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Strong Female Character Friday: Gazelle (Kingsman)
Last week's Strong Female Character Friday marked the start of Arab-American Heritage Month by looking at a character who isn't technically American but definitely comes from American media - well,...
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Masculinity Monday: Dr. Julian Bashir, Race, and 'Deep Space Nine'
So far this month in our increasingly inaccurately named Masculinity Mondays, we've looked at one particular example of Arab-American masculinity. We talked about Abed from the popular sitcom...
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Masculinity Monday: 'Star Wars' Finn Is the Hero We Need
Here it is, chickadees, the final post of Black History Month 2016. So far on Masculinity Mondays we've discussed how even progressive shows can reinforce harmful stereotypes, representations of black...
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Think of the Children! Tuesday: 'Shaun the Sheep: The Movie'
I might be exactly the type of person who makes mountains out of molehills, especially when it comes to pop culture, but even I have to admit that upon watching the charming and lovely Shaun the Sheep...
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RECAP: Strange Empire 1x12 - Rebecca Blithely Wants You to Leave
So, I'm trying to figure out if Strange Empire really does take massive steps forward in terms of watchability and awesomeness in the latter half of the season, or if me-from-a-year-ago was just stupid...
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'Elektra' and the Role of Art in a Comic Book Narrative
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I'm not an artist. I don't really get art - when my roommates insisted that we get the HD channels on our cable subscription because they would look so much...
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Strong Female Character Friday: Jane (Jane Got a Gun)
You know, up until a few weeks ago, I would have said that I was a fan of all kinds of "genre" media, except for westerns. Like how some people say they like any music except country. That was me with...
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Think of the Children! Tuesday: 'We Bare Bears' Is Simply Simple
I think that Steven Universe and Adventure Time and Gravity Falls and Over the Garden Wall have spoiled me, chickadees. I've started to take for granted that any given animated children's show will...
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What If: Bucky Barnes from 'Captain America' Were Actually Jewish?
I have a lot of feelings about Bucky Barnes and the Captain America movies in general, as I'm sure you've all gathered over the course of our friendship. I love these stories more than is entirely...
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Masculinity Monday: Stacker Pentecost, 'Pacific Rim', and Humility
I love Pacific Rim. I love how it's a big budget action movie that intentionally subverts the major tropes and themes of big budget action movies. I love that it has a gender swapped power dynamic...
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Think of the Children! Tuesday: 'Hoodwinked' Didn't Age Well...
So, the thing is, I remember when Hoodwinked originally came out. I saw it in theaters all the way back in 2005, and at the time I distinctly recall thinking that this was a totally state of the art,...
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RECAP: Strange Empire 1x13 - Wait, No, It Can't Be Over Already!
All right, chickadees, I can't put it off any longer. It's time to admit that Strange Empire really and truly is over and get down to recapping the final episode. Ugh. I really don't want to have to do...
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A Quick Primer on Why Television Is Getting Better Way Too Slowly
It's been a rough week for fans of diverse television. Actually, no, scratch that - it's been a rough year for fans of diverse television. Characters we love, fan favorites, have been dropping like...
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Strong Female Character Friday: DS Shahara Hasan (Bodies)
So far in Arab-American Heritage Month, we’ve celebrated by looking at Tzipporah from Prince of Egypt and how she subverts our expectations of “historical” Arab womanhood and by examining Gazelle from...
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Congratulations to the Overall Winner of the 2015 Undies!
Well, chickadees, we made it. After months of campaigning and all those advertisements and so many television specials, the 2015 Undies are finally coming to an end. By which I mean that after a couple...
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Masculinity Monday: 'Mr. Robot', Elliot, and the Role of Mental Health
[I know, I know. Masculinity Monday is now just a metaphysical concept rather than an actual day. Masculinity Monday is a feeling. Masculinity Monday was in all of us all along. Maybe we were all...
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Strong Female Character Friday: Aisha al-Fadhil (The Losers)
So far in Arab-American Heritage Month we've looked at a wide variety of character types - from Tzipporah's fierce competence and independence in Prince of Egypt to Gazelle's status in Kingsman as a...
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Masculinity Monday: Simon Baz, the Arab-American Green Lantern
[Notice something different? Like Masculinity Monday actually posting on a Monday this week? You're welcome.]Fair or not, I think it's safe to say that Arab-American Hertitage Month has been and...
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Masculinity Monday: Problematic Genies and 'OUAT In Wonderland'
Well, chickadees, we've reached the final installment of our look at Arab-American masculinity. It's been a heck of a ride, hasn't it? So far we've looked at a whole host of issues involved in properly...
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Disney's 'Aladdin' and the Dehumanizing Effects of Exoticism
Like any good 90s kid, I watched Aladdin as a small child and felt helplessly in love. The songs. The bright colors. The wacky animal sidekicks. Everything in this movie felt perfectly engineered to go...
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