2 TABLE OF CONTENTS

3. Editor’s Note 4. Staff Page 8. Misrepresentation Within the Shawshank Re- demption 16. Reflection 17. Portals 18. Media Consolidation 22. Friend 23. Dehumanization in Animated Cinema 28. The Treasure in the Trash 33. Shapes 34. Death of the Pop Rock Film 38. How the Midnight Gospel Functions as Euphe- mism 48.Where Are All the Hot Girls with ADHD? 57. March 22, 2017 58. Opinion: What’s in a Name Anyway? 64. Fever Dream Films for the Disastrous Auteur 69. Color Pop 70. Art in the Digital Age But now that my time in student cherish this issue for what it rep- media is coming to an official resents to me and I can’t thank In my freshman year of high end I am proud to say it will end the EyeCandy staff or advisors Editor’sschool, I joined the school not only with this issue but with enough for making this a real- newspaper. At the time I this organization. ity and allowing me to end my wanted to grow up to become time with student media on the a sports journalist. On the first Coming into this year I had no highest note possible. If you take day of school the teacher who expectations for how well Eye- anything away from this letter, advised the class, Mrs. Villase- Candy would go. I was unsure of or from this journal as a whole, nor, explained what we would my abilities as a leader, how we know that the EyeCandy staff be doing over the course of the would create a magazine re- deserves every ounce of credit year and how we, the students, motely, or whether or not other for what we’ve created. were in charge of everything, students would want to be a part and after it was all said and of this. Soon I came to realize - Quinton Ligad done we watched an episode that I had nothing to worry of The Newsroom. None of it about. And that is when me and appealed to me. I’m not sure Kevin Costner both learned the what part turned me off from same lesson: “If you build it they Note it, looking back- probably The will come.” Newsroom- but either way I went home and when my Mom I don’t know how much of my asked how my first day went, I ‘stamp’ can be seen through this broke the bad news and let her issue because each page whol- know that my dreams of be- ly belongs to the writers and coming a sports journalist had designers who created them. been put on the back burner. Besides some prodding and in- coherent ramblings from yours Eight years later and I’m still truly, my influence was mini- in student media. I joined mal compared to the beautiful EyeCandy not knowing what works made by our staff. Their to expect but one year became dedication and willingness to two, two became three, and go above and beyond exemplify next thing I know I’m graduat- the unbridled talent that exists ing college as Editor-in-Chief in our organization. I could not of EyeCandy. And I couldn’t be be more proud of what we were more thankful for every minute able to create especially given of it. the circumstances. I will forever i

3 Staff

Eyecandy film journal 2021 4 Quinton Ligad - 4th year FDM major - ABBA enthusiast -emotional stability tied to favorite Keely Gwynne, 3rd year Lit major Emma Soltani - 2nd year FDM major sports teams -raised on manga and frosted flakes - Comfort food is pita bread -owns a copy of The Infinite Jest -still listens to owl city - Played the balcony in a production by David Foster Wallace (never used) -proud owner of a donald trump butt of Romeo and Juliet in eighth grade plug - Has met Avan Jogia

Editors

Isabella Balbi -triple fire sign :o Joyce Chang - mazzy star enthusiast ;) - spicy food addict - infp :( - taurus who can fall asleep anywhere - aspiring forest nymph Art directors

Lily Daniels - 4th year FDM major -undying addiction to sushi -Chi-Town shawty -can do your taxes Sophie Baron - 3rd year FDM major -can help you dye your hair -Sweet treat connoisseur -Lady Demitrscu stan Writers

Abbey Carmel - major3rd Year FDM/Art - poser Eamon Raftery - all time bowling champion Gabriela Poole - 4th year FDM major - 5’8 (if that matters) - aspiring participation trophy wife - in search of the high I felt when I listened to Fantasy - Mariah Carey for the first time - would risk it all for Tony Hawk Ava DiGirolamo - 4th year FDM -Horror movie fanatic -Has watched the entire True Blood series four times -In film school for the samereason Ben Korduner, 4th year FDM as everyone else: Quentin Tarantino - Fantasy Football Runner Up 2018 - Followed by Tommy Wright 3rd

- Tie Dye Guy

Ellyse Magnani Yoni Yardeni, 4th year FDM Major - Parents didn’t Google my name be - Jackson Brivic - 4th year FDM/ fore I was born Theater Arts Major - Fruity Pebble connoisseur - Slurpee Enthusiast - Has a friend for your homegirl Lily - Texas Hold’em Champion Layout design - Opera Singer

Juliette Toner - 3rd year MCD bio major -also known as Shelby -never wears matching socks Tati Chavitage - 4th Year FDM Major -could eat cereal for every meal - Genderless grump - Lil Bub superfan, Wes Anderson hater - Would die for their bearded dragon, Merle Haggard

Jacinto Salz, 4th year FD&M, gave my- self an almond allergy, I can play with camera gear endlessly, strong dislike for Jesse Eisenberg

Juliana Baratta - 2nd year Econom- Gioh Sung ics major - I recently adopted a bunch of plants - Britney Spears superfan #plant mom - Entire closet is thrifted - I have 4 pet snails - Could eat Hot Cheetos for every - I’m graduating soon!! meal Layout cont. Lara Aguirre Medina - FDM and Economics double major - Barbie movie and Game of Thrones aficionado - Study music is reggaetón - Can be located at Trader Joes

Tamar Clodeen Nalbandian, 3rd yr FDM - Sticky Fingers groupie - has been drinking unsweetend iced tea since she could hold a glass Ben Korduner, 4th year FDM - strong believer in naps - Fantasy Football Runner Up 2018 - Followed by Tommy Wright 3rd

- Tie Dye Guy

Jo Yee - 2nd year FDM Major - Also known as JubJub - Claymation fanatic, childhood was Wallace and Gromit - Listens to too much Shoegaze

Starr Yvonne Soon - 3rd year FDM, Art, and Comp Sci major - friendly neighborhood kid - cries about the past - listens to folky midwest emo things

Dominic Wong - 3rdyear FDM major Faculty advisor: Rick Prelinger Misrepresentation within The Shawshank Redemption Written by Designed by Abbey Carmel Juliana Baratta www Throughout the 20th century, Holly- ingly, the American prison system is mis- wood produced a wide variety of gangster, construed in The Shawshank Redemption crime, and prison break films. Often sen- through a variety of different tropes. How- sationalizing criminality and incarcera- ever, in order to fully understand these mis- tion, most films produced harmful miscon- conceptions, one must first correct harmful ceptions about these themes. While most assumptions about the justice system that 1920’s prison break films had an all-white dominate the American collective conscious- cast, the actual incarcerated population ness. Through analysis of The Shawshank of the time was primarily Black. In fact, Redemption, this article will dissect the four “African Americans are incarcerated pillars of the American prison apparatus at more than five times the rate of -- necessary punishment, rehabilitation, whites” (NAACP, Criminal Justice justified release into society, and the im- Fact Sheet). How, then, do these ageability of prison architecture -- and white-washed narratives influ- the ways they are justified through the ence our understanding of the prison break drama. racialized American justice system? The most popular Part 1: Necessary prison film to date, Frank Punishment Darabont’s The Shaw- The primary assumption about shank Redemption, prison by the American pub- stars Morgan Freeman lic is that our prison system en- as narrator and prisoner, Red, forces necessary punishment, depicting a false sense of ra- through confinement, for crim- cial accuracy and progressivity inals and those who have done throughout the film. In actuali- wrong by name of the law. It’s ty, The Shawshank Redemption where murders, rapists, and fel- inmates shown on screen were ons are housed until their justi- only about six percent black, fied sentencing period is over. and white actors starred in This assumption, however, has all leading roles except for shapeshifted, and the laws of Freeman’s. Overwhelm- yesterday are no longer

8 considered criminal in comparison to the Prime time news, newspa- zeitgeist of today. For instance, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, 46.3% per headlines, and television of inmates are currently incarcerated on shows like Cops all sensation- drug offenses (Federal Bureau of Prisons). alize black bodies, portraying This statistic was recorded on January them as more deviant or vi- 30th, 2021, two days before the state of olent than they actually are. Oregon decriminalized recreational use of Consequently, Americans believed that jail all substances. As of February 2021, Or- cells were reserved for a dangerous group of societal outcasts. This “worst of the worst’’ rhetoric has been normalized, as many fictional movies or novels often ad- here to it, and thus prisoners are portrayed in a farcical, violent light. In The Shaw- shank Redemption, inmates are depicted as ruthless against the protagonist, Andy Defuse, and a gang nicknamed “the sisters” violently rapes him multiple times. Andy, on the other hand, invokes viewer sympa- thy, as one finds out he has been wrong-

egon, along with fifteen other states fully legalized Marujuana, and only six states still consider marujuana entirely illegal (Map of Marijuana Legality by State). Con- trarily, the Bureau of Prisons recorded that only 3% of inmates were convicted of homicide, assault, and kidnapping offens- es combined (Federal Bureau of Prisons). These statistics reflect how antiquated the United States penal structure is in compar- ison to public opinion. How, then, have we allowed our carceral system to go largely ly accused of murdering his wife shortly unprovoked as we move forward with pro- into the film. At first thought, this sympa- gressive drug policies? According to Ava thy feels justified within the viewer’s pro- DuVernay’s documentary 13th, “Black peo- gressive politics, as the prison guards are ple, Black Men, and Black people in general largely shown as the antagonist -- an anal- are over-represented in the news as crim- ogy for the evil crimes of the state. Howev- inals… When I say overrepresented, that er, while the viewer may feel emotionally means they are shown as criminals more connected to Andy, and the film advocates times than is accurate” (DuVernay 13TH). for the freedom of this one individual, the

