for young women -- namely, that if you ever have sex, you will die a horrific death. Those that survive until the end of horror films are almost always virgins. 4. It should, however, be noted that later in the essay, Clover does consider the implications of a female audience: The audience, we have said, is predominantly male; but what about the women in it? […] for while it may be that the audience for slasher films is mainly male, that does not mean that there are not also many female viewers who actively like such films, and of course there are also women, however few, who script, direct, and produce them. 5. For this reason, the horror genre has an immense problem with perpetuating transphobia. Just because the genre can be a safe space for some queer filmmakers doesn’t mean it can’t also be a problematic cesspool for others. 7 of Chucky (2013). Seed of Chucky was overwhelmingly can cause a film to be read as queer. disliked for its queer content by the film’s audience of From its beginnings in German expressionism “young straight guys.” Though the stereotypical horror and on the Universal backlots, horror has been a venue audience has rejected Seed of Chucky, queer horror fans which allowed queer filmmakers to flourish, imbuing the have embraced it with open arms. The film has gone genre with both intentional and unintentional queer on to enjoy cult success, occasionally being shown at subtext.6 The classic horror filmFrankenstein (1931), and midnight a la The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Mancini its equally classic but significantly campier sequelBride of discusses the experience of seeing these shows: Frankenstein (1935), were both directed by James Whale, It’s been really gratifying to see the film go one of the few openly gay men in early Hollywood.[v] It’s on to enjoy the biggest cult audience of any easy to see that even in the original Mary Shelley novel, of the Chucky films […] Imagine watching the Frankenstein’s monster is hated because of his sense blood-and-sperm-soaked trials and tribulations of “otherness.”7 While most of Whale’s contemporaries of Chucky’s gender-confused offspring in a have denied any intentional queer subtext in Bride of theater full of drag queens in San Francisco.[iv] Frankenstein, it has nonetheless been embraced by many Of course, “queer horror” films, if such a specific genre modern queer film theorists as an early beacon of queer could exist outside the confines of Portlandia, are not horror, and the monster’s otherness allowed him to be all so outlandishly obvious or obscure as Seed of Chucky. interpreted as a gay icon.[vi] Often just an association with a queer filmmaker or actor There is, of course, a fine line between queer

6. F.W. Murnau, director of the classic Dracula-knockoff Nosferatu (1922) and key figure of the German expressionism movement, was openly gay. Nosferatu is the first vampire-themed movie, and currently the second-highest rated horror film on Rotten Tomatoes. 7. This is such a high school English class cliché essay prompt that an internet search for “Frankenstein + other” yields Sparknotes as the first hit. I, myself, had to write an essay on the subject in my sophomore year of high school. 8 I thought about the demographics for these types of films (young, heterosexual males) and tried to imagine what kinds of things would truly frighten them, to the core. And scary dreams that make them, even momentarily, question their own sexuality seemed like a to me.[viii] Though it is undoubtedly problematic that the queer undertones of this film were actually intended to scare straight, male viewers, this movie is, nonetheless, gay as heck. Queer viewers were easily able to appropriate the homophobic undertones of the script and reappropriated them as homoerotic subtext. This reappropriation would be extratextually strengthened years later when Mark Patton, who played Jesse, came out as gay. Patton admitted, in a documentary about the franchise, Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy (2010), to having recognized the queer subtext of Freddy’s Revenge, perhaps while delivering classic lines such as “He’s inside me, and he wants to take me again!” While a young, closeted Patton chose to deny allegations of intentional subtext in the years immediately following the film’s release, after the release of Never Sleep Again, Patton would become a horror convention regular and cement the film’s place on the shelves of queer horror fanatics everywhere.[ix] More than just a place on a shelf though, the film has been canonized as a queer film, and is nearly subtext used to appeal to queer audiences, and queer universally regarded as such. The same can be said for identities themselves being used to terrify straight Seed of Chucky and Bride of Frankenstein, both to varying audiences. Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge degrees. Though I can’t say these and other horror films was released in 1985, seemingly without any intentional filled the vast void aching within me for queer films, they gay subtext on behalf of the filmmakers. However, the certainly eased the void a little bit. film would go on to be hailed as “the gayest horror As I make my way through film school, more and film ever.”[vii] The film contains such seemingly queer- more family friends and distant relatives feel compelled bait-tastic scenes such as the attractive male teenage to ask me, “So, what do you plan on doing after graduation?” protagonist, Jesse, gratuitously roughhousing with his I’ve grown accustomed to the way their faces twist into male best friend during baseball practice, and Jesse a concerned grimace at my response. “You want to make running into his male gym teacher at a leather bar.8 horror films? Well, that’s a good way to break into the One of the film’s major subplots is Jesse’s inability to industry until you can make some real films, huh?” they have sex with his girlfriend because he is too haunted say, before they walk away to ask my sister about her by images of Freddy. As if that weren’t enough, the film’s graduate school program. They can’t understand that actual tagline was “The man of your dreams is back.” while “real” films might win awards, horror films have had Screenwriter David Chaskin has stated that the subtext a lasting impact on me. Shot on extremely low budgets, wasn’t entirely unintentional: marketed primarily to teenage heterosexual boys and

8. Queer bait: (n.) the intentional use of homoerotic or homoromantic subtext (often presented as a source of tension) to attract queer audiences. 9 capitalizing on hormones and cheap thrills, most horror looked upon a group of successful filmmakers and, for films are considered quintessential “B-movies.” For most the first time, felt like I might someday have a place “serious” filmmakers and film scholars, the horror genre among them. At this panel, I felt as if I was looking into is ultimately as cheap as the budget it’s made on. The a mirror. genre as a whole is “drenched in taboo and encroaching vigorously on the pornographic, the slasher film lies [i] Donohue, Brian. “Pulitzer Prize-winning Author Junot Diaz Tells Stu- dents His Story.” The Star Ledger, October 21, 2009. Accessed February 7, by and large beyond the purview of the respectable 2015. http://www.nj.com/ledgerlive/index.ssf/2009/10/junot_diazs_new_ (middle-aged, middle-class) audience. It has also lain by jersey.html. and large beyond the purview of respectable criticism.”[x] [ii] ”Her Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film.” In Misogyny, Misandry, and Misanthropy, edited by R. Howard Bloch and Frances However, for myself, and so many other queer filmmakers, Ferguson, by Carol J. Clover. Berkeley, : University of Califor- it is a first choice. Last year, I attended a “Queer Horror” nia Press, 1989. [iii] “CALL FOR ENTRIES: “Queer Horror” Film Festival (Portland, panel of filmmakers at San Diego Comic-Con and met OR).” Regional Arts & Culture Council. February 6, 15. Accessed Febru- an incredible array of gay, lesbian and queer filmmakers ary 14, 2015. http://www.racc.org/resources/call-entries-queer-horror- who look forward to Halloween just as much as I do. I film-festival-portland-or. [iv] Abley, “Don Mancini” in Out in the Dark. 9 met the creator of an enormously successful franchise. [v] Juergens, Brian. “What’s So Gay About Horror Movies?” The Backlot. I met successful screenwriters, actors and directors who, October 29, 2008. Accessed March 19, 2015. [vi] Juergens, “What’s So Gay About Horror Movies?” like me, had spent a good chunk of their adolescence [vii] Coates, Tyler. “’A Nightmare On Elm Street 2’ Is The Gayest Horror holed up in their bedroom watching horror films on late Movie Ever Made.” Decider. October 6, 2014. Accessed March 30, 2015. night cable. In fact, a lot of the topics discussed at the [viii] Peeples, Jase. “The Scream King: A Nightmare in Hollywood Couldn’t Kill Mark Patton.” The Advocate. August 6, 2013. Accessed panel were also covered earlier in this essay: queer- March 30, 2015. baiting, canonization, feeling generally alienated and [ix] Abley, Sean. Out in the Dark: Interviews with Gay Horror Filmmak- ers, Actors and Authors. Maple Shade, New Jersey: Lethe Press, 2013. disenfranchised. The horror genre showed me a space [x] “Her Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film.” In Misogyny, where I could exist, and Child’s Play was the first of many Misandry, and Misanthropy, edited by R. Howard Bloch and Frances mirrors the horror genre created for me. At this panel, I Ferguson, by Carol J. Clover. Berkeley, California: University of Califor- nia Press, 1989.

9. Jeffrey Reddick, the creator of the Final Destination franchise, gave me a hug and complimented my costume. 10 DIANA JOVES If someone were to refer to the “Cool girl who likes sports or video games is fak- Girl” myth in everyday conversation, all the ing it. It is, of course, possible for girls girls would just kind of nod to each other to genuinely enjoy these things — my friend with an unspoken understanding. We know who had been a fan of video games since she was “Cool Girl” is. She plays Grand Theft Auto 5 little, far too young to feel the societal with the guys while cramming handfuls of Hot pressures to impress the opposite gender. She Cheetos into her mouth. She pretends to be wasn’t pretending for anyone. What makes the interested in sports, drinking canned beer, “Cool Girl” concept a problem is when she lies and stuffing her face with hamburgers - all to herself and only does something for the while somehow maintaining a size two because, sake of male attention. There is definitely most importantly, “Cool Girl” must be hot. something wrong within our society when this In film, “Cool Girl” is hot, white, likes all is something expected of all girls. Pretending the same things the male romantic lead likes, to be someone you’re not in order to be liked never gets mad – basically, she is every man’s is something everyone is guilty of at least dream — a dream and an illusion. We know who once in their life. In the film Gone Girl, Amy this “Cool Girl” is without having to explain, Dunne takes it to a whole other level. because at one or another, we tried to Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn’s novel turned be the cool girl. David Fincher-directed-screenplay1 is a com- I was with my friend at a video game mentary on the expectations for women to tournament during Spring Break. She was kick- be every man’s ideal “Cool Girl.” There are ing everyone’s ass and attracting quite the pressures placed upon women that just aren’t crowd when a girl came up to us and told her, present for men. You have to be skinny, but “You’re what every guy wants.” I understood not too skinny. You also need curves — but that what she meant was that my friend was not too many, otherwise you’re fat (one of the pretty, well-dressed, and also happened to be worst things a girl could ever be!). You need extremely good at playing Street Fig hter. I to be pretty, but don’t wear too much makeup! knew the girl meant it as a compliment, but And you can’t just be pretty, you need to be isn’t it funny that being attractive to a guy well-rounded — smart, talented, able to cook, is supposed to be a better compliment than good at video games, “one of the guys,” — the just telling someone that they’re talented? In list goes on and on. Women are expected to do that moment, my friend was seen as the “Cool all of this and what can guys (who perpetuate Girl” and the the Cool Girl fantasy) do? Add on more I can’t tell if this girl was jealous of my false expectations until a girl decides to friend or not. This does not mean that any pretend for them and try to fit that image. 1. It is very interesting to note that the far from admirable character of Amy Dunne has been so highly praised by extreme feminists while on the opposite spectrum, masculinists worship the movie Fight Club along with its highly flawed male protagonists. The connection between the two is that they are both directed by David Fincher, who seems to enjoy curating films that serve as warnings from one gender extreme to another. 11 Gone Girl works as a feminist film because it Amy, the supposed “missing” wife, is unpacks this type of ideology, this myriad of still alive, spinning the plot in the complete expectations for women, and reverses the pow- opposite direction from what is expected. er dynamics in gender by presenting a battle Amy uses her own cleverness and the societal for dominance with the woman coming out on expectations of femininity to her advantage, top. faking her own death and framing her husband for the supposed murder. She fools everybody “You think I’d let him destroy me and end up by playing up the image of the abused wife, happier than ever? No fucking way. He doesn’t afraid of her husband’s temper problems — the get to win.” quintessential damsel in distress. One of the most memorable parts in the Unlike female characters in most Hol- entire film is Amy’s iconic “Cool Girl” speech, lywood films who remain in secondary roles a seven minute-long voice-over monologue fea- compared to men, Amy Dunne refuses to fit tured right in the center of the film, as this stereotype. At the start of the film, she drives away from the “murder” scene in the narrative tricks the audience into a sense the getaway car. This is where Amy lays bare of familiarity with a string of clichés: a the foundations of her motive behind wanting missing wife and a suspicious husband. When to frame her husband for murder. All aspects I was watching the movie with a friend, his of both the film and novel point towards Amy first reaction was to yell out, “The husband being a sociopath, from her narcissism, lack did it!” However, as the film progresses, ev- of empathy, and extremely manipulative nature, ery plot point fits together too perfectly. It but her concept of the “Cool Girl” is one that becomes too predictable. everyone can identify with.[i] In today’s soci- ety, the Cool Girl ideology is forced upon us “I am so much happier now that I am dead.” at every turn. On every magazine cover, bill- board, television commercial, it’s “Sex Tips 12 To Please Your Man,” “How To Get Men To Notice tailored to fit the “male gaze.” As Amy says, You,” “Top 10 Things Men Hate About Women.” you just don’t see men suddenly becoming ex- The fact that women are taught to go so far perts on Jane Austen, learning how to knit, out of their way just to please men without or adopting any other traditionally feminine, reciprocation is extremely indicative of the and thus “undesirable,” interests. patriarchal society that we live in. This type However, in this scene in which she con- of ideology correlates to the concept of the demns men and their unrealistic expectations, “male gaze,” as formulated by British film there are no men at all. Amy may blame men theorist Laura Mulvey. Existing as the founda- for possessing this problematic ideology and tions for any basic feminist film analysis, the foisting it upon women, but at the same time phrase “male gaze” refers to how almost every she harbors quite a bit of internalized mi- film is tailored to suit a male audience. The sogyny, holding women equally accountable for “male gaze” puts females in a position “to willingly trying to fulfill this “Cool Girl” be looked at,” to be desired, devoured, and role.2 As Amy sneers with contempt at the dominated.To not have agency within the lim- other girls driving past her, she takes what ited periphery of the camera lens, but to be she sees, these superficial images of women objectified by an extension of the male gaze she doesn’t know, and fills in the blanks. “If through modern technology. he likes Girls Gone Wild, she’s a mall babe who This is exactly the type of sexist talks football and endures buffalo wings at perception Amy critiques after spending her Hooters. Maybe he’s a hipster artist, so Cool entire life within a framework of objectifi- Girl is a tattooed bespectacled nerd who loves cation. Women are taught to form opinions and comics. There are variations to the window value others based on their attractiveness dressing, but believe me, he wants Cool Girl.” to men. What the “Cool Girl” concept has in Amy’s internalized misogyny is further common with other tropes - such as the manic explicated as we see her treatment of other pixie dream girl or the fake geek girl - is female characters within the film.3 She never that they are all centered around the male refers to Noelle Hawthorne, her neighbor and gaze. To help the charmingly awkward male lead supposed best friend, by name, but instead or to wear fake glasses and pretend to like refers to her as a “pregnant idiot,” and like- comic books to attract a man — everything is wise refers to Andie, the girl Nick is having

