SparkleBliss

Laramie: Ten Years Later. [source]

Last night’s performance of Laramie: Ten Years Later here in Austin was at the Zach Theatre, and the proceeds went to OutYouth, an organization which I’ve mentioned previously and which I care a great deal about. As a long-time OutYouth volunteer, I’m incredibly grateful to the cast and crew who volunteered their time, and to all the folks who came.

I went to see Laramie: Ten Years Later last night. It was heart wrenching, both for me as a person, and for the me who is a professional historian. The past is effaced so readily. One episode of 20/20 full of garbage, and half the country believes that one of the most famous hate crimes of the recent past was no such thing. Believes instead that it was a drug deal gone bad. Nevermind that one of the killers is in jail saying — still — that he dislikes homosexuals, spewing hate about Matthew Shepherd, telling people the deceased was some pedophile (a rumor started then discredited). Nevermind that the more repentant of the two men convicted maintains it was absolutely about the man being gay. Nevermind the trial, recorded, documented, transcribed. The police records. The retired detectives and the retired sheriff who maintain they heard those men say those things. They know better. We know better.

Incidents like the one in Laramie are horrible, but they are lessons. We cannot let them go unlearned. The lesson is that bigotry is alive and well. The people of Laramie are no worse than the rest of us, and if there is danger in Laramie, Wyoming or Burkburnett, Texas for certain kinds of people, it is because certain kinds of people are not valued as they should be, and they are at risk not only in those places we might call outposts, but in our whole country.

People need some measure of safety. And I’m not talking touchy feely group therapy safety, I’m talking the assurance that when you walk across the grocery store parking lot, you will not be attacked for who you are. This is perhaps the least we can offer each other. I see acts of courage and bravery from people around me every day of my life. I will not believe that acts of brutality are inevitable. I will not believe that we cannot continue to build a society that is more just, that is kinder, that is braver, that is stronger. We are still learning. We have to be.

American Studies, the discipline in which I am most firmly grounded, often becomes a critique of the United States — and it should be, as there is much improvement, always, to be made in any institution. However, I think it’s important to remember the value of the project. The notion that everyone deserves a fair shake, that “all men are created equal” is a profound notion, and it, like many of the ideas right there at the beginning of this grand experiment, is a principle I personally value immensely. If nothing else, the salience of these ideas demonstrate to me the strength of the project. The United States may be a work in progress, but it’s a grand project. Many of us disagree about key issues, and I’m grateful for that even when it frustrates me. But I refuse to be cynical about the people around me. I do not believe the people of this or any country are cruel or stupid. We may not have it right yet, and we may never, but I believe that we can continue to work for that more perfect union. It is not destiny or fate. It is a project, and it is an immense one. Incidents like the one in Laramie should not serve as a condemnation of anyone, but instead a reminder that democracy requires vigilance.

Last night’s performance — which took place in dozens of theaters across the country and around the globe — is based on a similarly ambitious project undertaken by the WPA. The Federal Theatre Project created jobs and theater, and at one point staged 22 simultaneous performances of It Can’t Happen Here. The work of the Tectonic Theater Project and the work of the Federal Theater Project both have in them a faith in the power of the arts to effect change and to form national consciousness. Although the Matthew Shepherd Act has yet to be signed into law, no one can dispute the impact of Shepherd’s death, the subsequent media coverage, the tireless work of his parents, and, of course, the now years of performances of The Laramie Project.

While the conclusion of last night’s production is ambivalent — some change has occurred, but perhaps not enough — I hope that the production is not a conclusion, but instead another call to action for all of us. Cultural change isn’t magic. It’s not the course of history or the tide of fate. It’s the work of a whole bunch of regular people.

Film still from Ready? OK! [source]

I have been a volunteer at OutYouth (a non-profit providing services to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning and ally youth in the central Texas area) for quite some time. One of the things I have done as a volunteer is work on film programming for the drop-in center. In seeking out films that address GLBTQ politics and issues, it became very obvious how few films short of the PG-13 or even R rating there are that feature queer characters.