9 film does not attack the core pillar of pris- communities. In 13th, DuVernay reveals on justification -- that the American prison a recorded interview from a former Nix- system enforces necessary punishment. on domestic policy chief, John Erlichman: Instead, Sean O’Sullivan argues in his es- “The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nix- say “Representations of Prison in Nineties on White House after that, had two ene- Hollywood Cinema: From Con Air to The mies: the antiwar left and black people. You Shawshank Redemption”, “whilst redemp- understand what I’m saying? We knew we tion/rehabilitation is reserved for the ex- couldn’t make it illegal to be either against ceptional individual, prisoners in general the war or black, but by getting the public are seen as collectively incapable and un- to associate the hippies with marijuana deserving of rehabilitation… The mes- and blacks with heroin and then crimi- sage of prison movies is implicitly nalizing both heavily, we could disrupt that prisoners deserve what they those communities. We could arrest get”(O’Sullivan, Representa- their leaders. raid their homes, tions of Prison in Nineties break up their meetings, and Hollywood Cinema: From vilify them night after Con Air to The Shaw- night on the evening shank Redemption). news. Did we know In The Shawshank Re- we were lying about demption, Andy Defuse the drugs? Of course we is shown as an exception did”(DuVernay 13TH). to the prison culture, and Since fear was a primary his escape is ultimately vin- motivator for the war on dicated because he is not cat- drugs rationale, the prison egorized within a deviant crim- population grew dramatical- inal framework. Furthermore, ly, as the American public was the ‘wronged victim’ character convinced prisons would solve archetype not only contributes the deviant behavior of drug to our current carceral atti- addiction. Legislators ground- tude towards criminality, but ed their reasoning for impris- also validates the notion of onment in rehabilitation, and incarceration as a means for rehabilitation. thus in labor as a method for doing so. In The Shawshank Redemption, Andy Duval Part 2: Rehabilitation ultimately “earns” his freedom by partic- Today, the American prison system ipating in a variety of exploitative jobs. is the largest in the world. The U.S. con- For instance, Andy and his fellow inmates sists of “5% of the global population, but work as “volunteers” tarring roofs on a hot 25% of the world’s prison population”, May day, and the narrator, Red, describes resulting in 2.1 million incarcerated in- it in a favorable light, “It was outdoor de- dividuals within our country. In com- tail… and May is one damn fine month parison, the U.S. prison population hov- to be working outdoors. More than 100 ered around 200,000 in 1970 (DuVernay men volunteered for the job. Wouldn’t you 13TH). In order to justify this overwhelm- know it, me and some fellas I know were ing influx into the carceral system, legis- among the names called” (Darabont The lators relied on both the demonization of Shawshank redemption). Red’s optimis- black communities, and the public fear of tic perspective directs the viewer to feel drugs infiltrating white, suburban, voting as if this were an advantageous deal for

2 10 the prisoners -- the inmates even share and rehabilitation. Our inmates, proper- beers with each other once their work is ly supervised, will be put to work outside complete. However, Kim Gilmore explains these walls, performing all manner of com- in her essay, Slavery and Prison -- Un- munity service. These men can learn the derstanding the Connections, these labor value of an honest day’s labor while pro- programs stem from slavery. She details, viding a valuable service to the commu- “Built into the 13th Amendment was state nity… and at a bare minimum of expense authorization to use prison labor as a bridge to Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Taxpayer”(Da- between slavery and paid work. Slavery rabont The Shawshank Redemption). was abolished “except as a punishment for Although the viewer gets clued into the crime.” This stipulation provided the in- corruption within the warden’s Inside Out tellectual and legal mechanisms to enable program, it ultimately becomes justified as the state to use “unfree” labor by leasing Andy Duval’s method for freedom. Since prisoners to local businesses and corpo- Andy completes the warden’s bookkeep- rations desperate to rebuild the South’s ing for this project, Andy is able to cash infrastructure” (Gilmore, Slavery and out after his escape, as well as turn the Prison -- Understanding the Connections). warden in to the police for fraudulent pay- Contrary to popular belief, prisons did not ments. The film then justifies prison labor employ labor programs later in their life as a means for escape or retribution -- Du- cycle as a reform tactic, rather the neces- val works tarring roofs, which earns him sity for cheap labor was a cornerstone to- the more esteemed position of bookkeeper, wards the invention of the prison. Carcer- which then unfolds as a means to his es- al institutions employed ‘convict leasing’ cape. In addition, the warden faces con- programs -- programs that allowed state sequences for labor exploitation, and and federal facilities to lease prisoners to his own guards attempt to arrest private corporations for manufacturing or him. Nevertheless, he is depict- otherwise undesirable jobs. When prison ed as an enigma to the prison populations soared, more working bodies justice system, which is very were available for companies that much left unscathed, exploited prison labor -- a per- since his actions are fect complement to regarded as one sole the war on drugs, corrupt power within which incarcerated the prison apparatus these working bod- at large. In reality, ies. In The Shaw- this is not enigmat- shank Redemp- ic, as the prison-in- tion, the warden dustrial complex up- designs a fictional holds the warden’s convict leasing pro- same idea of “a bare gram, nicknamed minimum of expense the “Inside Out” to Mr. and Mrs. John program. He de- Q. Taxpayer” (Da- scribes it as such, rabont The Shaw- “No free ride, but shank Redemption). rather a genuine, According to the progressive ad- Prison Policy Ini- vance in corrections tiative, “incarcer-

11 ated people earn between 86 cents and victs to a second-class citizenship for life. $3.45 per day for the most common pris- In fact, this institution is cyclical in na- on jobs. In at least five states, those jobs ture, resulting in “68 percent of released pay nothing at all. Moreover, work in pris- state prisoners [re]arrested within three on is compulsory, with little regulation years, 79 percent within six years and 83 or oversight, and incarcerated workers percent within nine years” (Statistics Bu- have few rights and protections” (Wagner reau of Justice Statistics - Correctional Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2020). Populations in the United States, 2016 and Not only are incarcerated workers under- Probation and Parole in the United States, paid, their work rarely affords them jobs 2016 - Press Release). These recidivism or careers outside of the prison context. rates stem from inadequate assistance available to formerly incarcerated people, Part 3: Justified Release with the largest predecessor for recidi- According to the Prison Policy Ini- vism being poverty (Prison Policy tiative, “the unem- ployment Initiative Recidivism and Reentry). rate for formerly in- carcer- In The Shawshank Redemption, ated people is nearly Brooks, a seventy-three year five times higher than old inmate who spent most the unemployment of his life in jail, writes rate for the gen- Andy and Morgan a let- eral United States ter, “I have trouble sleep- population, and sub- ing at night. I have bad stantially higher than dreams like I’m falling and even the worst years of I wake up scared. Sometimes the Great Depression” it takes me a while to re- (Kopf Out of Prison & Out member where I am. May- of Work). This contradicts be I should get me a gun the original notion of prison and rob the Food Way so as a place for rehabilitation, they’d send me home. I where inmates earn re-ad- could shoot the man- mittance into society, and ager while I was at it, are freed from the confines of sort of like a bonus” (Darabont the carceral system once they The Shawshank Redemption). This scene have “served their time”. Most ex-convicts reflects upon returning to prison, but unlike are branded for life -- job applications that data trends would suggest, Brooks wants ask if one has convicted a felony, limit- to go ‘home’ and reflects upon his time in ed access to supportive services like food prison as a positive experience in compar- stamps and student loans, and the inabili- ison to his new life. To paint the American ty to vote -- are a few of the consequences prison system as a boys club that Brooks that face formerly incarcerated people. Ac- yearns for is grossly inaccurate. The film cording to 13th, “nearly 30% of the black repeats this message multiple times, with male population in Alabama today has Red stating “These walls are funny. First permanently lost their right to vote due you hate ’em. Then you get used to ’em. as a result of a criminal conviction” (Du- Enough time passes, you get so you depend Vernay 13TH). The shackles of mass incar- on them. That’s institutionalized” (Dara- ceration do not vanish once one is released bont The Shawshank Redemption). In an from prison, and instead reduce ex-con- attempt to critique the way convicts be-

12 come “institutionalized”, The Shawshank Raquel Welch’s legs to be reborn. It is as Redemption individualizes the prison ap- simple and crude as that. The film clearly paratus, and focuses their social commen- sets up the space of Andy’s cell as a vehi- tary on personal emotions towards leaving cle for his rebirth, his change. He breaks prison, instead of the complex social forces free of the maternal space” (Fiddler, 196). pushing against a justified and successful The underlying themes of the prison as a reentry into society. This connection that nurturing organism, versus a vicious cy- Brooks and Red feel towards their confine- clical system, add to the escapist and un- ment is that of a timeless, protective envi- realistic fantasy of The Shawshank Re- ronment. In Projecting the prison: The de- demption. Lastly, Andy escapes to a literal piction of the uncanny in The Shawshank oasis, Zihutanejo, on the coast, and Red Redemption, Michael Fiddler compares the joins him shortly thereafter. However, as relationship between the cinematic inmate Fiddler states, “There is no Zihuatane- and the prison as a nurturing, maternal re- jo waiting on the release for prisoners in lationship. For instance, he states, “prison reality, nor do the societal waters forget” is a refuge from the discomforts of modern (Fiddler, 196). Instead of a haven on the living … we see a yearning for a nostalgic other side of prison walls, many formerly space where prison represents a simpler incarcerated people face discrimination mode of living. The prison becomes a site and hardship after their release, often which not only provides ‘material bene- leading to recidivism and repeat offenses. fits’, but does so ‘unconditionally’” (Fiddler Projecting the prison: The depiction of the Part 4: The Imageability of Prison uncanny in The Shawshank Redemption, Architecture 194). When Brooks and Red make their While prisoners cannot shake the transition back into the real world, they stigmas associated with incarceration both remark about the fast pace of society after their release, they are also easily in relation to their repetitive lives behind forgotten about during their time spent bars, as well as to their old age. Alternative- behind bars. Throughout the coronavi- ly, Andy goes through what Fiddler argues rus pandemic, legislators at large have is a “‘rebirth’ into a traditional communi- focused their relief efforts on the general ty setting, the capitalised word public, while prison populations have suf- MOTHER is positioned just fered on the wayside. In fact, as of De- above each of the three cember 2020, “one in every five state and posters of icon- federal prisoners [have] ic woman- tested positive hood that for the coro- cover the navirus, a rate hole in An- more than four dy’s cell. times as high The word as the general MOTHER population” literally (Schwartz- labels this apfel et al. as an intra- 1 in 5 Pris- uterine space. oners in the Andy figurative- U.S. Has Had ly crawls between COVID-19). If

13 incarceration is a scathing scarlet letter that had a town around it’” (Fiddler, 198). for ex-convicts, how are we so collective- Since this film is set in the 1920’s, although ly unaware of suffering prison populations filmed in the 1990’s, it allows itself to have within our own communities? According historical inaccuracies associated with the to Fiddler, the narrative arc of physical facade the film. The view- of the prison er recognizes that serves as a mit- this film is a peri- igation to the od piece, and the public voyeur. architectural mo- He argues, “the tifs of the building gaze of the pub- are deemed nos- lic was forcibly talgic, as opposed shifted from vi- to unrealistic. olent spectacle However, to the, at least by alluding initially, im- passive prison to the past, walls” (Fiddler, The Shaw- 196). Since prison architecture is so non- shank Redemption willful- descript, these carceral institutions are ly ignores the catastrophic easily ignored by the unaware eye. Howev- state of the modern prison. er, prisons did not always seamlessly blend No longer must one grap- into their urban surroundings, and, until the 20th century, permeated a more ter- ple with the war on drugs or rifying and absolute imageability. In The the prison-industrial com- Shawshank Redemption, the victorian-era plex -- it does not yet ex- Mansfield Reformatory served as the lo- ist in the narrative universe. cation for Andy Duval’s iconic escape. In Through aesthetics, this film reflects the fact, this gothic, cathedral-esque Mans- antiquated notion of what the American field Reformatory was not originally de- collective conscience thinks a prison is and signed as a prison, rather a “‘union train- looks like. On the contrary, the ‘progres- ing base for civil war soldiers’”(Fiddler, sive’ attitudes of the narrative, like that of 198). By situating the viewer outside of the corrupt warden or wronged prisoner, the modern prison imagery, and instead in create a false impression that the injus- one more reminiscent of a nineteenth cen- tices of yesterday’s prison have since been tury prison, The Shawshank Redemption corrected. This social phenomena is time- uses visuality to direct viewer attention less -- the nondescript urban prison facade away from the modern prison apparatus. has remained invisible since its invention. As Fiddler states, “The internal architec- In fact, The Shawshank Redemption had ture of the building draws the eye upwards mixed reviews upon its release, but gained ‘suggesting to those who walk its halls and popularity throughout the years, and is corridors that they are in a church’... In IMDB’s top rated film as of February 2021 the accompanying booklet to the 10th an- (IMDb Top Rated Movies). In a 1994 review, niversary edition of the film, Darabont de- Geoff Pevere claims the film adheres to too scribes the building as ‘(i)t’s big, it’s Goth- many prison tropes to “revive the prison ic, it’s old, it’s bleak and it’s not something genre” (Pevere Film Review The Shaw-

