a new direction

York Minster & Low Petergate, October 2010

A lot of changes have transpired this past year. A year ago today I was living in York, getting ready for my first departmental meeting. I was anxious and excited for the year ahead, unknown of what it would include. I still believed I would study the political and activist uses of film for my dissertation. And I walked into town every weekend so I could sit on the bench outside the Minster.

 

Now I am back in the States. My year in England has influenced and shaped me in ways I have not fully processed yet. But my studies abroad have revealed three things for certain.

 

1. I love analyzing television. More so than film. I enjoy the continuity of television seasons and the ability to craft ongoing, multi-layered, complex narratives. With television (if written and produced well), viewers can emotionally engage with characters—potentially over several years, an aspect distinctly different from that of the two-hour film. I now know that, at some point, I will be involved with television production.

 

2. Social media fascinates me, especially when joined with television. Because of the weekly format of most television shows, social media are used to further engage viewers, maintain interest between episodes, and deepen the narrative experience. Social media can create hyperdiegetic spaces, and we are only beginning to see the creative (and sometimes banal) ways in which entertainment and culture industries are employing social media to immerse their audiences.

 

3. I am a firebrand feminist. Apparently this is old news to everyone who has known me the past ten years. I never recognized this aspect of myself until college. Even then I saw it as a supplementary feature. Politics and theatre were my defining ‘passions’, if you will, during that time. Then I moved to York and met Dr. Kristyn Gorton.

 

While her area of research is television, she often analyzes television through a feminist lens. My first term of Television Case Studies was heavy with feminist analysis, and something within me finally sparked alive. Took root. Feminist analysis appeared in my critique of Mad Men that autumn, two more essays in the spring, and my final dissertation. Despite my efforts at searching for other analytic perspectives, I kept returning to feminism.

 

Feminism is more than a supplemental aspect of my being—something friends and family have recognized for years now. It defines me; I cannot separate my passion for female equality and empowerment from who I am. Now that I am fully cognizant of this passion—and embrace it—I am excited for the ways in which to pair feminism with media.

~ ~ ~

 

These three things, my readers, will come to define (edge)wise over the coming months and years. (Edge)wise will be undergoing a major face-lift over the next several weeks—a new direction. It will be a place for commentary on television, entertainment, and media; television and film reviews will remain a major component. I will have a new section specifically focused on girls, women and media. Interviews will become a regular feature. Book reviews will still make an appearance. Recipes will not. More attention will be given to the developments within social media and related technology. The hope is for (edge)wise to become your first-read on television, pop culture, and social media through the perspective of an everyday feminist. Fun, exhilarating stuff.

 

This is an exciting time for (edge)wise. Please be patient as the website undergoes creative re-design and construction. As always, I appreciate your feedback and your readership.

 

I am media maven. Hear me roar.

 

 

 

take two: spring term

Time has done what she does best: fly. Tomorrow begins my second term at the University of York, and here I sit, taking a long drag of oxygen as I prepare to dive into another nine weeks of research, modules, essays, research, meetings and – yes – more research. To add to the usual stresses, I get to figure out my dissertation topic this term and begin the research process. The problem there? I have four topics already and no idea which to choose.

Pause while I break out my breathing exercises.

It is not all bad – in fact, I thrive off strenuous academic work. But I do need balance. After running myself into the ground last term (hello, bronchitis), I have committed myself to a more holistic approach for spring. More walks, more exploring, more fiction, more yoga.

More blogging.

If all goes to plan, I will blog on Sundays (either weekly or bi-weekly). And to recap the past few months, in which (edge)wise was a veritable wasteland, here are a few highlights from the end of last term:

• Survived my first major snowfall in England.
• Experienced my first ‘Christmas Faire’ in a bona fide castle in December. It looked more like an overgrown mansion, but the shopping was enjoyable regardless.
• Attended a performance of Handel’s Messiah in the York Minster. There are simply no words to describe how breathtakingly beautiful this was. It was a spiritual experience, on par with Arthur’s Seat.
• Celebrated my 25th birthday in York: museums, Indian food, beer, and books. Fabulous day.
• Visited Durham en route to Newcastle Airport. The ‘Christmas feeling’ finally set in as I relaxed with Tessa and her family, watching movies until midnight and experiencing Beamish Museum.
• Spent a delectable two weeks at home for Christmas. Powells, sister dates, home-cooked meals, my dad’s famous pumpkin pie, Christmas stockings, family, Tatum, book club, Lewisville Park, Ram’s Head, friends at New Years, and Harry Potter. Not to mention time with my sweetheart. I actually had the opportunity to relax. I already miss, well, all those things.
• Returned to York and spent the next three days finalizing my essays. For those who are interested, I focused on: 1) the narrative structure of Lost (specifically its beginning), analyzing the first four episodes in an exploration of how the writers ‘set up’ the show’s complex narrative in order to hook viewers and create ‘quality television’; 2) the current debate surrounding the methodology of ‘third-generation audience research’; and 3) feminism and negotiated space within Mad Men, highlighting the relationship between screen and industry and suggesting that as long as women hold a minimized role in the television industry, the stories and images seen on television will not depict a realistic portrait of today’s American woman.

And now it begins again. I’ll keep you informed.

Breathe in, breathe out.

xx

Tessa and I at the Minster for the performance of Handel's Messiah.

Monster icicle outside my bedroom window in York.

Christmas stockings on Christmas morning.

Reunited with Tatum. Bliss. (And yes, her eyes are fluorescent.)