#more body and gender diversity pls

[redrocketpanda]

There's been some really good posts that have been made already about the lack of body diversity in BG3, specifically in terms of the lack of a fat body type(s) and why this is such an issue

As someone who is non-binary and has just gone back to character creation to make a character for a "good" run, I would also like to add how disappointing it feels when it comes to the lack of options available when making a non-binary and/or gender non-conforming character

Of course, we have the option of non-binary as a gender and we can select different genitals for our characters. Body types are also referred to as 1-4 rather than assigning "female" or "male" categorisation, and the same with voices. All of which are so important and liberating to see in a video game

But I feel so deeply frustrated that I cannot pick body type 1 or 3 and have a character with a flat chest, or body type 2 or 4 and have breasts. Facial and body structures are locked to particular body types which means that if I prefer the look of face 5 on body type 1/3 over how it looks on body type 2/4 then I have to deal with my character also having breasts.

It also appears that, despite choosing non-binary as a gender, that pronouns are linked to the body type you select. Whilst you can use any pronouns regardless of gender, it definitely feels weird (and somewhat uncomfortable) to have characters refer to my enby character as "she/her" with no options to change this

Making a flat-chested butch enby with body type 1/3 is currently impossible with the way things are set up so my enby monk character just doesn't feel right at all to me. And let's not even get into how sad I feel that I cannot realise my dreams of playing a beautiful twinky tiefling boy. Surely this is why we play D&D and therefore is what The People would like in BG3 character creation :')?

#idk if this makes a tonne of sense but i'm hoping that the point i'm trying to make is at least getting across #more body and gender diversity pls #and also more loose curls and afro hair styles plsssssss #bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #baldurs gate 3

[pluralprompts]

do u have any tips in case a singlet wants to write a system

This went unanswered for a long time because We were going back and forth about answering this with an essay but honestly? The best tip I can give is to not overthink it.

Plenty of singlet (or possibly singlet) writers write plurality very well! I think it's a decently common joke for systems to point out how random characters are basically systems in all but name when that may not have been the author's intention. The thing about plurality in fiction is that it's a trope in the way gender fuckery can be a trope; people can write plurality without knowing about IRL plurality and people can write about gender fuckery without knowing about IRL gender fuckery. Plurality is such a natural concept (and extrapolation of wondering about the self/personhood/one's body/a number of things, really) that people can write it without being aware it's a reality for some folks. It's not that weird for an author to go "what if this person was actually many persons" (whether metaphorically or literally) and add that to their story. It's just a thing that happens.

So, I guess I'm saying that you don't need to put a lot of pressure on yourself on getting everything exact or realistic so much as just letting your story breathe with the plurality you add to it. Especially with how different systems can be; we're a really diverse bunch, so something that makes one system go "That's me!" will inevitably make another go "This isn't like me at all." Don't worry so much about being realistic or resonating with every system out there. And again, don't overthink it – the only thing I'd really recommend you ask around about is how plurality affects different areas of people's lives. You'll probably get a variety of answers, so choose what works best for your character, but the point is that being a system is something that affects a lot more of one's life than one might think (especially when it comes to making decisions; we've got to take each other into account for those), so including that makes your character really pop out to us plurals.

Because the thing is, although a lot of singlet writers are good at writing plurality, they're not always good at keeping it consistent. And by that I mean they seem to forget it exists whenever it's not immediately relevant to a scene, treating the system's plurality as only a plot device, rather than something that affects the character. Plurality can be a plot device, but if it's only ever treated as that and the author conveniently forgets the implications of it (like how it affects everyday life, or how the character might feel about their plurality, or how others might react to it), it becomes rather hollow. It's failed potential, in a sense. Like when a really cool detail of a character's past gets brought up for one paragraph and then never again, or a character detail is casually mentioned but the reader goes, "Wait, shouldn't this be a big deal?" You don't have to make your character's plurality an emotionally big deal, but it should still be an important aspect of their life, and that's the hole most of these authors fall into; they know plurality as a trope, and they know how they want to use that trope, but they limit themselves to how they want to use it, and don't see how they could be using it in other ways – how it might be more logical to use it, even.

It's a double-edged sword, this awareness of plurality only as a concept. Luckily for you, you have plenty of examples to turn to about the wacky, mundane, and upsetting stuff systems get up to in everyday life, and how our plurality affects us (and if you want to ask about specific scenarios, plenty of systems are fine with answering questions like that!). Include bits of that here and there, and you're good to go.

TLDR: if you're adding a system character to your roster, don't work yourself into a tizzy trying to get everything "right", but ask yourself every once in a while if/how their plurality would affect things. The only things we ask are to not rely on the evil alter trope and to not reduce plurality to an unimportant detail or something that doesn't really affect your character, since even if it's something casual to the character, it's still something that's constantly going to be a part of them.

(Oh, but as a final extra tip... since no one way of writing a system is going to resonate with all of us, go ahead and embrace that. Make your character's plurality specific to them, and ask lots of questions about what different aspects of system life are like to them. What's switching like for them? Do they have memory issues? Does their family know? Does anyone? What's their origin(s)? Do those origins still affect them today? Do they have an innerworld? Stuff like that! It's a whole new world of character customization, so go ham and bring your character's system to life.)

Hope this helps!

#this looks like a lot but it's a lot shorter than what we originally wrote #asks #not a prompt #pluralprose #long post

[storynerd121]

I'm doing a project, and I need as many answers as possible for research.

Pls answer I rly need more research for this project. Thank u!! Also pls reblog for a bigger sample size 🙏

#help me pls #research #project research #media representation #media #representation #people of color #lgbtq #religious diversity #neurodivergent #neurodiversity #transgender #gender nonconforming #eating disorders #disability #disabled #body diversity

[movedtodykedvonte]

where are the rest of the addisons headcanon, pls I beg

Okie dokie, more addison headcanons :p

Social Patterns

All addisons do (for the most part) is advertise including themselves. When socializing they often act like they are doing a pitch, highlighting why they would be a good friend, lover, general partner and other like things. This often comes off as odd to non-addisons

Addisons with bad pitches tend to be shunned amongst addisons but do better with non-ads

They are usually highly social to the point that it can be detrimental. They thrive off of networking and can become intense without it. It will not kill the ad but it causes them to be more desperate in their work lives which leads to worse sales. Bad sales will get them deactivated

Addisons, while important for Cyber World function, are not considered high-tier citizens, like a more menial working class as depicted below. Because of this a lot of them try to seem very agreeable in public so as not to cause a rift. They are likely to not be defended if a problem arises as it is out of their function to cause such.

Naturally anxious and excitable. Their emotions are easy to read one way or another but they try to hide them both as personal protection and to seem professional. For this reason, ads tend to seem shallow when it comes to conflict

Biology

Addisons like to eat but don’t need to. They technically don’t need to do anything but wash and remain presentable as most of their organs are simply there for show. Very organs actually serve a purpose with a small exception that varies from ad to ad. The only consistent organs are the heart(shaped object), brain, and the lungs

Most other organs that are functional relate to their job in some way or another. Body types are editable, as most start as the default addison body (top heavy but lean, same angular face, etc…) but then they have the options to reorder mass for different body types. Their bodies can naturally change but the data tends to stay in the same format unless drastic shifts in numbers happen

Their colors can vary, despite the main four (orange, blue, yellow, and pink) being the most common. Despite being weird, they are not shunned as long as they are vibrant and correctly tinted. The off colors can be changed for a hefty fee but sometimes the novelty helps them sell. This can also get them unwanted attention from certain investors…

Addisons don’t have any set biological sex/gender difference, as mentioned above they can modify their physical form as they see fit. They don’t have a need for sex organs either but if they want, they can modify themselves to have them. 

Addisons don’t have children but some ads can manifest as childish in appearance depending on the product they sell. These ads often grow with their demographics and modify themselves to “age” as their demographic does (think of an ad meant to sell baby products moving up to toys then teen stuff). They are rarer but tend to be the most popular

Addisons can’t die unless they are deactivated and whipped or injured severely. This only happens when they perform extremely poorly (the cyberworld literally deletes them) or they are severely outdated/defective.