6 14 shank Redemption). He argues the film is informed by films like The Shawshank Re- reduced to “cartoon moral oppositions … demption, and strengthened by the blank, rob[bing] the film of any potential it might uninformative modern prison facade, then have had of busting out of its own cell of jail- the American punitive system remains bird movie cliches” (Pevere). While jour- largely unscathed. Statistics, documen- nalists of the time criticize the story struc- taries, and activist movements will not ture of The Shawshank Redemption, they reach a wide enough audience to reform do not allude to the inaccuracies of these or abolish the modern prison system. They carceral depictions, and instead adhere to will not remain in the public’s cognitive them as well. Pevere uses many problem- landscape the same way The Shawshank atic colloquialisms like, “you couldn’t ask Redemption - with over two million 9/10 for rawer raw material than a story set IMDB rankings - has. No longer can the in the slammer”(Pevere). Pevere’s under- monstrosity of the American prison sys- standing of prison as a means for narrative tem be portrayed with such willful nos- based content, versus a centrifugal pillar talgia and blissful ignorance. It must be of American injustice, leaves the viewer reprimanded and dismantled on all fronts largely at ease with the current imagining -- within its walls, within the judicial sys- of a Shawshank-esque prison. If one’s sub- tem, and within our television screens. liminal understanding of incarceration is Bibliography

1. Criminal Justice Fact Sheet. 10 July 2020, 10. “Map of Marijuana Legality by State.” www.naacp.org/criminal-justice-fact-sheet/. DISA Global Solutions, 11 Mar. 2021, disa. 2. Darabont, Frank, director. The Shawshank Re- com/map-of-marijuana-legality-by-state. demption. Amazon Prime Video, Accessed 2021. 11. O’Sullivan, Sean. “Representations of Prison in 3. DuVernay, Ava, director. 13TH. Netflix Of- Nineties Hollywood Cinema: From Con Air to ficial Site, 7 Oct. 2016, www.netflix.com/ The Shawshank Redemption.” The Howard Jour- watch/80091741?trackId=14170287&tctx- nal of Criminal Justice, vol. 40, no. 4, 2001, =5%2C1%2Ccbe5a1f5-6ee5-493c-b535- pp. 317–334., doi:10.1111/1468-2311.00212. 549a2ee4c097-397209876%2Ce35f98a6-678a- 12. Pevere, Geoff. Review of Film Review The Shaw- 4f81-ae52-d23c4853bcb0_27914051X3XX16- shank Redemption, Review of The Shawshank 15264819719%2C%2C. Accessed 14 Mar. 2021. Redemption The Globe and Mail, 23 Sept. 1994. 4. “Federal Bureau of Prisons.” BOP Statistics: In- 13. Schwartzapfel, Beth, et al. “1 In 5 Prisoners mate Offenses, 2021, www.bop.gov/about/ in the U.S. Has Had COVID-19.” The Marshall statistics/statistics_inmate_offenses.jsp. Project, The Marshall Project, 18 Dec. 2020, 5. Fiddler, Michael. “Projecting the Prison: The www.themarshallproject.org/2020/12/18/1- Depiction of the Uncanny in The Shawshank in-5-prisoners-in-the-u-s-has-had-covid-19. Redemption.” Crime, Media, Culture: An In- 14. Statistics, Bureau of Justice. “Bureau of Justice Sta- ternational Journal, vol. 3, no. 2, 2007, pp. tistics - Correctional Populations in the United States, 192–206., doi:10.1177/1741659007078546. 2016 and Probation and Parole in the United States, 6. Gilmore, Kim. “Slavery and Prison -- Understanding 2016 - Press Release.” Bureau of Justice Statistics the Connections.” Critical Resistance to the Prison-In- (BJS), www.bjs.gov/content/pub/press/18upr9y- dustrial Complex, vol. 27, no. 3, 2000, doi:https:// fup0514pr.cfm#:~:text=Overall%2C%20 www.jstor.org/stable/i29767220?refreqid=excel- 68%20percent%20of%20released,five%20 sior%3A620dd6b1653e9893a4db116dbdeb2eaa. arrests%20per%20released%20prisoner. 7. “IMDb Top Rated Movies.” IMDb, IMDb. 15. Ulin, Donald Ingram. “From Huckleberry Finn com, www.imdb.com/chart/top/. to The Shawshank Redemption: Race and the 8. Initiative, Prison Policy. “Recidivism and Re- American Imagination in the Biracial Escape entry.” Prison Policy Initiative, www.prison- Film.” European Journal of American Stud- policy.org/research/recidivism_and_reentry/. ies, vol. 8, no. 1, 2013, doi:10.4000/ejas.10026. 9. Kopf, Lucius Couloute and Dan. “Out of Prison & Out of 16. Wagner, Wendy Sawyer and Peter. “Mass Incar- Work.” Out of Prison & Out of Work | Prison Policy Initia- ceration: The Whole Pie 2020.” Mass Incarcera- tive, www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/outofwork.html. tion: The Whole Pie 2020 | Prison Policy Initia- tive, www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2020.html.

15 2

16 2 17 Media Consolidation by Quinton Ligad

Historically there are five or so major are seen as something to offer to customers to media conglomerates. They make up a majority of entice them to stay on. Of course they want to the content we consume, at least in the main- see growth in these sectors but that isn’t their stream media. They own the major movie studios, greatest concern. But the issue is that the Ap- the TV networks, the magazines, etc. But media ple+ and Prime Videos of the world are still com- consumption has changed and people no longer petitors for the streaming services that do need need the major movie studios or TV networks or to turn a profit. magazines for their entertainment. They can For Netflix, the fear of competitors does watch some dude on Instagram talk about noth- not loom over their head in the same way it ing instead of the latest episode of Chicago PD. does others. Netflix has a proven track record Or on a bigger scale why wait for a show to air of growth and, because of its early start, has when you have an entire series at your fingertips a very large lead over everyone besides Disney on Netflix. But, contrary to popular belief, the Plus. But that does mean Netflix is unconcerned conglomerates aren’t dumb. They know this mode of with where it stands in the streaming wars. In consumption is the future. So every major media the long run, Netflix will be fine despite its debt company has started a streaming service except, totals and expedited spending, but fine is a long- they aren’t the only ones. shot away from dominance which is what the head There are the streaming services from the tech honchos in Los Gatos are craving. Dominance is companies like Apple TV+ or Amazon Prime Vid- having a stronghold on the marketbase which is eo, there are the early originators like Netflix, nearly impossible to do when you are competing with there are the streaming services for TV channels 20 plus services and growing. like AMC+, or the boutique streamers like Mubi or Now as for HBO Max and others like it, Shudder. This is a long list of services that cost who face the same issue of competing for the $5 a month or more, all with overhead costs that attention and dollars of the general public amid are costing their respective companies millions. At an ever growing field of competition, they did not first this looks like a bubble ready to burst but have the head start Netflix had. HBO Max was it’s more akin to a war. Each service battling for estimated to be a three billion dollar or so ven- market shares and data and each one willing to ture. Of course HBO Max is a subsidiary of War- spend whatever it takes to put themselves over ner Bros, which is a subsidiary of Time Warner, the edge. But like any war there are winners and which just merged with AT&T, so there are several losers and once the dust settles what will happen different money streams within the company at to the vanquished? large in order to cover those costs, but nonetheless Firstly not every streamer is built the same. there are few companies that can spend three Big tech companies like Apple and Amazon do not billion dollars and not feel the effects. In other care if their streaming services make money. They words HBO Max has to work.

18 It is the centerpiece of Warner Bros. plans is a far cry from fast-tracking your entire 2021 going forward. And so far the numbers are not film slate onto your service. there to support their hopes of success. Subscriber And Disney didn’t have to do that because numbers were low, growth was low, and that led to Disney Plus has the subscriber numbers to support drastic measures such as releasing their entire having their service without having to make moves theatrical slate onto the platform. This move has that equate to pushing all your chips in on the helped turn the tides and allowed HBO Max to second hand. climb back into the race as a major competitor. But desperate times call for desperate Of course the pandemic played a role in HBO measures and HBO Max does not want to be the Max’s struggles but Disney Plus faced a pandemic next domino to fall. Streaming has already prov- too and did not have to release their film slate en to be far from impervious. Quibi, a streaming on their feed.. They release certain films on pre- service just for your phone if you haven’t heard mium access and later on the service, but that of it, fell in nearly six months. What was a

