Friday, May 1, 2020
EVENT REVIEW: Barba Hammer: A Retrospective Screening
I went Barbara Hammer's film screening, and also attended her lecture the following day. Her films were interesting, to say the least. The first film, the MC of the event referred to as a "lesbian commercial" and joked "some of you may become lesbians tonight." While watching that film, I found it to be like nothing I've ever seen before. This is likely because I have not viewed many queer films. While I appreciated the film for being revolutionary, I could not help be have to look away for a large part of it. This was not because of the content. It was because of the filming techniques. Barbara Hammer implemented some technique where she plays two scenes simultaneously layered on top of one another. This literally was hurting my eyes. I thought it was really cool, but my eyes physically could not handle it.
The next film was the Superdyke film. I thought this was hilarious. A bunch of women were going about a normal day in the city, when all of a sudden, one of them gets hit by a bus. The Superdykes all rip their shirts off to reveal the Superdyke shirt underneath, and they all run to the rescue. It was entertaining and made me think of how superheroes are portrayed, and how there are more males than females, and how they all have hypersexualized bodies.
The film in which Barbara Hammer traveled around the world was awesome. She went to places I've never seen and probably will never see. It was a simple film. It was just scenery and music. It was calming to the point that I almost fell asleep. I loved it because I love traveling and just enjoying views.
The last film was about Maya Deren, and I honestly thought it was a horror movie when it began. It was eerie and had creepy music. I disliked this film partially because I had no previous knowledge of Maya Deren, and partially because I felt like it dragged on and on. But I could tell that it had a lot of technically advanced film work incorporated into it.
I think I would have enjoyed the film screening more if I had a broader knowledge of film and media studies. I could tell that Barbara Hammer was a talented filmmaker, as I had never seen much of the techniques she employed, but I felt that I could not fully appreciate her work due to my lack of knowledge in the field.
The next film was the Superdyke film. I thought this was hilarious. A bunch of women were going about a normal day in the city, when all of a sudden, one of them gets hit by a bus. The Superdykes all rip their shirts off to reveal the Superdyke shirt underneath, and they all run to the rescue. It was entertaining and made me think of how superheroes are portrayed, and how there are more males than females, and how they all have hypersexualized bodies.
The film in which Barbara Hammer traveled around the world was awesome. She went to places I've never seen and probably will never see. It was a simple film. It was just scenery and music. It was calming to the point that I almost fell asleep. I loved it because I love traveling and just enjoying views.
The last film was about Maya Deren, and I honestly thought it was a horror movie when it began. It was eerie and had creepy music. I disliked this film partially because I had no previous knowledge of Maya Deren, and partially because I felt like it dragged on and on. But I could tell that it had a lot of technically advanced film work incorporated into it.
I think I would have enjoyed the film screening more if I had a broader knowledge of film and media studies. I could tell that Barbara Hammer was a talented filmmaker, as I had never seen much of the techniques she employed, but I felt that I could not fully appreciate her work due to my lack of knowledge in the field.
EVENT REVIEW: "Bucking the System" - Buck Angel
I went into the "Bucking the System" lecture not knowing anything about it. I had some idea that it would be about doing things your own way, as the title suggested, but that was all. I did not know who Buck Angel was. All I had heard was that it was a big event, so I thought I'd attend.
While waiting for the lecture to begin, my friend said, "There he is! That's Buck Angel!" and pointed to a tough-looking bald guy with tattoos covering his arms. I was puzzled. What did this guy have to do with my Women's Studies class? Then, my friend told me that Buck used to be a girl. I was in absolute disbelief because I would have never guessed that just by looking at him. But knowing that he was a trans male, I became more interested in the lecture, and was glad I decided to go.
Buck started his talk with a video about his life. We learned from that short clip that he went from being a cute little blonde girl, to a fashion model, to a man - a man who made porn. There was so much about Buck's life that I learned in that short video, so I had no idea which aspect of it he was going to discuss for the next hour. Luckily, my lack of expectations led me to thoroughly love his whole presentation.
