Riot Grrrl Theory & Activism: January 2012

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Young Adult (2011) - A Review

I saw the trailer for the new Charlize Theron movie Young Adult (2011), and was expecting a romantic comedy that would validate some ideal perception I previously held about life in a small Midwestern town. However, the actual movie was more drama than comedy (dramedy) provoking my introspective gaze. This provocation only prompted me to wonder about the ways in which setbacks come to define a person. What does it take to overcome setbacks in order to live a full, rich, balanced life? Any thoughts? Please do not be shy. Comment away in the comment box down below. By the way, a version of this post also appears on Miami Valley Journal. The film, directed by Jason Reitman, stars Theron, who plays writer of teen fiction, Mavis Gary, Patrick Wilson, as Buddy, the object of Mavis' affection, and Patton Oswalt, as Matt, a survivor of a violent high school bullying incident who befriends the mean and vulnerable Mavis as she returns to her tiny Midwestern hamlet to seduce Buddy, a new father with a wife who is, as we used to say in the day, well rounded due to her career and her social position as a member of a riot grrrl-inspired band.

I wondered about the feelings of desperation that drove Theron's character to return to her hometown bent on home-wrecking. A pivotal monologue during a crucial group scene attempts to yield insight into Mavis' motivation and illustrates the lengths one might go to be, not merely understood, but recognized in full as fully human with the capability of being affected by change.

Unfortunately, one of the tricks of the script is for Mavis' character to slip into third-party fantasy narration during crucial moments and the effect on the audience, or at least on me, was to leave the resolution to the age old-question about the role of the organic intellectual, and whether that individual truly can come home again, unanswered. Please see the movie for yourself, and let me know if you would agree.

One positive thought about this film is that it taps into a general feeling that is prevalent now among young adults (those folk who fall into the category of "30-something", or "40-ish,") that hard work and satisfaction do not come bundled neatly into one package with the promise of recognition, as it being seen as the person who you think you are.

Perhaps most importantly, this film neither led me to want to drop everything and totally rearrange the minute details of my day-to-day life, nor, did the movie make me resolute in my belief that life is for living, damn the complications. Of course, life is for living. This may be the greatest message of the film, Young Adult. However, it is yet-to-be determined whether this means it is necessary to do something out-of-the-ordinary when we could simply live life.

Riot grrrl mash-up: critical theory meets third-wave feminism

Hello.

This blog is a research tool for recording, contemplating, cataloging, and synthesizing observations and conversations related to the topic of riot grrrl feminism.

Riot grrrl is often associated with third-wave feminism, but this blog seeks to deconstruct the pre-existing narrative of the riot grrrl aesthetic which centers urbanity. Instead, this blog seeks to explore the ways in which the riot grrrl aesthetic, philosophy, and vibration affected girls and women coming of age in the 1970s, 80s, and early 90s.

The timing of this blog is highly relevant due to the fact that riot grrrl feminism is becoming a new academic field of study.

Thus, this critical, theoretical and applied blog investigation is necessary because it expands the scope of the riot grrrl movement to include independent women to include young women growing up in Appalachian, rural, or lush environments, as opposed to urban environments.

The focus of this blog also falls under the category of DIY , or Do It Yourself, as an art form of empowerment since many riot grrrls may not have had access to or the desire to play the musical instruments often associated with riot grrrl's musical twin, punk rock. In addition to musicians, riot grrrls were and are academics, artists, bloggers, crafts-people, creative writers, fashionistas, moms, muralists, sisters, webdesigners, and friends .

Also, this blog seeks to comment on the experiences of riot grrrls whose geo-spatial locations were largely outside the realm of urban settings.

Riot grrrl feminists of color, have long been a part of the DIY experience and have a perspective on this analogue to second-wave feminism that this blog includes.

You are welcome to participate in this on-line experience in the spirit of inquiry.

Why riot grrrl?

I view riot grrrl as an outgrowth of the do it yourself artistic and freedom of expression movements associated with the late 1960s and early 1970s. Riot grrrl is thought to have died out, and now that I have relocated from a small college town to Los Angeles, I do wonder whether riot grrrl's time has passed (but that is the subject of a future blog post).

It seems to be the case that music genres typically associated with the scene - such as punk, grunge, post-punk, new-wave, and alternative - are on the wane.

Still, I see the echo of riot grrrl in anarcha-feminist discourse, and the push for women to define themselves as leaders and marketers of their own brand.

A child of academics, who grew up in small, college towns, I did not experience the urban riot grrrl scene often associated with groups like Bikini Kill. However, I did edit my high school newspaper, write and tell my own stories, and those of others, and helped my mom and other women organize a women's arts festival at West Virginia University. I created my own small press, Pretty Kitty Publishing which has developed into an academic website: Pretty Kitty Publishing.org.

Before creating my on-line presence, I published a collection of poems, Red Dust Daughter, covering themes largely associated with riot grrrl.

My intellectual and creative influences included Mary Daly, Audre Lorde and Simone de Beauvoi r and the musicians Ani DiFranco and Joan Armatrading - among many, many others.

O. And I always considered myself a feminist.

-- Gail Taylor
(9/6/2010)

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Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Young Adult (2011) - A Review

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