vol. 3, issue 1: boob tube Archives - cléo

Editor’s Note: Boob Tube

kiva reardon — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 16:05:29 +0000

Recently, on that social media site and time-suck known as Twitter, film critic Miriam Bale asked her female followers: “What is one of your earliest feminist stirrings from watching movies (or TV)?” The query was notable not only because of the swift responses (everything from the problematic ending of Grease to the pop power of […]

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“I couldn’t help but notice…”: Murder, She Wrote’s Prime Time Feminism

nathalie atkinson — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 16:04:37 +0000

First airing in 1984, Murder, She Wrote, about the sexagenarian crime-solving widow Jessica Fletcher [i] (Angela Lansbury), was written—and well-received—as a cozy, satisfying crime procedural. But in the decades since, the show’s meanings have evolved far beyond its seemingly benign prime-time origins. Thanks to reruns, Murder, She Wrote has seduced a new generation, who watch with a side of […]

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Rape on The CW: Veronica Mars and Sexual Assault

anne t. donahue — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 16:04:00 +0000

“You wanna know how I lost my virginity? So do I.” And so, less than 21 minutes into the pilot episode of the show’s first season, we know this about Veronica Mars (played by Kristen Bell): on top of being a whip-smart, hard-working (daughter of a) private investigator, she’s been raped at a party. And […]

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“Instead of Doo-Doo Brown”: Transparent, Assholes, and Jill Soloway’s Existential Feminist Collective

kelli korducki — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 16:03:19 +0000

“In particular those who are condemned to stagnation are often pronounced happy on the pretext that happiness consists in being at rest. This notion we reject, for our perspective is that of existentialist ethics. Every subject plays his part as such specifically through exploits or projects that serve as a mode of transcendence; he achieves […]

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Queer Dimensions and The Gender-Fluid Fantasy of Adventure Time

zoe daniels — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 16:02:51 +0000

The cartoon world of showrunner Pendleton Ward’s Adventure Time has been lauded as one of the most feminist, genderqueer, and generally progressive in all of modern children’s television. Hugely popular and widely acclaimed, the show follows the adventures of a pre-teen boy (Finn the Human) and his adoptive brother (the shape-shifting Jake the Dog) through […]

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Love & Hip Hop in the Time of Shonda Rhimes

zeba blay — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 16:02:14 +0000

Reality television has irrevocably damaged society’s perception of black women. Or it hasn’t—it depends who you ask. Over the last decade, reality television’s place in the larger TV landscape has morphed, stretched and expanded to make room for subgenres and sub-subgenres, the most popular of which can best be described as “ratchet reality TV.” It’s […]

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“Die to Yourself”: The 21st Century Feminist Crime Drama’s Dream of Justice

ké kampeas-rittenhouse — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 16:01:46 +0000

“Thirteen bodies, all female, 11 white, two Asian-looking, all between the ages of maybe 20, 30, all very dead.” “If they were alive, they’d be illegals and that would mean Immigration. But they’re dead, so they’re cargo.” This exchange between two cops on The Wire epitomizes a particular strain of sexism common to contemporary crime […]

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Roundtable: TV on the Interwebz!

cléo journal — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 16:01:18 +0000

It doesn’t matter who you ask these days—there seems to be almost unanimous agreement that television has never been better. Thanks to a higher quality of production, stories and acting, TV has been heralded as “cinematic,” especially on premium cable networks like HBO and Showtime. But alongside these smaller-screen wonders, even smaller screens are making […]

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Women to Watch: Issa Rae

fariha roísín — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 16:00:01 +0000

Women To Watch features profiles of women working in all positions and genres of film (and TV!). The new kid on the HBO block is writer/producer/director Issa Rae, who has revolutionized the idea of the “awkward black girl.” Through her phenomenal work, Rae has created space for young black women and women of colour to shape […]

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vol. 3, issue 1: boob tube

cléo journal — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 05:20:08 +0000

Say what you will about its “status” as an art form, or its effect on our eyes and morals, there’s no denying the television that graces our screens and eats up our bandwidth these days is good. It’s really good. It’s so good we are dedicating an entire issue to it. Riffing off of television’s […]

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