Personality and Other Stuff

Addison's personalities, unlike hobbies which are based on purpose, are determined by their colors. Warmer colors tend to be more intense or more energetic while cooler colors are more level-headed or passive. Brighter tones tend to be more friendly, but overbearing to a degree while darker tones tend to be a bit more reserved but methodical.

Because of this, you are more likely to find addisons of the same tones with each other, as they get along better. Despite this addisons with a diverse shade wheel will tend to last in the long term

They really don’t get a lot of socially normal things to do, hence the object eating or literally buying their silence. Sorta literal as a species if you can’t tell but somehow they make it work.

Overall they really like popups and treat them like dogs/weird family pet things. Kinda don’t like viros but the defect addisons like how defensive they can be for them if treated right.

They do not like ambyu-lances or mauses but hate mauses less than Swatchlings do

Idk what else to put so ask if ur interest

The next headcanon post will probably be about Banner, Audi, Surv, Pop/Vidie, and Spamton. I'm gonna prob post more about them in general they are my babies <3

First Headcanon Post||

#ask #anon #CDAP au #deltarune #deltarune headcanon #addisons #the addisons #addisons deltarune #can't wait to talk about them #and like the fic more generally #as i will have less time for big writing #like to give yall something #and i cant force my self to only my game theory/analyze or ill end up hating it.

[jeff-from-marketing]

Okay so a friend of mine accidentally tripped on the Pathfinder landmine, so now I gotta contain the Infodump explosion here. You're welcome.

Holy shit Pathfinder is so good. I'll admit it's not for everyone! It does have a lot of rules to play with and can get a little crunchy at times, but if you don't mind that then please take a look. It's so easy to just look into Pathfinder, because Paizo are fucking based and have made all of the rules completely free to access to everyone. Archives of Nethys is the most well known and basically official source for reading up on anything Pathfinder related, but there are others out there! Like I said, the rules are free! And that alone lowers the barrier to entry so fucking low that it becomes a tripping hazard, and it's amazing! I've always been a big believer of "try before you buy" and this is absolutely that.

So I could continue to gush about all the great things in terms of rules that Pathfinder offers. Like how martial classes actually have something fucking interesting to do in combat beyond "I just hit with my weapon." How positioning matters because not everyone and their mother has attacks of opportunity heavily punishing the thought of moving in combat. How the degrees of success system gives you so much flexibility as to how well (or how horribly) you can perform something. Especially for spells where even crowd control ones can give benefits if the target makes their save. Or how that system actually rewards players who do decide to specialise into that thing by making them more likely to critically succeed. Or how character customisation is absolutely insane between all the classes, ancestries, heritages, and every class getting to make interesting choices at almost every level. You get a class feat every second level! You can have two people play the same class but still play those classes very differently! The amount of diversity is insane! But oh hey speaking of diversity...

Oh my god the setting is so gay. Not like "oh if you read into it a lot you can kinda see the gay" no no no. This is "these lesbians are canonically married and go off on adventures and do crime together" kind of gay. Pathfinder does not shy away from trying its best to make sure everyone is included and fairly represented. There's elves whose whole view on gender is just "gender is just whatever vibe I'm feeling today, even if that's either Yes or No" or just "gender? Oh no thanks!" You have the deity of transitions, who looks after anyone going through a transition in life, but explicitly mentions those that are transitioning into a new and more fitting body as one of those transitions. There's also a couple deities who are all about protecting sex workers and generally being gay. There's even an entire fairly extensive category of assistive items specifically for characters who have a physical disability. And going to the system itself, Paizo makes sure to include content warnings in their books where they may be needed, and pretty explicitly says "here's where this thing is in the book, this is the topic it covers, please talk to your players and make sure everyone is okay with this or if adjustments need to be made. Everyone should feel welcome at the table!" and even in the newest Lost Omens book (at the time of writing) it has a sidebar that contains advice on creating mutant characters that don't potentially come across as ableist.

This isn't Wizard of the Coast's "oh we're totally inclusive!" because they sweep controversy under the rug and do their best to avoid the topics as a whole. Paizo is (by every measure I can see) genuinely and legitimately trying, and in my opinion at least succeeding. I guess it helps when you actually communicate with your playerbase and actually take feedback on board.

So if you're like me and started to become a bit disillusioned with D&D 5e: try Pathfinder. You don't have to spend a single cent to just try it, and if you end up loving it then there's still plenty to spend money on later!

#ttrpg #pathfinder #pathfinder 2e #I make no apologies for the infodump shrapnel #it is almost 2am why did I decide writing this was a good idea #I do not control the autism for it controls me

[kangboras]

birth name: kang bora

date of birth: september 3, 1991

birthplace: seoul, south korea

current location: seoul, south korea

occupation: editor-in-chief at ardour magazine

apartment number: perseus 16 - 02

gender: cisgender female

sexual orientation: bisexual

romantic orientation: biromantic

relationship status: single

blood type: a

astrological signs: virgo / goat

known languages:  - korean ( native ) - english ( fluent ) - japanese ( fluent )

immediate family: mother, father, grandparents

biography:

rather than finding her passion, her passion found her. bora's maternal grandparents opened up a dry cleaning business, which both her mother and eventually her father as well ended up working at. as such growing up, bora was pretty much at the business more than she was at home. when she wasn't at school, she was there. a lot of times she'd get into trouble for trying on customers clothing and running around the store wearing it. that was sign number one.

as she grew older she began helping around too. she was interested in not only women's fashion but men's as well, and she was intrigued by all the different kinds of clothing that came through the store. in order to help out more, she learned how to sew for alterations and repairs, and that only deepened her fascination with fashion. she would flip through countless magazines on top of the clothes that went through their care for inspiration, and she'd spend late nights drawing in sketchpads filled with her own designs.

at first, bora wanted to be a model. however, her body type wasn't that of what was typically sought after in the fashion world. she tried countless times with different agencies, but to no avail. eventually she gave up on that idea. she'd always wanted to have her own fashion brand one day, and this failure helped steer her vision in the direction it's at now. high fashion, but make it diverse. make it inclusive.

with the model track not having worked out, she decided to go to school instead and work her way from the bottom up. she got a job working for ardour magazine fresh out of school and worked her way up up and up until she became the editor-in-chief. she still hopes to have her own brand one day, but she prioritizes her current position over a dream that's not ready to come true just quite yet.

faceclaim: lee chaelin / cl of 2ne1 / soloist

wanted plots:

a plot based off of this song ( laid ease only pls thank u )

she needs a bestie please

more tba

[thesociologicalcinema]

So, to help you stock your shelves with great fat positive books: PRINCESSES VS DINOSAURS One of my all-time fave picture books. Tremendous representation on all fronts & hilarious story.I do equity & bias reviews for kids books & mostly I get hired to read for race & gender issues. But there is one area of representation that I flag in almost every book I review. We need more fat people in kids books. CW: fatphobia & body shaming

(Disclaimer: I am thin & have thin privilege & am still v much learning how to break fatphobia both around me & internalized. One thing I've learned is to normalize & destigmatize the word 'fat'. Hope I've done right in this thread but pls correct me if you find cause.) Look at these pics. Entire communities, diverse in other ways, & not a single fat person to be found.

Do fat ppl go to parks? No.

But do they like to play with friends of all kinds? Also no.

Entire orchestras! But only think ppl can clarinet. Yes we can build a scooter from a log & attach literal springs to our feet, but fat kids?! Can't stretch the imagination that far.

MANY of these examples are from progressive books! I'm not talking about old ass Dick & Jane books. Such an ignored & overlooked area. If you start looking you find that so many picture books exclude body diversity from their "diversity checklists" (barf)

This means that the only representation that kids who are fat see of themselves in books are the BAD ones. The problematic tropes that I won't even give example of here because they bigtime suck. Illustrators, pls stop doing this! Draw bodies of different sizes & shapes!! And don't stop there. Vitiligo, birthmarks, stretch marks, different hair, different eyes! Sameness is so lazy & also BOOOOOORING.

FRY BREAD Big yes to stories about food & joy & not no [sic] fat shaming!

I REALLY WANT TO WIN Another all-time fave & great teaching book. Good message, hilarious story. THIS GIRL & her belly & athletic prowess & dancing & kindness!!! Can't get enough.