“Streaming has already proven to be far from impervious.” multi-year, 1.3 billion dollar endeavor headed by paid streamers are not the only competitors. Meg Whitman and Jeffery Katzenberg, two of the As more and more streamers vy for our most prominent and successful people in Hollywood, attention, more and more streamers will realize crashed and burned faster than the Hindenburg. that they aren’t on the level they need to be to Hindsight is 20/20 so to say Quibi was a short- compete. That’s when this all becomes a game of sighted idea after its failure is easy but 1.3 snake. Once a streamer falls, another one will BILLION, with a b, is not raised for nothing. come and eat it up, becoming bigger and stronger, Quibi was supposed to be the future of streaming, then the streamer eats another and another un- premium content on the go. And once again the til there is nowhere left to turn. Except for them, pandemic played a part in their failure, but that the game never ends and conglomerates don’t die. was merely one of a myriad of issues. It was The big snake lives out the rest of its days as $4.99 a month for middle-of-the-road content with the biggest and baddest snake out there and no C-list stars that you could only access on your one can compete. phone and consumers were not willing to pay for Quibi folded and sold off their content in that when they can watch TikToks or YouTube for order to save face. But that is small potatoes. free. This goes to show the level of competition Eventually, a bigger streamer will fall and be that exists for these streaming services and that forced to sell off their content to the highest bidder. Say Peacock folds and The Office is back on the auction block. Say what you will about The Office but subscribers will follow it and whoever is willing to pay for it will only become stronger. And as the years go on and as the money continues to flow and some are left to rot and others thrive, how will our media landscape reflect the changes? Endnotes 1. Csathy, Peter. 2020. “Amazon Prime Video: The Stealthy, Ominous STREAMING FORCE.” February 2, 2020. https://www.forbes.com/sites/petercsathy/2020/01/31/amazon-prime-video-the-quiet-ominous-stream- ing-force/?sh=62c3e82b1f1a. 2. Hayes, Dade. 2021. “HBO Max Will Hit 120M To 150M Subscribers By 2025, With AVOD Tier Launching In June, AT&T Says.” Deadline. Deadline. March 12, 2021. https://deadline.com/2021/03/hbo-max-will-hit- million-subscribers-2025-att-warnermedia-streaming-1234713072/. 3. Patten, Dominic. 2020. “Quibi’s Jeffrey Katzenberg & Meg Whitman Detail ‘Clear-Eyed’ Decision To Shut It Down.” Deadline. Deadline. October 22, 2020. https://deadline.com/2020/10/quibi-shuts-down-jef- frey-katzenberg-meg-whitman-interview-exclusive-1234601254/. 4. The CEO Magazine. 2021. “Netflix a Success Story of Our Times as It No Longer Needs to Borrow Money.” The CEO Magazine. The CEO Magazine. February 14, 2021. https://www.theceomagazine.com/busi- ness/management-leadership/netflix/. 2 22 and the people who created them. . voices, stories, history, and culture. In Dehumanization in Animated Cinema While representation has been getting the movie Soul, the main character is By: Ellyse Magnani The trope of dehumanizing better in cinema, the continuation of turned into an amorphous blob, then Illustration & Design by: Gioh Sung a Black character is an anti Black utilizing Black voices for non human later is turned into a cat who watches practice that has been seen in cinema roles has remained present. These a white female soul, puppeteer his Once again, Disney has dehumanized for a long time but this racist tradition animated movies are also aimed for body. Not only does this show the a Black lead character by not allowing has carried into animation. Towbin et children, who have to see themselves concerning animalization of the lead, them to remain human in Soul. This is al. (2004) stated, “[ ... ] Disney movies or someone else (of color) become but it also perpetuates the white savior Disney’s fourth time doing this, the can serve as an example of society departed from their innate humanity. trope. This trope causes viewers to other three being Princess and The in microcosm: there are embedded The continuation of this practice, see a white person being the only Frog, The Emperor’s New Groove, messages of racism in many of the is teaching children that silencing hope that a Black person has and Soul and Brother Bear. The main character movies. Learning to find them and Black stories is okay and that white decided to make the choice that Joe of the film dies as soon as something bringing the messages into the open people are more innately human would not have a plentiful life without good happens to them which seems can be educational and empowering than those of color. To stop this the help of a white person taking to be problematic when this is one of for children” (p. 41). Animated movies heinous cycle from repeating again, over his body. Disney had a perfect Disney’s few Black characters. Not only such as these are famously made viewers and consumers must speak opportunity to share the history of jazz does the character die, but he turns by white directors, producers, and out and raise awareness to this topic. through the voice of a Black character into an animal; the vehicle used to carry screenwriters so a large problem After the release of Soul, change. but instead decided to whitewash this plot is racism and Hollywood’s is representation of screen so that org made a petition to stop disney jazz and view it through a white lens. history of systemic racism. children can look up to the movies from making films that erase Black history. “However, when considering Disney has created racist the legacy of depictions of racial and depictions prior to animation. ethnic diversity in Disney animated “While unquestionably presenting film, a retrospective view makes clear a patronizing view of race relations, that in many ways the multiculturalism with the always smiling Uncle Remus represented in the corporation’s (James Baskett) teaching life lessons films is indicative of and reinforces to white children, Song of the South the hegemonic culture within which continues to appear selectively Disney as a corporation is firmly across Disney’s transmedia universe, positioned: American, Caucasian, cis- and has reemerged on the Internet gendered, straight, Anglo, Christian, through the collective advocacy able-bodied, etc.” (Dundes pg. 88) of its cult following [Walt Disney Productions, 1946] (Sperb pg.26). What is caused from the The introduction of dehumanization continuation of dehumanizing Black in animation has allowed Disney as characters, is an erasure of Black well as other companies, to profit

2 3 23 and the people who created them. . voices, stories, history, and culture. In Dehumanization in Animated Cinema While representation has been getting the movie Soul, the main character is By: Ellyse Magnani The trope of dehumanizing better in cinema, the continuation of turned into an amorphous blob, then Illustration & Design by: Gioh Sung a Black character is an anti Black utilizing Black voices for non human later is turned into a cat who watches practice that has been seen in cinema roles has remained present. These a white female soul, puppeteer his Once again, Disney has dehumanized for a long time but this racist tradition animated movies are also aimed for body. Not only does this show the a Black lead character by not allowing has carried into animation. Towbin et children, who have to see themselves concerning animalization of the lead, them to remain human in Soul. This is al. (2004) stated, “[ ... ] Disney movies or someone else (of color) become but it also perpetuates the white savior Disney’s fourth time doing this, the can serve as an example of society departed from their innate humanity. trope. This trope causes viewers to other three being Princess and The in microcosm: there are embedded The continuation of this practice, see a white person being the only Frog, The Emperor’s New Groove, messages of racism in many of the is teaching children that silencing hope that a Black person has and Soul and Brother Bear. The main character movies. Learning to find them and Black stories is okay and that white decided to make the choice that Joe of the film dies as soon as something bringing the messages into the open people are more innately human would not have a plentiful life without good happens to them which seems can be educational and empowering than those of color. To stop this the help of a white person taking to be problematic when this is one of for children” (p. 41). Animated movies heinous cycle from repeating again, over his body. Disney had a perfect Disney’s few Black characters. Not only such as these are famously made viewers and consumers must speak opportunity to share the history of jazz does the character die, but he turns by white directors, producers, and out and raise awareness to this topic. through the voice of a Black character into an animal; the vehicle used to carry screenwriters so a large problem After the release of Soul, change. but instead decided to whitewash this plot is racism and Hollywood’s is representation of screen so that org made a petition to stop disney jazz and view it through a white lens. history of systemic racism. children can look up to the movies from making films that erase Black history. “However, when considering Disney has created racist the legacy of depictions of racial and depictions prior to animation. ethnic diversity in Disney animated “While unquestionably presenting film, a retrospective view makes clear a patronizing view of race relations, that in many ways the multiculturalism with the always smiling Uncle Remus represented in the corporation’s (James Baskett) teaching life lessons films is indicative of and reinforces to white children, Song of the South the hegemonic culture within which continues to appear selectively Disney as a corporation is firmly across Disney’s transmedia universe, positioned: American, Caucasian, cis- and has reemerged on the Internet gendered, straight, Anglo, Christian, through the collective advocacy able-bodied, etc.” (Dundes pg. 88) of its cult following [Walt Disney Productions, 1946] (Sperb pg.26). What is caused from the The introduction of dehumanization continuation of dehumanizing Black in animation has allowed Disney as characters, is an erasure of Black well as other companies, to profit

2 3 occasionally hints” (pg. 71). Instead absorbed by the minds of children of making Tiana a successful, who are now subconsciously thinking independent, Black woman, she is about this dichotomy (pg.12). turned into an animal who is relieved There are people who actually oppose of her life through song and dance. this notion of poor representation and believe that films such as Princess The repetitive nature of racism and The Frog (2009) convey positive in Disney films is dated back to the messages. “...some critics suggest that first half of the 1900’s and while not as Disney has entered into an “inclusive blatant, this latter of racism is shown in third golden age” beginning with films through 2020. Studies have even the film The Princess and the Frog— exposed the lack of representation in with Disney creatives going to great families on Disney television shows lengths to “avoid gross stereotyping” and films; only 3.1% of the families [Harris 2016], which is a tone deaf being African American (Zurcher excuse for the fact that only people pg.8). As mentioned previously, the of color are dehumanized in this film depictions of race and class structure and films in the more current day such off of a cutesy depiction of racism character. When the movie begins, imply that there is a correct class as Spies in Disguise (2019) and Soul without outstandingly being racist. “This early scene sets the stage for structure that should be followed, (2020) (pg.13). Be aware of all aspects This all goes back to the white lens the recurrent vacillations throughout which places whites higher up than of films in the animated category that Disney places on the narratives the film, in which race and class are other minorities. “Ignorance about because these micro aggression filled og Black characters in their films. alternately made visible and then strong ethnic predominance may movies are promoted to be important “...Song’s representation of race - erased” (Charania pg.69). Viewers also perpetuate cultivated beliefs stories for the youthful generations. Blacks are denied a voice outside will notice that Tiana spends the that view a singular race as superior, various white lense” (pg. 41). Without majority of the film as a frog, an which belies the complexity of knowing and having experienced animalized version of herself which modern family structures,” which is Black stories, one can not infer race ignores her Blackness. “Black relations to be positive when the Entertainment Television, along with characters are not friends despite other critics of the film, has lambasted race; they are people who are made Disney for keeping the characters Endnotes to seem as though they are friends amphibians for most of the story. The 1. Charania, Moon, and Wendy Simonds. “The Song of the South.” Cinema Journal 49, no. 4 despite racism and slavery in the south. depiction of the pleasures and joys Princess and the Frog.” Contexts 9, no. 3 (2010): 25-45. Accessed March 7, 2021. http:// Tiana experiences as a frog (in (2010): 69-71. Accessed March 7, 2021. http:// www.jstor.org/stable/40801480. www.jstor.org/stable/41960783. 4. Zurcher, Jessica D.; Webb, Sarah M.; Robin- Going forward from Disney’s contrast to the working class reality 2. Dundes, Lauren. “Pg. 88.” The Psychological son, Tom. 2018. “The Portrayal of Families 1946 film, Disney released Princess of her human life) disrupts the Implications of Disney Movies , MDPI, 2019, across Generations in Disney Animated Films” and The Frog (2009) which displayed possibilities of a politicized feminist pp. 1–264. Soc. Sci. 7, no. 3: 47. https://doi.org/10.3390/ 3. Sperb, Jason. “Reassuring Convergence: On- socsci7030047 Disney’s first woman lead Black and Black self at which the film line Fandom, Race, and Disney’s Notorious 4 5 occasionally hints” (pg. 71). Instead absorbed by the minds of children of making Tiana a successful, who are now subconsciously thinking independent, Black woman, she is about this dichotomy (pg.12). turned into an animal who is relieved There are people who actually oppose of her life through song and dance. this notion of poor representation and believe that films such as Princess The repetitive nature of racism and The Frog (2009) convey positive in Disney films is dated back to the messages. “...some critics suggest that first half of the 1900’s and while not as Disney has entered into an “inclusive blatant, this latter of racism is shown in third golden age” beginning with films through 2020. Studies have even the film The Princess and the Frog— exposed the lack of representation in with Disney creatives going to great families on Disney television shows lengths to “avoid gross stereotyping” and films; only 3.1% of the families [Harris 2016], which is a tone deaf being African American (Zurcher excuse for the fact that only people pg.8). As mentioned previously, the of color are dehumanized in this film depictions of race and class structure and films in the more current day such off of a cutesy depiction of racism character. When the movie begins, imply that there is a correct class as Spies in Disguise (2019) and Soul without outstandingly being racist. “This early scene sets the stage for structure that should be followed, (2020) (pg.13). Be aware of all aspects This all goes back to the white lens the recurrent vacillations throughout which places whites higher up than of films in the animated category that Disney places on the narratives the film, in which race and class are other minorities. “Ignorance about because these micro aggression filled og Black characters in their films. alternately made visible and then strong ethnic predominance may movies are promoted to be important “...Song’s representation of race - erased” (Charania pg.69). Viewers also perpetuate cultivated beliefs stories for the youthful generations. Blacks are denied a voice outside will notice that Tiana spends the that view a singular race as superior, various white lense” (pg. 41). Without majority of the film as a frog, an which belies the complexity of knowing and having experienced animalized version of herself which modern family structures,” which is Black stories, one can not infer race ignores her Blackness. “Black relations to be positive when the Entertainment Television, along with characters are not friends despite other critics of the film, has lambasted race; they are people who are made Disney for keeping the characters Endnotes to seem as though they are friends amphibians for most of the story. The 1. Charania, Moon, and Wendy Simonds. “The Song of the South.” Cinema Journal 49, no. 4 despite racism and slavery in the south. depiction of the pleasures and joys Princess and the Frog.” Contexts 9, no. 3 (2010): 25-45. Accessed March 7, 2021. http:// Tiana experiences as a frog (in (2010): 69-71. Accessed March 7, 2021. http:// www.jstor.org/stable/40801480. www.jstor.org/stable/41960783. 4. Zurcher, Jessica D.; Webb, Sarah M.; Robin- Going forward from Disney’s contrast to the working class reality 2. Dundes, Lauren. “Pg. 88.” The Psychological son, Tom. 2018. “The Portrayal of Families 1946 film, Disney released Princess of her human life) disrupts the Implications of Disney Movies , MDPI, 2019, across Generations in Disney Animated Films” and The Frog (2009) which displayed possibilities of a politicized feminist pp. 1–264. Soc. Sci. 7, no. 3: 47. https://doi.org/10.3390/ 3. Sperb, Jason. “Reassuring Convergence: On- socsci7030047 Disney’s first woman lead Black and Black self at which the film line Fandom, Race, and Disney’s Notorious 4 5