2. Something that is not to her own design, but something that she has been conditioned into believing because of what society has forced upon her. 3. Although Amy may be considered a sociopath by most movie-goers and the author, Gillian Flynn herself, it can be argued that she hates everyone equally. Howev- er, I don’t believe that this excuses her from being labeled as misogynistic. Within the writing of fiction, every tiny aspect is a decision that is consciously made by the author, and in this case, the author herself is a self-proclaimed feminist, leading me to believe that she deliberately chose to characterize Amy in this manner, and it is to which Amy should be held accountable. 13 an affair with, as a “slut,” never referring fectly, and wouldn’t require too much effort to her by her actual name. Amy’s patronizing to create media buzz about a white, blonde, tone towards all women, strangers or acquain- helpless housewife. tances, makes it clear that she holds herself The only time that Amy is ever “called at a much higher level than everyone else, out” on her privilege and has a kind of “re- which highlights another myth that isn’t ex- ality check” is when Amy is robbed by Greta plicitly mentioned in the film: the myth of and Jeff; and even after that, when she is the “Other Girl.” Most likely recognized with- stripped of everything she owns, she is still in the phrase used by (usually unconsciously) able to fall back onto her deus ex machina— misogynistic women, “Oh, I’m not like Other the rich, white ex-boyfriend who conveniently Girls.” Other Girls are the amalgamation of hides her in his spare lake house. Even when every traditionally feminine, and therefore she is called out on her position of self-in- “negative,” stereotype about women out there: dulgence and privilege, it isn’t enough, and air-headed, obsessed with shopping, makeup she still gets to run away to safety. and the color pink, gossipy, etc. If the “Cool Despite the fact that Amy is able to escape Girl” is a product of men’s fantasies, the her dilemma relatively unscathed, the scene “Other Girl” is a product of women’s fear for in which she is robbed still stands out as themselves. Subconsciously or not, they view a very prominent moment that highlights her being a woman as something that is so inher- privileged position within society. She doesn’t ently negative that they need to distance themselves from it by clarifying that they are different, they aren’t like Other Girls. Amy views herself as superior to all other women out there. She is the anoma- ly, the only one, the chosen one. And in a sense, she is. Amy would not be able to go through with her elaborate plan if she had not been born into the circumstances that she was. How would the story be different if Amy had been Lati- na? Black? Poor? The answer is clear. She wouldn’t have been able to gain national cover- age, she’d have been less likely to gather the actually know true violence and abuse; when funds she needed to fake her own death, have Jeff and Greta come into her apartment, she nice, wealthy parents to organize a fundraiser doesn’t know what to do at all. Amazing Amy is and search for her, and even if she did get finally stumped. She doesn’t scream or fight far enough to fake her own murder, would she back, all she has are empty threats — they also have the convenience of a rich, white have already seen through her disguise and ex-boyfriend? The truth is, if Amy had been are aware of the fact that she is on the run, anything other than white, upper-middle class, which prevents her from going to the cops. Ivy League-educated, and conventionally at- Jeff says, “I bet you’ve never even really tractive, the story would have been extremely been hit before.” He’s right, of course. Amy different. Her privilege is what allows her flinches right as they make any sort of move- the ability and resources to fake her own ment. Greta had gotten her character correct murder, the time to carefully organize a col- exactly: “Looks like a spoiled, rich bitch to or-coded post-it calendar schedule itinerary; m e.” it allows her to get the national coverage she Another thing that stands out as ex- needs to get the media and the nation’s sym- tremely problematic is Amy’s repeated false pathy on her side, and most importantly, to accusations of rape. This film may be a work hate her ex-husband. Amy’s inherent knowledge of fiction, but it still works to perpetuate of racist media reflects on her ability to the myth that women often lie about abuse and recognize the feasibility of her plan. In oth- rape. The reality is that one in four women er words, she knows her plan will work per- — 25% — have experienced domestic violence 14 to expect women to fit into his every ideal. He wanted “Cool Girl” from the moment he met Amy, and just like society had programmed her, she molded herself to fit the role Nick wanted. Even Desi, her ex-boyfriend, obsessed with everything Amy Dunne to the point of stalking her, cannot accept her for who she is. When the two are reunited, Desi is visibly shocked by her haggard appearance. When they get back to his place, he immediately sets out on transforming her back to being aestheti- cally pleasing—buying her hair dye, clothes, makeup, and telling her that he has his own private gym. He tells her “I just want you to be you again.” Essentially, he is not in love with Amy, but is in love with her portrayal of the Cool Girl. He is just like Nick, not taking into account the actual woman herself, but feeling entitled to a woman who fits his personal ideals. Both of these male charac- ters are not helpless victims, and though they don’t engage in the same level of violence as Amy, they are still just as complicit in per- petuating these harmful ways of thinking about what a woman “should” be. Amy not only made herself into “Cool Girl,” but also made Nick into a “Cool Guy.” She did to Nick what so many men do to wom- en, stating that she “forged the man of my dreams.” When they both lose their jobs and are forced to deal with financial debt, Their lives are suddenly no longer perfect Amy not only made herself into “Cool Girl,” but also in her lifetime. Domestic violence is also made Nick into a “Cool Guy.” She did to Nick one of the most underreported crimes, and on what so many men do to women, stating that average, 92 to 98.5% of rape accusations are she “forged the man of [her] dreams.” When true.[ii] Amy stands out as every man’s worst they both lose their jobs and are forced to nightmare: a woman scorned who fakes her own deal with financial debt, their lives are sud- murder, abuse, rape, and pregnancy, all to get denly no longer perfect and Nick finally takes revenge against a man. She eventually comes notice of the situation he’s been forced into out as victor. In reality, Amy is even worse — he is no longer happy with the arrangement. than Cool Girl. She’s aware of the myth of the As a coping method he finds himself a “new- Cool Girl and doesn’t do anything to tear it er, younger, bouncier Cool Girl.” But instead down, and while she may use men’s fantasies of passively accepting this, Amy takes action of Cool Girl against them, she does so in her and sets out for revenge. A revenge that own ignorance and dismissal of actual victims has been made possible by her upbringing as of abuse and domestic violence. “Amazing Amy” — she’s completely aware of what It is easy for spectators to merely is needed to manipulate someone and that she view the film at surface level and proclaim it is capable of doing so. as anti-feminist: the crazy, psychotic woman The birth of “Amazing Amy” as a char- entraps the innocent, unsuspecting male. How- acter in the children’s book series that re- ever the film is not as simple as that. Amy’s al-Amy’s parents created was a result of their husband, Nick Dunne, is far from innocent. own desires to have the perfect child. Right Though it is a bit glossed over in the film, from the beginning, Amy was in constant com- in the novel his misogynistic, asshole ten- parison to an imaginary twin that she couldn’t dencies are far more pronounced — he is an have a healthy competition with — Amazing Amy abusive liar, cheats on his wife, and most im- was always the better and more perfect one portantly, is a product of society programmed because she was fictional. From an early age 15 Amy was conditioned to always have perfection a new character type with not only an under- expected of her, which made her the ideal standable motive, but agency to be a subject, victim for the entire “Cool Girl” ideology. not an object. Like Amy’s parents, society conditions girls to “You’re what every guy wants.” I’m not feel as if “perfection” is expected of them, blaming that girl for what she said, because and normalizes all these grandiose expecta- she probably didn’t even realize the implica- tions. tions behind her “compliment,” which is the Just like how Nick Dunne is not the core issue of sexism today. Most people don’t “innocent, unsuspecting husband,” Amy Dunne know that they’re being sexist. So what is my is not the “psycho bitch” that ruins his life. real message? Don’t stereotype, don’t manip- What separates Amy from the “psycho bitch” ulate, don’t try to lump all girls together trope is that her actions have reason behind in separate categories, and stop trying to them. She is calculated and logical within her project this idealized “Cool Girl” image onto particular mindset, whereas the “psycho bitch” every girl. I’m not saying it’s bad for men to is merely irrational and emotional for no good have standards, like wanting a girl who has reason. In an interview.[iii] Author Gillian Fly- the same interests as them, but when those nn clarifies the difference between the psycho same characteristics are projected on ev- bitch trope and sociopath: ery movie and television , it has real life consequences. Life imitates art and soon “Q: Isn’t there a fine line between the these female characters become role models darkness of women and the stereotypical for young women and dream girls for young psycho bitch? men. But how can we achieve something that A: Well, I don’t write psycho bitches. The doesn’t exist? Amy Dunne is important because psycho bitch is just crazy, she has no mo- she takes that concept of the “Cool Girl” and tive, she’s a dismissible person because of smashes it to pieces. Amy Dunne is not a good her psycho bitchiness. And to me the whole role model for women nor is she the hero that point is to write scary women who aren’t women need. However, I believe that maybe she dismissible, who are frightening and cal- is the a nti-h e r o that women need. She exists culating but you know the reason why. You within cinema as proof that the “Cool Girl” know Amy’s back story. And, to me, she’s doesn’t exist, that it is destructive to live sympathetic. I mean, I wouldn’t go on a a pretend existence to please other people, road trip with her or anything. and in the end, she represents the ability for Q: Yet her response to an unfaithful hus- female characters to exist outside of ste- band is so extreme—so potentially psycho reotypes, as multi-faceted characters within bit c h y. film. A: She’s a functioning sociopath. She’s not a well person. But that’s very different If the film focused on the contest of than the iconic psycho bitch. I’m talking Amy and Nick’s messed up marriage, the end of about the capital P, capital B Psycho Bitch, the film opens up a door to the new fucked which to me is [Whispers]: She’s just crazy up contest of which parent can instill more ’cause her lady parts have gone crazy!” of their problematized ideology onto their new child. Amazing Amy met a perfect guy, got When we think of the psycho bitch trope, we married, and can now spend the rest of her think of characters like Alex Forrest, played days playing house with her own botched cre- by Glenn Close, in Fatal Attraction (19 87), ation of the stereotypical nuclear family — the obsessive ex-girlfriend Stacy from Wayne’s the perfect happy ending. World (1992), or the new temp Lisa (who Beyon- cé destroys) in Obsessed (2009). Glenn Close is From “Cool Girl” to sociopath, Gone Girl fi- widely considered the original pioneer of the nally ends with Amy Dunne, triumphant. psycho bitch trope in her role of the single woman who engages in an affair with a married [i] Kim, Jeanie. “Is That Character From ‘Gone Girl’ Really a Psycho- man, then launches herself on a home-wrecking path?”. Health. October 6, 2014. Accessed May 3, 2015. http://news.health. mission at all costs. Her decisions (kidnap- com/2014/10/06/is-that-gone-girl-character-a-psychopath/ ping a child, cutting herself, killing a bunny) are considerably desperate and irrational. This [ii] Brent E., Turvey. “Forensic Victimology: Examining Violent Crime Victims in is what separates her from Amy, whose actions Investigative and Legal Contexts.” Academic Press, 2013. 265. are fueled by her dissatisfaction with the [iii] Parsi, Novid. “Gillian Flynn on Gone Girl | Interview.” TimeOut. February 6, inequality between gender-based expectations. 2013. Accessed May 1, 2015. http://www.timeout.com/chicago/books/gillian-fly- The psycho bitch trope has now evolved into nn-on-gone-girl-interview. 16 - -

THEIR OWN WORDS - . I commu The FADER immerses the listener in and THEM ARE US TOO ARE US TOO THEM Remain NOISEY, Debra Bilodeau , For me, music is always visual, so the aesthetic comes really naturally. When I hear the song, my When I hear the song, my For me, music is always visual, so the aesthetic comes really naturally. Press Play Them Are Us Too, Cash Askew and Kennedy Ashlyn Kennedy Askew and Cash Are Us Too, Them at met while who Area-based duo are a Bay Wenning, UCSC. Their debut LP massive of sinister drum machine, siren-like hollows and has been featured guitar, vocals, and scintillating on them via email to discuss their artistic nicated with process and their first music video, “Eudaemonia.” How did you go about translating your music to a visual style? CASH: so the task of making a video was more head is already full of moving colors and forms in a very abstract way, also both We’re to find subject matter that could take on the colors and movement I was already seeing. very sensitive to the feeling of spaces, and we talked about approach imagining a space that could em Then you can just let characters and narrative form naturally with body/contain the feeling of song. never approached it with a definite story in mind, was much looser and more surrealistic. We in that space.

17 What was the process of making your music video? It has a really cool low-res / digital lo-fi look to it. Was that intentional?

CASH: We didn’t really plan ahead for the video, just decided to go for it one night. The camera we had was not even a video camera, just an old 2000s point-and-shoot digital camera that could take a few minutes of video at a time.

KENNEDY: It was a fun creative challenge to start with a vague aesthetic idea and then look for materi - als that could lend [themselves] to that world, and then hammer out the details based on what we found. It’s a way that we are very comfortable working [with] and similar to our songwriting process… trying to achieve an idea within strict material limits, which forces us to be inventive and industrious. The limits also shape the direction and ultimately the result… our work is kind of co-created by our ideas and our limitations. So it wasn’t necessarily like we wanted to make a “lo-fi” video per se, but since we could only find a shitty 10 year-old camera and a few flashlights for lighting, we rolled with it and tried to create the best effect that is possible with those tools, rather than pretend we were working beyond our means.

CASH: We specifically tried to work out an aesthetic that would work with the low quality of the camera. I liked taking advantage of the low resolution to keep things very vague. Letting the images be grainy and un - clear really helps get the kind of unsettling atmosphere we wanted, it adds to the sense that something is wrong.

KENNEDY: ...We also want to encourage other artists not to think of physical space as a roadblock to achieving your vision. A lot can be done to mundane spaces to transform them entirely.

Music videos are such an interesting art form that I feel like no one ever really discusses in depth. Was your video just for practical purposes (publicity) or for something... different (for yourselves, for your music / “art,” etc)?

KENNEDY: I see music videos as an opportunity to further situation of the song/album/artist aesthetically, emotion - ally, and ideologically. It’s a challenging task to approach because there is not necessarily a pure isolated meaning to begin with to even attempt to translate… it’s a lot of vagueness and paradox and tension that the song in some way captures, but becomes finite only through its creation. So the video has an opportunity to clarify, or illustrate in another way the “meaning” of the song, which is ultimately undefinable and continually being constructed.

CASH: I’ve always been a huge fan of music videos - some of my favorite childhood memories are watching music video collections with my dad on VHS, bands like Depeche Mode, the Cure, Duran Duran. I agree with Kenn that they can add a lot of depth to the music and guide the experience of it. Even just having a cohesive visual aesthetic that complements the music I think adds something. Videos allow you to fully immerse yourself in a piece of music

18 in a different way, which I love. And to create one was just an exciting challenge to push our creative process further. 19

The use of symbols in your video is really interesting, almost surreal. The flowers, the use of water, and the blood - iness of the plum all make me think of femininity / femme-ness; the use of flash, the disembodied hand with the cigarette, the sealed envelope make me think about secrets… I am particularly interested in the surrepti - tiousness of how Cash is filmed: the flashlight, the darkness, the sense of being exposed + vulnerable in theshow - er shot; the refraction of Kennedy’s hands/legs in the water / what looks like drowning. Can you comment on that?

CASH: There’s definitely a lot of symbolism going on, but when it comes to symbols I hate the idea that there is a direct A to B correlation, that everything has a specific intended meaning that can be translated if you know the code. We both feel strongly about that - any conceit of absoluteness is totally absurd. So we wanted to work with images in a symbolic or poetic way, and none of it is very defined. As I said before, we started by creating a space, or rather two spaces, that would give off the right feeling. We wanted to suggest tension and anxiety as well as vulnerability and isolation. I think secrets come into play here, there’s a tension between isolation and intimacy that permeates the video. There’s a lot of unclear connection and communication between the two spaces that are alluded to through the actions of each person. I think we hoped to create a feeling of a broken closeness. There’s delicacy in every aesthetic choice, but it’s also charged with violence. But it’s such a complicated thing that I think comes across a lot better when you can’t actually tell what’s going on, when there’s not a real story.

KENNEDY: I see narrativization of space/time/actions as an internal coping mech - anism for dealing with the infinite multiplicities and paradoxes of life and as a way for our brains to manage chaos. The imagery that we chose is what we are attracted to visually as people, and it’s interesting (though not that sur - prising) that themes like femininity, secrets, and vulnerability seem to ap - pear intentionally. These are things that are viscerally present in each of our lives, so I guess it’s not surprising that they appear in something we make. I feel like in your press there hasn’t been much of any mention of queer / non-binary identity. By no means do I want to define you by it or think that you need to talk about it at all, and recognize that that may be a conscious choice. However, I do think that it is a really powerful thing— and that your peers (and fans?) would appreciate seeing how these identities affect your music (and, by extension, this video).

KENNEDY: We haven’t yet had the opportunity to discuss publicly our identities as queer artists, but queerness is a super important part of both of our identities (both as artists and as people). Although what we’ve made so far does not really come across as “queer” in stereotypical ways, our queerness(es) come out through what we make because they are not a separable part of our identities, not an additive thing that we can decide to turn on or off. Similarly, we both are aware of and are con - tinually thinking about how the patriarchal gaze and its effects manifest in per - formance (both day-to-day and artistic). I’m not even sure we talked about it spe - cifically while making this video, but since it’s something we normally think about on the day-to-day, our relationship to that idea appeared in the video as well.

CASH: I think, in the way we present ourselves and our work, we consciously to work outside of expectations that people have based on our genders (or perceived genders). For me, being queer has a lot to do with fluidity and trying to break out of the strictly defined logical frameworks that structure every aspect of our lived experience. Gender is certainly a huge part of that, but I also car - ry that through into everything I do. I don’t ever want to occupy an easily defin - able category. When it comes to the band, I like leaving people unsure and leav - ing space for feelings to guide the experience rather than learned expectations.

With this video actually I had kind of a hard time when we were about to release it, because there was a very insecure part of me that was really worried about peo - ple seeing me with a beard and misgendering me. I identify as transfeminine (non - binary, but on the femme end of the spectrum) and it is very difficult to get peo - ple to understand and recognize that I am not male. But when we shot the video, we were actually in the middle of a tour and I had left my facial hair alone out of total laziness. Then that suddenly becomes the image of me that people will be seeing without any other context for my identity. It is weird having to repre - sent yourself to an unknown public, and not know how they will perceive or react to you. My gender identity certainly informs the way I make music and art, but I also don’t want to have to make a big deal about it. It’s something that I always keep

20 in mind when we put ourselves out in the world, but it’s very difficult to address. 21

What are your thoughts on the digital / DIY / grassroots aesthetic and community (both “local” and “artistic”?)

KENNEDY: DIY spaces and artists are super critical to us. It’s the world we came up in and in which we continue to grow into ourselves as artists. It also just represents to me ul - timate autonomy (and community autonomy) over your own art and collaborative projects.

CASH: Yeah, I don’t think we ever would’ve gotten to where we find ourselves now without the support of spaces like SubRosa, and I am eternally grateful for be - ing welcomed into that community. The ability to go out and play on our own terms for people who are open and thoughtful and more interested in art that is honest than what is trendy has been amazing. And spaces involved in DIY music scenes can also be entry points to huge networks of support where you can find like-minded people all over the country doing rad shit, whether or not anyone in the “out - side” world cares. We wouldn’t be able to tour without the people we’ve met this way, let alone have access to spaces where we feel understood and relatively safe.