#children's books #fatphobia #fat #bodies #diversity

[mozak-hh]

Genshin Impact Headcanon:

When they’re horny.

thank you all so much for the genshin matchup requests! The response was so overwhelming I’m beaming. I’ll try getting through as many requests as I can so while you guys wait I’ve decided to write you a little something in appreciation. ^^ I also added my first female character because I was sick of the lack of gender diversity hehe. If you like Jean, pls comment any other fem requests you may have since it really helps out a lot. Don’t be afraid to ask me to write anything either, it’s my job after all! x

Includes: Kaeya, Diluc, Xiao, Jean

Type: Nsfw, you have been warned~

Kaeya:

When is this man not horny?

Perhaps it was the change of wind, or maybe it was the change in your attitude that set Kaeya off. The subtle lift of your skirt, the breeze making the collar of your shirt flow, Kaeya couldn’t resist the temptation of wanting more. He was a man after all. A man who fancied you quite significantly.  How could he resist the primal urge to wrap his arm around you and pull you closer? Your scent was mesmerizing, making it hard to turn away. Suddenly Kaeya found his body had become too warm to stand it. 

Kaeya growled in lustrous frustration. A Bead of sweat dripping from the crown of his head. The damp air of the shower only adding to the sensual heat in his lower abdomen. The hot water covered his broad shoulders and streamed down his toned abdomen, gliding over his hand as he pumped his cock in slow, rhythmic motions. 

Perhaps it was the change in scenery, being away from you for so long that is, which brought Kaeya into this animalistic state. He lifted his head up and jerked his arm faster. Streams of water following the curves of his muscles. He’d already seen you that morning, but his heat had gotten a lot worse. He imagined your small frame pressed against the shower wall, covered by his taller build. Arms captured in his own as he thrusted into you. You squeezing your legs which were wrapped around his waist. Locking him in your tight wet walls.

“f-fuck it..,” Kaeya moaned as he turned to lock away from his throbbing cock. rubbing his callused hands over the soft tip, pumping his hand a few more times before letting out a chocked moan. Cumming all over the wall in front of him, and letting the water wash the rest of the sweat off his body.

Damn. Kaeya sure as hell wouldn’t be spending another night in the shower alone.  

Diluc:

Diluc is a busy man, so its often that he doesn’t have the time to enjoy simple pleasures such as sex. But after weeks after not being able to spend one night with you, he becomes ravenous. 

He becomes rather snappy and short tempered. Not being able to handle any person touching him. This wont interrupt his work performance much, but it’ll make him a lot less polite, often making his staff tend to the bar instead of him. That is, until you see him one late night during his rut. 

You went to his winery to provide him with some necessary information. The maids let you in and told you he was upstairs. Once you began to move slowly towards his bedroom chambers is when you heard the painful grunt. 

You rush to door and open it slightly, peering to see if anyone was hurt. It seems as if time had slowed down completely, your breath hitched. Diluc sat at the corner of his bead, palming the large bulge straining beneath his pants. Half of his buttons on his shirt were undone, leaving his exposed chest gleaming with sweat. He must of had good hearing, as his eyes snapped to the door where his eyes instantly met yours. 

“Oh Fuck.. you look delicious..” Diluc’s eyes scanned your form, licking his lips as he stood from his bed. As soon as you silently shut the door behind you he wrapped his strong arms around your body, letting him hoist you up, wrapping your legs around his waist. 

Diluc becomes a little more loud during sex, perhaps even a bit whiny. All while hugging you so you can’t leave. For the rest of the night, Diluc has to have his cock inside you. Gripping you tightly and fucking you senselessly. He won’t stop until he can’t breathe. 

Jean:

Jean’s another hopeless case, never allowing herself to indulge in such matters. But after getting involved in you, she suddenly finds herself waiting for her day to end, signalling her to go home. For jean, it’s the thought of her face in between your thighs that make her legs feel light beneath her office desk. 

Being under a heavy workload all the time, doesn’t do any good either. Unfortunately for Jean, there is no such thing as a sweet release during her breaks. that is, until you stride into her office, tray in hand. 

After hearing about Jean’s stress this pass week, you decided it would be a perfect chance to bring her lunch. Striding into her office, Jean’s legs start to shake, fire swelling in her stomach. You smile, and place the tray of hot food on her desk. Jean’s mouth waters, but not for the food.

“Oh you poor thing! I couldn’t imagine sitting at this desk all day. I brought some things I thought you might like-” you look down at the plate on the desk, “ I’m hope I didn’t intrude-” 

“Y/N baby~” Jeans huffs under her breath, standing up and pushing her chair abruptly. By the time your eyes snap back up, Jean’s already moved the tray of food, and taps your shoulder from behind you. Turning around, your met with a harsh kiss. Jean’s tongue dominating the inside of your mouth, making your cheeks flush and knees grow weak. You loose your balance, falling down towards the desk. Jean takes this opportunity to rest your head in her hand, gently lowering you down and slamming her other hand on the desk to catch you both before starting to kiss you again. 

You wrap your hands around Jean’s neck, running your hands through the back of her head. You whine as she stands, making her way towards the door and locking it. She turns around after the soft click, and strides back towards you, loosening the buttons on her shirt. 

 Licking her lips, she stands above you. Lightly yanking your shorts.

“Let’s take these off, shall we?”

(Sorry I’m a simp for dom Jean pls send help)

Xiao: 

This guy goes through regular periods of heat, like an animal. Perhaps It’s an adepti thing, but every so often he’ll stop talking to you and shut himself within the walls of the inn. Not even the managers go near him, fearing the unusual scent coming from his chambers. This man wont let himself stop. Only using his time to pleasure himself. 

Somehow in your right mind you decide to check up on him to make sure he was doing alright. Ascending the stairs to the attic you catch the scent of something sweet, mixed with the smell of sweat and Xiao himself. The air begins to grow thick as you reach the door to his room. Turning the knob a few times you find it to be locked from the outside. Panicking, you pound your fist on the door to see if someone had locked him inside.

Xiao smashes his fist through the door, wood splintering and groaning under his force. He rips the handle off clean, allowing himself to bust the door open and pull you inside. Trapping you beneath his body as he Hauls the broken door closed again. Seeling it with special magic.

“I knew you’d come for me~” he purrs, putting his thigh between your legs and caressing your face. Pinned up against the door, you notice Xiao’s ankles bound in thick metal cuffs, the long Chain connected to his bed. There were claw marks on every whole. It truly looked like he tried to destroy the place.

You try to break from his grip, but he blocks you with his arms, kissing you forcibly. His breath is hot, his hands tremble. “Touch me y/n, touch me” he wines, bringing your hand to press on his crotch as he moans into your neck.

Sex with this animalistic beast will be nothing short of desperate. From the minute you allow him to the end of his heat, Xiao will have his throbbing cock inside you. He won’t let you go, hugging you from behind as he pounds into you. Don’t try to run away from him, that’ll just turn him on.

At the end of his heat he’ll probably feel so bad but if you’re ok with it he’ll have you around more often during his heat.

Hope you enjoyed~

#genshin #genshin impact #diluc #genshin impact headcanons #genshin diluc #genshin kaeya #fanfic #genshin x reader #genshin jean #genshin xiao #Xiao #Kaeya #Jean

[varyagated]

CW discourse—-

I still don’t get how yuri/yaoi is fetishizing tbh. To me this is like the thing w being attracted to marginalized populations, is that sometimes any attraction is viewed as a fetish which is not fair. If ppl read straight porn or romance novels that are literally just for erotic content nobody says you are fetishizing straight ppl lmao.

I feel this all the time being a plus size woman. Many ppl are attracted to me and being attracted to a plus size person is not a fetish. And even if someone was exclusively attracted to plus size ppl I’d be like ok, you have a type.

and if yuri/yaoi is fetishization- ok? It’s often behind warnings and clearly marked as sexual content. Yaoi particularly I could see feeling weird to mlm since it is often produced for women by women. But I think that may have to do w so many women suffering from internalized sexism so that identifying/fantasizing abt gay male relationships is one way they can imagine something egalitarian, safe, free of oppression as sad as that sounds - less complicated than hetero relationships and a way to escape being in ur body as a woman. All highly attractive when you’re in a body that is stigmatized/highly fetishized itself.