responsibility solely on this prison, during a hella- family obfuscates the struc- cious riot that they insti- THE TREASURE IN THE tural barriers that prevent up- gated. Mickey and Malory ward economic mobility for white display extreme violence in working-class families.”3 By depicting the film presumably due to the family dynamic without address- their abusive childhoods, ing larger systemic issues, reality and from watching too TV such as Here Comes Honey Boo much violent TV. Mise Boo uses white trash as a scapegoat en scѐne of the film for larger systemic issues. Dissent- presents the characters ing from the typical ridicule, the films as white trash. Woody Written by Ava DiGirolamo Designed by Tamar Nalbandian Natural Born Killers and Gummo ma- Harrelson’s (Mickey) ward- nipulate film form through editing and robe for instance, features The image of White Trash in America has gate how different depictions of White Trash non-linear plot lines to create a “white faded jeans, mesh shirts, evolved over a 400 year history of hardship, characters affect public image, and how films trash aesthetic” which acknowledg- vests without shirts un- war, reintegration and representation. What such as Natural Born Killers (1994) and Gum- es larger systemic issues concerning derneath, and modified remains as the essence of so-called White mo (1997) differ from the typical depictions. class and depictions in the media.2 prison jumpsuits while Juliette Lewis Trash is represented by undesirable char- In her article Talking Trash, Talking Back, In her article, The trashing of white (Mallory) rocks a mullet and an ex- acteristics: untidy, uneducated, violent and Kathlene Mcdonald delves into the history trash: Natural Born Killers and the posed midriff. The disheveled duo lazy. Idealistically, America is a classless so- of American White Trash. While poor whites appropriation of the white trash aes- travels through the American South ciety. Realistically, the poor underbelly of the have been ridiculed and criticized since the thetic, Gael Sweeney argues that the Western desert, slaughtering cow- country, created by a disproportionate dis- 1700s when they were referred to as Lub- white trash aesthetic has evolved into boys and Indians along the way. Not tribution of wealth, is swept under the rug. bers, one of the earliest popular depictions a postmodern display. In Natural Born only do the characters present a white As a country infatuated by its own image, to set a precedent for modern connotations Killers, Oliver Stone employs an aes- trash aesthetic, but the construction America scapegoats its faults onto citizens of white trash was Erskine Caldwell’s play thetic of fragmented materialism to of the film does as well. The film style it deems as less desirable– historically peo- Tobacco Road. While Caldwell’s intent was represent the inner psychosis of the is fragmented, switching from color to ple of color, the poor, and immigrants. In a to, “express his outrage against an econom- main characters. The film follows an- black and white, film grain to digital, modern society where racism is no longer ic system that kept its victims impoverished, ti-heroes Mickey and Malory— a Bon- almost reflecting a televisual expe- publicly tolerated, the scapegoat has landed the sexual titillation and the Absurd carica- nie and Clyde for the 1990s— on their rience of flipping through channels. on White Trash, side stepping systemic is- tures merely reinforced the prevailing stereo- cross country killing spree, Sweeney considers part of the White sues involving the racist social structuctures types.”4 More modern representations which subsequent ar- Trash aesthetic to be rebellion itself. continued by the elite upper class. The me- often denigrate the underclass occur on real- rest and es- By refusing to stick to one style, Oliver dia creates depictions of White Trash, some ity television. In her review of Talking White cape Stone constructed a white trash aes- endearing (think Beverly Hillbillies), others Trash, Holly Holladay mentions the popular from thetic through the structure of the film- demeaning (most reality television). Trash show, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, argu- making. Sweeney uses fragmentation has become a spectacle in our current age ing that, “placing the onus of as a label to describe mismatched ma- of political turmoil where the manipulat- terialism. A pinpoint of the White Trash ed masses of the uneducated instigate aesthetic is an abundance of material fear and entertainment simultaneous- items, but all lacking true monetary or ly. Different depictions of White Trash even sentimental value. The hoard- in the media informs public knowledge and opinion. In my article I will investi- 2 3 28 responsibility solely on this prison, during a hella- family obfuscates the struc- cious riot that they insti- THE TREASURE IN THE tural barriers that prevent up- gated. Mickey and Malory ward economic mobility for white display extreme violence in working-class families.”3 By depicting the film presumably due to the family dynamic without address- their abusive childhoods, ing larger systemic issues, reality and from watching too TV such as Here Comes Honey Boo much violent TV. Mise Boo uses white trash as a scapegoat en scѐne of the film for larger systemic issues. Dissent- presents the characters ing from the typical ridicule, the films as white trash. Woody Written by Ava DiGirolamo Designed by Tamar Nalbandian Natural Born Killers and Gummo ma- Harrelson’s (Mickey) ward- nipulate film form through editing and robe for instance, features The image of White Trash in America has gate how different depictions of White Trash non-linear plot lines to create a “white faded jeans, mesh shirts, evolved over a 400 year history of hardship, characters affect public image, and how films trash aesthetic” which acknowledg- vests without shirts un- war, reintegration and representation. What such as Natural Born Killers (1994) and Gum- es larger systemic issues concerning derneath, and modified remains as the essence of so-called White mo (1997) differ from the typical depictions. class and depictions in the media.2 prison jumpsuits while Juliette Lewis Trash is represented by undesirable char- In her article Talking Trash, Talking Back, In her article, The trashing of white (Mallory) rocks a mullet and an ex- acteristics: untidy, uneducated, violent and Kathlene Mcdonald delves into the history trash: Natural Born Killers and the posed midriff. The disheveled duo lazy. Idealistically, America is a classless so- of American White Trash. While poor whites appropriation of the white trash aes- travels through the American South ciety. Realistically, the poor underbelly of the have been ridiculed and criticized since the thetic, Gael Sweeney argues that the Western desert, slaughtering cow- country, created by a disproportionate dis- 1700s when they were referred to as Lub- white trash aesthetic has evolved into boys and Indians along the way. Not tribution of wealth, is swept under the rug. bers, one of the earliest popular depictions a postmodern display. In Natural Born only do the characters present a white As a country infatuated by its own image, to set a precedent for modern connotations Killers, Oliver Stone employs an aes- trash aesthetic, but the construction America scapegoats its faults onto citizens of white trash was Erskine Caldwell’s play thetic of fragmented materialism to of the film does as well. The film style it deems as less desirable– historically peo- Tobacco Road. While Caldwell’s intent was represent the inner psychosis of the is fragmented, switching from color to ple of color, the poor, and immigrants. In a to, “express his outrage against an econom- main characters. The film follows an- black and white, film grain to digital, modern society where racism is no longer ic system that kept its victims impoverished, ti-heroes Mickey and Malory— a Bon- almost reflecting a televisual expe- publicly tolerated, the scapegoat has landed the sexual titillation and the Absurd carica- nie and Clyde for the 1990s— on their rience of flipping through channels. on White Trash, side stepping systemic is- tures merely reinforced the prevailing stereo- cross country killing spree, Sweeney considers part of the White sues involving the racist social structuctures types.”4 More modern representations which subsequent ar- Trash aesthetic to be rebellion itself. continued by the elite upper class. The me- often denigrate the underclass occur on real- rest and es- By refusing to stick to one style, Oliver dia creates depictions of White Trash, some ity television. In her review of Talking White cape Stone constructed a white trash aes- endearing (think Beverly Hillbillies), others Trash, Holly Holladay mentions the popular from thetic through the structure of the film- demeaning (most reality television). Trash show, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, argu- making. Sweeney uses fragmentation has become a spectacle in our current age ing that, “placing the onus of as a label to describe mismatched ma- of political turmoil where the manipulat- terialism. A pinpoint of the White Trash ed masses of the uneducated instigate aesthetic is an abundance of material fear and entertainment simultaneous- items, but all lacking true monetary or ly. Different depictions of White Trash even sentimental value. The hoard- in the media informs public knowledge and opinion. In my article I will investi- 2 3 social commentary. morals. In analyses, Duncan writes, “where- The presence of as an emotion like anger is capable of de- ing of products, plastics, toys, clothes, physical trash seems to drag down the boredom in livering up an effective critique of capitalist and furniture, is not a sign of wealth tone of the entire film. The characters consumer culture, boredom simply registers but one of poverty. Natural Born Kill- cannot escape the grime of Korine’s a frustrated desire to be more satisfactorily ers is a film whose assortment of mis- world, and are unable to pick them- or more completely a part of it.”1 Criticis of matched modes of filmmaking lends selves up out of poverty because of it. Gummo continue to label the tone of the to its white trash aesthetic. The film Gummo evades a traditional plot line, film as boring. Duncan is correct in their also uses different modes of filmmak- jumping randomly between characters analysis that boredom is a product of dissat- ing, acknowledging the influence of whose stories are only connected be- isfaction. The boredom in the film emanates the televisual news cycle on viewers. cause they live in the same town. Two from the reality of the character’s lives, and Gummo is antithesis to the their inability to recognise the extent of their American news heavily focuses on teenage boys kill stray cats to sell to avant-garde (which often uses violence and crime to boost ratings. restaurants, a young half nude boy hardships. They are too blind to be angry. shock to effect social change). In Gummo Hollywood and avant-garde films alike call Natural Born Killers takes a post- wanders around town with pink bunny however, boredom is the catalyst for the modern approach to its narrative by ears on, sisters live without adult su- bleak life quality of the characters, which acknowledging the power of the cam- pervision experimenting with makeup provides the shock factor. Despite the film’s era and the spectacle through Robert and clothing only to be sexually ha- tonal drudgery and the character’s physi- Downey Junior’s wacky news report- rassed later in the film. These charac- cal sluggishness, the shock of the film em- er character, who comes to idolize vi- ters are loosely connected by plot, but anates from the juxtaposition of filthy living cious murderers Mickey and Mallory many inserts feature documentary-like conditions and the characters lack of inter- through his reporting. By acknowledg- observations of drunk adults wres- est or notice in their surroundings. Duncan ing the power of visual media, Natural tling furniture, or overweight families writes, “boredom seems to empty out – and Born Killers addresses larger systemic addressing the camera while sitting consequently immobilise – its sufferers.”1 issues rather than blaming its protag- on rocking chairs on their front porch. While watching the film I want to scream, onists for their ultra-violent behavior. Pansy Duncan argues in their article, “How can you live like that!” But the char- In opposition to Natural Born Killers’ Bored and Boringer: avant-garde and acters never complain or directly address audiences to emotional action. They ask action packed mania, Gummo’s tone trash in Harmony Korine’s Gummo, their situation because it’s all they know. The you to participate emotionally in an epic love has been described by critics as bor- that the film’s lack of plot exemplifies characters in the film are blind to the squa- story or brave rebellion, heightening the ing. Harmony Korine’s Gummo takes the bored lives of its characters. The lor, because they don’t know anything else. emotional impact of every event. Gummo place in rural Ohio, amidst a town rav- world of trash is everyday for the un- Mother nature (in the form of tornados) has favors a more realistic approach, keeping aged by twisters. The characters in the derclass of America, and only shock- ripped their town to shreds so many times the emotional impact at a realistic level, al- film are surrounded by mountains of ing to the unfamiliar viewer. The char- that it will never really be put back together. lowing the viewers to decide for themselves trash, dilapidated buildings acter’s boredom is an affront to the Unfortunately, what Duncan refers to as how engaged they are with the content. The and squalor. The avant-garde, yet furthers boredom is the very thing that prolongs the visuals in Gummo are disturbingly weight of the genre squalor. If no one realizes that their life is haunting, jam packed the through its dysfunctional, or they are too oppressed to with con- see the injustice, they will not attempt to im- tent and prove their life, but continue living on how they always have been. In the film, Korine submerges the audience into the white trash condition, and dares you to swim out of it, dares you to feel for the characters despite their dingy appearances and questionable