I think it’s a real shame that younger folks and their families rarely if ever have the opportunity to see films in the theater that address GLBTQ politics and issues. I’ve worked with the Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival and OutYouth to have a screening of Ready? OK!. A full description of the film is below.

If this even remotely interests you, please come. Not only is this an opportunity to come see a fun movie and eat brunch at the Downtown Alamo, it’s also an opportunity to support two fantastic non-profit organizations that do a great deal of work in and around Austin. The screening is this Saturday, August 2 at 1 p.m. Tickets are $10 general admission or $5 for AGLIFF members. Children 6 and up are welcome with parents or other grownups (I have a note about age appropriateness for kiddos down near the bottom — feel free to ask me any questions you might have about this). Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Alamo site, where you can also watch the film’s trailer.

SYNPOSIS:

Andrea is a single mother in Normal Heights. Her son Joshua is a smart, happy and enthusiastic ten-year-old, but she worries that he’s on the wrong track. With each summons to the Mother Superior’s office at Joshua’s private school, Andrea searches for answers to a nagging problem: How can she convince him that aspiring to be on the cheerleading squad, relishing the art of the French braid and calling Maria von Trapp his most influential role model is just not what little boys do?

In this quirky take on the modern family, one woman must strip away all her preconceptions to seek a kind of peace with herself and her son. Some hard advice from her gay next-door neighbor Charlie helps Andrea turn her focus in the right direction: inward. Embracing Joshua’s individuality rather than fearing it might be the only answer, but can she do it?

A note on age appropriateness:

Like most independent films, Ready? OK! is unrated. We hope that this will not deter you from bringing younger family members and friends to the screening.

Ready? OK! provides an excellent opportunity to discuss gender, sexuality, and family relationships with younger family members, and provides a sadly too-rare opportunity for families to see a film that addresses issues of gender and sexuality in the theater. The film contains some brief rough language, an instance of junior-high bullying based on gender performance, and a brief reference to drug use.

Based on these factors, we recommend Ready? Ok! for ages 10 and up. This is not a definitive evaluation of the film’s contents, and we are happy to provide more specific information if you are uncertain whether or not the film is appropriate for a child in your life.

Beth Ditto for Evans. [source]

As I know a number of stateside women did last night, I stayed up a bit late waiting for Beth Ditto for Evans to launch. The line has created quite a stir around the fatosphere. Ditto’s designs are some of the first plus-size clothes to be trotted out as part of a celebrity brand by an actual fat celebrity (Jessica Simpson jeans, briefly available at American retailer Avenue, made just about zero sense, and plus-size supermodel Emme’s brand was just plain pedestrian). The collection for Evans is full of nods to late ’80s/early ’90s style, which is pretty true to form for Ditto, who appears in the advertisements for the line, including the one above.

What becomes of the line will be interesting, and I suspect that the powers that be in the retail world will be watching closely to see how quickly the clothes are snapped up. There’s been increasing clamor for more stylish clothing for plus-size women, and the Beth Ditto collection is a strong step in that direction. While I could do without the cat t-shirt (couldn’t we all?), most of the pieces hit a good mid-point between Ditto’s over-the-top outrageous personal style and plain wearable.

Charlotte Cooper of Obesity Timebomb bought a skirt from the line this morning, and refers to the launch of Beth Ditto for Evans as “a queer fat cultural moment.” Her post on the shopping experience is informative, but I would particularly draw attention to the final paragraph:

I share Cooper’s ambivalence, and, like her, ultimately found it too hard to resist the seduction of a chance to buy actual clothes designed by an actual fat woman who’s actually ok with how she looks. Beth Ditto is an outrageous activist for fat women, and in a world filled with role models like Kirstie “I was Disgusting!” Alley and Oprah “How did I let this happen again?” Winfrey, we need as many Dittos as we can get. We need to reframe health as something less appearance based, and we need to reframe fashion as something that could conceivably fit onto an average female body.