Finally, if yuri is fetishization like.. as a queer woman I am super into it??? Pls produce more wlw content I can’t wait to read it? And I don’t care abt the gender of the person producing it. I don’t even care if it’s good. Ppl from all identities can and should write LGBT and diverse writing!

this is why I don’t rly get when ppl are mad at fujoshi . When y’all read T rated yaoi fics it’s the same thing. Also mad skeptical of ppl bashing fujoshi when they are not from the same culture fujoshi are found in. Is there also an aspect of internalized sexism there? Like, so excited to banish lady “perverts” when healthy sexuality in women has been persecuted for centuries. Let women live omg. Let people enjoy their sexual fantasies bc literally who cares.

I basically block/unfollow anyone who has these opinions for my own health and theirs 😪

#cw discourse #yaoi #yuri

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Brazil’s Lula called out for lack gender and racial diversity in electoral photo

Image of the event that sealed Alckmin's nomination as Lula's vice-president drew attention for the lack of black people and women, and fueled discussion on social about the lack of representation on the left

“With Lula and Alckmin, we have the experience, balance, and courage to change the lives of the Brazilian people”, wrote the Workers’ Party (PT) president Gleisi Hoffmann, when publishing a photo on her social networks of the meeting that on Friday (April 8th, 2022) made official the indication of former PT rival Geraldo Alckmin (Brazilian Socialist Party - PSB) to be vice president for Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) for their candidacy. The image drew attention for the lack of gender and race diversity in the group.

In the photo, ex-São Paulo governor Alckmin and ex-president Lula are accompanied by politicians from the PSB and PT, forming a group of 19 men and 2 women, all white. The women in the photo are Gleisi Hoffmann and sociologist Rosângela da Silva, Lula's fiancée. Also participating in the meeting, held in São Paulo, the president of the PSB, Carlos Siqueira, congressmen, governors, and mayors of both parties. The image generated repercussions on social media.

On his Twitter account, FGV (Faculdade Getulio Vargas) law professor Thiago Amparo wrote: “Where are the blacks, where are the women, Lula? We want to be on the other side of the table.”

Americas Quarterly’s editor in chief Brian Winter quote-retweeted it, mentioning the fact that 56% of the country identifies as Black or mixed-race. “PT definitely not only party in Brazil with representation issues, but (so far) failing to keep up with counterparts in Colombia, for example, where there are 4 Black candidates for VP this year.”, he wrote. “I attend political & business events all over Latin America. The least diverse, ie the most dominated by older white men, are consistently Brazil and Argentina in my experience. Trend moving right direction, there’s awareness, but it’s slower in some countries“

The criticisms led to a discussion that has become recurrent and puts in opposition the demands for more space for under-represented groups in politics, such as women and people of color, and the idea that the focus on these agendas harms left-wing parties. Amparo, for example, was reprimanded by users who said that criticizing Lula's pre-candidacy would be a way to benefit the far-right current President Jair Bolsonaro (Liberal Party - PL). “I know how many blacks each political party elected and I know that the PT and PSOL [Socialism & Liberty Party] lead this process. Do you know why? For demands from Black people like the one I made in the original tweet,” the professor wrote in response.

A member of the PT, Rio de Janeiro councilor Tainá de Paula stated that the photo exposes a lack of diversity in political spaces that is nothing new, and repudiated the users who were demanding her position on the image, saying she was being demanded for a position in a racist and abusive way.

At the event, Lula commented on the lack of female presence at the venue and spoke of the desire to increase women's participation in politics. “At the next meeting, for every man at the table, [that] has a woman,” said PT.

In 2021, another photo of the “White PT” generated criticism. Published on Lula's official Twitter in October of that year, Lula appears in the image alongside PT deputies and senators, in a mostly white bench. One of the main measures adopted by the PT to guarantee some degree of internal representation is the quotas of at least 20% of participation of blacks in the management bodies – that is, this minimum must be followed in the national direction and also in the state and municipal directions. of the party.

The discussion on representation added to a debate that has also mobilized users of the networks aligned to the left since Friday: the lack of consensus on the left regarding the entry of Geraldo Alckmin on Lula's ticket. A relevant wing of the PT is still against the name of the former Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) member; they consider that his profile does not add new voters and can even get in the way. Alckmin's nomination will be taken for approval by the PT's National Executive, which will meet for deliberation on April 14. The formalization of the candidacy will take place at party conventions, between June and August.

Source, translated and slightly adapted by the blogger.

#brazil #brazilian politics #politics #feminism #racism #anti racism #luiz inacio lula da silva #geraldo alckmin #brazilian elections #brazilian elections 2022 #translations and summaries #mod nise da silveira #image description in alt

[pocmuzings]

hi g! i am an admin of an rp and i really strive to make it as inclusive as possible so muns of all fcs feel welcome. i'm curious to know, when you are looking for an rp what do you look for in terms of admins making it inclusive? this isn't meant to be pointed at all, i am just genuinely looking to improve!

i feel like i answer this a fair bit , and honestly my answers don’t change too much ? there’s a plethora of things u can do , and by no means  are these definitive . these are things ive noticed make me feel more included , or Safe to join a rp . speaking as a woc , and somebody in the Cursed tz . .

if ur an admin ..  u should absolutely be playing a diverse character . please for the love of god . u should be the example of what the rp is about and what u wanna see . if ur char is just a cis whitey . . that just doesnt cut it for me ! thats not what i wanna see in 2021 !

when asked for most wanted fcs . . really name some ‘ unpopular ‘ fcs . aka faceclaims of colour . faceclaims that are gender diverse , body diverse , religiously diverse , different able bodied , etc , etc , etc !!! put these fcs in the forefront ! push for them ! strive to see them !

if somebody joins ur rp as a ‘ non popular fc ‘ aka . . a fc that isnt a whitey , or like . .zendaya . pls put in extra effort to plot and rp with them ! pls pls pls. because i guaranteed for the most part , especially in an established rp , they will be ignored otherwise ! if ur rp is super inclusive ooc , then this most likely wont happen , but also . . most rps arent super inclusive ooc lets be 100 here . 

either write skeletons for chars that are DIFFERENT and ‘ challenging ‘ to some , or ENCOURAGE these characters to be written . write more smooth talking business men who are indian ! write characters who are hard of hearing ! write characters who wear hijabis ! who are ethnic but have great relationships with their parents ! write characters who are in wheelchairs , or are sexy and confident in their plus sized bodies . write characters who are black women who are soft , but still strong . write gentle black men . write a  trans man , write a nonbinary god , etc , etc . defeat the stereotypes ! turn them on their head ! there are guides ! there is so much out there ! we can create the world we wanna live in , so why fill it with boring white cis , hetero normative ppl ???

know what ur gonna do with ur characters , plot wise . if ur rp has a plot , thats fantastic ! but . . u probably have to carry that momentum . ppl join ur rp bc they probably LIKE the plot and wanna explore the plot . so how r they characters gonna be involved ? whats their part in it all ? how will it help them develop ? what plot drops / tasks / events can u host that will make ppl do more with their chars and be more active ? 

don’t have an ooc chat . just don’t . please . they’re so cliquey , they literally always are . those who like ooc chats are usually the ppl who r cliquey , im being honest fjknfjn . there is no point in having an ooc chat , really either . ppl can add each other on discord at any time , for free , if they want .

have clear boundaries . what can and CANNOT be rped . what fcs can and CANNOT be used . have a very very clear line . no lazy ‘ no taboo plots ‘ or ‘ no big plots without talking to admins ‘ ‘ no triggering topics ‘ ‘ no deceased fcs ‘ . no . u need to get in the nitty gritty . u need to ensure ur harbouring and keeping a safe space for those entering ur rp

be friendly , as an admin . be firm . but also , be very very open and candid and honest . if something goes wrong ? its so fine , and honestly v human , to post abt it ! if there’s drama ? its rlly good to address it and talk abt it amongst ur rpers . listen to ur rpers , if theres a problem . create open communication . maintain it . show that u care and want to help , when u can help , whilst also maintaining ur own sanity !

advertise ur rp for different timezones ! if ur entire ooc list is just rpers in the united states . . look .  nothing wrong with it , but firstly , make sure everyone in the rp doesnt think america is the whole world ( the rpc  / america rlly thinks its the whole fucking world sometimes ) . this means , dont make fun of ppl for spelling things differently ( honestly im  just australian and this guy once made fun of me for spelling it as ‘ offence ‘ not ‘ offense ‘ . like . . ok im not american . the whole world isnt america kjfnjf ) . this doesn’t mean u need to be online at bizarre hours or ruining ur sleeping pattern , but try and get an admin thats in a diff timezone to help cover things ! or just make sure ur rlly advertising ur rp at allll times of a day . including when us ppl are usually asleep ! try and encourage other muns in other timezones to apply ! and when they do apply , pls try ur best to include them and make sure theyre not left out of everything !

theres probably a lot more but this is what first comes to mind for me , personally . this are usually my ‘ green signs ‘ ( go go go ! ) for a rp ! when i see this stuff on a main , or by an admin . . i feel very Warm n fuzzy . 