4 5 social commentary. morals. In analyses, Duncan writes, “where- The presence of as an emotion like anger is capable of de- ing of products, plastics, toys, clothes, physical trash seems to drag down the boredom in livering up an effective critique of capitalist and furniture, is not a sign of wealth tone of the entire film. The characters consumer culture, boredom simply registers but one of poverty. Natural Born Kill- cannot escape the grime of Korine’s a frustrated desire to be more satisfactorily ers is a film whose assortment of mis- world, and are unable to pick them- or more completely a part of it.”1 Criticis of matched modes of filmmaking lends selves up out of poverty because of it. Gummo continue to label the tone of the to its white trash aesthetic. The film Gummo evades a traditional plot line, film as boring. Duncan is correct in their also uses different modes of filmmak- jumping randomly between characters analysis that boredom is a product of dissat- ing, acknowledging the influence of whose stories are only connected be- isfaction. The boredom in the film emanates the televisual news cycle on viewers. cause they live in the same town. Two from the reality of the character’s lives, and Gummo is antithesis to the their inability to recognise the extent of their American news heavily focuses on teenage boys kill stray cats to sell to avant-garde (which often uses violence and crime to boost ratings. restaurants, a young half nude boy hardships. They are too blind to be angry. shock to effect social change). In Gummo Hollywood and avant-garde films alike call Natural Born Killers takes a post- wanders around town with pink bunny however, boredom is the catalyst for the modern approach to its narrative by ears on, sisters live without adult su- bleak life quality of the characters, which acknowledging the power of the cam- pervision experimenting with makeup provides the shock factor. Despite the film’s era and the spectacle through Robert and clothing only to be sexually ha- tonal drudgery and the character’s physi- Downey Junior’s wacky news report- rassed later in the film. These charac- cal sluggishness, the shock of the film em- er character, who comes to idolize vi- ters are loosely connected by plot, but anates from the juxtaposition of filthy living cious murderers Mickey and Mallory many inserts feature documentary-like conditions and the characters lack of inter- through his reporting. By acknowledg- observations of drunk adults wres- est or notice in their surroundings. Duncan ing the power of visual media, Natural tling furniture, or overweight families writes, “boredom seems to empty out – and Born Killers addresses larger systemic addressing the camera while sitting consequently immobilise – its sufferers.”1 issues rather than blaming its protag- on rocking chairs on their front porch. While watching the film I want to scream, onists for their ultra-violent behavior. Pansy Duncan argues in their article, “How can you live like that!” But the char- In opposition to Natural Born Killers’ Bored and Boringer: avant-garde and acters never complain or directly address audiences to emotional action. They ask action packed mania, Gummo’s tone trash in Harmony Korine’s Gummo, their situation because it’s all they know. The you to participate emotionally in an epic love has been described by critics as bor- that the film’s lack of plot exemplifies characters in the film are blind to the squa- story or brave rebellion, heightening the ing. Harmony Korine’s Gummo takes the bored lives of its characters. The lor, because they don’t know anything else. emotional impact of every event. Gummo place in rural Ohio, amidst a town rav- world of trash is everyday for the un- Mother nature (in the form of tornados) has favors a more realistic approach, keeping aged by twisters. The characters in the derclass of America, and only shock- ripped their town to shreds so many times the emotional impact at a realistic level, al- film are surrounded by mountains of ing to the unfamiliar viewer. The char- that it will never really be put back together. lowing the viewers to decide for themselves trash, dilapidated buildings acter’s boredom is an affront to the Unfortunately, what Duncan refers to as how engaged they are with the content. The and squalor. The avant-garde, yet furthers boredom is the very thing that prolongs the visuals in Gummo are disturbingly weight of the genre squalor. If no one realizes that their life is haunting, jam packed the through its dysfunctional, or they are too oppressed to with con- see the injustice, they will not attempt to im- tent and prove their life, but continue living on how they always have been. In the film, Korine submerges the audience into the white trash condition, and dares you to swim out of it, dares you to feel for the characters despite their dingy appearances and questionable

4 5 criticism. Any boredom that the viewer feels Depictions of White Trash vary for each me- is merely a reflection of their own lack of em- dia project, but mostly they are either bash- pathy for the struggles of the underclass, not ing or endearingly prolonging while ignoring a failure on the film’s behalf. Gummo doesn’t deep systemic issues. What stands out be- get angry because it’s not an epic call to ac- tween the depictions of white trash in Natural tion, it presents life as bleak and uncaring as Born Killers and Gummo is their post-modern it really is and asks the viewer, now you’ve positioning. Both films force the audience to seen it, what are you going to do about it? consider how they prolong the myths and re- The bored won’t do anything, because alities of the lower class in America. While they’ve become just as jaded as the charac- Natural Born Killers could arguably prolong ters in the film. The most shocking element the image of trashy serial killers on a cross in Gummo is its ability to make you think, country spree, it also considers how previous “This could really be happening in small town media depictions affected its main characters america right now,” and that is disturbing. through its integration of televisual aesthet- Much like Natural Born Killers, Gummo’s ics. Similarly, while Gummo has been criti- narrative is fragmented, jumping from one cized for “not telling us anything we don’t al- character to the next without logical rea- ready know,” it forces the viewer to consider soning. “Gummo’s mixture of film-stocks, the fact that they did know about the extreme formats and media privilege the strategy of poverty in America, and have done nothing to ‘collage’ or ‘fragmentation’ that Burger dubs change it.1 Natural Born Killers is not just a ‘the fundamental principle of avant-gard- wild ride of a film, it criticizes the news cycle iste art’ over the coherence of Hollywood for capitalizing on violence. Gummo isn’t just continuity editing,” writes Duncan.1 Oli- painting an unflattering portrait of rural Amer- ver Stone is accused of “trashing the trash” ica, it’s showing us the underbelly of the capi- through his hyper energized violent tone talist system. These films remind us that what and Korine is bashed for boredom by crit- is presented to us, advertised to us, and sold ics.2 While Stone creates a fictional world, to us, is a cog in a machine that tells us what Korine brings the viewer into a seemingly kind of person we are. If we don’t use critical realistic one. Both are equally impactful and analysis, or challenge the dominant modes of disturbing. Stone deals with the exacerbat- thinking, we will prolong stereotypes of our- ed encouragement of violence by the me- selves through buying into consumer culture. dia, while Korinne forces the viewer to feel These films find the treasure in the trash, the emotional weight of poverty in Gummo. and pull the trash out of the plastic treasures.

1. Pansy Duncan. “Bored and Boringer: avant-gar- People by Tasha R. Dunn (Routledge)” Lateral, de and trash in Harmony Korine’s Gummo,” 2019, Issue 8.2. Textual Practice, 2015, 29:4, 717-743. 4. Kathlene McDonald. “Talking Trash, Talking 2. Gael Sweeney.“The trashing of white trash: Back: Resistance to stereotypes in Dorothy Alli- Natural born killers and the appropriation of the son’s Bastard Out Of Carolina,”Women’s Stud- white trash aesthetic,” Quarterly Review of Film ies Quarterly, 1998, Issue 26 Vol.1 pg. 15-26. & Video, 2001, 18:2, 143-155. 5. Gummo, directed by Harmony Korine (1997; 3. Holly Willson Holladay. “Review of Talking New York, NY: Fine Line Features, 1997), DVD. White Trash: Mediated Representations and 6. Natural Born Killers, directed by Oliver Stone Lived Experiences of White-Working Class (1994; Burbank, CA: Warner Bros, 1994), DVD. 6 2 33 Death of the Pop- Rock Film: The History of Rock Stars in 60’s Mainstream Cinema

by Keely Gwynne

While watching Eminem spitting during a rap battle in 8 Mile or The Beat- les running from a mob of crazed fans in A Hard Day’s Night, you may start to ask yourself: am I watching an ad? Or more specifically: am I watching a real movie, or a commercial for this person’s music which I will mysteriously start listening to right after the movie’s over? The answer is delightfully complicated. The appearance of popular musicians in film, either as cameos or fully fledged characters, is not a new phenomenon. In fact, it can be directly con- nected to the rise of rock and roll and the movies that were made in response. These were called pop (or rock) music films, which featured famous musicians and their music. At worst, pop-rock films were a tacky exploitative commer- cial. At best, they were unique works of art enhanced by their celebrity partic- ipants. These films began forming in the late 50’s, reached their height in the 60’s and 70’s, and slowly began falling off into obscurity in the 80’s. Even though their time was short, these films ultimately paved the way for rock soundtracks, surreal imagery, and unique performances by non-actors. I want to focus on the 60’s, even though the 70’s may have had more insane and surreal cinema, because of their unique status as the beginning of pretty much all rock film. The most distinct feature of 60’s pop-rock films that dif- ferentiates it from modern-day celebrity performances is that: 1: The musicians were the main characters, 2: Playing versions of themselves. This is very different from performances by Madonna, Cher, David Bowie, J-Lo, Ice Cube, Cardi B, and a myriad of other musicians who generally play characters wholly unlike themselves to show off their acting chops, or make brief cameos in other people’s mov- ies. While the pop-rock film, as I define it, still makes surprise appearances— such as 8 Mile (2002) featuring Eminem playing a white rap- per intentionally similar to