Many people in my class expressed disappointment in "Bucking the System," saying that they expected Buck to discuss being a trans male in the porn industry. This bothered me because that's asking one person to speak for an entire group of people. Each individual experience is different. What if Buck had an extraordinarily unique experience? (Note: it seemed like he did.) Additionally, I think that would alienate people.
Instead, Buck's talk was applicable to everyone. He talked about how his entire life, he felt that he had to be a certain way - the norm - even though he knew that he was different. He talked about how this struggle to conform led to problems with drugs and alcohol, led him to do poorly in school, prevented him from becoming an amazing athlete, got him kicked out of the house and made him homeless, pushed him into prostitution, and made him attempt suicide. Buck then told us how he found a solution: being himself. Buck did what made him happy. He stopped trying to be what he was supposed to be. Now, he seems perfectly happy with his life.
I liked how Buck went about this discussion. I think that, because Buck is a trans male, people assumed he was talking about people who are having issues with their gender and sex. But that was not the case. He talked about things to which everyone could relate, regardless of whatever made them unhappy. Lots of people have trouble conforming, fitting in, and meeting societal expectations, for whatever reason. Lots of people crack under the pressure. Buck's message to people who experience such problems was to "buck the system" and do whatever they want to make themselves happy.
Just because Buck is a trans porn star does not mean he is only a trans porn star. Yes, it is true that he cannot try to give a speech at a school under the title of Porn Star, but that is because a porn star would not speak in an academic setting. So he does this as a Motivational Speaker, because it is a different part of him that is speaking. He talked about his decision to become a motivational speaker because he wanted to help people. He said he knew that if he could overcome his challenge and identify how he did it, then he could aid others who were struggling. Overall, this was an amazing event, and was probably the one I have enjoyed most during my four years at Colgate.
While waiting for the lecture to begin, my friend said, "There he is! That's Buck Angel!" and pointed to a tough-looking bald guy with tattoos covering his arms. I was puzzled. What did this guy have to do with my Women's Studies class? Then, my friend told me that Buck used to be a girl. I was in absolute disbelief because I would have never guessed that just by looking at him. But knowing that he was a trans male, I became more interested in the lecture, and was glad I decided to go.
Buck started his talk with a video about his life. We learned from that short clip that he went from being a cute little blonde girl, to a fashion model, to a man - a man who made porn. There was so much about Buck's life that I learned in that short video, so I had no idea which aspect of it he was going to discuss for the next hour. Luckily, my lack of expectations led me to thoroughly love his whole presentation.
Many people in my class expressed disappointment in "Bucking the System," saying that they expected Buck to discuss being a trans male in the porn industry. This bothered me because that's asking one person to speak for an entire group of people. Each individual experience is different. What if Buck had an extraordinarily unique experience? (Note: it seemed like he did.) Additionally, I think that would alienate people.
Instead, Buck's talk was applicable to everyone. He talked about how his entire life, he felt that he had to be a certain way - the norm - even though he knew that he was different. He talked about how this struggle to conform led to problems with drugs and alcohol, led him to do poorly in school, prevented him from becoming an amazing athlete, got him kicked out of the house and made him homeless, pushed him into prostitution, and made him attempt suicide. Buck then told us how he found a solution: being himself. Buck did what made him happy. He stopped trying to be what he was supposed to be. Now, he seems perfectly happy with his life.
I liked how Buck went about this discussion. I think that, because Buck is a trans male, people assumed he was talking about people who are having issues with their gender and sex. But that was not the case. He talked about things to which everyone could relate, regardless of whatever made them unhappy. Lots of people have trouble conforming, fitting in, and meeting societal expectations, for whatever reason. Lots of people crack under the pressure. Buck's message to people who experience such problems was to "buck the system" and do whatever they want to make themselves happy.