#shutup g. #rph #rpc #again i know im missing a lot but hee honk #Anonymous

[battlestar-royco]

Maxine! Pls give your hot takes on Rap & misogyny

honestly rap is not my musical area of expertise but i definitely do listen and keep up with it to a certain extent! i can’t promise the takes will be groundbreaking but here we go:

for the most part it’s misogynoir in particular

there’s a hierarchy of clout and respect that was pioneered by black men but ppl like eminem, macklemore, mac miller, iggy etc started vulturing and being viewed as sensational. now it’s white men > white women > black men > black women etc

it’s intricately intertwined with homophobia due to male rappers’ constant fear of emasculation and the idea that attraction to men is “effeminate” (hate that word). they’re different for sure but i personally don’t think you can separate the two tbh

the homophobia is gendered. homophobic/sexist slurs are used to belittle other men--competitors. slurs are used against women--objects--who are not attracted to the rapper to make them seem like an aberration

also layered with classism, materialism, ageism, colorism, featurism etc. for example thin light-skinned women are featured way more often in videos as love interests and wearing status symbols (jewelry, hair, nails, brand name clothes blah), and dark-skinned women are background dancers or foils with more diverse body types. women are part of the material desires expressed in many rap songs

this is a prime example of how gender can be/is always racialized. gender expression across races/ethnicities uses different codifiers, making it easier for everyone else to call black women ghetto (a whole other issue to unpack) while benefitting off their presence and the way they add objective, incredible value to the rap genre. it’s specifically misogynoir bc when u see white women wearing grills, neon hair, braids, bantu knots etc they get praised

for straight black men, the gender hierarchy in rap is a form of catharsis and control bc they lack that control over racism

thus when you get a cultural fucking reset where women are building up other women’s confidence (truth hurts, run the world, etc) and ESPECIALLY!!! if it has to do with explicit autonomy over men (literally everything to do with wap), there is a backlash bc this is one of few spaces where black men are used to dominating

also absolutely worth mentioning what lil nas x is doing for the community and how much gaslighting, shit, and psychoanalysis he got for making a song about RIDING A HORSE bc he is gay?? :/ it’s the toxic masculinity babey

speaking of megan thee stallion she objectivelyyyyyy has so much more talent than most ppl on the scene at the moment that everyone should be ashamed of their entire career. she would’ve wrecked the market tenfold had she been a dude and/or white. oh and tory lanez choke challenge <3

which brings me back to the gender expression point. you notice how LNX’s masculinity is in question at the same time the femininity of megan, cardi b, nicki minaj, lizzo etc is in question? and then it’s used to dehumanize them and question their success? inch resting coincidence

ALL that said, white and nb rappers get away with all this and much more, as do other genres because the creators are not primarily black. for example the heavy metal and country genres are full of men who literally sing about murdering the women in their lives lol

rap carries a lot of the onus of misogyny in music. misogynistic songs hit the mainstream to add to the narrative of black men (& women) being predatory and hypersexual while the other more nuanced songs get widely ignored to the point where ppl literally think rap is just misogyny and materialism when it has a extremely complex and interesting history and covers a wide range of topics

#long post #answered #music #misogynoir

[capricxs]

looking for more 1x1s

oh yes, it’s that time where i come out every 3 months to ask for more writing partners! so i’m getting in that soft squishy mood this holiday season (bc i need it) so i’m looking for more fwens to write on discord with!

some stuff i want

idk anything wintery and cute

anything that’s cliche aS FUCK. i’m comin for u hallmark

cowboys. always anything western i will give my soul to

high school/college reunion mumus

any slow burn/slice of life kinda stuff

if som1 gives me canon frank castle/karen page i’ll give u my soul

general rules

i only write on discord

i prefer writing 30+ muses

i prefer not to write doubles unless i know you/we’re mutuals

i love to hc and if that’s not ur thing, that’s fine, we probably just wont vibe then

i play/play against any and all genders. i don’t mind smut but it gets boring after a while, so i prefer nsfw hcs. pls don’t use me to write male muses against you. 

i like using plus sized & body diverse fcs, if that’s not your vibe, that’s fine, then i’m not the writing partner for you.

#rpt #1x1 rp #1x1 #discord 1x1 #discord rp #rpc #indie rp

[merrymusings]

hey yall i am really dedicated to finding more inclusive faceless images than most musing blogs offer ( like body diversity, poc of any gender, etc ) so pls stop letting those faceless pics flop and only giving them like 2 notes because the rpc really needs it thank u. 

#rant done #im not trying to be preachy i promise i just get excited to share them and thne no one shares themmmmmmmmmmm #i have soooo many in my queue im so excite. #usually theyree in the g. faceless or clothes tag

[learningrendezvous]

Media Studies

FATTITUDE

By Lindsey Averill, Viridiana Lieberman

An eye-opening look at how popular media perpetuates fat hatred that results in cultural bias and discrimination.

FATTITUDE is an eye-opening look at how popular media perpetuates fat hatred that results in a cultural bias and a civil rights issue for people living in fat bodies.

Fat people are paid $1.25 less an hour than their thin counterparts and can still legally lose jobs just because they're fat. Additionally, 1 in 3 doctors associates fat bodies with hostility, dishonesty and poor hygiene. FATTITUDE looks at how this systemic cultural prejudice results in fat discrimination. Informed by a post-modern, post-colonial, feminist perspective, FATTITUDE also examines how fat-shaming crosses the lines of race, class, sexuality and gender. It features a diverse variety of voices such as academic scholars, activists, filmmakers, actors and psychologists, including Lindy West, Sonya Renee Taylor, Virgie Tovar, Ricki Lake, and more.

A body positive documentary intent on inspiring change, FATTITUDE offers alternative ideas that embrace body acceptance at all sizes, explores examples of fat positive representations being produced today by activists and the media, and focuses on real life solutions for moving forward and changing the national conversation about body image.

DVD (Color, Closed Captioned) / 2019 / 88 minutes

TVTV: VIDEO REVOLUTIONARIES

Director: Paul Goldsmith

Featuring Bill Murray, Hunter Thompson, Steven Spielberg, Lynn Swan, Goldie Hawn, Abbie Hoffman, Lily Tomlin and more, "TVTV: Video Revolutionaries" is a documentary about Top Value Television (TVTV), a band of merry video makers who, from 1972 to 1977, took the then brand-new portable video camera and went out to document the world. In those days, there were only three TV networks, using giant studio cameras, and no one had ever seen a portable camera stuck in their face, let alone one held by what Newsweek called "braless, blue-jeaned video freaks." Because the technology was so new, there were no rules about how to use it or what to make. So the "freaks" used it to make format-bending satirical shows about whatever interested them - from the 1972 Republican Convention to an award-winning expose of a 15-year-old jet-set guru named Guru Maharaj Ji, called "Lord of the Universe" to capturing the Steelers and Cowboys partying hard the night before Super Bowl X.

Directed by TVTV alum Paul Goldsmith, the film is like opening a treasure chest into the 1970s, filled with cultural and political events hosted by now-famous characters who were then just beginning their climb to iconic.

DVD / 2018 / 82 minutes

ACORN AND THE FIRESTORM

Director: Reuben Atlas, Sam Pollard

If you were impoverished and politically voiceless, ACORN hoped to change your mind. For 40 years, the community-organizing group sought to empower marginalized communities. Its critics, though, believed ACORN exemplified everything wrong with liberal ideals.

Fueled by a YouTube video made by two young conservatives who posed as pimp and prostitute in a sting, ACORN's very existence would be challenged. ACORN and the Firestorm goes beyond the 24-hour news cycle and cuts to the heart of the great political divide.

