A classic. I totally get this video now. I saw it a year ago at the WACK! exhibit and was like "what is up with that lady banging pans?" It's such a complex video first about how the domestic world is constructed and the tools of women's (generally) labor. In viewing it again it takes on an aspect of violence in how she presents each of these implements. Even the ladle is used violently (if you consider standing next to her over a pot of hot soup). So her use of the tools - without food - brings me to thinking about Louis Althusser and the ways in which violence (or the threat of violence) are used to control people, in this case women. There's an ambiguity in Rosler's video as to whether she (as Woman) is an object of the violence or a subject-agent of the violence. That ambiguity keeps this piece relevant and gripping to me. There is more to say on this video, but that is for my research paper.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Obama Supporter Thwarted: YouTube Project
So I am experimenting with life on YouTube as part of my Election Diary Project. View and comment please (it's part of the art project!)
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Crushing on Shep Smith of Fox News. Yes, Fox News.
Since I've been doing all this political work, I've been watching scores of hours of political punditry. Well, with all that face time, I confess I've got harmless crushes on some of these guys. Recent favorites have included: Joe Scarborough, Chris Matthews, Chris Cillizza, even Rachel Maddow. And of course David Gregory and Anderson Cooper, but they're more on the obvious side. I love their quest for the truth, their bulldog questions and frequent pop culture references. All of them (save David Gregory who was quieter on the matter) shared vocal disdain at Sarah Palin, not for being a woman but for her incuriosity and I share that with them (which leads to a whole other post on my conflicted feelings about the Guvna). And all these crushes started with a crush I had on Tim Russert (RIP) - it was great to watch him roll out those quotes and catch those politicians flat-footed and back pedalling their double-talk.
Well, now I add Shep Smith of Fox News to the list. Yes, Fox News. He gave context to the diatribe of Joe the Plumber in the election run up. And then came this...
Well, now I add Shep Smith of Fox News to the list. Yes, Fox News. He gave context to the diatribe of Joe the Plumber in the election run up. And then came this...
Guest Blogger Sonia Bayne on Election Day
It is with pleasure I introduce my guest blogger for today, Sonia Bayne, reflecting on Election Day 2008 (reprinted with permission of the author).
Tuesday, November 4th 5:18 pm
I need to write it all down. It's a momentous day, whichever way it goes.
The voting energy starts last night when Sarah calls, on her way to the Obama rally in Manassas. She's running late, sounding anxious, and trying hard not to miss it. We can't find a news network to tell us what is happening at that moment, but -- no surprise -- it turns out that the whole event is running late. I check the Obama website (which I have been totally impressed with) -- and lo, they are streaming the event live. We turn off the SNL Presidential Bash to watch the Real Deal. Obama finishes up with: "Fired Up! Ready to Go!" -- by which time, so are we.
That's probably why I wake before the alarm at 5:30. We are out of the house by 5:45, and at Latimer Lane school before the polls open, in time to find parking right in the school lot. We are the last couple to fit on the end of the line inside the doors, out of the pre-dawn coolness. By the time the gym doors open, the line is out the door and across the parking lot. Lots of parents are delivering their baked goodies for the PTO, and coffee is being set up. Business will be brisk for sure, and there's a friendly buzz of anticipation in the air.
I'm pleased to see that they have set up a TV screen showing the ballot process, and a list of our rights as voters is clearly posted at the front of the gym. We are quickly inside and checked in, and handed our ballot sheets. As I pick up the pen, I take a moment to reflect before filling in the circles -- I'm thrilled that this time, the choice is, for me, very straightforward. It really does feel like a landmark event.
All too soon, it's done. We collect our "I Voted Today!" stickers, stop to buy a scone, and head out past the waiting line. It's a longer line now, and cars are parked all up and down the street (though there are spaces in the lot). We're still fired up and ready to go as we head to Starbucks for our cups of free voter coffee. It's still only 6:30.
And now -- all we can do is wait, and pray that the results are clear and unequivocal.
This reader comment in the NY Times today sums it up well for me:
"May we all be wise in our voting. May our country be humble and caring of "the least of these." May our world, finally, come to the realization that we accomplish more together than apart. God bless us, every one."
M/S
Tuesday, November 4th 5:18 pm
I need to write it all down. It's a momentous day, whichever way it goes.
The voting energy starts last night when Sarah calls, on her way to the Obama rally in Manassas. She's running late, sounding anxious, and trying hard not to miss it. We can't find a news network to tell us what is happening at that moment, but -- no surprise -- it turns out that the whole event is running late. I check the Obama website (which I have been totally impressed with) -- and lo, they are streaming the event live. We turn off the SNL Presidential Bash to watch the Real Deal. Obama finishes up with: "Fired Up! Ready to Go!" -- by which time, so are we.
That's probably why I wake before the alarm at 5:30. We are out of the house by 5:45, and at Latimer Lane school before the polls open, in time to find parking right in the school lot. We are the last couple to fit on the end of the line inside the doors, out of the pre-dawn coolness. By the time the gym doors open, the line is out the door and across the parking lot. Lots of parents are delivering their baked goodies for the PTO, and coffee is being set up. Business will be brisk for sure, and there's a friendly buzz of anticipation in the air.
I'm pleased to see that they have set up a TV screen showing the ballot process, and a list of our rights as voters is clearly posted at the front of the gym. We are quickly inside and checked in, and handed our ballot sheets. As I pick up the pen, I take a moment to reflect before filling in the circles -- I'm thrilled that this time, the choice is, for me, very straightforward. It really does feel like a landmark event.
All too soon, it's done. We collect our "I Voted Today!" stickers, stop to buy a scone, and head out past the waiting line. It's a longer line now, and cars are parked all up and down the street (though there are spaces in the lot). We're still fired up and ready to go as we head to Starbucks for our cups of free voter coffee. It's still only 6:30.
And now -- all we can do is wait, and pray that the results are clear and unequivocal.
This reader comment in the NY Times today sums it up well for me:
"May we all be wise in our voting. May our country be humble and caring of "the least of these." May our world, finally, come to the realization that we accomplish more together than apart. God bless us, every one."
M/S
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Word Is...
Virginia looks like it is going for Obama. Having stood in a cold field with 90,000 others last night, I'm not so surprised. The ground game in Virginia was amazing.
My evidence? Me. I got out there on a cold Sunday afternoon when I had other things to do and went door to door making sure people knew where to vote. If you know me, you know that is so not like me. And yet I went.
That is telling.
My evidence? Me. I got out there on a cold Sunday afternoon when I had other things to do and went door to door making sure people knew where to vote. If you know me, you know that is so not like me. And yet I went.
That is telling.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Reporting from McCain HQ Arlington, Election Eve
It's curious the difficulties this reporter from WTOP - a local all-news radio station with the highest radio ratings in the area - had trying to find out what the McCain campaign was doing to get out the vote today, the eve of the election. Hang on to the end of the video when you finally see the reporter.
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