THEM ARE US TOO are touring North America this summer. For tour dates and to buy / listen to their album, please visit facebook.com/themareustoo ! 22 UCSC Alumni Evan Holm

the river made no sound May 21 - June 27, 2015

special artist talk tour: saturday, June 13, 2-3:00PM

https://vimeo.com/106026830

vesselgallery 471 25th Street | Oakland, California

| vessel-gallery.com

23 if you can see yourself in

join us for our next issue to find out more about us, email us at [email protected]

don’t foget to like us on facebook and follow us on twitter @eyecandyucsc

24 #FRESH OFF THE BAND WAGON Jasmine Lee Ehrhardt Artwork by Celia Fong subservient, and unnoticeable way, they can overcome ABC’s new sitcom premiered any racial barrier - has been circling in my head through- February 4th, 2015, and since then I have live-tweeted ev- out this whole process, ever since it was announced that ery episode, read every single thinkpiece about it, and got- Huang’s book would be turned into a pilot for ABC. I have ten into plenty of heated debates about the show. As the felt pressured to be respectable and only show love for a first network sitcom to feature an Asian American family in show that has continually disappointed me - and yet, the twenty years, the significance of this sitcom has not been show itself, and Huang’s memoir, seem to want to reject lost on anyone. At first, I felt extremely hopeful and excited this idea of respectability as well. Part of the appeal of Ed- for this step in representing my community; however, that die Huang is that he actively condemns any model minori- quickly changed. ty tropes of subservience that, as an East Asian American man, are thrust upon him. His persona and his personal brand all make an effort to present someone who is brash, loud, and doesn’t take crap from anyone. I’ll admit that there was a time where I looked up to and tried really hard to ignore his problematic actions because I was feeling so dissatisfied with the politeness of other Asian American spaces I have been in. Huang’s shit- talking, no-fucks-given personality is a welcome breath of fresh air compared to the more moderate Asian American voices accepted and amplified by white America. While I begrudgingly admire his tenacity and his hustle, my expe- riences seeing Fresh Off the Boat and engaging with the extratextual aspects of the show - including Huang’s recent Knowing that I wanted to write about Fresh Off the conduct - have made me want to reconsider his status, and Boat, and its inspiration, celebrity chef and television per- the status of this show, as notable or praiseworthy parts of sonality Eddie Huang’s memoir of the same name, meant the larger Asian American that I was constantly writing and rewriting my article as the community. show’s first season developed. What began as an exciting and joyful experience quickly spiraled into one where I Huang claims in his memoir and in his many found myself wanting to distance myself from the show appearances on TEDtalks and on panels that he grew up more and more. In addition to slowly realizing that I could on hip-hop and hip-hop culture, and states that he found not side with Fresh Off the Boat for its politics, I found solidarity and support in that music and culture in the face myself more and more hesitant to truly critique and speak of being bullied in school and facing physical and mental out against the show. It’s been scary voicing my discon- abuse from his parents.[i] I do not wish to negate his expe- tent to other members of my community that seemingly rience as a survivor of parental abuse (an issue in the Asian adore the show. The notion of respectability politics - the American community that needs to be unpacked in and mistaken belief that if a person of color behaves in a quiet, of itself), but something doesn’t sit right with me. Huang’s 25 posturing, his streetwear, his co-opting of African-Amer- If most of Huang’s appeal is the novelty of seeing ican Vernacular English, and his insistence on being an Asian man performing blackness as a part of his brand, referred to as “Rich Homie Huang,” “Kim Jong Trill,” and ABC’s Fresh Off the Boat capitalizes on the novelty of not other hip-hop monikers don’t seem to come from a place only seeing an Asian family on a primetime network show, of respect to blackness or hip hop.[ii] It seems that Huang but having that sitcom set to a hip hop soundtrack instead merely basks in the “novelty” of seeing these coders on an of the stereotypical gongs and zithers. With a theme Asian body - I rarely see him engaging in true acts of soli- song written by rapper Danny Brown and a soundtrack darity with hip hop and black people, and I don’t hear him comprised of mostly 90’s hip hop (early Snoop Dogg, The verbally acknowledging hip hop’s historical root in black Notorious B.I.G., and plenty of Ice Cube), it’s not hard to communities either. Huang ignores the power structures see that the show is catering to hip hop heads of all ages. that grant him, whether or not he rejects the model minori- However, the show does the same thing that Huang does ty stereotype, enormous power over black Americans, and -- it makes the material and sartorial aesthetics, not the seems to feel that because of his difficult childhood, he politics, of hip hop central to their projects. Our introduc- can take on the markers of blackness and use them as his tion to young Eddie (Hudson Yang) and the first scene own personal brand. I understand Huang’s desire to not in the pilot episode starts with a rapid-fire montage of be seen as the model minority- it is incredibly damaging close-ups of Eddie donning gold rings, a huge gold chain, not only to Asian Americans but is also used to reinforce and a sideways baseball cap.[iii] The camera zooms out and racial hierarchies in America. After all, a “good” minority we see young Eddie - chubby, a little bit awkward, look- (Asian Americans) can’t exist without the contrasting “bad” ing clearly ridiculous in this attempt to “get the authentic minority (black and Latin@ people).1 However, treating look.” Throughout the show, Eddie’s t-shirts only feature another culture that you claim “raised” you as a part of the logos, album art, and faces of other rappers - but we your bankable brand - as a chef, as a television and web never see Eddie retreat to hip hop for guidance or some personality, as public figure - is not respect.2 Unfortunately, formation of an identity beyond the sartorial. Unfortunate- because Huang’s life and brand are so saturated with the ly, this attitude of loving the culture but not the people that material markers of hip hop, the ABC adaptation of his it came from (one that is repeated ad infinitum throughout life shows the same lack of respect for the communities it pop culture in America) is repeated in the show’s narrative claims to engage with. and treatment of black people as well.

1. The model minority myth posits that East Asian Americans “disprove” racist structures in America, citing SAT scores, median household incomes, and graduation rates to show that if a person of color merely works hard and keeps their heads down, they can succeed. This myth was established after the Civil Rights Movement to divide people of color and prevent racial solidarity, to pit them against each other across racial lines and try to pull Asian Americans closer to whiteness. 2. I find it incredibly telling that Huang is ready to engage in incredibly problematic and harmful codes of behavior towards anyone who disagrees with him simply to counteract a stereotype that causes him and other Asian American men harm. 26 hierarchies. Delegating the one and only black character to “The One Who Calls Eddie a Racial Slur” is lazy and uninspired writing, and instead creates a hierarchy of “most racist” (Walter) and therefore “most harmful” (again, Walter). In the eighth episode, a new student - a Chinese adoptee - comes to Eddie’s school, Eddie and the transfer student pass Walter in the hallway. Eddie says, “You’re on the bottom now. You’re outnumbered.” Eddie and Walter resorting to petty verbal jabs and mutual animosity to keep from being stuck “in the bottom” of the racial and social hierarchy at school reflects their earlier conflicts while enforcing these aforementioned hierarchies. This, of course, ignores the fact in that the grand scheme of things, Walter will always be on the bottom, and no amount of microaggressions or slurs against Eddie will be the same as the systemic racism that Walter will face throughout his whole life.

However, Fresh Off the Boat also worked hard to “rectify” their treatment of Walter at the end of the eighth episode, about two months after the premiere. Both Eddie and Walter show up at school wearing identical Beastie Boys “Licensed to Ill” t-shirts, and Eddie and Walter bond The character of Walter, the only black person in over a mutual love for the Beastie Boys. As they walk down Eddie’s grade, is the most obvious indication of Fresh Off the hallway together, eagerly discussing the concert, the the Boat’s anti-blackness. Throughout the narrative arc of adult Huang’s narration comes in: “An Asian kid and a the show, the relationship between Walter and Eddie is black kid bonding over Jewish rappers. America’s crazy.” one that is incredibly problematic - Walter is alternately a In this scene and at this point in the narrative, Fresh Off potential friend, an aggressor, and a gimmick. In the pilot the Boat has come full circle since our first introduction to episode, some white kids at the “popular table” get Ed- Walter, yet still maintains a triangulation of race relations die’s attention, and ask him to join them because of shared instead of working to unpack this tension between black obsession with Notorious B.I.G., who graces Eddie’s t-shirt. and Asian people. It’s almost as if there needs to be a Eddie promptly abandons Walter and joins this other third party interloper (in this case, a band of white Jewish table.3 This prompts Walter, alone at his lunch table, to rappers) to bring these two “sparring” minorities togeth- comment: “An Asian dude and a white dude bonding er. 5 Though this newfound friendship is indeed a happy over a black dude. This cafeteria is ridiculous.”4 It is here we sight (they aren’t bathed in golden light for nothing), it still see that Walter is used as a prop between the two “sides” doesn’t erase or make up for the treatment of Walter in - Asian versus white - as a way to cheekily and self-effac- earlier episodes. In addition, the issue of using the Beastie ingly call attention to the complex triangulations of race Boys instead of a group of black rappers as the point of in Eddie’s school. The power dynamics of this bond are connection for Walter and Eddie shows that the show marked by the fact that the kids continue to exclude Wal- wanted to create a respectable, Kumbaya-esque gateway ter but mutually fawn over Biggie, essentially loving this to black culture without having to resort to using an actual culture more than the actual people who created it. Later black musician. Asian kids and white kids can bond over episodes featuring Walter use him only in this way, and to see this repeated every week was incredibly frustrating. Later on in the pilot, Eddie goes to the microwave to heat up his Lunchable and Walter cuts him in line, telling Eddie that he’s on “the bottom” now. Eddie responds with the requisite, “No, you are!” -- and Walter’s response is, “It’s my turn, ch*nk!” The fact that Walter, the only black kid, is not only used to offer a snappy one-liner but now plays the role of the verbally abusive aggressor speaks volumes about the show’s mishandling of real-world racial

3. Of course, Eddie would be rejected from this same table for having “stinky” Chinese food for lunch. 4. In the third episode, Eddie is teased for not owning Air Jordans, and when he points out that Walter doesn’t own any, a white kid points out, “Yeah, but he’s black. That’s like built-in Jordans.” Walter responds with an exasperated, “This school is ridiculous.” Walter doesn’t need the Jordans to be cool, but he also is still not close friends with any of his classmates. Relating blackness to a material, consumable good only seems to reinforce this trend of commodification in the show. 5. After the eighth episode, Walter joins becomes one of Eddie’s predominantly white friend group, settled comfortably in the background after he’s done being used as an antagonist. Walter’s “evolution” through the show doesn’t make up for the previous problems of anti-blackness, even if it demonstrates growth or character develop- ment. It’s more of a band-aid than a completed healing process. In fact, Walter becoming a background character for the rest of the season only shows that the writers of Fresh Off the Boat have not yet undone the anti-blackness they wrote into the show in the first place. 27 mutual adoration of black rappers, but an Asian kid and Eddie to find empowerment or political solidarity in hip- a black kid can’t bond without a third (white) party. It’s hop. This episode “denigrates hip-hop culture by portray- through this consumption, co-opting, and general mis- ing it as a vector for adopting sexist attitudes,” ultimately representation of hip-hop that ABC’s Fresh Off the Boat condemning an entire subculture to being a hotbed of doesn’t work, and Eddie Huang isn’t immune from this misogyny.[iv] criticism either. It’s incredibly frustrating to see this play out in a show that is seen as a source of progressive represen- Fresh Off the Boat’s unproblematized misogyny is, tation for only Asian Americans. unfortunately, not merely confined to the show. A recent Twitter debacle involving Huang and prominent black In addition, the show - and Huang himself - have feminist blogger/activist Mia McKenzie of Black Girl Dan- plenty of problems with misogyny as well. In the third gerous revealed him to be the exact opposite of someone episode, I found myself sitting with my jaw hanging open the community should be looking to for inspiration.[v] After watching young Eddie’s fantasy - a mock hip hop video - appearing on Real Time With Bill Maher and claiming that play out onscreen. Eddie perches on the hood of a muscle black women and Asian men are equally oppressed be- car, surrounded by popping and locking women, as a cause of some dating statistics on OKCupid, a number of bare leg and heeled foot emerge from another fancy car. black and Asian American feminists took to Twitter to call The object of Eddie’s fantasy, his adult neighbor, steps out him out - myself included.[vi] After many Twitter users point- and the camera tilts up her scantily clad body. To show ed out that a dating statistic is not the same as structural his appreciation, Eddie sprays her with his Capri Sun. By and institutional oppression, Huang began to call McKen- showing only a clichéd re-presentation of an eleven year zie a “bum,” and then silenced her critiques by offering to old’s fantasy of a hip hop music video - featuring a fancy take her on a date - instead of listening to what she had car, popping and locking women, cash money, and the to say, or stepping back to realize that his words, had, you authentic streetwear “look” - Fresh Off the Boat shows that know, caused some harm. Though Huang’s crashing and young Eddie is only looking to hip hop for how to pick up burning online occurred well after the season finale of girls. By doing so, this scene ends up conflating blackness Fresh Off the Boat premiered and he had already dis- and misogyny.6 By tying Eddie’s growing misogyny to hip- avowed himself from the show, I couldn’t help but think hop culture, the show removes any kind of potential for back to the third episode and that the casual misogyny -

6. In addition, Eddie’s misguided or “innocent” misogyny is never corrected in the course of the narrative. Even the interruption of the first fantasy by Eddie’s parents doesn’t “call out” Eddie’s objectification of his neighbor, and a lawn dart in Eddie’s back at the end of the episode isn’t an adequate punishment for that misguided misogyny either. 28 played as a part of a joke! - had a specific root somewhere. episode of Fresh Off the Show, said, After all, it’s Huang who advocates for upskirt shots at an anime convention in Taiwan in his Vice food travel web- You’re saying that you can’t deal with [racial hier- series.7 It’s Huang who named items on his first restaurant archies] in a network show or in the time that you menu “Poontang Potstickers,” “Concubine Cucumbers,” have in this [kind of show], but we’ve been spend- and “Taiwanese Flat Booty Cake.”[vii] Both Huang and ing this whole time talking about how the show ABC’s Fresh Off the Boat are rife with anti-blackness and deals with Asianness and Asian Americanness, so misogyny - it’s not at all the kind of representation that I if they’re capable of doing that, then they can do a want associated with my community. better job with gender, race. I know as a Sociology professor I sound like a broken record but when As if Fresh Off the Boat’s anti-blackness and hip hop is created in black culture and it’s treated misogyny weren’t enough, the tenth episode, entitled as a punchline rather than something taken se- “Blind Spot,” features an Asian character in brownface. The riously on its own merits..... It’s really flawed, and character in question is Eddie’s mom’s gay ex-boyfriend, every time I get really cringey when they do it.[viii] Oscar, who is already rife with homophobic stereotypes. In the process of auditioning for Aladdin on Ice, Oscar dons Wang’s words - as well as many other dialogues I had en- Disney’s Aladdin costume and darkens his face to perform gaged in - resonated with me because they were exactly a rendition of “A Whole New World” for the Huangs. It’s how I felt. Nothing gives an excuse for Fresh Off the Boat’s presented without comment and without retribution for lack of nuance and concerningly long list of ideological this character, and is honestly the most confounding and “blind spots.” As awesome as it is to see some faces of bizarre misstep that Fresh Off the Boat has taken thus our community on the small screen, I feel like it’s a bit of a far.8 On the one hand, it shows incredible disregard for sham if these other insidious attitudes and maintenance of historical trends of brownface, and on the other it reduc- white supremacist values keep persisting. es darker-skinned people, Asian or otherwise, into more comedic tropes. Between decontextualizing hip-hop, ABC just renewed Fresh Off the Boat for a second treating Walter as a prop, and this latest misstep, the show season, and while this gives me hope for mainstream seems to be working really hard to lift up only East Asians media institutions being open to the idea of having East or Taiwanese-Americans at the expense of other races. I Asian faces on screen, it still makes me wary. Will the same do not want my media and representation for me to be mistakes be repeated? Should we even search for “true” simultaneously kicking down everyone else. representation in the space of a television sitcom? I’m not even sure who to really blame - Who exactly do I hold Fresh Off the Boat, needless to say, has been an accountable for this anti-blackness and appropriation that experience, and the extratextual experience has been is mistakenly being claimed as representation? almost, if not more, interesting than the show itself. My There’s no simple answer to the questions I ask about weekly live-tweets were a part of a larger conversation on Twitter with other people, Asian and non-Asian alike. It was amazing to see people agreeing with me when we felt joy and frustration in watching the show, and amazing to see the dialogues spring up in short bursts of 140 characters. Another extratextual discourse I participated in was in the regular viewings of Fresh Off the Show, a talkback show hosted by stand-up comedian Jenny Yang and blogger Phil Yu of Angry Asian Man. Every week, they and a guest would broadcast a conversation between the two on Google Hangouts, and like a good little fan, I tuned in. Viewing the sitcom and then the talkback show made me feel like I was part of a larger community - and retweeting and talking to other people on Twitter also helped me in that sense. I felt comfortable expressing both my joys and frustrations in these two spaces - although often I felt guilt for only wanting to focus on the more difficult or unsavory aspects of the show. However, the very last episode of Fresh Off the Show gave me hope - and reaffirmed every- thing that I had been feeling. Oliver Wang, a professor of sociology at Cal State Long Beach and a guest on this final

