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Opening the Bottle: Gender, Authority, and Everyday Power

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The picture shows a woman with her hair neatly styled, bright red lipstick, and a surprised look in a retro-style advertisement. She is holding the cap of what appears to be a bottle of ketchup between her fingers. The background is a dingy yellow tone that contrasts with her green clothing and the red of the bottle, drawing attention to both her and the product. Her eyes are wide, and her mouth is slightly open, meaning she could be shocked or amazed. The caption, “You mean a woman can open it?” The woman’s reaction is the main focus of the text, making her both the subject and the object of humor, while the text reinforces the message through irony and exaggeration. This image reflects 1950s advertising culture, a time when gender roles in the United States were more strictly defined. Ads often portrayed women as weak, dependent, and less capable than men, especially when it came to tasks that required physical strength or authority. The humor in this ad is based on the assumption th...
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The Boys (2019) and the Vought (Homelander) Conspiracy of the Power Elite

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Autonomous Marriage in StarWars

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     In the first image, Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) and Han Solo (Harrison Ford) are pictured on the Rebel base on Hoth. This is around the development of their romantic relationship, before they are married. In the image, Leia is talking, clearly angry and scolding Han. Han is turned away, appearing to walk away from Leia as she follows him to continue her scolding. In the second image, Leia and Han, now about 30 years older, embrace on another Rebel base. In the background, the wing of an X-Wing fighter, a pilot, and a couple other rebels can be seen talking. At this point, Han and Leia are married, but have been separated for several years following the fall of their son, Ben (Kylo-Ren), to the dark side of the force. In this image, Han and Leia have reunited, and Han is comforting Leia. His posture is upright, his gaze facing straight ahead, with both his arms wrapped around Leia. By contrast, Leia is leaning into Han’s chest, her eyes are closed, and she i...
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A Vampiric Take on Weber in the Twilight Saga

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  A Vampiric Take on Weber in the Twilight Saga Hailey Lisboa     Jacob's shirtless, his bicep tattoo and muscular figure on display, while he watches the star couple he holds in utter contempt. Bella and Edward, dressed head-to-toe modestly, contrast with Jacob and align with each other.  Not to mention, Jacob's on the exact opposite side of the frame from where Bella and Edward converse. The entire scene is situated within the lush forest near Forks, Washington, giving an external manifestation to the overwhelming, jungle-like thoughts swarming through Bella's mind. She's torn between loving her old friend and resident werewolf Jacob or her mysterious, seductive 117-year-old classmate from high school. "Don't make me choose..." she whispers to Jacob, then bites her lip and says, "...because it'll be him."     At this point in the saga---the end of New Moon, the second movie, to be precise---Edward has just come back from a long hiatus with ...
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Colorism in 'Pop the Balloon or Find Love'

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  (Trackz) Alexander's Civil Sphere Theory and 'Pop the Balloon or Find Love' This screenshot is from Episode 16 of the YouTube show “Pop the Balloon or Find Queer Love”, which is a gay spinoff of the more popular straight version of “Pop the Balloon or Find Love,” airing also on YouTube. The two shows are made by and for Black folks which, along with the show being an amateur production on YouTube, allows the show to not have many of the fake and racist qualities of many other romantic reality shows. The contestant walks into a room of single guys with balloons and through questions and first impressions the single guys pop their balloons if they are not romantically interested in the contestant. The still above depicts a segment of the show where the contestant, Josiah, with the striped sweater on the left, has introduced himself to the host of the show, Trackz. As he was introducing himself, one of the guys, Elijah on the right, popped his balloon. In this still, Trackz ...
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Depp-Heard Memes through Alexander’s Civil Sphere

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  What happened? The Depp v. Heard case was a high-profile defamation trial that took place in 2022, centering on a 2018 op-ed written by Amber Heard for The Washington Post. While the article didn’t mention Johnny Depp by name, he argued it clearly referred to him and falsely portrayed him as a domestic abuser. He sued Heard for $50 million in damages, claiming the allegations had cost him his career, including his role in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Heard countersued for $100 million, alleging that Depp’s former lawyer defamed her by calling her abuse claims a hoax. From there, there was a six-week televised trial in Fairfax, Virginia, which made it more of a global media sensation, making the situation more viral that it already was. Both sides presented their testimony regarding their relationship, involving allegations of physical, emotional, and substance abuse. The jury largely ruled in favor of Depp, finding that Heard had acted with malice, awarding $10 million...
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Dress Codes and the Social Construction of “Appropriate” and “Inappropriate” Appearance in Schools

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  The image above is a picture of a dress code poster from School of Our Lady of Atocha, Inc. in Magsaysay, that they had posted on facebook. The poster is divided into two sections Proper Attire and Improper Attire. They list approved clothing items such as t-shirts or polo shirts, long-sleeved tops, jeans or pants, knee-length skirts or dresses, and closed shoes or sandals. On the other hand, items marked as unacceptable include crop tops, tank tops, sleeveless or tube tops, backless clothing, short skirts, shorts, and flip-flops. These clothing items are all crossed out with red X marks. The poster concludes with a bold warning: “No Proper Dress Code, No Entry”, followed by a thank-you message for cooperation.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ Dress code policies like this one are very common in schools across the United States and around the world. They are typically justified by school administrators as a way to try and maintain a focused, respectful learning environment and to help reduce dist...
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