DVD / 2017 / 84 minutes

GRAY STATE, A

Director: Erik Nelson

In 2010 David Crowley, an Iraq veteran, aspiring filmmaker and charismatic up-and-coming voice in fringe politics, began production on his film Gray State. Set in a dystopian near-future where civil liberties are trampled by an unrestrained federal government, the film's crowd-funded trailer was enthusiastically received by the burgeoning online community of libertarians, Tea Party activists and members of the nascent alt-right.

In January 2015, Crowley was found dead with his family in their suburban Minnesota home. Their shocking deaths quickly become a cause celebre for conspiracy theorists who speculate that Crowley was assassinated by a shadowy government concerned about a film and filmmaker that was getting too close to the truth about their aims.

A Gray State combs through Crowley's archive of 13,000 photographs, hundreds of hours of home video, and exhaustive behind-the-scenes footage of Crowley's work in progress to reveal what happens when a paranoid view of the government turns inward - blurring the lines of what is real and what people want to believe.

DVD / 2017 / 93 minutes

OBIT.

Directed by Vanessa Gould

At a time when the free press is under threat, OBIT. takes a rare look inside one of the United States' foremost journalistic institutions, The New York Times. The steadfast writers of the paper's Obituaries section approach their work with journalistic rigor and narrative flair, each day depositing the details of a handful of extraordinary lives into the cultural memory. Going beyond the byline and into the minds of those chronicling the recently deceased, OBIT. is ultimately a celebration of life that conveys the central role journalism plays in capturing and reporting vital pieces of our history.

DVD (Region 1, Color, Closed Captioned) / 2017 / 95 minutes

TRUMP: THE ART OF THE INSULT

By Joel Gilbert

Donald Trump used his special brand of the Art of the Insult to attack opponents and bash the media all the way to the White House in 2016. He continues to master the art with ongoing fine-tuning from the podium, his office and of course on Twitter.

While critics insisted "The Donald" was merely a chaotic sideshow, Trump continues to dominate the 24-hour news cycle with a master plan of political incorrectness. Hurling insults like Low-Energy Jeb, Lyin' Ted, Crooked Hillary, Little Marco, Pocahontas, and Fake News, Trump has emerged as an unstoppable political phenomenon who has transformed the Presidential voice into the greatest show on earth.

Trump: The Art of the Insult tells the story of Donald Trump's improbable journey from Trump Tower to rallies across America to the debate stage, where he reveled in mocking and taunting rivals with targeted insults and nicknames, leaving them gasping for air. As President of the US, he continues the trend.

In Trump: The Art of the Insult, the President is often sophomoric and sometimes brutal, yet America seems to always find him entertaining. Love or hate Donald Trump, you'll find yourself laughing along with the leader of the free world, and marveling at Trump.

Is "the Real Donald Trump" a marketing genius and accomplished performance artist or....?

DVD / 2017 / 95 minutes

ALL GOVERNMENTS LIE: TRUTH, DECEPTION, AND THE SPIRIT OF I.F. STONE

Director: Fred Peabody

Independent journalists like Amy Goodman, Glenn Greenwald, Jeremy Scahill, and Matt Taibbi are changing the face of journalism, providing investigative, adversarial alternatives to mainstream, corporate news outlets. Our cameras follow as they expose government and corporate deception - just as the ground-breaking independent journalist I.F. Stone did decades ago.

DVD / 2016 / 91 minutes

DEMOCRACY ROAD

By Turid Rogne

After more than 20 years in exile in Norway, the Burmese journalists of DVB are returning to their homeland to establish their independent news station there. Editor-in-chief Aye Chan Naing and reporter Than Win Htut have dreamt about this for years, but their struggle for freedom and democracy is not over yet.

DEMOCRACY ROAD is a road movie documentary following the journalists of DVB in Myanmar in a critical phase of the establishment of the newborn democracy. With their existence as an independent news channel and Myanmar's future as a democracy at stake, senior reporter Than Win Htut and his colleagues hit the road with their groundbreaking show "Our Nation, Our Land." Their goal is to investigate the living conditions of ordinary people off the beaten path in Myanmar, but the machinery of the old dictatorship is still running. Simultaneously, editor-in-chief, Aye Chan Naing, has to negotiate with DVB's former enemies in the infamous Ministry of Information. The road towards democracy has only just begun...

Director Turid Rogne has followed the journalists of DVB for more than 10 years. With both boldness and sensitivity, she tells the story of life in a former dictatorship through the people who try to influence history.

DVD (Color) / 2016 / 60 minutes

KINGS OF THE PAGES: THE GOLDEN AGE OF COMIC STRIPS

Directed by Robert Lemieux

At the turn of the 20th century, two of the most powerful men in America were newspaper magnates William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. Noted mostly for their contentious rivalry and sensationalist news coverage, they were also responsible for cultivating some of the era's most recognizable celebrities-Nemo, Krazy, Happy Hooligan, George McManus, Ignatz, Mutt, Buster Brown, Hans and Fritz, and Offissa Pup, to name a few.

In their ongoing battle to attract newspaper readers, both Hearst and Pulitzer had discovered that comic strips were a strategic addition. Often raiding each other's staffs to acquire the best talent, both men recognized the potential. It wasn't until Hearst unveiled the first full color, 8-page comic supplement in 1896, that the potential was fully realized, prompting Hearst's now famous quote motto... "Eight Pages of Iridescent Polychromous Effulgence That Makes The Rainbow Look Like A Lead Pipe!"

Over the next fifty years, that polychromatic effulgence would usher in the Golden Age of the American comic strip. During that time span, more than 150 different strips made their way into America's living rooms. Every week the characters and their creators provided humorous entertainment and tickled many a funny bone. Reading the comics became a cultural phenomenon.

Only available in North America.

DVD / 2016 / 24 minutes

WHAT HAPPENED TO HER

By Kristy Guevara-Flanagan

WHAT HAPPENED TO HER is a forensic exploration of our cultural obsession with images of the dead woman on screen. Interspersing found footage from films and police procedural television shows and one actor's experience of playing the part of a corpse, the film offers a meditative critique on the trope of the dead female body.

The visual narrative of the genre, one reinforced through its intense and pervasive repetition, is revealed as a highly structured pageant. The experience of physical invasion and exploitation voiced by the actor pierce the fabric of the screened fantasy. The result is recurring and magnetic film cliche laid bare. Essential viewing for Pop Culture, Women's and Cinema Studies classes.

DVD (Color) / 2016 / 15 minutes

1971

Director: Johanna Hamilton

On March 8, 1971, a group of citizens broke into an FBI office in Media, PA, took every file, and shared them with the public. Their actions exposed the FBI's illegal surveillance program of law-abiding Americans. Now, these previously anonymous Americans publicly share their story for the first time.

The FBI, established in 1908, was for 60 years held unaccountable and untouchable until 1971, when The Citizens' Commission to Investigate the FBI, as they called themselves, sent the stolen files to journalists at the Washington Post, which published them and shed light on the FBI's widespread abuse of power. These actions exposed COINTELPRO, the FBI's illegal surveillance program that involved the intimidation of law-abiding Americans, and helped lead to the country's first congressional investigation of U.S. intelligence agencies.

The activist-burglars then disappeared into anonymity for forty years. Until now. Never caught, these previously anonymous Americans parents, teachers and citizens publicly reveal themselves for the first time and share their story in the documentary 1971. Using a mix of dramatic re-enactments and candid interviews with all involved, the film vividly brings to life one of the more important, yet relatively unexplored, chapters in modern American history.

DVD / 2015 / 79 minutes

BAPTISM OF FIRE, A

By Jerome Clement-Wilz

"As it gets harder to sell pictures, we take greater and greater risks," explains Corentin Fohlen. A war correspondent still in his twenties, Fohlen is part of a new generation of freelance journalists who fly to war zones from Libya to Afghanistan on their own dime in the hope of selling images to news media outlets.

But the carefree attitude of youth can change when confronted with the harsh reality of life in wartime. When a colleague is killed in Syria, Fohlen's thirst for adventure turns into a deeper reflection on the meaning of work and life. Director Clement-Wilz followed Fohlen through shells and bullets for four years in order to create this riveting portrait of the life of a contemporary war correspondent.