7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUKbK8KFJzo 8. There are several layers of irony and what-the-fuckery to this specific instance in Fresh Off the Boat. In the original Arabian Nights, the character of Aladdin was Chi- nese. Also, for a writer’s room that claims to be the most diverse in network television, the fact that this did not get caught by any producers or writers is just astound- ing. It doesn’t help either that the Asian Americans on Fresh Off the Boat are all relatively light-skinned - colorism is an incredibly pervasive issue in the Asian American community, and seeing a light-skinned East Asian person darken their skin for comic relief is incredibly frustrating. Colorism, or the act of discrimination against darker skinned peoples, can be found in every single cultural formation group - and East Asian people, in our prizing of pale, clear skin, are absolutely complicit in it. In this scene, Fresh Off the Boat steps unapologetically into this discourse and turns it into a punch line. 29 Fresh Off the Boat, let alone the questions I ask about rep- [i] Huang, Eddie. Fresh Off the Boat: A Memoir. New York, NY: Spiegel & Grau, resentation. I still enjoyed some aspects of the show, and 2013. Kindle. there are still things that Huang has said specifically about [ii] Yang, Wesley. “Eddie Huang Against the World.” New York Times Magazine. Chinese-American identity, about food imperialism, that Last modified February 3, 2015. Accessed May 18, 2015. http://www.nytimes. com/2015/02/08/magazine/eddie-huang-against-the-world.html?ref=magazine&_r=3. I vibe with. I’m not denying that there are things on Fresh [iii] Fresh Off The Boat. “Pilot.” Episode 1. ABC. February 4, 2015 (originally aired Off the Boat that feel “right” - tiny details of the show stand February 4, 2015). Produced by Edwyn Huang. Written by Nahnatchka Khan. out to me as real things that I’ve seen in my own home, in [iv] Yang, “Eddie Huang Against the World.” my own family. The superstition-bordering-on-paranoia [v] Keiteay. “Eddie Huang on ‘Fresh off the Boat’ - Storify.” Storify. Last modified April 8, 2015. Accessed May 3, 2015. https://storify.com/keiteay/eddie-huang-on. about the number four, the jade Buddha pendant and [vi] Chu, Arthur. “Dear Eddie Huang: You Don’t Get to Tell Black People, or Other 24 karat gold chain Louis Huang wears around his neck, Asian People, How They Should Feel or Who They Should Be.” Alternet. Last the bowls that the Huangs use at the dinner table, and modified May 13, 2015. Accessed May 14, 2015. http://www.alternet.org/media/ constant reminders of the “When I came to this country…” dear-eddie-huang-you-dont-get-tell-black-people-or-other-asian-people-how-they- all remind me of my own childhood, or the experiences should-feel-or. of my peers in my community. Visual references to Hong [vii] Fang, Jenn. “There Can Be No Room in This Movement for Misogyny.” Reap- Kong action cinema and, specifically, Stephen Chow propriate. Last modified May 7, 2015. Accessed May 16, 2015. http://reappropriate. co/2015/05/there-can-be-no-room-in-this-movement-for-misogyny/. movies feel like in-jokes that were written for me. However, [viii] Wang, Oliver, Phil Yu, and Jenny Yang. “’Fresh Off The Show’ Online Post- these seem to be only crumbs of representation, over- Show - April 21.” Fresh Off the Show. Podcast video. April 21, 2015. Accessed May shadowed by a narrative and visual tropes that perpetuate 16, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOJSwPhK8SU. anti-blackness and misogyny. I know that the phrase “baby steps” is important to keep in mind in regards to the issue of representation, but I’m honestly fed up with baby steps. I know that this show, and the discourse around it, can be better. I’d like to think that Fresh Off the Boat can improve in it’s second season, but I confess I don’t know what that looks like. I do know that I’m going to try through the second season, phone in hand and ready to live-tweet, preparing myself to hop off the bandwagon at any time.

30 PLEASE LIKE ME, jenny panush

31 I Get my Books from my Mother

Larissa Sturm Gonzalez

32 YA Adaptations (Re)-Shaping my Perception of the Industry

sat in the folds of her comforter, letting the way to experience romance without having to actually ex- blanketI surround me in its warmth. She sat next to me perience romance – the only problem with this was that and I looked over her shoulder at the sunlit pages I could one of my first encounters with a romantic relationship not yet read. She spun tales of magic, dragons, and a was between a human girl and a vampire who desper- boy with a lightning-shaped scar. My mother has been ately wanted to eat her. YA romance, “all-consuming and introducing me to stories for as long as I can remember: invariably necessitat[ing] suffering,” is what I held in my she read to me before I could read for myself and even mind as the example of true love.[i] Many girls my age then we found a way to share books. Every time my found this kind of love desirable, because weathering mom and I went shopping, we spent at least two hours something like a vampire war made the love seem more in bookstores meandering the shelves. When we found meaningful and passionate. I’m sure my mom thought I something we both liked we bought one copy and shared was joking when I said I wanted a guy from these books it between us. By share I mean my mom got to read it for a boyfriend, and I was… kinda. Despite having a first because she paid for it and good daughters wait their warped perception of what love was, young adult novels turn. She read it and I waited, usually not very long if it helped facilitate a healthy outlet for my romantic and was a good one. When I got my hands on it, every time I budding sexual desires. When these books started to be reached a gasp or a That did not just happen!, I ran to her adapted as films, I was just as intrigued, as any young and we discussed every detail of that moment. adult novel enthusiast would be.

I devoured every book that my mom bought for “ I’m sure my mom thought me. I spent every free minute reading, because it was easier to interact with a book than with people. I found I was joking when I said I myself entangled in worlds of magic and I was more than wanted a guy from these happy to delve in again and again. At an age when dis- covering yourself is about as easy as defeating a magical books for a boyfriend, and man without a nose, books were the perfect escape from my tween troubles. More than that, these books gave me I was. . . kinda. ” a means to understand the most frightening yet exhilarat- ing experience of life: romantic and sexual relationships. Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments: City I was utterly inexperienced and completely inept when it of Bones (2013) was one adaptation I was particularly came to speaking to someone I had feelings for – the first adamant about seeing in theatres for multiple reasons. I confession I ever made was filled with a lot of “umms” was completely in love with The Mortal Instruments series and “I don’t knows,” followed by me shutting the door in from middle school to high school. The series had a for- his face and burying myself in my moms bed sheets for bidden romance, supernatural creatures, and a great evil the next two hours. Young adult (YA) books gave me a to fight – everything a girl could ever want in her 33 “The series had a forbidden romance, supernatural creatures, and a great evil to fight - everything a girl could ever want in her young adult fiction. ” young adult fiction. When I saw the announcement that pretty bad ones. the series would be adapted into a film, I checked online The first thing that my mom and I say when we’re all the time to see who they would cast as the three main about to see a young adult film is, “It won’t be as good characters.The actors chosen to play the heroine, Clary as the book.” Knowing this, we go to just about every Fray — Lilly Collins, whose blandness is only offset by adaptation of a book we’ve read. We buy our midnight the boldness of her brows and Jace Herondale (Jamie premiere tickets, sneak in our Coke and Reese’s Pieces, Campbell Bower), her broody broad-foreheaded savior, and when the movie starts we become “absorbed in the were good-looking enough, but their interpretation left world of the fiction, [and] we forget that it is a fiction.”[ii] me feeling like they really were brother and sister.1 The It doesn’t matter that the plot has been exceedingly min- third actor was Robert Sheehan, an actor I had grown to imized or that the acting is subpar, we’ve already been love through the UK television series Misfits(2009), and taken in by these characters and we are already engulfed I was ready to love his beautiful face again in this film. I by the story. This is often referred to as suspension of found myself looking forward to seeing him in the role of disbelief, and it is vital for any piece of fiction – film or Simon Lewis – oh-so lovable-but tragically-unrequited in novel – if it hopes to captivate an audience. Films adapted his love of BFF Clary Fray. I even went to an LA panel for from books are given a pass when it comes to this aspect the film in which I saw the splendiferous Sheehan in all of fiction because even before they start production they his glory. Sadly, the film flopped harder than Draco Mal- have an invested audience. Studios often assume that the foy getting hit with an Expelliarmus Charm, but my mom novel fanbase will do their marketing for them, and they and I enjoyed it nonetheless.2 I tend to enjoy any adapta- can skip over the part where they try to cinematographi- tion movie that I see with my mom--and we’ve seen some cally captivate their audiences - often they’re right.

1. As they were rumored to be in the story. 2. Metaphor courtesy of Harry Potter franchise. 34 Contemporary literary adaptation analyst Simone The desire to see these films in theatres also stems Murray talks about this in her book The Adaptation Indus- from the search for strong female leads that 11-13 year try. She says that although films have little luck satisfying olds can identify with. As a tween, reading these books audiences that object to the interpretation of this scene or was an escape where I could read about girls that were the casting of that character, “the readers of a book are smarter, stronger, and funnier than boys. However, this easily and unproblematically convertible into screen au- was not my reality – at least in popular media it wasn’t. diences.”[iii] I agree that we find the prospect of seeing the Critics such as Kathy Fuller-Seeley “[question] the extent film too good to pass up, more often than not. This is laid to which female viewers [can] identify with the main out in the following conversation between my mom and I: characters in films produced and consumed within the patriarchal Hollywood system.”[vi] Popular movies showed Me: “Agh! Did you see who they cast for [so-and- me that women are always in danger of a tragic fate – like so]?” being eaten by a beast, or worse, being single – until a Mom: “Oh yeah! They really look like how I man comes to her rescue. YA adaptations have created a imagined [that one aloof guy in the book new niche of popular films that include something people who secretly just wants to be loved.]” have been craving for years: a dynamic, strong, and in- Me: “Ugh, he is so cute.” dependent female lead! As a teenage girl, watching these films was like realizing that books aren’t all a fantasy and This ogling of characters-as-actors is an example of that women can do amazing things. Although these are what Laura Mulvey refers to as “circumstance[s] in which pieces of fiction, it is so much more impactful to see a looking itself is a source of pleasure.”[iv] It’s a special kind woman saving herself from danger than reading about of feeling seeing gorgeous actors represent characters that it in the pages of a book. Through my teenage years my have been crafted by fiction authors. It’s further evidence mother did her best to tell me that I could do anything I that these people could be real because now set my mind to, but it’s hard to believe that you’ve seen it as a corporeal interpretation Popular movies when the rest of society says you can’t. YA of scenes you’ve only imagined. The adaptations were one of the first places films’ reduction / condensation of the showed me that in popular media that I was able to plot also allows you to reach all of women are always in see female main characters smart the key plot points within a two- enough to be the brightest witch hour time frame, as opposed danger of a tragic fate - like in her generation, brave enough to reading a book for days or being eaten by a beast, or to sacrifice themselves for their maybe even weeks before you loved ones, and strong enough get to that final emotional release worse, being single - until to inspire a nation to rebel against or even the climax of the story. Films a corrupt government. Even though cut out everything unnecessary and get a man comes to her these adaptations have been slowly de- right to the essential plot points and the rescue. ” volving ever since J. K. Rowling sparked juicy bits. By juicy bits, I mean those scenes the market for them, they have already that “[satisfy] a primordial wish for pleasurable looking,” started to change the expectations of audiences when it that, according to Laura Mulvey, focus on the desire to comes to female leads. look at others without the object being aware of our gaze and films satisfy this desire.[v] In YA films this voyeuristic My interest in the young adult book/film scene pleasure is demonstrated through shirtless scenes, kiss- lasted up until I left for college, where I no longer found ing, and basically any scene in which hot young actors time to read for pleasure or watch too many movies. I and burning passion is involved. Having handsome young still watched a few adaptations like The Hunger Games actors like Robert Sheehan playing these teen heartthrob and Divergent because I had read them in high school characters is a big reason why the YA adaptation industry and I enjoyed them. However, the experience lacked the grew the way it did in such a short timeframe. That be- same excitement that it had in the past. This summer ing said, I think the female characters in these adaptations I read the last YA book I would read at my mother’s give viewers like me a whole other reason for purchasing recommendation, The Fault in Our Stars (2012) by John their tickets. Green, finishing it just in time to see the film with my 35 “I have grown up with these young adult novels and films, and I’m ready to see them change for the better, and not just change, but evolve. ”

housemate. The book was cliché and filled with too many cigarette metaphors to enjoy – and the film was not much different. I didn’t notice at the time, but finding the story unoriginal and contrived marked a shift in my interests and me.

Rolling my eyes at the screen, I realized that I’ve read/seen too many of these stories to find the same content as compelling as it was when I consumed it the first time. The formula for these stories needs to change or else people, like myself will get bored and move on. I have grown up with these young adult novels and films, and I’m ready to see them change for the better, and not just change, but evolve. The industry that perpetuates the cliché tendencies of YA fiction needs to look at what has been made and find a way to make it different and make it new. I want to contribute to this transformation. It [i] Erzen, Tanya. Fanpire: The Twilight Saga and the Women Who Love It. started with my mom reading books to me when I was 5, Boston: Beacon, 2012. Print. 21. but she has done so much more since then to support my [ii] Smith, Murray. “Film Spectatorship and the Institution of Fiction.” ambitions. That’s why I’m currently studying to become a The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 53.2 (1995): 113-27. JSTOR. Web. 03 May 2015. 113. creative writer, of both novels and films. I want to make [iii] Murray, Simone. The Adaptation Industry: The Cultural Economy of something that mothers can give to their daughters. Contemporary Literary Adaptation. New York: Routledge, 2011. Print.157. [iv] Mulvey, Laura. Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. N.p.: n.p., 1999. Print. [v] Mulvey, Laura. Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. N.p.: n.p., 1999. Print. [vi] Fuller-Seeley, Kathy. “INTRODUCTION: Spectatorship in Popular Film and Television.” Journal of Popular Film and Television 29.3 (2001): 98-99. Web. 98.

36 Screening Mi Gente: The Watsonville Film Festival Marisol Medina-Cadena “What is this alternate universe where I can indulge in screenings of in- dependent films and dialogue with directors?” I thought after attending my first free film festival in Los Angeles. “You mean there is an actual space beyond the independent theater where people collectively enjoy and discuss alternative cinema? Why had I not been a part of this com- munity before?” Oh, that’s right — the cost and utter exclusivity of many film festivals has prevented myself, as well as other underrepresented folks, from participating and critically intervening in such media spheres.

After experiencing one (free) festival, I needed more open spaces that would bring together a multitude of people to connect over films that ac- tually reflect the multiethnic world we live in. I wanted to belong to a film culture that embraced difference and as a soon-to-be college freshman, I was also seeking affirmation that I, a Chicana, could pursue filmmaking. In other words, I wanted (and still do) to see films and festivals that are not so overwhelmingly white, male, and heteronormative–particularly, films where Latin@s are visible. 37 1 The (Not) So Bronze Screen Film has historically been an elitist medium and industry, resulting in what filmmaker Alex Rive- ra describes as “a struggle for working-class people trying to penetrate the most expensive art form,” as well as struggle for filmmakers of color to break into mainstream venues.2 Subsequently, a vibrant U.S. Latino film culture has struggled to thrive despite the fact that Latinos make up the largest ethnic minority group in the U.S., at 54 million people!3 Hollywood is apparently in denial of our existence. And compared to other ethnic groups, Latinos make up the largest moviegoer group.4 Considering these numbers, it is frustrating not to see Latin@ actors and filmmakers represented in the mainstream media industry. ¿Donde está mi gente?

With the proliferation of digital technology, including iPhones and affordable editing applications, filmmaking is now slightly more accessible to those who have been historically disenfranchised in media production. In spite of this phenomenon, the problem of showcasing and distributing films still remains.5 Historically, independent film festivals show alternative films that might not otherwise be screened in mainstream venues. For this reason I placed my hopes in independent film festivals to make amends for the diversity gap in mainstream media. However, large American film festivals like Sundance and Tribeca have reproduced Hollywood’s exclusivity, upholding whiteness at the expense of filmmakers of color. Perhaps this is due to the fact that these large prominent festivals have be- come so industry-oriented, leaving no room for up-and-coming filmmakers who do not fit the indus- try’s traditional mold. Done with Hollywood’s Homogeneity Film curators and film institutions have established whiteness as the standard for cinematic “qual- ity,” argues Roya Rastegar, a film festival curator. As a result, films that feature non-white leads are disregarded as un-relatable for mass audiences.6 I guess mi gente’s Spanglish and Chican@ flair is so threatening to the silver screen that we are institutionally denied entrance.7 Overall, I am frus- trated with the lack of representation for filmmakers of color in prominent festivals, as these forums are the gateways to reaching wider audiences. Most importantly, Rastegar argues, festivals establish “public notions of quality and taste.”8 The acceptance of cultural differences in mainstream media is contingent upon the visibility of multi-ethnic stories screened at independent film festivals. Thus, I believe locally based festivals are the vanguards for changing film culture to include filmmakers and audiences of color.

