Fashioning the Body: Versions of the Citizen, the Self, and the Subject

Oh! u740

your portrait mode

sings in my ear

your landscape mode

dazzles my eyes

you connect me

to those I love

so you, too

must I love.

your QWERTY keys

make texting a breeze

and you fit so well

in my pocket

I forget you are there.

But Oh!

the day your battery died

I was so lost without you

my dependence could

no longer be denied...

 

Oh! Car charger....

 

Our presentation (Harrison, Olivia and I) was an inquiry into the ways in which bodies are altered (often drastically) in films, and the possible reasons. We showed short clips from three movies; the clip I presented was from the second installment of the X-Men trilogy, films based on comic books in which a whole segment of the human race have mutated into creatures with special powers.

In this film, a rogue military scientist hatches a plot to exterminate the mutants worldwide, for ostensibly eugenic reasons. The good mutants and bad mutants unite briefly to defeat this common foe. The anti-racist themes of the movie are explicit, highlighted by the presence of mutants with unusual skin colors (blue) and a mutant named Magneto who is a Holocaust survivor.

The scene I chose showed the group of united mutants breaking into the secret military base in order to stop the evil plan. In the beginning of the scene, Storm, a black woman, is explaining the layout of the base. She seems to be in charge at first, but in the course of their planning she makes no decisions and takes no action which moves the story forward. The next person to speak is Nightcrawler, a blue man with a heavy accent. He remains seated throughout the scene and also does nothing to move the action. Next is an argument between Wolverine and Magneto, both white men. Magneto uses a "brains-over-brawn" argument to win, thereby using the last significant character in the scene, Mystique, to break in. Mystique has no dialogue in the scene, except while disguised as Wolverine. While she is apparently an expert fighter and computer whiz, she also makes no decisions of her own and is used as a tool.

My analysis of this scene, and the X-Men films in general, is that while they attempt to address issues of race, they are at the same time reinforcing gender difference. Even their treatment of race is problematic at times-- Mystique has to disguise herself as a white man to gain access to a military installation! Mystique is a perfect example of de Lauretis' description of the sexualization of women in film- in the X-Men comic books and cartoons, she was clothed, but in the films she is always naked. Furthermore, she is an example of the angel/monster, virgin/vamp portrayal of women in fiction whereby women are always extremely good or bad and never a complex mixture of the two.

Heeeere it is...

Me:

I am interested in gender, critical theory, experimental and/or academic writing, historical research, textile arts, and bodily interaction with works of art. I will be investigating the impact of gender on art/craft and audience interaction. My project will involve creating visual art that is also tactile-- possibly even art that is primarily tactile (I am playing with the idea of having the viewer feel it before they can see it). I would also like to do some critical reading and writing... perhaps more Foucault and Butler, maybe some Antonio Gramsci.

You:

I would like to be surrounded by folks that are disciplined yet flexible, who are willing to engage with some possibly difficult critical texts with me (I understand these things much better after I talk about them). As my interests are less media based, I'll probably get along better with those who are interested in research and writing, critical theory, gender, art's place in society, visual and performance art.

"The Chick Magnet"

The Leather Jacket was always a gift, in more ways than one. It is possible none of its wearers ever paid for it, but its value never needed to be calculated in money. When my dad was a teenager, his favorite uncle, Joe, was a Boston police officer. The mounted (horseback) police had these special jackets, and Joe somehow managed to get one for his nephew. The Leather Jacket, thick and heavy, was more than just warm. It was a Chick Magnet. For this reason, it remained with my dad (who became a police officer himself) decades after he could no longer zip it over his coffee-and-donut belly. It hung lonely in his closet, patiently waiting to exercise its powers. Finally I, his fourteen-year old daughter, came across it. It was so heavy I sank into the carpet. The Leather Jacket and I fell in love. No matter how many times I stole it, it always mysteriously reappeared in my dad's closet the following day. Finally, three years after I first found the Jacke, my stepmom made my dad give it to me. Sulkily he handed it over. It became my armor; nothing could penetrate it. I discovered its Chick Magnet properties. I had grown by then to the same height as my dad, and it fit me perfectly. Though it is survived by other jackets, none will replace The Leather Jacket.

Setting: coffee shop, park bench, public place of some kind.

Prop: knitting in progress

Characters: a middle aged woman and myself

Action: invariably they stop, they ask what i'm making. i love the generational bridge that knitting creates. but if i'm making a baby item, they always ask if i have kids:

me: "no, but we'd like to have one eventually."

woman: "you should, kids are such a blessing." (or something like that)

this is when i decide if i should let them go on thinking i'm straight. if not,

me: "yeah, i'm just glad i don't have to have one. my partner wants to be the one to have it."

woman: (gears frantically turning in her head) "oh... oh, you're soooo lucky." (she turns and leaves. i smirk.) 

What utility.. what societal needs does a body fulfill...

body as visible...

Not only do we learn how we ought to present ourselves visually by seeing others do so, we also conform our bodies to "fit" (or intentionally not fit) the norms we perceive. It seems like the way we elevate these sculpted bodies is to try and set some standard of perfection for our norms, but even they wouldn't qualify as "normal." It's interesting---does my resistance to this, that I was brought up around weightlifters and racists, reinforce those norms just as strongly?

Wednesday, after class? Sounds like a lunch sort of thing will work the best. Any thoughts on locale?

I can't get it into PDF format for some reason, but here it is...

Knitting can be a revolutionary act.

Around the world, groups are forming which say no to the corporate, the mass-produced. Making things instead of buying them, using your body in a productive manner, can be a highly satisfying way to remove the consumerist mentality from our minds. A group in Calgary, the Revolutionary Knitting Circle, has become a global model for this kind of action...

RKC manifesto

RKC wiki page

I've been interested in fiber art as activism (particularly those kinds which have been historically labeled as "feminine," and therefore "crafts" instead of "art") for a while now--I even wrote a really long paper about it last year.

Long story short:

I would like to initiate some sort of knitting group (though any handcrafts would be welcome of course). The revolutionary part is optional--I just really like the sense of community it gives. I've done this in other programs, and it can be a great place to talk about class and life while also making fuzzy warm things to wear. Not knowing how to knit is no obstacle--I love teaching people to knit, especially men (irony makes life interesting!).

Would anyone else be remotely interested?

Times I am potentially available: Mon, Tue, or Thurs after 7, Wed any time, Fri after class. (I think Wednesday evenings, perhaps at a coffee shop or bar would be nice)