DVD (Color, Closed Captioned) / 2015 / 52 minutes

DREAMS REWIRED

Narrated by Tilda Swinton By Manu Luksch, Martin Reinhart & Thomas Tode

Tilda Swinton's hypnotic voiceover and a treasure trove of rare archival footage culled from hundreds of films from the 1880s through the 1930s—much of it previously unseen—combine to trace the anxieties of today's hyper-connected world back a hundred years. Then, too, electric media sparked idealism in the public imagination—hailed as the beginning of an era of total communication, annihilation of distance and the end of war. But then, too, fears over the erosion of privacy, security, morality proved to be well-founded.

DREAMS REWIRED traces contemporary appetites and anxieties back to the birth of the telephone, television and cinema. At the time, early electric media were as revolutionary as social media are now. The technologies were expected to serve everyone, not just the elite classes. Human relationships would become stronger, efficiency would increase and the society would be revolutionized... But these initial promises were very different from what new media eventually brought to daily life.

Using excerpts from early dramatic films, slapstick comedies, political newsreels, advertisements and recordings of scientific experiments culled during years of research in film archives around the world, co-directors Manu Luksch, Martin Reinhart and Thomas Tode unearth material that is by turns hilarious, revelatory, beautiful and prescient. The archival footage, combined with poetic narration and a virtuosic score by Siegfried Friedrich forges a cross-generational connection between contemporary viewers and their idealistic forbearers of a century ago.

DVD (Color, Closed Captioned) / 2015 / 85 minutes

HOT TYPE: 150 YEARS OF THE NATION

Director: Barbara Kopple

Hot Type: 150 Years of The Nation is a vivid, inside look at America's oldest continuously published weekly magazine. Shot over three years in intimate, cinema verite style, the film captures the day-to-day pressures and challenges of publishing the progressive magazine as it follows reporters out into the field, the editors who shape their work, and the editor-in chief who tries to keep all of the plates spinning.

Writers are the heart and soul of the magazine, and the film follows them extensively. Sasha Abramsky travels to West Texas to report on the years-long drought that has gripped the region and the devastating economic impact on farmers and residents. John Nichols unpacks what's going on behind the effort to recall Wisconsin governor Scott Walker. Amy Wilentz visits the "temporary" tent camps of Haiti, three years after the earthquake, to shed light on the dire conditions and lackluster international response. And Dani McClain reports on the Moral Monday movement in North Carolina, and its dynamic leader Rev. William Barber, as they push back against an extreme right-wing takeover of the state legislature.

In all of the current-day reported stories, The Nation's incredible trove of archival articles - and roster of writers - acts as an historical touchstone and illuminates how the past continuously ripples through and shapes current events.

At a fascinating moment in American history - politically, socially and culturally - the media landscape is changing at breathtaking speed. The film charts the journey of The Nation - and the nation - evolving into the future, as it is guided by its remarkable past.

DVD / 2015 / 92 minutes

HOW TO CHANGE THE WORLD

Director: Jerry Rothwell

How to Change the World chronicles the adventures of an eclectic group of young pioneers - Canadian hippie journalists, photographers, musicians, scientists, and American draft dodgers - who set out to stop Richard Nixon's atomic bomb tests in Amchitka, Alaska, and end up creating the worldwide green movement.

Greenpeace was founded on tight knit, passionate friendships forged in Vancouver in the early 1970s. Together they pioneered a template for environmental activism which mixed daring iconic feats and worldwide media: placing small rubber inflatables between harpooners and whales, blocking ice-breaking sealing ships with their bodies, spraying the pelts of baby seals with dye to make them valueless in the fur market. The group had a prescient understanding of the power of media, knowing that the advent of global mass communications meant that the image had become a more effective tool for change than the strike or the demonstration.

DVD (Region 1, Color) / 2015 / 109 minutes

SEX, LIES AND TABLOIDS!

By Jean-Baptiste Peretie

They're lurid, obnoxious, disdainful and explicit. And we love them - and love to hate them.

SEX, LIES AND TABLOIDS! charts the rise and fall of tabloid papers in the UK and US, including the New York Post, The Sun, and notorious supermarket tabloids like the National Enquirer and The Star.

In the beginning, they were upstarts. Papers that shamelessly pandered with stories about sex scandals, and celebrities - often skirting ethical lines, and sometimes outright making things up ("Run it through the typewriter again," was one editor's mantra.) But by the 1980s and '90s they had become the media heavyweights. Left behind by the tabloids' coverage of Bill Clinton's sex life, Princess Diana and the OJ Simpson trial, the mainstream media started to adopt their techniques.

SEX, LIES AND TABLOIDS! Features extensive interviews with key tabloid players such as notorious editor Kelvin MacKenzie ("If you have no news... you get a picture of Diana and make it as big as possible"), journalist Paul McMullan ("People need to understand that privacy is an evil, bad concept"), and the late Vincent Musetto (famed for the headline "Headless body in topless bar"). The film provides an insider's account of the no-holds-barred mentality driving tabloid journalism while also using fun and campy footage mimicking the style of the tabloids themselves.

Eventually, the tabs would go too far. Briefly chastened by the death of Diana and shunned after the British phone hacking scandal, the papers would go into a downward spiral, with The News of the World even shutting down. But culture they spawned is stronger than ever. Sites like TMZ and The Smoking Gun and an omni-present gotcha culture have brought the spirit of the tabloids to the Internet. At the same time, the ubiquity of sharing means photos that would once have been prized by paparazzi (hello Kim Kardashian in a bikini) are posted by celebrities and would-be-celebs themselves. The tabloids may be gone, but the tabloid spirit is everywhere.

DVD (Closed Captioned) / 2015 / 52 minutes

WORLD ACCORDING TO RUSSIA TODAY, THE

By Misja Pekel

In 2014, Malaysian Airlines passenger flight 17 was shot down with a rocket intended for the private plane of Russian president Vladimir Putin... If, that is, a viewer is relying on the satellite TV network Russia Today as their source for news.

These claims were not the first time Russia Today drew attention for counter-factual reporting: during the 2008 war in Georgia, the network reported that South Ossetians were the victims of genocide at the hands of Georgians. In 2014, the channel was warned by the British TV agency for its biased and inaccurate reporting on the uprising on Maidan Square in Kiev. The list goes on and on.

Russia Today (now renamed just RT) was launched in 2005 to bring a Russian-centric perspective on current political events to a global audience. After a decade of generous Kremlin funding, 2015 found the 24-hour news channel the biggest media organization on YouTube with 2 billion viewers: more than CNN and the BBC combined.

The network claims only to offer an alternative perspective to the monolithic view presented by mainstream Western media. But what kind of "reporting" is Russia Today actually doing? What is it like to work for the channel? How much influence does the Kremlin really have there? Is it possible to differentiate between fact and opinion on a Russian channel when the Russian interests are at stake?

In Misja Pekel's disturbing documentary THE WORLD ACCORDING TO RUSSIA TODAY, former and current news anchors, editors and correspondents for the network-including William Dunbar, Sara Firth, Marc de Jersey, Afshin Rattansi and Liz Wahl-join journalists and media professionals Alexander Nekrassov, Peter Pomerantsev, Richard Sambrook, Daniel Sandford, Derk Sauer and more in a detailed dissection of the channel's modus operandi and the challenges and dangers of reporting and consuming news in a globalized world.

DVD (Color, Closed Captioned) / 2015 / 40 minutes

INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING IN THE DIGITAL ERA

In the new world of tweets, blogs, and citizen journalism, what is the outlook for true investigative reporting? This program highlights the ways investigative journalism is changing, particularly in the context of digital and online media. Social media and globalization have changed the ways reporters connect with their readers. What are the advantages and disadvantages of nearly instantaneous access to news as it unfolds? A panel of heavy hitters from the world of journalism weighs in on these and other issues, such as emerging financial models for (costly) investigative reporting as traditional news budgets shrink. Young reporters entering the field will be particularly encouraged by many of the exciting technologies and resources available for developing stories that are more in-depth, media-rich, and engaging. Investigative journalism is a fast-evolving field, and this program helps entry-level reporters as well as veterans to bear witness more effectively in the Internet era.

DVD / 2014 / 17 minutes

ADJUST YOUR TRACKING: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE VHS COLLECTOR

It revolutionized the film business. The birth and life of VHS as a format brought films into the homes of millions around the world. And, it brought genre films to the forefront. Now, if you think VHS is dead, you're wrong!