Just because Buck is a trans porn star does not mean he is only a trans porn star. Yes, it is true that he cannot try to give a speech at a school under the title of Porn Star, but that is because a porn star would not speak in an academic setting. So he does this as a Motivational Speaker, because it is a different part of him that is speaking. He talked about his decision to become a motivational speaker because he wanted to help people. He said he knew that if he could overcome his challenge and identify how he did it, then he could aid others who were struggling. Overall, this was an amazing event, and was probably the one I have enjoyed most during my four years at Colgate.
Final Thoughts
These chapters were possibly my favorite of the semester. I think the important thing to being a feminist that most people overlook is that it entails keeping an open mind. It may be the most important thing about understanding feminism. And I think it is the biggest thing that I have accomplished this semester. Before I took this class, I honestly did not know what being a feminist entailed. I took it as the stereotypical vision of feminism which shows women as radical, anti-men forces. And I am extremely glad that that is no longer the way I see it. If i have learned anything this semester, it is to keep an open mind. Although they are the first two chapters of the book, I am glad we saved these chapters for the end of the semester. I think if we had started class by readings these, I may have overlooked them.
Okay, so there's patriarchy. But WHY?
I couldn't agree with Julia more in thinking that this reading would have benefitted us had it been assigned the very first week of class. It really made me think. All semester, we've been identifying these systems of patriarchy and oppression, yet I never really stopped to ask myself why they exist in the first place. To identify them is not enough. You must be curious. You must wonder what systems allowed for the oppression to come about in the first place.
Whether or not we read these chapters in the first week or the last week, I'm glad we did eventually get to them. It seems to be a perfect capstone to the class. I will leave it with a new curiosity, a desire to know the "why's" rather than the "what's" of patriarchy and oppression. I leave wondering how I myself contribute to these systems, in both subtle and overt ways. I leave being curious as to why certain systems get overlooked completely, even when they are destructive to so many people.
The theme of my anthropology class first semester was, "make the strange familiar and familiar strange". That is the curiosity of which I speak. It is important to take what is normal and ingrained to us and turn it on its head, much like the way suggested by gaga feminism, but with a less radical approach. It is important to question where our normalcies came from, and why they are normalcies in the first place.
At the end of the day, as I said in one of my posts earlier, this class has changed the way in which I view the world. I no longer feel passive and complacent, but rather vigilant and active. All I can say is, I'm glad that I took this class as a freshman, with three more exciting years ahead of me to apply what I have learned, and to make the familiar as strange as it can be.
Whether or not we read these chapters in the first week or the last week, I'm glad we did eventually get to them. It seems to be a perfect capstone to the class. I will leave it with a new curiosity, a desire to know the "why's" rather than the "what's" of patriarchy and oppression. I leave wondering how I myself contribute to these systems, in both subtle and overt ways. I leave being curious as to why certain systems get overlooked completely, even when they are destructive to so many people.
The theme of my anthropology class first semester was, "make the strange familiar and familiar strange". That is the curiosity of which I speak. It is important to take what is normal and ingrained to us and turn it on its head, much like the way suggested by gaga feminism, but with a less radical approach. It is important to question where our normalcies came from, and why they are normalcies in the first place.
At the end of the day, as I said in one of my posts earlier, this class has changed the way in which I view the world. I no longer feel passive and complacent, but rather vigilant and active. All I can say is, I'm glad that I took this class as a freshman, with three more exciting years ahead of me to apply what I have learned, and to make the familiar as strange as it can be.
Everyone Should Be Curious
While reading Being Curious About Our Lack Of Feminist Curiosity and The Surprised Feminist, I couldn't help but think to myself that this reading could have been assigned for the first week of this class. It lays out a major issue in every society: the fact that we are not curious. As such, we do not question the things around us, namely patriarchy.