If you’re interested in these kinds of issues, I recommend some of the following:

• Gabi writes about fat fashion at Young, Fat, and Fabulous. [link]
• Fatshionista’s LiveJournal community is full of fat fashion across the spectrum. [link]
• For more on body image, check out Kate Harding’s Shapely Prose. [link]
• And, for fascinating writing about the way the medical field and media distort health and nutrition studies related to fat, try Junkfood Science. [link]

Edit to add: Fat Girls Like Nice Clothes Too! has an excellent picture post covering most of the items in the collection. [link]

Michael Jackson in his famous red jacket. [source]

Like people aroudn the world, I just finished watching the public memorial service for Michael Jackson. The range of people involved in what I can’t help but describe as “the production” really drove home just how widely and deeply Jackson’s death is being felt. The family and friends who organized the event managed to create an event that felt intimate and personal while still providing an occasion for public catharsis, the latter being necessary not only to placate die-hard fans in mourning, but also to allow for the kind of public reflection that certain deaths require.

It goes practically without saying that Michael Jackson’s death is very sad — almost all deaths are. However, his death is also very significant. In addition to being an occasion of deep personal loss for his family, friends, and colleagues, and for a global community of fans, Michael Jackson’s death is also one of the occasions that I think most brilliantly illuminates the political, cultural, and historical value of pop culture and the people who produce it. Michael Jackson mattered, and he will continue to matter for decades. The body of work that Michael Jackson has left behind is more than a body of great pop tunes — although it is certainly that as well. Rather, Jackson leaves in his wake significant changes in American and global popular cultured.

It was Michael Jackson’s work that forced the integration of MTV. And, while MTV now have been relegated to cultural irrelevancy, the significance of the channel in the early 1980s is difficult to dispute. The whiteness of MTV had significant implications for the sales and popularity of individual songs and of artists. It was both a hitmaker and a starmaker. Jackson’s “Billie Jean” took MTV by storm — a hit so big it simply couldn’t be ignored. [source] The video and the rest of the videos produced for Thriller helped make MTV not a national sensation, but a global brand. The relationship was mutually beneficial, and Jackson attained a level of global superstardom afforded to very few.

Jackson launched trends in music, in fashion, in film, and in television. He shaped the entire aesthetic of a nation for a number of years, and contributed directly to the globalization of popular culture. To be dismissive of Michael Jackson is to be dismissive of mass culture in the most vulgar way imaginable. To try to make sense of American culture without acknowledging the significance of Jackson would be ridiculous. As his death passes into tabloid farce, perhaps there will be attempts to do that. That would be a shame, though, and I hope as we move from grieving in the present to writing the history in the future, the records will accept Jackson as a significant player in the development of popular culture.

More immediately, I hope the public outpouring of grief can serve as some comfort to his family. As controversial as Jackson remains, even in death, there can be no doubt that he was deeply beloved.

And, on a less somber note, a round up of links:

• Scorpeze has an excellent post about the musical and artistic significance of Thriller.* [link]
• Erin Bradley has a roundup of Craigslist posts referencing Michael Jackson. [link]
• Qool DJ Marv’s “Minding Michael: Part One” mix* [link]
• Guardian’s liveblogging of the memorial [link]
• Gawker’s live coverage (including some great images) [link]
• “The Persecution of Michael Jackson” by Ishmael Reed [link]

*Via Jay Smooth.

I’ve been plugging away on my department’s upcoming graduate student conference with. The banner above is the one I designed for the web site, which is the first web site I have ever designed.

The graduate student conference put on by the Department of American Studies at UT is the first conference I ever presented at. The 2009 conference will be the third time I have worked on the event in an organizational capacity. Although the conference is academic in nature, we have had a variety of types of work appear at the conference, ranging from documentary films to creative writing projects. If you or someone you know might be interested in the conference, please pass along the site. The conference will be September 24-25, and the full CFP is available right here.