34 himself, or This Is The End (2013) with come- music in- dians playing fictional versions of themselves dustry was during the apocalypse—the genre is prac- Elvis Presley pic- tically dead and has been for a long time. tures. Elvis and his 31 The invention of pop-rock films exem- B-level westerns, romantic plifies the struggle between rock’s anti-au- comedies and dramas made thoritarian message and mainstream au- between 1956 and 1969 surprising- thority’s exploitation of popular culture for ly don’t fit into the traditional pop-rock monetary gain. The start of this sub-genre film definition. Elvis never technically played was actually in a non-musical film called himself, but he nearly always played up-and- Blackboard Jungle (1955), a social drama film coming musicians having romantic adven- about teachers attempting to help rebellious tures in the music industry. It’s easy to dismiss students in an interracial inner-city school. such films as generic low-brow pandering The inclusion of the song “Rock Around the entertainment with no other value than sell- Clock” by Bill Haley ing records, as they and His Comets be- were criticized when came an anthem for Even though their time was short, these originally released. rebellious youth and But this does a disser- informed the movie films ultimately paved the way for vice to the directors, industry of the mon- writers, and actors, es- ey-making potential rock soundtracks, surreal imagery, and pecially since plenty of in this newfangled those working on the rock music. A movie unique performances by non-actors. films wanted to make was quickly made something different. with the Comets, the first ever pop-rock film Elvis wanted to be seen as a serious actor titled Rock Around the Clock (1956), a high- but was always given condescending roles of ly fictionalized story about the ‘discovery’ of dumb youth in love with girls, cars and mu- rock and roll. The Comets are really just win- sic. Nevermind whether he was a good ac- dow-dressing to their fictional manager’s ro- tor (he wasn’t), the rebelliousness his music mantic melodrama, but the movie caused a represented was discarded by management moral panic due to teenagers “jiving” in the in favor of making money, and any attempts aisles. It sounds absurd, but rock to make creative changes were shot down. In music was so rebellious that the words of Jerry Lieber, famous lyricist and future pop-rock films includ- co-writer of many Elvis hits, “we could have ing The Tommy Steele Story made fucking history, and those (1957) and The Gold- assholes only wanted to en Disc (1958) were make another nickel...” more watered-down It wasn’t until The in order to become Beatles that pop- “a mediated product rock movies start- designed to appeal to ed challenging the the wider family unit.” exploitative com- But the biggest mercial conven- effect on rock in the tions in which they 3 were made. It may seem implausible that the like the Who’s Tommy (1975) and Quadrophe- biggest pop-rock group ever formed made nia (1979), Pink Floyd’s The Wall (1982), Frank movies that mocked and subverted the main- Zappa’s 200 Motels (1971), and The Man Who stream, but it happened. Unlike Elvis, The Fell to Earth (1976) starring David Bowie. Beatles had the full support of management, The last film I want to talk about is The including director Richard Lester, who fully Monkees’ Head (1968). Head is a stark depar- appreciated that “they could dress as they ture from rock film of the day as it was made liked, speak as they liked, talk to the Queen to intentionally subvert every expectation of as they liked, talk to the people on the train the pseudo-hippy pop group. Brainstormed by The Monkees and Jack Nicholson during a The invention of pop-rock films smoke sesh and finalized by Nicholson during an acid trip, the film fully is a fourth-wall exemplifies the struggle between breaking black comedy which embraces the surrealistic imagery The Beatles popularized rock’s anti-authoritarian message and would become fully realized in the 70’s. It starts with a failed group suicide attempt and and mainstream authority’s ex- cuts from Micky Dolenz wandering the desert unable to satiate his thirst from a broken Coke ploitation of popular culture for machine to Peter Tork lecturing the others on enlightenment while stuck in a big black box. monetary gain. Accompanying such scenes are fast-paced cuts and blinding psychedelic color effects. It was completely unlike anything being made who ‘fought the war for them’ as they liked” at the time and fully addresses the criti- and the general confident rebellious atti- cisms of the band as a manufactured image tude towards the authority that looked down while also criticizing an exploitative industry on them. Their first film,A Hard Day’s Night they had been a part of for so many years. (1964), is an absurdist mockumentary musi- (“You say we’re manufactured/To that we all cal that panders and parodies Beatlemania’s agree/So make your choice and we’ll rejoice/ demand for a fictional movie representation In never being free!”). The intention was “to of The Beatles at all. Its lack of a convention- deconstruct the studio system” and “kill off al narrative, critique of fame, metacommen- their naïve pop personas,” which led to the tary on fandom and filmmaking, and witty film being a commercial and critical misun- and surreal dialogue from Alun Owen, who derstood failure. The film based his script on The Beatles’ mannerisms, was too explicit made it both a unique hit and a gateway for to be seen by pop-rock films to accurately portray anti-au- their thoritarian sensibilities. A Hard Day’s Night and later Beatles films Magical Mystery Tour (1967) and Yellow Submarine (1968) paved the way for future rock films’ use of surreal and “abstract imagery, irrational/impossible acts, and highly symbolic rather than narra- tive events” that would become iconic in films 4 extremely unlikely this will change, but the short-lived cinematic genre of youthful re- bellion from the manufactured musicians themselves will forever live on in the celluloid screen for modern-day rock fans to enjoy. main audi- ence, teens Endnotes and pre-teens, while also being so 1. Caine, Andrew. Interpreting rock movies: surreal that it turned off the pop film and its critics in Britain. any authority (and the fact it was made by Manchester University Press, 2004. 2. Guralnick, Peter. Last Train to Memphis: the teeny-bopper Monkees led people to re- The Rise of Elvis Presley. New York: Little, ject the film just for the artists’ presence alone). Brown and Company, 1994. Head is the perfect example of the 3. Lynskey, Dorian. “The Monkees’ Head: pop-rock film’s potential, a change from ‘Our fans couldn’t even see it.’” exploitative family-friendly entertainment The Guardian, April 28, 2011. https://www. to strange, artistic, surreal and psychedel- theguardian.com/music/2011/apr/28/ ic cult classics that rock became known for. monkees-head-jack-nicholson-interview But the film is so unique partly because it 4. Morton, Ray. A Hard Day’s Night-Music was The Monkees who were doing it. One on Film Series. New Jersey: Limelight edi of the benefits of having musicians playing tions, 2011. themselves is that they have the opportunity 5. Radwan, Jon. “A generic approach to rock film.” Popular Music & Society, 20, no. 2 to express themselves in ways never before (1996): 155-171. seen, and the family-friendly Monkees por- 6. Rodgers, Diane. “HEAD: a jubilant ram traying drug-inspired psychedelia is a shock- page through sixties psychedelia!.” Cine ing change in representation that really only ma Retro, 37 (2017). could have been done in the visual medium 7. Sampson, Anthony. “Dig That Crazy Jive, of film. Their direct address of misrepresenta- Man!” The Observer, September 16, 1956. tion and being trapped in a box of fame and exploitation through surrealism is uniquely personal and undeniably different from earli- er and later films which relied more on fiction. Perhaps the uniquely personal char- acteristic of 60’s pop-rock films led to their downfall. While rock films flourished in the 70’s and 80’s, they never quite retained the musicians-playing-themselves angle that I find so fascinating. The rock film lives on to- day in films like David Byrne’sAmerican Uto- pia (2020) but is far more rare, leaving rock musicians to rely on documentaries or biop- ics to communicate their ideologies or reb- el against the system through cinema. It’s 5 38