As a spectator and woman of color, I am tired of being expected to assume a position of whiteness and identify with onscreen middle-class white male values that in turn silence my lived experiences. It is time for a paradigm shift in American film culture. Let’s challenge the supremacy of white spec-

1. I have borrowed the term “Bronze screen” from the documentary, The Bronze Screen: 100 Years of the Latino Image in American Cin- ema. 2. Andrew S. Vargas. “According To Sundance’s Latino Reel Panel, ‘We’re About To Blow The Fuck Up.” Remezcla, January 26, 2015, accessed January 27, 2015, http://remezcla.com/features/sundance-latino-reel-2015-recap/ 3. Ibid. 4. Nielsen “Popcorn People: Profiles of the U.S. Moviegoer Audience.” Newswire. January 29, 2013, accessed February 20, 2015. http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2013/popcorn-people-profiles-of-the-u-s-moviegoer-audience.htm 5. Rastegar, Roya. “Difference, Aesthetics and the Curatorial Crisis of Film Festivals.” Screen 53, no. 3 (2012): 310-317. 6. Ibid., 317. 7. Spy Kids (directed by Robert Rodriguez, 2001), is a kick-ass example of a filmic Chicano family crossing over to the mainstream and receiving box office success. I say this not just because it is one of my favorite movies. Clearly it is possible to have a funny, creative, smart, and beautiful brown family that even white audiences can appreciate. They were so un-stereotypically Latino. I felt proud to claim them as my own; sadly no other Latino families have since been featured on the big screen in this manner. 8. Ibid.,310-311. 38 tatorship by making all voices heard in cinematic spaces. We can begin doing so by supporting local festivals that support filmmakers of color. This will not only push film “elites” to recognize the public existence of communities of color, but also help shift popular culture, setting a precedent for political change: film festivals are critical sites for cultural production, visibility, and re-imagining an equitable media landscape. These cinematic spaces are cutting-edge forums that should embrace emerging sto- rytellers rather than cater to industry elites. Our Films, Our Communities My fantasies of a communal space for film enthusiasts and emerging filmmakers of color to skill-share were materialized when I attended the 2nd annual Watsonville Film Festival in 2013. The theme, “Our Films, Our Communities,” spoke exactly to what I had been looking for! It seemed the WFF grew out of necessity from the lack of inclusion in mainstream film culture and fostered a space by and for the Latin@ community. Unlike other festivals in my hometown, Los Angeles, or other prominent festivals in San Francisco, this festival was free for students, open for submissions, and accepting of audiences and creators otherwise marginalized in film institutions for their racial, economic, and social differences. Fi- nally! Not being turned away from a film festival for financial reasons meant I could actually be an active participant in “film culture” outside the classroom. The 2013 festival took place in downtown Watsonville at the Mello Center For The Performing Arts and the Cabrillo College Center. The three-day program included a mix of short fiction films and documentaries by local middle school, high school, and university students, as well as professional filmmakers with a retrospective screening of Luis Valdez’s breakthrough film, La Bamba (1987). Also screened were feature length films by emerging filmmakers such as Aurora Guerrero’s Mosquita y Mari (2012), a queer Latina coming-of- age story. For me, the most significant program was “Honoring Local Women Filmmakers,” particularly the films Maestra (2011), by Cath- erine Murphy, which tells the history of Cuban girls who taught on the Cuban literacy campaign in 1961, and Olga Nájera-Ramírez’s La Charreada! Rodeo a la Mexicana (1996), which highlights the Mexican rodeo tradition that has been sustained by Mexicanos on both sides of the U.S. border. The contemporary and historical subject matter not only paid tribute to the expressions of resiliency brown wom- en have carried out for themselves and their community, but also inspired me to use my art as a form of truth and power. Seeing Brown The chance to see such films and converse with the directors about their experiences navigating the film world was the affirmation I so needed to continue pursuing film. Prior to attending WFF, I was disen- chanted with my major, as I was not studying films in my courses that reflected black, brown, Asian American, or indigenous perspectives. I internalized this to mean I wasn’t meant to make films because my experiences were not considered “universal.” But as I sat among an intergenerational crowd of beautiful brown faces, collectively reacting to culturally specific references, it legitimized my desire to make films. It appeared I was not alone in wanting to see people on screen that resemble my family, my friends, and myself. More importantly, it was liberating to take pleasure in and identify with diegetic ac- tion that connected to my reality. It is a rare experience to feel normal and visible on screen when I have been so accustomed to not. Now I am a third-year Film and Digital Media student experimenting with forms and techniques to translate my lived experiences – as a fourth generation young Mexican Ameri-

39 can woman trying to understand my ancestral history, pay homage to my cultural traditions, and address my passion for food justice – into films.

In a time when I can still count on my hands the number of Latino characters on current popular televi- sion shows and U.S. Latino filmmakers or actors nominated for their works--and still see criminalizing portrayals of Latinos on news broadcasts--I feel the need for locally controlled media and exhibition spaces like the WFF.9 Although identity-based film festivals in the U.S. like CAAMFest, San Francisco (Asian American), Pan African Film Festival, Los Angeles, and New Fest, New York City (LGBTQ) festivals have been discussed in scholarship, there have been few critical studies about small-scale, local festi- vals that serve working-class people.10 Unlike the excessive celebrity fanfare at Sundance, Tribeca, and SXSW, the WFF celebrates the audience as well as the filmmakers. The setting for the WFF-- a rural, agricultural, working-class, and predominantly Latino city — sets the stage for a very atypical festival. Moreover, it draws on the undocumented farmworker community as a source of strength and influence.

The goals of the Watsonville Film Festival are as follows

To share films that inspire, entertain, and focus on issues relevant to the local community, and encourage conversation between filmmakers & audience.

To empower local youth through video production & film culture as a way to transform the world

To promote economic development & culture in Watsonville, CA.11

In Conversation In preparation for the 4th annual Watsonville Film Festival, I spoke with Consuelo Alba, filmmaker and WFF co-founder, to discuss the festival’s emergence, challenges, accomplishments, and vision for the future. On what inspired the creation of the WFF

“It has grown very organically. It all started with a conversation about sharing films in our community. In 2011, my husband and I were in the film festival circuit showing our film El Andalón in Europe and Mexico. It was something very special to see films one typically never sees and engage with audiences, yet we didn’t have a way to share our film in our own town. With a casual conversation with our friend Jacob Martinez, who was teaching technology to students in the local school district, we agreed we need a space to show Watsonville films made by Watsonvillians.12 What a concept!”

9. The recent academy award wins for Mexican Directors Alejandro González Iñárritu (Birdman) and Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity), begs the question: have Latinos made it? I would argue no. Hollywood tends to fetishize “foreign” filmmakers, yet the industry ignores U.S.- born filmmakers of color. Currently, Mexican filmmakers seem to be accepted while U.S.-born Mexicans are awaiting the spotlight. It seems that non-white filmmakers are accepted if they are foreign or if they make films not culturally specific. This phenomenon applies to festivals too as an increase in Latino films were recently screened at Tribeca this year but most were internationally made, not by U.S. born Latinos. Apparently Latino talent has to be imported because there is no U.S. Latino filmmaker in sight? 10. Ruby B. Rich “Collision, Catastrophe, Celebration: The Relationship Between Gay And Lesbian Film Festivals And Their Publics.” GLQ-A JOURNAL OF LESBIAN AND GAY STUDIES 5.1 (1999): 79-84. 11. “About WFF.” http://watsonvillefilmfestival.org/about-festival/ accessed Feb 10, 2015. 12. Jacob Martinez received the UCSC Tony Hill Award at this year’s MLK convocation for his work creating the organization Digital Nest, which tackles the digital divide by connecting Latino youth with technology. 40 This DIY ethos, hacerlo con ganas, that Consuelo and her team used to actualize the vision is continu- ing the legacy of Chican@ and other identity-based film festivals. Scholar Yolanda Julia Broyles writes that since the 1970s, ethnic groups in the U.S. have been organizing their own film festivals “to meet the needs ignored by Hollywood film festivals.”13 This includes the San Antonio Cinefest and the Chica- no Film Festival, Detroit. Broyles maintains that these festivals, unlike profit-oriented festivals such as Sundance, are not as concerned with awarding films, acquiring distribution gigs, or highlighting actors. Instead, they are about spotlighting local talent, disseminating films that give visibility to marginalized voices, imparting messages of cultural affirmation, and inspiring activism. WFF, a grassroots communi- ty based festival, continues this trajectory.

On the festival’s objectives and community reactions to the first festival “The WFF opens doors to showcase works. It creates energy. Before, students in the high school were [only] showing films to their classes, but now WFF expands the audience. It was a great [first] program. People loved to see themselves on screen and they were inspired. That’s why we decided to continue and now it keeps expanding but with that same principle about communi- ty. One immigrant viewer told me she was glad her children saw my film, El Andalón, because they were able to see the goodness about her homeland. Many people here come from similar ranchos and poor communities shown in the film. It was very important to show a different story about Mexico, a film that recognizes the many challenges there but also demonstrates the pow- er that one can change their community. In El Andalón they saw themselves in a dignified way. That’s key.”

13. Julia Broyles, Yolanda. “Chicano Film Festivals: An Examination.” Bilingual Review/La Revista Bilingüe (1983): 116-120.

41 WFF organizers are democratizing media production as a non-competitive event by rejecting the capitalist ethos of competition over community. This methodology resists the hierarchy of film cul- ture, especially in the inclusion of the local working-class and undocumented immigrant community. In curating relevant films that parallel the experiences of agricultural workers, WFF acts as platform for undocumented stories to take center stage. Documented (2013), one of this year’s films, features award-winning Filipino journalist José Antonio Vargas outing himself as undocumented within the DREAMER movement. Many students in Watsonville are DREAMERs themselves. Before the screen- ing and filmmaker’s presentation, one student bravely shared her own story crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. Outside the theater, art and writings made by high school students gave testament to their personal experiences with the broken immigration system, all of which showcase a variety of storytell- ing approaches.14 This presentation of diverse narratives is unquestionably powerful and reflects the authentic spirit of independent cinema. Thus, it has gained credibility in garnering community collabo- ration with other local businesses, nonprofits, and artist.15

Presumably, this festival is also returning to the original American film exhibition sensibili- ties. Between 1905-1915 Nickelodeon theaters, which were halls and stores converted into public venues, charged only 5 cents and often showed movies in international languages.16 These “democracy theaters” catered to many working-class and immigrant viewers.17 Even- tually theater managers refused admittance to these audiences in favor of middle class patrons to bring in more revenue and gain an image that appealed to the upper class.18 Consequently, Nickelodeons no longer played ethnic and foreign language films. This prefer- ence for middle class audiences founded the exclusionary model of media spaces that WFF challenges, as it only charges adults $10 for a day pass of screenings and is free for children and students.

14. DREAMers is a term some undocumented students identify with to bring attention to the need for immigration reform. DREAMers were brought to the U.S. by their parents without papers, have lived here, studied here, identify as an American, yet are not considered American by the law. The term has roots in the DREAM Act, a bill designed to grant a pathway to citizenship for un- documented youth. In California, this bill was passed in 2011. But the fight to stop mass deportations and the criminalization of immigrants continues. La lucha sigue. 15. Community partners include: Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, Watsonville Springfield Grange, Day Worker Center of Santa Cruz County, UCSC Dreamweavers. 16. Russell, Merritt. “Nickelodeon Theaters, 1905-1914.” Hollywood: Critical Concepts in Media and Cultural Studies 1 (2004): 27. 17. Ibid., 29. 18. Ibid., 29. 42

On how the festival has generated community “[After the festival] the school district adopted our film [El Andalón] to show in classrooms. Con- necting students and teachers to films is key to the festival because we want to inspire students to watch and make film. So, we work closely with the school district. For example, students in the Community Studies course at Watsonville High filmed the recent Peace and Unity March and are now working on a film about it that will eventually be screened at the festival.”19 WFF exemplifies how festivals are more than physical spaces to screen films but act as sites for audiences to think critically of their social context, identity, and self-rep- resentation. This community-based festival seeks to expand activism within U.S. film culture. According to film curator Roya Rastegar, identity-based festivals through- out the 80’s and 90’s have contributed to the mobilization around social issues.20 Like- wise, the 2014 WFF acted a political forum to raise social consciousness through film. In accordance with the feature films high- lighting undocumented experiences such as Documented and Food Chains, a post panel discussion featured community ac- tivists and local organizations, who shared how they are mobilizing around issues represented in the film.21

On the topic of naming the festival and whether it is considered a Latino film festival

“We have heavy Latino programming to reflect the community but there have been many other waves of immigration in Wat- sonville. In honor of the strong Japanese American community here we had a pro- gram with the library to document oral stories from the Japanese American com- munity. Many discussed their experiences in the internment camps. Sadly, many Latinos don’t know about that history but that conversation is important too. This year

19. The Watsonville Peace and Unity March is for victims and community members to come together to organize, heal, and speak out against violence in the streets 20. Rastegar, Roya. “Difference, Aesthetics and the Curatorial Crisis of Film Festivals.” Screen 53, no. 3 (2012): 312 21. Food Chains is about the Coalition of Immokalee Workers organizing a campaign to protest poor wages and working conditions in the Florida tomato fields. During the post discussion, UCSC student Vicky Pozos linked the film to local food justice issues. 43 we have another film, Eastside Sushi, that connects Latino and Japanese American experiences. We don’t live in a vacuum, thus, all these intersections and stories that make up our community are what we want to portray in our festival.”

By presenting a wide spectrum of films varied in length, budget, and genre, the WFF continues to push boundaries. The variance in expressions of cultural identity resists a singular definition of what a Latino film festival is. Such multiplicity provides cultural pluralism and reminds viewers that recognition of dif- ference can strengthen community. Moreover, the curatorial choice to pick films and performance artists from an array of backgrounds, for example, the Watsonville Taiko group before the showing of EastSide Sushi, demonstrates the power these institutions have in fostering a coalitional identity.

Claiming Voice & Visibility

As festival programer Rastagar so eloquently reminds us, we film enthusiasts, critics, and makers need to “[value] film through difference… [to] unsettle learned ways of looking, and… to see parts of humanity otherwise obscured by the shadows and light of the cinema.”22 WFF does so in a ground- breaking way, setting an example for other festivals to follow. In rejecting the class and racial hierarchy in mainstream film festivals, WFF gives exposure to marginalized filmmakers and, most importantly, it strengthens community by bringing together families, organizations, local businesses, and the school district to celebrate truly diverse ethnic voices. The white-male dominated industry isn’t going to change without deliberate effort! As moviegoers we need to support local filmmakers and festivals, not the in- dustry that silences us. To quote Consuelo Alba, “true community is contagious. Por eso trabajo aquí en Watsonville porque había una historia de activismo, es una tierra fértil.”23 I too feel this infectious activist spirit and look to the future trajectory of WFF in democratizing film culture. WFF has carved out a space where I- a young brown woman, film lover, and aspiring documentarian– feel I belong.

Afterword

A few months after developing this piece, I had the honor to present my own short film, a work of healing in memory of my grandmother who recently passed away, in the program Reel Women – a reiteration of the Local Women Filmmakers program I described earlier. I did not anticipate publicly showcasing my own work anytime soon but attending the WFF for the past two years empowered me to claim my voice and thus, I submitted my film. I am learning to embrace my insecurities, draw from my childhood experiences, and use my familial histories I once thought were unsuitable for the silver screen. After the Q&A section, a high school student thanked me because my film inspired her to ex- plore filmmaking. Her words were profound for me because it reaffirmed the power of documenting familial stories not just for ourselves, but also for the larger Latino community as a tool of self-expres- sion and empowerment. For this, I am indebted to the WFF not just for having the opportunity to pres- ent, but in giving me the confidence that my story is one of many stories that are worth telling. With this I can move forward in the world and tell other stories that aren’t being told. Thank you Consuelo and the WFF team.

22. Ibid., 317. 23. Translation: I work here in Watsonville because there has been a history of activism. It is fertile ground.

44 45

De-historicized, Melanya Hamasyan.

Hadjin.

De-historicized is a result of a discourse among the Armenian diaspora in UCSC, whose ancestors have immigrated to the United States as a result of the Armenian Genocide. They weave their elders’ retellings into their imaginations and speak of forgotten cities, villages, and churches, while seeking refuge in an imaginary landscape.

Digital Video, 2014. Aleppo.

