Reflections on films, politics, and everything else.

  To steal a line from Roxane Gay’s recent article , I am raging. When news broke shortly before I went to bed on Monday night about the leaked Supreme Court decision. I struggled with which emoji represented my feelings on Facebook. I know that seems utterly silly at this moment, but I wished I could have chosen more than one. Ultimately I chose Pissed Off, but Angry, and, more truthfully, Heartbroken could also represent me. I feel my spirit has been broken by what will most likely be coming in the next month to this country. This wasn’t much of a surprise, although I’d hoped the day wouldn’t come. I’ve been nagging my husband off and on for years to think about leaving America or least move to a Blue state, as the Republicans have become more radicalized in this country. We may live in a Blue city, but that makes little difference with Ohio becoming increasingly out of touch. What incenses me the most from the anti-choice groups is their belief that, as on...

There are so many new words and phrases that have been popping up over the last two years that I dislike, but I think none more than tribalism. Last night I was watching the PBS NewsHour , and while I generally appreciate the commentary of Shields & Brooks , I really wanted to throttle David Brooks when during the show he chalked up much of the problems with this week’s hearings to tribalism. At times he is able to rise above his political party affiliation, but to me this just showed that he’s another white guy that just doesn’t get it. Wikipedia says tribalism is the state of being organized by, or advocating for, tribes or tribal lifestyles . In my opinion, that is not the problem because what we’re mostly seeing is differences between how women see things (and what they’ve experienced first hand) and how men (especially white privileged men) see them. We’re also seeing angry men striking back at women for the MeToo movement and for their chipping away at the long...

Last Friday I did what I do most Friday nights – watch the PBS NewsHour for Shields & Brooks . While mainly I appreciate their analysis, at times, and for me, this is one of those times, I find them out of step with the populace. This has to do with the comments Samantha Bee used to describe Ivanka Trump recently. Shields claimed the word was “nuclear,” and that there was no worse word that could be used in regard to women. My husband had been at a Fringe festival show , so had missed it, and streamed that portion of the show later. I was just as baffled then as I was Friday night, since all I could think about the original phrase was: “yep, that’s Ivanka.” Maybe all those years of Deadwood and the Sopranos have caused me to be immune to the power of such a word. I think I also feel that Ivanka is one of the worst types of hypocrites for women. She’s claims she’s a modern woman and understands working women, yet she lives a completely 1% gilded life. Plus, her ...