Over 100 collectors, filmmakers, producers, and video store owners express how VHS changed their lives. Some see VHS as worthless plastic, but Adjust Your Tracking shows a vibrant world of collectors and movie fans who are keeping the format, and the movies, alive. Travel back to the days of video rental stores with those who still buy, sell, rent and trade the format that will not die-VHS.

DVD / 2013 / 84 minutes

CAPTIVATED: FINDING FREEDOM IN A MEDIA CAPTIVE CULTURE

This feature-length documentary is not anti-media or anti-technology, but it raises critical concerns about our culture's seemingly unchecked enthusiasm for media consumption. It highlights the overwhelming evidence of growing problems on multiple fronts, including the potential physical, psychological, moral, and spiritual impacts of media technology when used or consumed without discretion.

Features outstanding interviews with Ray Comfort, Bob Waliszewsi, Dr. Ted Baehr, Dr. Jeff Myers, Kerby Anderson, Kevin Swanson, Dr. David Walsh, Al Menconi, Dr. Dimitri Christakis, Dick Rolfe, Phil Chalmers, Professor Mark Bauerlein, Maggie Jackson, and more. .

DVD / 2013 / 107 minutes

INREALLIFE

Director: Beeban Kidron InRealLife asks what exactly is the internet and what is it doing to our children? Taking us on a journey from the bedrooms of teenagers to Silicon Valley, filmmaker Beeban Kidron suggests that rather than the promise of free and open connectivity, young people are increasingly ensnared in a commercial world. Beguiling and glittering on the outside, it can be alienating and addictive. Quietly building its case, Kidron's film asks if we can afford to stand by while our children, trapped in their 24/7 connectivity, are being outsourced to the net?

While newspapers alternately praise and panic about the glittering world of the Internet, there is a generation of children who have grown up with a smart phone in their hand, connected to the world 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Public discourse seems to revolve around privacy, an issue that embodies the fears and concerns of adults. What is less discussed is what it really means to always be online, never alone and increasingly bombarded by a world that has something to sell you and appears to know you better than yourself. A world that is so ubiquitous that it is the first thing you see as you wake up in the morning and the last thing you see before you go to sleep at night.

For adults there was a 'before' the net. But for the current generation, at the time of their most rapid development they have no other experience and few tools with which to negotiate the overwhelming parade of opportunity and cost that the internet delivers directly into their hands.

From the bedrooms of five disparate teenagers and then into the companies that profit from the internet, InRealLifetakes a closer look at some of the behavioral outcomes that come from living in a commercially driven, 'interruption' culture.

Following the physical journey of the internet, from fiber optic cables through sewers and under oceans, from London to NYC and finally to Silicon Valley, the film reveals that what is often thought of as an 'open, democratic and free' world is in fact dominated by a small group of powerful players. Meanwhile our kids - merely pawns in the game - are adapting to this new world - along with their expectation of friendship, their cognition and their sexuality.

DVD / 2013 / 90 minutes

SMILING THROUGH THE APOCALYPSE

Director: Tom Hayes

Esquire magazine was a galvanizing force in American culture from the early 1960s through the early '70s. Forging its pop-cultural capital on the basis of provocative cover art, intellectual audacity and riveting articles by the preeminent and cutting edge writers of the time, the magazine captured the zeitgeist of America in the crucible of the '60s.

The chief architect of this print revolution was Harold Hayes, a brilliant and tenacious editor who granted Esquire's contributors unprecedented journalistic freedom. Hayes' fearless instincts provided a haven for writers like Gore Vidal, Tom Wolfe, Gay Talese, Nora Ephron, William F. Buckley and Norman Mailer, and nurtured the iconoclastic talents of art director George Lois. By making it possible for writers and artists to bring novelistic techniques into reportage Hayes fostered what became known as "New Journalism".

The indelible cultural contributions captured in this enthralling documentary by his son, Tom Hayes, provide a vivid context for nothing less than the rebirth of American aesthetics. Featuring interviews with Robert Benton, Candice Bergen, Peter Bogdanovich, Brock Brower, Graydon Carter, Lee Eisenberg, Harlan Ellison, Nora Ephron, Robert Frank, Hugh Hefner, Tom Meehan, Frank Rich, Bob Rifkind, Gay Talese, Gore Vidal, Ed Wilson, Tom Wolfe and many others.

DVD / 2013 / 99 minutes

BATTLE FOR THE ARAB VIEWER, THE

By Nordin Lasfar

In early 2011, people around the world tuned into Al Jazeera to watch the Egyptian revolution in real time. Meanwhile, rival broadcaster Al Arabiya was also offering near continuous coverage, with cameras on a balcony overlooking the 6th October Bridge, where protesters and police clashed.

How was the content of those broadcasts - and the networks' subsequent coverage - influenced by their political allegiances?

Featuring interviews with current and former journalists from both networks, and analysis from independent pundits, The Battle for the Arab Viewer highlights the philosophical differences between the two pan-Arab networks.

Al Jazeera was created by the Emir of Qatar after he deposed his father in a coup. The station typically champions the poor and social movements - such as the Muslim Brotherhood - that are hostile to the Saudi regime. The station has grown highly influential. In the film, a passerby stops Al Jazeera's chief Cairo correspondent on the street to thank him and the government of Qatar for supporting the anti-Mubarak forces, saying the network is "90%" responsible for the revolution.

With Al Jazeera supporting elements hostile to Saudi Arabia, the Saudis set up their own network as a counterpoint: the more conservative Al Arabiya, owned by a close friend of the royal family.

While The Battle for the Arab Viewer offers insight and analysis, it also shows how the battle between the two networks plays out on the ground in Cairo. We go behind the scenes with Al Arabiya journalist Randa Abul Azm and Al Jazeera's Abdelfattah Fayed as they follow stories, break news, and cover events such as Hosni Mubarak's trial. (Azm is allowed into the courtroom, but Fayed is not.)

Azm and Fayed each mirror their networks' respective demographics. Al Arabiya appeals to well-off, middle-class viewers who value security and stability. Enter Amz, who lives in a building built by her engineer father, on a street named for her grandfather. Fayed, representing the network that purports to stand for the downtrodden, shows us a photo of his father, who worked in agriculture.

Both deny that their work is influenced by the political agendas of their networks' owners. But former employees of both networks tell a different story. Particularly striking is the case of Hafez al Mirazi, who was taken off Al Arabiya's airwaves after promising to put Saudi Arabia under the microscope on his show.

Media bias is nothing new - as Mirazi says, viewers of Fox News and MSNBC each know what they are going to get. What is different in the Arab world is that the networks are directly owned by states. He says, "They keep shifting according to the countries they are sponsored by, and that affects the stories their citizens get on a daily basis."

Ultimately, the problem may resolve itself. As democracy spreads through the region, will truly independent media follow?

DVD (Color) / 2011 / 48 minutes

WAR PHOTOGRAPHER

Director: Christian Frei

"If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough." - Robert Capa

War photographer James Nachtwey has been close enough for twenty years. Over this time he hasn't missed a single war. And he probably has seen more suffering and dying than anyone else alive. For War Photographer, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, Christian Frei followed Nachtwey for two years into the wars in Indonesia, Kosovo, and Palestine, as well as to other troubled areas around the world.

If we believe Hollywood pictures, war photographers are all hard-boiled and cynical old troopers. How can they think about 'exposure time' at the very moment of dread? But James Nachtwey is no rumbling swaggerer. He is an unobtrusive man, with grey hair and the deliberation of a professor of philosophy. A thoughtful, rather shy person - who many think of as the bravest and best war photographer ever.

Christiane Amanpour of CNN, Hans-Hermann Klare of Stern Magazine and many other friends and colleagues of Nachtwey talk about his photos, his relationship to his work, and the impact it has on his personal life. And many of his most powerful images are shown in the film.

Finally, and most amazingly, in War Photographer special video micro-cameras are attached to Nachtwey's still camera. We hear every breath of the photographer. We participate in the act of shooting war photos. And for the first time in the history of movies about photographers, this technique allows us the most intimate insight into the work of a concerned photojournalist.

DVD (English and German) / 2001 / 96 minutes

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