Adapted from the artist’s statement:

Whether social, historical, or literary­—research is an integral part of my process as it provides guidance for the final product. In the past I’ve studied Armenian folklore in photography; the goal here is to achieve in video the sense of time’s suspension that is often so captivating in still images. I also actively use photographic stills (those that I have taken myself and those taken from archival sources) in building my animated landscapes, creating dialogue in visual poetry through voice, movement, and space within the medium of digital video. Recently, I’ve become interested in the documentary medium, focusing on deconstructing ambiguous ‘truth’ and reconstructing it through a multitude of histories. Accordingly, within the documentary, I’ve begun to explore the multidimensionality of history and its construct outside

46 a singular or dual framework. Boyhood vs girlhood: Gender Dynamics in coming-of-age Cinema Catie Ellwood “If Boyhood had been called Girlhood, no Having become finely attuned to patterns one would care.” The thought suddenly oc- of reception in popular cinema and tele- curred to me as I was leaving the Nickelode- vision culture (which have a pretty unsur- on, having finally seen Richard Linklater’s prising tendency toward patriarchy and het- quiet, meandering epic following a sensitive eronormativity), I think I have a pretty child named Mason from kindergarten all the good idea of what would happen instead: way through to college. Ambitiously shot in Girlhood might still garner critical acclaim, real-time over a period of 12 years, Boyhood but would most likely be regarded as a niche offers viewers the extraordinary opportu- concern. That is, it would immediately be nity to watch the film’s young protagonist categorized as a feminist film; undoubtedly, literally grow up on screen – an opportunity it wouldn’t get to be celebrated simply for to which critical and popular response alike being a good film. This is due to a tendency has been overwhelmingly positive. Although I for films that depict the male experience to enjoyed the film and didn’t feelparticularly be read as gender-neutral, whereas films that alienated by its perspective, this sobering depict the female experience are perceived revelation nevertheless irked me. I shared as being all about gender. Since a vast my concern with my friends during our usu- majority of films privilege the male gaze, al post-movie debrief, and they all sadly as Laura Mulvey theorized in her influential agreed: we knew somehow that there’s no way essay, “Visual Pleasure in Narrative Cine- Girlhood, even if it were fundamentally the ma”, many of the mainstream film industry’s same concept, would enjoy the same mass ap- most highly coveted audience – the young, peal that Boyhood has. straight, white male demographic – would be

47 alienated by having their perspective sub- their identity in it – is a universal one.”[iv] verted in such a way, confronted with a film The film not only has a perfect score on the that is so obviously not for them.[i] Certain- widely relied-upon review site Metacritic, ly, with this critical chunk of its potential but has likewise made the Rotten Tomatoes audience being so disinclined to see it, it Top 100 list.[v][vi] Indeed, holding Boyhood would fail to appeal in such high regard to or even reach as “As with her younger brother, as they do, it would many viewers. seem that the film Richard Linkla- critics of the inter- ter apparently dis- we watch Sam grow up on screen, before our- net have presumably agrees. The director been able to identi- told Village Voice very eyes, but unlike him, we don’t witness fy with at least one in an interview that of the characters he believes “Boyhood her actually growing as a character. Instead within. Considering Boyhood vs girlhood: is a limited title… the point of view, it is very much his we can only assume point of view, but it Sam’s formative experiences all take place that character is could be Girlhood or most likely Mason. Motherhood or Fam- I still have to ilyhood.”[ii] It is off-screen, in the margins of Mason’s story.” firmly disagree with true that many crit- Linklater’s claim ics, male and female alike, have agreed that that Boyhood represents girlhood, or even Boyhood tells a “universal” story. Richard parenthood, as equally as its namesake. Take Roeper, a reviewer from the Chicago Sun Mason’s older sister Sam, for instance. As Times, said about the film: “…this remark- with her younger brother, we watch Sam grow able, unforgettable, elegant epic … is about up on screen, before our very eyes, but un- one family – and millions of families. It’s a like him, we don’t witness her actually grow- pinpoint specific and yet universal story.”[iii] ing as a character. Instead Sam’s formative Newsweek critic Paula Mejia agreed, saying, experiences all take place off-screen, in “The story – of parents struggling to raise the margins of Mason’s story. The same goes children in a wondrous, conflict-ridden world, for Mason’s parents, Olivia and Mason Sr. and the young ones grappling with forging What we see of their experience of parenting

48 is limited by what Mason is able to witness alienate a fair portion of American citizens. firsthand. We are unaware of the abuse Olivia Boyhood is innovative in a lot of ways – in suffers at the hands of her alcoholic second its laidback, experimental structure, in- husband until Mason comes home to find her credibly patient pace of production, and de- beaten on the floor. We never find out how, lightfully minimal style – but acknowledge- over the years, she manages to juggle her ment of identities outside this straight, family and work while pursuing a psychology white, wealthy male “bracket” is not among degree in night school, eventually becoming them. The film depicts the same coming-of-age a college professor. This is because Mason narrative that has been consistently priv- takes her struggle for granted, as children ileged throughout the history of film and often do with their parents. Similarly, Ma- television – three guesses who that is. Many son Sr. makes several allusions throughout films that we often acknowledge as coming- the film to his own suffering and pain, the of-age classics, such as Nicholas Ray’s icon- nature of which remains as much of a mys- ic Rebel Without a Cause (1955), Rob Rein- tery to the audience as it does to Mason Jr. er’s acclaimed Stephen King adaptation Stand We might have a vague idea of the sorts of By Me (1986), or Peter Weir’s unforgettably trials his father has faced (based mostly on haunting Dead Poets Society (1989), conform what we can glean from the sorrowful lulla- to this unfortunate narrative and character by he performs for his children), but that trope. Meanwhile, there are just as many part of the elder Mason’s experience is not equally exceptional coming-of-age films coded immediately accessible to us, since Junior as distinctly feminine, such as Sofia Cop- was not around to see it. pola’s dark masterpiece The Virgin Suicides Not to mention that Mason is also af- (1999), Mark Waters’ astoundingly quotable fluent, straight, and white, which serves to Mean Girls (2004), or my personal favorite,

Boyhood had been “If , no called Girlhood one would care.”

49 Terry Zwigoff’s quirky yet subdued Ghost ceptive illustration of the intricacies of World (2001), that are either pigeonholed as social inequality” writes Patrick Gamble for feminist despite their vast acclaim; wide- CineVue.[x] Similarly, Ann Hornaday, a critic ly enjoyed but ultimately not taken seri- for the Washington Post, hails the film as a ously; or otherwise lost in indie obscuri- “mesmerizing exercise in the enlightenment ty. Notice that only 1 out of 3 of these that can happen when a filmmaker shifts the films were actually directed by a woman, an- male cinematic gaze ever so slightly and un- other unfortunately common phenomenon in covers what looks like a whole new world.”[xi] mainstream cinema While this sort (white guys speak- “Released within months of one another, of recognition is ing for everyone not necessarily a else, that is). negative thing, Also important to Boyhood and Girlhood both tell stories it serves as a note is that these prime example of are, arguably, all about kids growing up in the troublesome the feminist pi- 2nd wave feminist geon-holing that I films; that is to mentioned earlier. say, they are all world of today... Why, then, is one of these Released centered on white within months of women, without FIlms being talked about by one another, Boy- much regard for hood and Girlhood issues of race, both tell stories class, sexuality or virtually everyone, while the other remains about kids grow- gender and their ing up in the intersections. Un- unheard of by practically everyone?” troublesome world fortunately, films of today; both that depict com- were independent- ing-of-age stories from a non-male, and non- ly produced, took home awards from various white perspective in such a way that they prestigious film festivals, and were highly are able to gain mainstream popularity are praised by critics. Why, then, is one of even fewer and farther between. The best these films being talked about by virtually and perhaps the only example that comes to everyone, while the other remains unheard mind is Lee Daniels’ Precious: Based on the of by practically everyone? It is especially Novel Push by Sapphire (2009) – yet another disappointing, since (if the reviews are to woman’s story being told by a man. be trusted) the one being ignored is con- While investigating this phenomenon I siderably more ethnically diverse, socially came across Celine Sciamma’s Bande de filles responsible, and culturally radical? (2014) – also known as the real-life Girlhood A d mitte dly, Bande de filles is problem- – the unconventional coming-of-age story of atic in the sense that it too is being told a French teen named Marieme.[vii] She joins an from a disingenuous perspective – that of an all-girl gang in the suburbs of Paris in an Afro-European adolescent, as recounted by a attempt to escape an abusive home, dead-end white woman. Sciamma’s other work, however, education, and the “boy’s law” of her neigh- is notably and actively engaged in discours- borhood. I haven’t actually been able to see es of gender and sexuality – the subver- this film, as it is fresh off the festival sive depictions of which tends to dominate circuit, but it’s reception thus far seems the conversation around her films. But even to conform to my earlier predictions: ac- despite their controversial appeal, Sciam- claimed by critics, who describe the film as ma’s films have had trouble generating con- “powerful” and “beautifully observed,” but versation about their social implications. obscure to the general populace – unheard of This is unfortunate, because Sciamma is one by the average filmgoer, absent from theater of the few directors out there making so- marquees, and neglected, for the most part, cially-conscious coming-of-age films that not by cultural critics.[viii][ix] Furthermore, the only tell enchanting tales of growing-up, sparse reviews that do engage with this film but also have the potential to promote a emphasize its social importance; “Girlhood’s more full and tolerant understanding of sex non-patronising and credible representation and gender fluidity. Take, for example, Scia- of class, race and gender is a rare and per- mma’s most memorable project – another com- 50 ing-of-age film calledTomboy (2011), about a woman to observe; a 13-year-old Mason brag- 10-year-old trans boy originally named Lau- ging to his imploring buddies about trysts re, who, upon moving to a new neighborhood, I think it’s safe to assume he never went decides to use the opportunity to take on a on; and who could forget Mason receiving more comfortable identity as Mickäel, unbe- his first suit and gun on the same birthday? knownst to his parents.[xii] All of these things code Mason’s experience What Sciamma significantly illustrates as decidedly masculine. What is troubling is with Mickäel’s story is a concept that is so that Richard Linklater, apparently along with often taken for granted in mainstream media the entire movie-going public, has failed to – that is, the fact that gender is socially recognize it since it is so normalized in constructed; it has no actual bearing on our patriarchal society. our sociopolitical dynamics aside from the While I of course find all of this both- importance we give it. Feminist scholars of ersome, I still can’t deny the excellence of the 1980’s did a lot of work to turn this Boyhood. For one thing, nostalgia operates invisible truth into a visible reality. Ju- as the main emotional currency of the film, dith Butler first articulated gender perfor- in a way that is particularly poignant to mativity in 1988 – the theory that, rather my generation. In the story’s chronology, than being an expression of something natu- Mason’s high school graduation takes place ral or innate, gender is nothing more than a in 2014, just three years after my own; for series of performative acts we carry out ev- early-90’s babies like myself, this gener- ery day. “The life-world of gender relations ational coincidence made each moment that is constituted, at least partially, through much more resonant. It seemed to me that the concrete and historically-mediated acts somehow, each successive scene unearthed a of individuals,” she writes, “…Regardless new pop-culture relic straight out of my own of the pervasive character of patriarchy childhood – some that I had completely for- and the prevalence of sexual difference as gotten about (Tamagotchis, the Oregon Trail an operative cultural distinction, there is videogames, Pearl the baby landlord, Rips- nothing about the binary gender system that tiks), others that I still find myself warmly is g iv e n.”[xiii] What this essentially means reminiscing about from time to time (Britney is that, since identity is wholly abstract, Spears, Dragon Ball Z, Harry Potter book re- human beings must perform their identity lease parties, High School Musical) – each using signifiers which indicate to others of which I recognized with a rush of wistful their participation in, or belonging to, a excitement. For another, there is also an specific culture. While undeniable, hyper-voy- it is still a wide- “Films that depict the male experience [are euristic sort of plea- ly-held misconception sure in the knowledge that gender is somehow often read as gender-neutral, whereas that the film’s narra- inherently or biologi- tive was chronicled in cally determined, this Films that depict the female experience are real time; the con- theory implies that it scious fact in the au- was pressure from he- perceived as being all about gender” dience’s mind that they gemonic forces over are bearing witness to the course of history that have resulted in the characters – and, by extension, their the formation of the dominant (yet false) players – actually changing, growing up and gender binary. Mikäel’s inclination toward living out their lives enhances the experi- masculinity negates this binary, and his ex- ence on a visceral level. Finally, the narra- ploration of his new identity serves as a tive is structured as a series of vignettes, study in the ways in which gender is per- drifting from year to year, most of them formed. apparently inconsequential, with a handful Acknowledgement of these facts, and of of tension-filled scenes mixed in that depict gender as an issue, is exactly what is lack- such heart-wrenching highs and lows that I ing in Boyhood. While the film is not overtly know I am as unlikely to forget about these oppressive, it is still full of aggressive moments as Mason undoubtedly is. However, gendering: a curious group of boys crowded it is certainly understandable how someone around a laptop, watching pornography; Ma- could have trouble sitting still for this film. son and his father peeing on the campfire in There is not much concern for plot, as each a ritual that would be much tougher for a segment simply offers a glimpse of Mason and 51 his family’s everyday life, whatever that trast to Sam, who is chastised by her mother happens to look like at that specific point when she fails to pick up Mason from school in time. But despite the film’s potential to – the first, and (as far as I’m aware, the be a catastrophic bore, these seemingly ar- only) inclination she shows toward putting bitrary moments, when strung together, form herself first. By the time he is celebrating a whole that is ultimately greater than the his graduation and getting ready to go off sum of its parts. The result is a stunningly to college, Mason has grown into a confident, beautiful portrait of a childhood – albeit a thoughtful, sensitive young man; Sam, on specifically white, hetero, affluent one – but the other hand, has become more quiet and one that is satisfyingly simple, introspec- withdrawn, and less sure of herself. When tive, and honest all the same. prompted to make a speech at her young- Hopefully it goes without saying that er brother’s graduation party, she recoils, none of this is meant to vilify Linklater clearly made uncomfortable by having to talk in any way. After all, he made a film that in front of people. “One of the achievements happened to resonate with his own point of of Boyhood is to show how girls are dis- view, and he is by no means to be faulted couraged from putting themselves first.” They for the praise he has received. It’s just write, “A boy can dream, the film suggests, disappointing to realize that his perspective but a girl… not so much.”[xiv] Now, whether or also happens to resonate with the majori- not the film made this critique purposefully ty of Hollywood films. Although it doesn’t is unclear – perhaps it could have been just quite represent both genders equally, Boy- a consequence of having characters’ based hood still has some valuable insights to on the actors that play them, as Linklater offer about girlhood, as Dr. Sharon Marcus did with Ellar Coltrane’s Mason and his own and Dr. Ann Skovorosky – professors of hu- daughter Lorelai Linklater’s Sam. manities at Columbia University – highlight Perhaps more importantly, Linklater in an article they co-authored for the Wall didn’t set out to create something that re- Street Journal. Among others, they point to affirms structures of gender. There is ab- an instance in the film where Mason is urged solutely nothing wrong telling a story from by his photography teacher to take himself one point-of-view, even if it creates some more seriously when they discuss his art representational limitations. As a matter of and future career, providing a stark con- fact, films are invariably limited by per- 52 spective, either literally, within the sto- rarely both, and even more rarely do these ry, or otherwise by the perspective of the groups actually interact with each other. filmmaker. Deciding to make a coming-of-age When they do, it is usually in the inter- film from the perspective of a boy versus est of heterosexual romance – hardly any the perspective of a girl (or vice versa) is of these movies feature healthy, sincerely inevitably going to make a difference to the platonic friendships between opposite sexes. story, because (even though it is for total- Of course, there are some notable excep- ly arbitrary, socially-constructed reasons) tions to this rule, but very few, at least yes, boys and girls experience the world in the mainstream. Our collective failure to very differently. But after all, part of the recognize the representational limits within reason we watch movies in the first place is is troubling. We as a culture must decide for the experience of being able to identi- to stop teaching young people to relate to fy with someone other than ourselves. All a their opposite sex in such unhealthy ways. filmmaker can do is be aware of these lim- We need to balance the representation. itations, acknowledge them, and attempt to handle them in a socially responsible way. The bottom line is really that in our [i] Laura Mulvey, “Visual Pleasure in Narrative Cinema,” Screen 16(3): 6-18, media-saturated culture, films are one of the 1975. [ii] Amy Nicholson, “Richard Linklater Explains His Secret Movie Boyhood, many ways (and arguably primary way) young Which He Shot Over 12 Years,” Village Voice, July 19, 2014. people are socialized. For them, these com- [iii] Richard Roper, “Boyhood Review,” Chicago Sun Times, July 17, 2014. [iv] Paula Mejia, “Review: Richard Linklater’s Boyhood Projects a Spellbind- ing-of-age films may potentially form the ba- ing View of Memory,” Newsweek, July 21, 2014. [v] “Boyhood,” last modified on February 7, 2014, http://www.metacritic.com/ sis for their understanding of what growing movie/boyhood. [vi] “Top 100 Movies of All Time,” last modified on February 16, 2015, up is supposed to look like, which is why http://www.rottentomatoes.com/top/bestofrt/ it is so important that those who take on [vii] Bande de filles, directed by Celine Sciamma (2014; Pyramide Distribu- tio n). the delicate task of representation under- [viii] “Girlhood,” IMDB.com, May 6, 2015. [ix] Sheila O’malley, “Girlhood,” RogerEbert.com, January 30, 2015. stand that false gender stereotypes in me- [x] Kenneth Turan, “‘Girlhood’ celebrates the power and passion of sister- dia inevitably perpetuate archetypal gender hood,” Los Angeles Times, February 5. 2-15. [xi] Patrick Gamble, “London 2014: Girlhood Review,” Cinevue, October 16, roles. Consider for a moment how many well- 2014. [xii] Ann Hornaday, “‘Girlhood’ depicts the competition and solidarity of known coming-of-age films (including those teenaged friendship,” The Washington Post, February 26, 2015. [xiii] Tomboy, directed by Celine Sciamma (2011; Pyramide Distribution). mentioned in this article) feature either [xiv] Marcus, Sharon, and Anne Skovorosky, “What ‘Boyhood’ Shows Us About a group of boys or a group of girls, but Girlhood,” Wall Street Journal, February 6, 2015. 53 UNTITLED, annie d. 54 55 TheThe ofof CultCult MichaelMichaelJordanJordan SPACE JAM, AIR JORDANS, AND THE COMMODIFICATION OF MASCULINITY Brian Mislang