I liked this reading a lot because I felt it to be very applicable to me, personally. At the beginning of this course, I was not very curious in the way that Enloe describes. I did not identify as a feminist because I did not question many aspects of patriarchy. I just viewed many things as "normal" or just thought that I could attribute something to a specific situation, not the general way things are. It annoys me that I say this about myself because I feel like it makes me seem stupid. But at the same time, I am not annoyed with myself per se, but our society; we are brought up to not be curious. It is in human nature to make observations and generalize (as I learned as a freshman in Intro to Psych). However, this is a flaw in human nature because we do not do more than generalize. We do not ask why something is generally a certain way. Additionally, I am more annoyed with society because many things that should be questioned are hidden, in a sense. We are not made aware of such things. In grade school, we are taught "this is the way it is" about all subjects. Curiosity wasn't valued.
After reading how Enloe has taken it upon herself to be more curious, I was inspired to do the same. I think that I have, to some degree, become more curious about feminism and patriarchy. I think it's important that everyone become more curious because it seems that everyone is so passive. I've tried having conversations with my friends about topics of substance and they don't like thinking that their "normal" could be questioned. I think people like to have stability, and being curious threatens that.
At first, I thought this article would have been a good read at the beginning of the semester, but now I think it was a good way to bring the class full circle. It, in a way, summarizes how we should approach feminism and sends us out to do so on our own.
I liked this reading a lot because I felt it to be very applicable to me, personally. At the beginning of this course, I was not very curious in the way that Enloe describes. I did not identify as a feminist because I did not question many aspects of patriarchy. I just viewed many things as "normal" or just thought that I could attribute something to a specific situation, not the general way things are. It annoys me that I say this about myself because I feel like it makes me seem stupid. But at the same time, I am not annoyed with myself per se, but our society; we are brought up to not be curious. It is in human nature to make observations and generalize (as I learned as a freshman in Intro to Psych). However, this is a flaw in human nature because we do not do more than generalize. We do not ask why something is generally a certain way. Additionally, I am more annoyed with society because many things that should be questioned are hidden, in a sense. We are not made aware of such things. In grade school, we are taught "this is the way it is" about all subjects. Curiosity wasn't valued.
After reading how Enloe has taken it upon herself to be more curious, I was inspired to do the same. I think that I have, to some degree, become more curious about feminism and patriarchy. I think it's important that everyone become more curious because it seems that everyone is so passive. I've tried having conversations with my friends about topics of substance and they don't like thinking that their "normal" could be questioned. I think people like to have stability, and being curious threatens that.
At first, I thought this article would have been a good read at the beginning of the semester, but now I think it was a good way to bring the class full circle. It, in a way, summarizes how we should approach feminism and sends us out to do so on our own.
Event Review: Big Question’s Feminists Ask
This past Tuesday and Thursday I went to the Women’s Studies Concentrators brown bags. The Women’s Studies Lounge was packed full of students and faculty who all turned out to hear the Concentrators present their capstone projects. When I go to women’s studies brown bags, a new event for me this semester, one that I’m extremely fortunate to have discovered, I always learn something new. Often, as was the case for these two brown bags, I’m not entirely sure of what I’m going to see, hear and learn, but surrounded by delicious food and great company, I’ve never had, and probably never will have a bad brown bag experience. The women’s studies majors and minors were tasked for their capstone project to pose a question to the Colgate community and then hopefully answer that question through a variety of research methods throughout the semester. For example, one student asked the question, “What does masculine and feminine look like and how is feminism encouraged or discouraged at an early age?”, and he answered that by writing a children’s book that addresses this question. Almost all the questions posed by the concentrators had chosen them due to past experiences either at Colgate or from their childhood. Another student answered their question by immersing themselves into all of the women’s studies related clubs and groups on campus. He initially wanted to begin he own group but then realized that he would make more on an impact by working hard and helping out pre-existing clubs. And another student wanted to see whether the name Women’s Studies should be changed to something else at Colgate, and so she created a survey online to assess popular opinion and thoughts on the matter. I myself had taken part in the survey but did not know it was the initiative of one student to conduct this research. Each senior overall had a unique thought provoking question that was followed up by strong work across the semester. I was happy I could listen to such wonderful talented individuals talk about what they had done.
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