There is just as much wanting to be seen subject matter of mental illnesses. Subcon- while watching television or movies as there sciously or not, viewers perceptions’ and is seeing. By “wanting to be seen”, I simply knowledge of mental disorders are heavily mean witnessing identities you recognize as influenced by depictions on screen. These similar to your own, and being validated by depictions shape how audiences then go on it. Whether this validation is gained by hav- to interact with mentally disordered people. ing your personal identities represented on Whether people are aware of it or not, ableist the silver screen, whether it be manifested discourse and participation in stigmatization in someone who looks like you, loves like is affluent in many aspects of daily life, which Where are all the hot you do, or shares your same beliefs, we can can be seen when a person makes the casu- all agree that representation is important. It al comment about how they’re “so OCD” or girls on TV with ADHD? : can also be agreed that it feels so good to be when referring to an autistic person as Rain seen. It’s become increasingly import- Man. Audiences with mental dis- ant that we push for fair and accu- orders should not have to be rate portrayals of representation limited to educational and A Deep Dive Into Identifying in media, something Holly- explorative documen- Hollywood's Faults and Need wood has struggled with un- taries to til fairly recently. One area to /Do Better/ of representation in media that needs a major shift is in the portrayal of mental disorders and mental ill- ness. In the current por- trayals that exist, there are three main issues that are being constantly perpetuated: Characters with canonically by Gabriela "Hot Girl with ADHD" Poole known mental disorder diag- noses are often romanticized, DISCLAIMER: demonized, or caricatured as inaccurate versions of peo- I am not qualified in any way to diagnose characters ple living with these disorders. in television shows or movies, nor do I claim to be Furthermore, characters often an expert in psychological disorders. Any dialogue perpetuate stereotypes and exist surrounding medication and treatment stems from my merely as two dimensional, under- own personal experiences, and I do not wish to claim developed tropes. The media influ- that everyone with a mental disorder diagnoses needs ences widespread audience percep- to be on medications, as everyone is different in tion of mental disorders. Even if the their own journeys. audience is not actively aware of it, they are constantly participat- ing in the discourse when layout by Jo Yee viewing shows and movies that contain the 2 3 48 There is just as much wanting to be seen subject matter of mental illnesses. Subcon- while watching television or movies as there sciously or not, viewers perceptions’ and is seeing. By “wanting to be seen”, I simply knowledge of mental disorders are heavily mean witnessing identities you recognize as influenced by depictions on screen. These similar to your own, and being validated by depictions shape how audiences then go on it. Whether this validation is gained by hav- to interact with mentally disordered people. ing your personal identities represented on Whether people are aware of it or not, ableist the silver screen, whether it be manifested discourse and participation in stigmatization in someone who looks like you, loves like is affluent in many aspects of daily life, which Where are all the hot you do, or shares your same beliefs, we can can be seen when a person makes the casu- all agree that representation is important. It al comment about how they’re “so OCD” or girls on TV with ADHD? : can also be agreed that it feels so good to be when referring to an autistic person as Rain seen. It’s become increasingly import- Man. Audiences with mental dis- ant that we push for fair and accu- orders should not have to be rate portrayals of representation limited to educational and A Deep Dive Into Identifying in media, something Holly- explorative documen- Hollywood's Faults and Need wood has struggled with un- taries to til fairly recently. One area to /Do Better/ of representation in media that needs a major shift is in the portrayal of mental disorders and mental ill- ness. In the current por- trayals that exist, there are three main issues that are being constantly perpetuated: Characters with canonically by Gabriela "Hot Girl with ADHD" Poole known mental disorder diag- noses are often romanticized, DISCLAIMER: demonized, or caricatured as inaccurate versions of peo- I am not qualified in any way to diagnose characters ple living with these disorders. in television shows or movies, nor do I claim to be Furthermore, characters often an expert in psychological disorders. Any dialogue perpetuate stereotypes and exist surrounding medication and treatment stems from my merely as two dimensional, under- own personal experiences, and I do not wish to claim developed tropes. The media influ- that everyone with a mental disorder diagnoses needs ences widespread audience percep- to be on medications, as everyone is different in tion of mental disorders. Even if the their own journeys. audience is not actively aware of it, they are constantly participat- ing in the discourse when layout by Jo Yee viewing shows and movies that contain the 2 49 be able to see their disabilities on screen.It is my social media accounts; what television the author had grossly categorized “being as punchlines in comedy, or as plot devices in not enough to just create fair and realistic de- shows and movies portray either accurate too deeply in love”, “being the mother of the drama. Even ‘positive’ portrayals fail to reflect pictions of mental disorders for the sake of rep- or horrible depictions of mental illness/dis- Antichrist”, and simply “nuts” as mental disor- on other experiences that are not as pretty. resentation, but to also educate audiences. orders? In my efforts to crowdsource, I was ders. Public interpretations like these cause As I was only diagnosed with ADHD a I never really paid too much attention to cheap presented with very conflicting responses. more harm than anything. It shouldn’t be so few years ago, I never found myself search- tropes of people with mental disorders until My friends and family members who have hard to find examples of characters with diag- ing for characters like me in television or I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder Type a mental disorder diagnosis, or are well ed- noses similar to mine without having to click film. I realize that even now, I can’t recall any 1 and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disor- ucated in the matter, starkly disagreed with through the third page of a google search female characters that are coded as having der (ADHD). I began searching for myself the more uninformed responses of what was list or skimming through fan published blog ADHD or have canon diagnoses. I stum- in characters, disappointed in what I found, considered positive or negative. I then turned posts that ultimately either reinforce stereo- bled upon an extremely validating article by and hoping that people didn’t view me the to the internet, googling lists of characters types or grasp for crumbs of representation. Sarah Carson, who recounts how her own way I viewed those on the screen. I fought with x diagnosis and searching “good/bad Disordered characters need to be ful- “perception of ADHD was gleaned entirely "I never really paid too much atten- "It is not enough to just create tion to cheap tropes if people with fair and realistic depictions of mental disorders until I was diag- mental disorders for the sake of nosed with Bipolar Disorder Type 1 representation, but to also edu- and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity cate audiences." Disorder (ADHD)."

and rejected my diagnoses at first; I was dis- representation of x disorder”. My searches ly fleshed out beings without being defined from popular culture and the stereotypes it traught and didn’t want to be grouped in with yielded few fruitful finds, but I was left most- by their disabilities. Data gathered on the perpetuates”, resulting in her dismissing all what my perception of mentally ill was at the ly again astonished at how subjective (and portrayal of mentally disordered characters her personal obstacles as “personal failures time. It dawned on me how much my pre- objectively wrong) some of the things were typically fall under one or more of several rather than caused by a neurological disor- conception of mental health and disability that I found. I was extremely disappointed in categories such as “as a victim, as a hero, der.” Data and studies on mental disabilities was shaped by the media, and even worse, my google searches to come across an en- as a threat, as unable to adjust, as one to be and medical research in general is highly I felt really gross because what I had seen tire listicle dedicated to ADHD, but most, if cared for and as one who should not have gendered, with boys and men being the sole depicted on screen was negatively affecting not all, of the characters listed were just en- survived,” and often are “presented as a subjects for decades of research. Symptoms how I viewed myself. Because of what was ergetic cartoon characters. I don’t like to see cause for inspiration or an object of pity.” By of ADHD, Autism, and other disorders pres- made available to me in terms of mentally something that affects many aspects of my diminishing mentally disordered characters ent themselves differently in girls, which is a disordered characters and storylines sur- day to day life reduced to the likes of Tigger into one dimensional shells in the forms of large part in why my diagnosis came so late rounding mental illness, I saw myself as de- from Winnie the Pooh, the dog from UP, and villains or victims, neurotypical audiences in my life. It doesn’t help that there were also fective, a burden incapable of receiving or Bart Simpson of The Simpsons. Even worse are not made to feel uncomfortable or even no characters for me to identify with, and to deserving love unless I had some redeem- was a listicle I found titled “33 Fantastic Films guilty in their own personal dismissal of their spark an internal conversation with my in- ing quality that made me useful to society. Whose Main Characters Have Mental Disor- treatment or relationships with real people ner dialogue saying, “Hey, I feel quite simi- Did others view me the way I have viewed ders.” I couldn’t decide what was worse - with these diagnoses. An issue with current larly to this character, maybe I have ADHD.” these dry, force-fed diegeses that had the preface stating that “there is something presentation of mental disorders is the way Instead, characters with ADHD completely been overstuffed with harmful stereotypes? about mental disorders that makes a mov- the disorders are written as to become more nullify the complex range of symptoms and I posed the question on various of ie all the more enthralling”, or the fact that palatable for neurotypical audiences, exist emotions associated with the disorder, and

50 5 be able to see their disabilities on screen.It is my social media accounts; what television the author had grossly categorized “being as punchlines in comedy, or as plot devices in not enough to just create fair and realistic de- shows and movies portray either accurate too deeply in love”, “being the mother of the drama. Even ‘positive’ portrayals fail to reflect pictions of mental disorders for the sake of rep- or horrible depictions of mental illness/dis- Antichrist”, and simply “nuts” as mental disor- on other experiences that are not as pretty. resentation, but to also educate audiences. orders? In my efforts to crowdsource, I was ders. Public interpretations like these cause As I was only diagnosed with ADHD a I never really paid too much attention to cheap presented with very conflicting responses. more harm than anything. It shouldn’t be so few years ago, I never found myself search- tropes of people with mental disorders until My friends and family members who have hard to find examples of characters with diag- ing for characters like me in television or I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder Type a mental disorder diagnosis, or are well ed- noses similar to mine without having to click film. I realize that even now, I can’t recall any 1 and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disor- ucated in the matter, starkly disagreed with through the third page of a google search female characters that are coded as having der (ADHD). I began searching for myself the more uninformed responses of what was list or skimming through fan published blog ADHD or have canon diagnoses. I stum- in characters, disappointed in what I found, considered positive or negative. I then turned posts that ultimately either reinforce stereo- bled upon an extremely validating article by and hoping that people didn’t view me the to the internet, googling lists of characters types or grasp for crumbs of representation. Sarah Carson, who recounts how her own way I viewed those on the screen. I fought with x diagnosis and searching “good/bad Disordered characters need to be ful- “perception of ADHD was gleaned entirely "I never really paid too much atten- "It is not enough to just create tion to cheap tropes if people with fair and realistic depictions of mental disorders until I was diag- mental disorders for the sake of nosed with Bipolar Disorder Type 1 representation, but to also edu- and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity cate audiences." Disorder (ADHD)."

and rejected my diagnoses at first; I was dis- representation of x disorder”. My searches ly fleshed out beings without being defined from popular culture and the stereotypes it traught and didn’t want to be grouped in with yielded few fruitful finds, but I was left most- by their disabilities. Data gathered on the perpetuates”, resulting in her dismissing all what my perception of mentally ill was at the ly again astonished at how subjective (and portrayal of mentally disordered characters her personal obstacles as “personal failures time. It dawned on me how much my pre- objectively wrong) some of the things were typically fall under one or more of several rather than caused by a neurological disor- conception of mental health and disability that I found. I was extremely disappointed in categories such as “as a victim, as a hero, der.” Data and studies on mental disabilities was shaped by the media, and even worse, my google searches to come across an en- as a threat, as unable to adjust, as one to be and medical research in general is highly I felt really gross because what I had seen tire listicle dedicated to ADHD, but most, if cared for and as one who should not have gendered, with boys and men being the sole depicted on screen was negatively affecting not all, of the characters listed were just en- survived,” and often are “presented as a subjects for decades of research. Symptoms how I viewed myself. Because of what was ergetic cartoon characters. I don’t like to see cause for inspiration or an object of pity.” By of ADHD, Autism, and other disorders pres- made available to me in terms of mentally something that affects many aspects of my diminishing mentally disordered characters ent themselves differently in girls, which is a disordered characters and storylines sur- day to day life reduced to the likes of Tigger into one dimensional shells in the forms of large part in why my diagnosis came so late rounding mental illness, I saw myself as de- from Winnie the Pooh, the dog from UP, and villains or victims, neurotypical audiences in my life. It doesn’t help that there were also fective, a burden incapable of receiving or Bart Simpson of The Simpsons. Even worse are not made to feel uncomfortable or even no characters for me to identify with, and to deserving love unless I had some redeem- was a listicle I found titled “33 Fantastic Films guilty in their own personal dismissal of their spark an internal conversation with my in- ing quality that made me useful to society. Whose Main Characters Have Mental Disor- treatment or relationships with real people ner dialogue saying, “Hey, I feel quite simi- Did others view me the way I have viewed ders.” I couldn’t decide what was worse - with these diagnoses. An issue with current larly to this character, maybe I have ADHD.” these dry, force-fed diegeses that had the preface stating that “there is something presentation of mental disorders is the way Instead, characters with ADHD completely been overstuffed with harmful stereotypes? about mental disorders that makes a mov- the disorders are written as to become more nullify the complex range of symptoms and I posed the question on various of ie all the more enthralling”, or the fact that palatable for neurotypical audiences, exist emotions associated with the disorder, and

4 51 are painted as messy, misbehaving people dis- celebrate these significantly more progres- regulate her feelings. By allowing young chil- tary helicopter during a manic episode, which tracted by every single stimulus. In 1997, an sive storylines, especially when considering dren the opportunity to witness depictions of is just one extreme example of a portrayal of episode of The Simpsons featured the obnox- that negative portrayals are still being creat- safe and friendly inclusions of friends with an unmedicated, manic episode in Shameless. ious and disobedient Bart Simpson being for- ed. Recent headlines and internet discourse autism, acceptance and education is promot- Similarly, imagery like Tony Soprano flushing mally diagnosed with ADHD. Because o