Space Jam (1996) is the most underrated movie Knight), and happens to hit a hole-in-one with the help of of all time. I have watched this movie numerous times as Bugs Bunny. Jordan then finds himself in the realm of Loo- a kid. Whether it was on an airplane heading to the Phil- ney Tunes after being sucked down a golf hole by Bugs and ippines as a five-year-old child, on a charter bus to the Daffy Duck. Jordan has been kidnapped to help the Looney Monterey Bay Aquarium during a fourth grade school field Tunes play in a basketball game against the Monstars, who trip, or inserting the video cassette into the VCR while have stolen the basketball talents of several current NBA sitting on a Saran wrap-covered couch, I watched it every players. As if that weren’t enough, they threaten to take the chance I got. Somehow I never got tired of watching it, and Looney Tunes to their world of Moron Mountain to work I loved every second of the film. WhileSpace Jam initially as carnival attractions in order to boost excitement at their did not receive rave reviews and the plot may leave some theme park. Using computer-generated imagery and a green less than thrilled, it has evolved into something that will screen to capture Jordan’s movements, Space Jam showed always endear those who grew up watching it. However, Jordan performing in sync with the cartoon characters in the appeal of the movie goes beyond the nostalgia - NBA this 3D, live-action dimension, making the interactions legend Michael Jordan’s performance as “himself” capti- seem natural between the two. At the time of its creation, vated audiences - especially me - and helped to shape both Space Jam was revolutionary for including CGI in a fea- pop culture and basketball culture, especially in the sneak- ture-length film. As I re-watch it now, the level of anima- erhead cultural phenomenon. tion is still impressive considering that the progress of CGI has grown considerably. In order to pursue his childhood dream of being a professional baseball player like his father, Michael Jordan Space Jam’s technical brilliance isn’t the only thing retires from the NBA to play minor league baseball for the that makes this film great - it also made a huge impact on Birmingham Barons. During an off-day, Jordan is playing my life. Because of Space Jam, I am a sports junkie, and golf with fellow NBA legend , actor Bill Murray, follow the three major professional sports leagues here in and his clingy publicist Stan Podolak (played by Wayne the United States. I picked up baseball and basketball after 56 being introduced to Space Jam’s zany depiction of sports in dunking plays in between the stylized credits. Photographs the film. While Jordan struggled at baseball in the film (as of Jordan as a young child, all the way to his senior por- well as in real life), his mere presence on the field attracted trait, intertwined with b-roll of basketball fans me to the game. After watching it for the first and basketball footage playing for Laney High time, I instantly became a fan of Mi- School, North Carolina, Chicago Bulls and the chael Jordan and his flashy Dream Team, pop up onto the screen. Then shoes. Jordan’s we are introduced to more of the cast of status as a Space Jam, with the iconic “Space cultural icon Jam” theme song playing back- has not only ground. This montage shows changed my us the greatness that is enamored Michael Jordan, and what viewing makes him such an idol to experi- millennials. His artistry on ence with the court, his mannerisms such the film, but as hugging and kissing the tro- Jordan being phy, and of course the insane African-American dunks he pulls off – all of this is was also significant what makes him considered to for minorities in the be arguably the best player to ever way they are represented play basketball; it is on display as in media and culture. Being the movie treats us to his best bas- a person of color, I enjoyed ketball highlights. Not only are the seeing an individual so revered images on the screen visually strik- who was also a minority in my ing, but the fast cuts, blurred motion, favorite movie. and it left a posi- flashing lights, contrasting colors tive impact on me. and fonts on the screen (while an up-tempo song plays) mesmerizes It’s hard to really explain me whenever I watch it. In addition why Space Jam was and still is such a to seeing how awesome Jordan is, joy to watch - as a kid who was a fan of I just enjoy the amount of editing watching Saturday morning cartoons and and time that was put into this basketball, this was the dopest movie for montage. It is well produced, and me. In the beginning of Space Jam, as a shoot- even now it is just as impressive ing star crosses the screen with the full moon in as present day opening credits sight, the chorus of R.Kelly’s hit single “I Believe montages. It reminds me of a I Can Fly” begins to play while an adolescent Jordan hip 1980s-90s pop or hip-hop is shooting some hoops in his backyard at midnight. music video that gets the His father, James R. Jordan, Sr. walks out and questions viewer hyped and ready to him being outside so late. The young Jordan begins to talk watch the rest of the film. about his life aspirations, such as playing basketball for North Carolina, going to the NBA, and playing professional Space Jam does a great job baseball while shooting some more hoops. I will always continuing the glorification of Michael Jor- hold this scene close to my heart since it is filled with so dan as a revered character, and there are many scenes much optimism that anything in life is possible as Jordan is where Jordan becomes the subject of the audience’s ador- predicting what he will do in the future. ing gaze. After Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck successfully retrieve Jordan’s basketball gear from his mansion in our After he is told to finally come inside, an adoles- world, Jordan is introduced to the rest of the Looney Tunes. cent Jordan attempts to “fly,” and the scene juxtaposes Here we are shown a close up on his iconic IX younger Jordan against an image of present-day Jordan shoe, followed by a tilt shot, revealing the rest of Jordan’s dunking in-game. The film then transitions into the open- basketball attire. As the camera and the audience takes in ing credits/montage sequence as more footage of Jordan Jordan in all of his six-foot-six glory, we as the audience 57 become awed by not only his impressive physique, but the made me feel so embedded in the film that I always had to aura that his presence brings. While Seal’s “Fly Like An Ea- watch it again, and it has stayed with me all these years. gle” plays in the background, Jordan begins to dribble the basketball across the court and performs As Jordan mesmerized audiences with his appear- such as the pull up mid-range jumper and various dunks. ance in Space Jam and his legacy, he also The rest of the Looney Tunes are visibly in awe of his move- revolutionized fashion culture on and off the court. On the ments, expressing exactly how the audience should be feel- court he wore longer and baggier shorts than everyone else ing this whole time. Seeing Jordan finally playing basketball before the trend caught on, sported a gold chain during in the film and showing no rust in his game is exciting for the 1985 and 1987 Slam Dunk Contest (in which very few all watching him, both the audience and in the film - and, players sported jewelry during a sporting event), and lastly, most importantly, me. Watching the basketball simply was one of the first players to revolutionize roll out of his hand in slow motion and into the “It the sneaker game of the NBA.[i] In a time basket, as well as performing double-clutch, is like watching where wearing white shoes was stan- tomahawk, reverse dunks made me want to dard, Jordan’s black and red shoes imitate Jordan’s every move. Even now an artist painting a mas- became another facet of his iconic it still has an effect on me, as watching image as a basketball player and this scene always gets me in the mood to terpiece, and Jordan is making hero. The NBA often punished immediately grab a basketball, go to my the sport of basketball look easy Jordan for wearing his signature local court, and just shoot around. See- shoes, but this trend began to catch ing him play so effortlessly – with the and effortless. You can hardly fire and eventually NBA players added effect of a hip song - just perfectly blame 5-year-old me for be- started wearing colorful shoes re- expresses the mystique of Jordan. We are sulting in the NBA’s end to the prac- gazing at him with admiration that a basket- ing so in love with this tice of fining players for on-court dress ball legend is going to put on a performance code violations.[ii] The highly successful that he specializes in, and succeeds as Jordan pulls film . .” . Nike-owned Jordan brand paved the way for up for a mid-range jumper or is in flight for a dunk. It is other shoe brands such as Adidas, Reebok, Under like watching an artist painting a masterpiece, and Jordan is Armour, Peak, And 1, Anta, and Li-Ning to thrive and make making the sport of basketball look easy and effortless. You their way to basketball players’ feet. Colorful and unique can hardly blame 5-year-old me for being so in love with this shoe models began to catch on, and signature player shoes film - and that lasting impact hasn’t changed for me at all. for the top NBA players in the league began to follow in Jordan’s footsteps. Off the court, Jordans are just as popular Let’s jump ahead. In the penultimate scene when for streetwear as they are for basketball use. Sneakers and Jordan returns to the real world and gives the the five NBA basketball have been tied together since Jordan changed players their talents back, they tease him that he does not “the game” by wearing his outrageous sneakers on the have the skills to play basketball anymore. Since they are court, and as a result, the basketball sneaker had to be in- oblivious as to how Jordan was able to get their own talents cluded in Space Jam as well. Shoes first started having this back, it felt rewarding as viewers to see that Jordan is able impact “during the late Victorian period… essentializing to prove them wrong and show that he is back, better than masculinity and the products associated with it” and would ever, by making a comeback. On to the last scene of the soon snowball into the cultural capital sneakers have today. film (which is real footage of Michael Jordan’s first game “In other words, advertisers constructed an ideal of back out of retirement) Larry Bird is shown to once again who was a true man and produced what it was that hilariously bring down Bill Murray’s belief that he can he needed to fulfill this masculine construction… play professional basketball. Next, we see live footage of Since the 1970s basketball has been constructed as Jordan taking the ball down the court before completing both masculine and black. Todd Boyd maintains a one-handed dunk roll - the footage then freezes to a still that basketball is ‘the embodiment of blackness in shot of Jordan in flight about to dunk while sticking his contemporary popular culture.’”[iii] tongue out in his iconic expression as the credits begin to roll. This ending has left a lasting imprint, not just because it was the end of one of the best films to me, but also be- The connection of Air Jordans with blackness also cause it reaffirms Jordan’s greatness and why he is endear- reinforced the relationship between hip-hop culture and ing to me. Jordan was able to fulfill his promises and show basketball. Hip-hop culture figures have become immersed that anything in life is again possible. Both of these scenes into the basketball culture, from Kurtis Blow’s rhythmic 58 and catchy song “Basketball”, Drake’s odes to current NBA effect. I do not think Michael Jordan should not shoulder all players such as Andrew Wiggins, and Lou of the blame for this, and Nike should take blame as well. Williams, to seeing the likes of Jay-Z and Spike Lee sitting In the end, it is also a result of underlying issues such as courtside during basketball games. materialism and screwed up mindset/priorities. The cultural hype revolving around these shoes is insane and persistent, In the Space Jam, Michael Jordan’s two featured and we can see the roots of it in Space Jam. pairs of Air Jordans also become the object of the audience’s covetous gaze. Just like the close-up of his Air Jordan IX’s, Writing this piece was very difficult for me. I ini- his glossy Air Jordan XI’s are seen in a close-up right before tially had trouble finding a scope for a kids film that came the tip-off, as one of the Monstars looks on at his shoes with out in the 1990s - and I had a hard time really explaining fascination and stating, “Cool shoes!” Jordan’s shoes are sup- why I love this film. I came to the conclusion thatSpace posed to pique the interest of the audience. The film’s edition Jam was and is still very relevant in society because of the of Air Jordan XIs (also known as Space Jam 11s) translated persistence of sneakerhead culture, and Jordan still being cultural hype into a whole sneakerhead culture and is seen as a prominent icon today. The fact that I can look back on one of the holy grails to any sneakerheads collection, setting this film and see all of these connections to sneaker/fashion the trend of Air Jordans to be worn as casual wear. While I culture, and the commodification of masculinity goes to don’t consider myself a sneakerhead, I am going to say that show that stupid kid’s movies do have value to them. Space while Air Jordans did plant the seed of me taking an interest Jam is now somewhat of a cult film, as it is considered a in shoes. The first shoe that did it for me was NBA superstar great classic film amongst those who grew up watching it. LeBron James’ first signature shoe, the Nike Air Zoom Gen- In fact, when I pitched this essay to EyeCandy, everyone eration. Having a shoe from a big influence such as LeBron was incredibly enthusiastic about it - it’s not just me. Space James made me feel really good about myself. It meant a lot Jam, the most underrated movie ever, clearly holds a lot of to me as well because my parents could not afford to buy me significance for many people my age. I don’t think we’ll Jordans, and these shoes were the most expensive they could forget it any time soon. ever afford for me before I could finally pay for my own shoes. So I can imagine what it was like for those who had Air Jordans and feel like they are on Cloud Nine.

However, while it may be a good thing to idolize the seemingly positive influence that is Michael Jordan, it can also be harmful. In today’s society where many young individuals feel the need to fit in within a crowd to be con- sidered cool, Air Jordans are a big deal in trying to become hip. These shoes serve as status symbols and unfortunately, this can have consequences. Most retro Air Jordans releases are limited to a smaller amount than most shoes, thus being hard to buy at a retail price. Every Saturday morning, there are huge masses of people lining up at malls just to cop the newest pair of Air Jordans. It is almost impossible to [i] Powell, Shaun. “Jordan’s fashion move helps basketball grow into new era.” buy them online at retail price because of consumers using NBA News. Last modified July 20, 2011. Accessed May 21, 2015. http://www.nba. com/2011/news/features/shaun_powell/07/20/michael-jordan-long-shorts/. “bots” that allows one to jump into the front of the virtual [ii] Barias, Marvin. “The True Story Behind the Banned Air Jordan.” Sole Collec- line. If you wanted to purchase a shoe that wasn’t available tor. Last modified October 18, 2014. Accessed May 21, 2015. http://solecollector. for retail, you would have to buy from resellers who ask for com/news/the-true-story-behind-the-banned-air-jordan/. [iii] Miner, Dylan A. T. “Provocations on Sneakers: The Multiple Significations of absurd prices. On eBay, if you search for “deadstock orig- Athletic Shoes, Sport, Race, and Masculinity.” CR: The New Centennial Review 9, inal” or retro Air Jordans, you will see that they are being no. 2 (Fall 2009): 73-102. [iv] Griffin, Darren. “Undefeated X Air Jordan IV Available on eBay for $30K.” resold with prices ranging from $200-1000. Some are even Nice Kicks. Last modified January 4, 2015. Accessed May 21, 2015. http://www. being resold to an absurd $30,000.[iv] You also hear unfor- nicekicks.com/2015/01/04/undefeated-x-air-jordan-iv-available-ebay-30k/. tunate stories every year about people getting killed for [v] Mutasa, Tammy. “Police: Teen killed at Dayton Mall was trying to rob man of [v][vi] shoes.” Cincinnati’s WLWT5. Last modified December 22, 2014. Accessed May the Air Jordans on their feet. People act literally insane 21,2015.http://www.wlwt.com/news/police-teen-killed-at-dayton-mall-was-try- for an expensive shoe made by sweatshop labor.Jordan’s ing-to-rob-man-of-shoes/30352428. reputation of being cool and Nike/Jordan Brand releasing Welty, Matt. “A Recent History of Sneaker Violence.” Complex. Last modified November 26, 2014. Accessed May 21, 2015. http://www.complex.com/sneak- his sought out shoes in limited/expensive quantities has an ers/2014/11/recent-history-of-sneaker-violence/neakers/2014/11/recent-histo- 59 ry-of-sneaker-violence/. 60 THE OLD MASTERS Grassy Knoll

About suffering they were never wrong, The Old Masters; perhaps they never intended Patrick Swayze to be counted among them, but in times of woe we find the ones we need.

Just about everything from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack feels like a cry for help, but none quite as plaintive and desperate as, Livin’ without her, I’d go insa-ne.

Even invoking the name of Swayze feels like a cry for help—but it doesn’t change the fact that he sang the most dead-on accurate heartbreak song in the last fifty years.

She’s taken my heart, but she doesn’t know what she’s do-ne!

Something about that saxophone solo resonates in the key that hearts shatter in. It leads me through moonlight only to burn me with the sun.

Feel her breath in my face, her body close to me. Can’t look in her eyes, she’s outa my le-ague.

Just a fool to believe I have anything she needs. How well they understood, its human position.

She’s like the wind.

61 62 RHETORICAL DEVICES, remy dixon 63 DAD HARD RECONCILING FEMINISM AND DAD CULTURE...WITH A VENGEANCE. DEBRA BILODEAU

Hans: You know my name but who are you? Just love for “dad” media: cheesy, middle-of-the-road, mid-to- another American who saw too many movies as a child? late- eighties working class-leaning films (and TV shows); Another orphan of a bankrupt culture who thinks he’s media that I enjoyed with my parents like Top Gun (1986), John Wayne? Rambo? Marshal Dillon? Lethal Weapon (1987), and the original Die Hard (1988) series. McClane: Was always kinda partial to Roy Rogers actually. I really like those sequined shirts. In 1988, both my father and Bruce Willis were in their mid-thirties. I imagine him to be a lot like John McClane: Hans: Do you really think you have a chance against slightly balding, estranged from his wife (though divorced us, Mr. Cowboy? as opposed to separated). He had even applied to be a cop in Oakland. If he had gotten the job, who is to McClane: Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker. say that his life wouldn’t have been as fantastic as John McClane’s, as impossibly gritty and sweaty and glib? His ’Twas the night before Christmas, and John McClane went dad died Christmas Eve. Every Christmas Eve we watch on a kickass “terrorist”-killing rampage all through the Die Hard. My father sees a different version of himself Nakatomi Building in hopes his unruly wife Holly would onscreen, a version of himself in another life. Or, perhaps still be there. This is my Christmas story: A Visit From more accurately, I do. Bruce Willis. I make my family watch it every year—in a family home with no tree, this is the closest we have to a In 1988, my father was working as a maintenance person holiday tradition. Die Hard (1988, dir. John McTiernan), at the now-closed Cinedome 8 in my hometown of widely considered to be one of the greatest action films of Fremont, California. He installed the concrete platforms all time, occupies a special niche in my headspace, existing for wheelchairs mandated by the recent Americans with at the intersections of the personal and the political: of film Disabilities Act, then was laid off for a family hire—but not form, family, and society. My love for it also started my before he got to see Die Hard for free. I asked my parents 64 recently about Die Hard, Vietnam, and Ronald Reagan. I is all we can do. Maybe I do it because of a fundamental asked them why they liked John McClane. My mom kept inability to understand that era in American history, why a repeating, in the snappy way she often does, that generation turned from Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young to trickle-down economics. “He’s a working stiff!” Perhaps my interest stems from the fact that this is when Bruce Willis, they point out helpfully, got his start in film—classical Hollywood myth—bled into American television—that least glamorous of acting jobs—on social reality. What of the whole nation swayed by images of Moonlighting and as a guest star on Miami Vice. But their mythical forefather? 1988, that magical year, was also before that, he was a bartender, and his folksy flintiness Ronald Reagan’s last full one in office. To quote Robynn is so much of his public persona. As a star, Bruce Stilwell: Willis seems to be the closest thing to working-class in Hollywood. “By 1988, American politics and the movies had blended into one, rather surreal But what is stiff about McClane? ethos. Hollywood in the 1940s, the era of Ronald Reagan’s heyday there—an era In her book Hard Bodies: Hollywood Masculinity in the of Westerns, of World War II movies and Reagan Era, Susan Jeffords examines the physicality of of mothers who cared for their children the action protagonist/hero as “emblem of the national in patriarchal homes behind white picket body”—and McClane is no exception.[i] In comparison with fences—was melded with conservative the impossibly chiseled bodies of contemporaries Stallone Republican concerns of the 1980s.” [ii] and Schwarzenegger, however, Bruce Willis’s body is remarkably average: though trim and fit, his machismo The US was global sheriff, President Reagan the Chief is of sweat and dirt, bicep tattoo, wife-beater, Deputy, his “Reagan Doctrine” funding guerrilla movements and receding hairline. His midsection is doughy, but around the world in an attempt to curb the spread of his arms and legs are strong; I think of my dad’s white-as- Communism while the War on Drugs at home threw the a-sheet beer belly, but also his almost-orange arms—that penal code at non-violent offenders, accelerating the growth watch tan!— and his red neck. In other words, McClane of the largest incarceration rate per capita in the world.[iii] is shown as a regular working-class man, his masculinity In popular culture, there was a longing for their parents’ connoted by his physical labor— in the sweat and dirt generation, the good fight of World War II and America still glistening in every air-shaft closeup and machine-gun-fire- being the white knight of the western world. A simpler time, falling-sparks tracking shot. with Gary Cooper, John Wayne, and Roy Rogers on the screen. What does it mean that I look at these characters and imagine who my father was in the last years Roy Rogers, the singing cowboy of the 1950s (the time of of his pre-Debra life, or see him as he was for the McClane’s birth) is presented in Die Hard as the archetypal most part of my childhood? There are more echoes precedent, the wistful singing cowboy long before of my father in Martin Riggs, half of the black-white buddy McClane’s estrangement from his wife. In other words, he cop duo at the head of Richard Donner’s Lethal Weapon is the symbolic father of John McClane, whose utterance of series. The military service, the trailer on the beach, even Rogers’s “Happy Trails, Hans” at the film’s climax signifies the Curly from the Three Stooges impersonation. The the resolution of the conflict. This resolution, which sends vaguely kooky look in his eyes speaking to trauma and Hans on a thirty-floor fall after McClane unlatches Holly’s grief and unknowable pain and rage. The loss he brings watch, is both a literal resolution of the good-guy bad-guy up sometimes, the only times I see him cry. Even with conflict and of the domestic conflict—being a gift from the Mel Gibson himself: chauvinism and misogyny, sure, amorous Ellis, “a symbol both of her business success and occasionally, but alcoholism is what haunts me. of her attractiveness to other men.”[iv] This time John Wayne does “walk off into the sunset with Grace Kelly,” contrary to What does it mean that my parents and other Baby Hans’ adjunction. Boomers looked at John Wayne and imagined who their father was, their dad and the mythical father Die Hard echoes this in its domestic and external conflicts of the American West, of Manifest Destiny and featuring old-fashioned World War II antagonists: the the open range? Maybe it’s precisely because imagining Japanese Nakatomi Corporation antagonist in the domestic 65 struggle of family vs. feminist careerism, and Hans Gruber, Holly’s lecherous colleague Harry Ellis tries to negotiate the West German terrorist-cum-thief with the European with deadpan terrorist Alan Rickman over Coke, on coke; posse. This choice is even referenced in the film when bubbe, meaning “grandma” in Yiddish, was ad-libbed by the Joseph Takagi, chairman of the corporation, says, “Pearl actor — “inspired by his Jewish grandmother”![viii] Though Harbor didn’t work out so we got you with tape decks.” the fact that the only glimmer of my own pop- Though described as being born in America — even interned Jewishness seen in the film is associated with a in Manzanar! — Takagi is allied with the foreign, invasive greedy half-wit is a bit alarming, the folksiness other; Holly working for a Japanese corporation “align[s] of the film — its slangy swag — always struck a feminist interests with Japanese takeovers of the U.S. chord with my own lower-class, brash self. economy—both trying to destroy the fabric of American patriarchal capitalism.” [v] I wasn’t alone. In high school, my best friend Katie and I bonded almost exclusively through ping-ponging quotes But it’s important that the film makes much note of the fact back and forth in Spanish class, escalating to ridiculous that Hans, being the invasive foreigner, can’t get his movie heights of brassy mock-machismo, rejecting much of the trivia down, and, in the final confrontation, he butchers the media made for teenage girl consumption and claiming film’s famous “yippee ki-yay motherfucker” (with what macho media for ourselves. Katie reclaimed Die Hard me and my friends aped as “maddafack”). In so doing he differently from me, though; she had a massive crush on “demonstrates that he is unworthy of survival by displaying a Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber the way other girls fawn faulty knowledge of Hollywood history” — that is to say, the over anime characters and boy-band singers. He was her American myth put forward in the Reagan era.[vi] A throwback phone background and the focal point of all our ribbing of to singing cowboy culture itself, “yippee ki yay” is, in her. More importantly, though, this became her way of the words of Slate writer Eric Lichtenfeld, the reclaiming and repurposing the text; unable to find moment where “McClane, an everyman, assumes a similarly sophisticated, adult, nuanced man in the media the mantle of America’s archetypal heroes,” constructed specifically for her demographic (teenage girls), acting in “collective wish-fulfillment.”[vii] Katie found her own—the effeminate villain, no less — in a film genre traditionally intended for men. In a sense this is what we all do when we quote these films. I often say, “Hans, bubbe, I’m your white knight” Die Hard was the first film to carry such a cultural cachet with ironically to my friends, referencing the scene in which my friends and I — the second was Anchorman, particularly 66 important in this sense to us because it makes this cultural personal narrative in relation to my humble beginnings, and critique explicit — giving lip service to 70s “Women’s Lib” the humility of their lack of intellectual currency (especially and making “enlightened” jokes at the expense of male in the academic community). oafs so laughably chauvinistic one of them wears a cologne named “Sex Panther” —while also featuring Ben Stiller in To live in the American working class as a white person brownface and more of the Frat Pack men = idiots, women is an interesting thing: as Noel Ignatiev states in an open = shrews paradigm. It was the first media text in which I letter eventually part of a collection of works called found a community — teenage girls adopting and mocking “White Blindspot,” “the greatest ideological barrier to the machismo — that I saw myself in. achievement of proletarian class consciousness, solidarity and political action is now, and has been historically, white We learned about white supremacist patriarchy not just chauvinism.” [ix] That is to say, white supremacy and the through their old-fashioned, exclusionary chauvinism, privilege it entails: white exceptionalism prevents the racism, and homophobia, but also through their twisted, eventual liberation of the people by forcing white workers clumsy attempts to reconcile (Second Wave) feminism to to act against their own interests by neglecting possible big-budget genres generally marketed to men. For example, solidarity with workers of color. And only recently did I the first time I ever heard the word “misogynist” realize how even my own self-description “working class” was in a James Bond movie. Goldeneye (1995), the (labor! they try!) is so often coded as white while “poor” is nineties pseudo-reboot, to be exact. the label applied to people of color.

M: “I think you’re a sexist, misogynist dinosaur. I think about this in relation to the mobile home my mother A relic of the Cold War…” filled with bookshelf upon bookshelf of Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, Harrison Ford, and James Bond. White men The female M puts Bond in his place in this moment, sure, enforcing the law. My mother: what is the space between a but the narrative ironically demands that she sponsor his liberal, privileged, Jewish 1960s Massachusetts upbringing womanizing, trivializing her feminist stance. with Ivy League parents, and a shag-carpeted, metal-sided double-wide? And what does it mean to idolize the lawgiver This irony is central to my (and our) relationship to these in these films but to shudder at the sight of a police car? films. Let me clarify, however, that my love of the films itself is not ironic. I love them the same way one loves Writing this, trying to understand the reasons why I study their parents unconditionally but eviscerates them for their film, why I like what I like, and why my family watches films faults— my complicated relationship with them is my together instead of talking has often been painful. I can’t complicated relationship to patriarchy, to my parents, and, think of any stories about either of my parents’ childhoods, by extension, to the Baby Boomer generation. The media I aside from the fact that my dad had an adolescent crush grew up with affirms a patriarchy whose oppressiveness I on Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music (who didn’t?). reject—while still reveling in the teensiest amount because But at least the films I know they watched—my mother, it appeals to my nostalgia to be considered a dinosaur. Not for example, saw Jurassic Park while pregnant with me— out of a political reactionaryism, but because my personal connect me to who they were at the times they watched feminism allows me to acknowledge that taste is a class them, what their lives were like. marker. I keep thinking about how McClane as a hero, in becoming My family’s income always wavered near the poverty an updated, wise-cracking version of the ol’ lonesome line. My father was a warehouse worker and cowboy, took up his father’s fight.How my family and delivery driver and six-pack-a-day man, and I identified with the perseverance of characters our story is that of the dying—already dead, by like him, cleaving to the American imaginary — many accounts—American working class. I’m to the self-satisfied, swaggering superiority of the only person I know my age to have lived under such American pop culture — when we had nothing circumstances. I still remember latching onto this when else. Escaping the sometimes-traumatic narratives of our I started to grow up, saying “I grew up in a trailer lives by taking pride in ‘Merica, and how we relate to each park for old people” and realizing that that explained other through these archetypal fathers. something about me that nothing else could capture in the same way. I guess a Marxist would call that the emergence It seems that every new generation attempts to understand of my class consciousness; I’ve always constructed my their parents through emulating / recycling the previous 67 generation’s fashion (and music), from the fedoras and three-piece suits of the Seventies to the bellbottom- shag carpet-van aesthetic of the Boogie Nights/That 70’s Show era of film and television. My dad had a Seventies Econoline van. We had shag carpet. “Before it was cool.” It has become countercultural to embrace the values and aesthetics of one’s parents. Ragtag retro has become hip.

Much has been said by my friends of their and my own resemblance to the musician Mac DeMarco, a Canadian singer-songwriter famous as much for his gap-toothed-dirty- snapback-ashtray-smell style as his neon, jangly, crooning “jizz jazz” and his Dionysian onstage antics. He represents, to me, one manifestation of a cultural phenomenon known as “dadcore,” which alternately ironically and sincerely celebrates unglamorous athletic shoes, utilitarian work jackets, and ball caps.

So what of the New York fashion student and dreaded Santa Cruz hipster attempt to emulate this threadbareness with $90 American Apparel Mom jeans, “vintage” snapbacks and slider hats, and exorbitantly priced Birkenstocks, Danskos, and New Balances? Their poverty is only that of people used to the good life, to the comfort of not having to live paycheck-to-paycheck. I had to shop at stores like St. Vincent de Paul, was forced to. It was not desirable. For people like my parents, it’s a look that they more or less could not afford to change.

This wave in fashion is how the Millennial generation acknowledges this lost, dying America, “subverting” mainstream Trump-Kardashian excess as it simultaneously commodifies abject “poor” culture, as it has with the commodification of hip-hop culture (but without facing any of the much-deserved critique associated with appropriating [i] Jeffords, Susan. Hard Bodies: Hollywood Masculinity in the Afro American resistant practices). It very deeply angers Reagan Era. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University me to see a caricature of my own lack, which in many ways Press, 1994, 53. is invisible. [ii] Stilwell, Robynn J. “‘I Just Put a Drone under Him…’: Collage and Subversion in the Score of Die Hard.” Music & Letters 78, no. 4 (Nov., 1997): 557. JSTOR. But I still wear my dad’s Athletics cap, and the four or [iii] The Drug Policy Alliance, “Drug War Statistics.” Accessed five other ones I own. I still make my parents watch Die April 23, 2015. http://www.drugpolicy.org/drug-war-statistics. [iv] Stilwell, “I Just Put A Drone,” 559 Hard every year — even if my dad is just going to [v] Ibid. sit at the dining-room table behind us smoking [vi] Ibid., 558. a cigarillo — because the work of my life up to this [vii] Lichtenfeld, Eric. “Yippee-Ki-Yay… The Greatest One-Liner in Movie History.” Slate, June 26, 2007. http://www.slate.com/ point has been to fit this silent family watching working- articles/news_and_politics/summer_movies/2007/06/yippeekiyay. class heroes into the larger narrative American mythology single.html. sells. To reclaim both this heritage and to forge an identity [viii] “Die Hard: 25 Years On,” Shortlist.com, accessed March 7, 2015, http://www.shortlist.com/entertainment/films/die-hard-25- beholden neither to traditional notions of ciswomanhood years-on. or class hierarchy — one where I acknowledge a macho, [ix] Ignatiev, Noel. “White Blindspot: The Original Essays on masculine working-class culture that is my birthright while Combating White Supremacy and White-Skin Privilege.” In Revolutionary Youth & the New Working Class, ed. Carl Davidson also critiquing the systems in place that make it the way Pittsburg, PA: Changemaker Publications, 149. that it is. 68 69

INFRARED TREE VEINS, seth temple andrews Mission statement

EyeCandy is an annually-published, student-run media studies collection. Our aim is to focus on culturally relevant and compelling topics that expand our relationships with film, television, and new media forms. We hope that our publication will motivate readers to engage with media in a more in-depth, critical, and complex fashion.

This year, with our 25th volume and the 50th anniversary of the University, EyeCandy is rededicating itself to “questioning authority” with a commitment to social justice and a specific focus on pieces relating to marginalized communities. We hope to act as a platform for UCSC community discussion and critique of media and popular culture.

70 sponsors

Arts Dean’s Fund for Excellence CAO / Provost College Eight College Nine Senate Core Council Cowell College Critical Race & Ethnic Studies Film + Digital Media Kresge Parliament Oakes Senate Porter Fellowship Porter Senate Student Media Council Vessel Gallery special Thanks

Tere Alainiz L.S. Kim Scott Leiserson Tamra Schmidt Susan Watrous Student Media

71