So previously, based on nothing but a nice trailer with cool music, I made a commitment to see Transformers. I am now being warned that that commitment might be a bad idea, due to my recently reached decision to sharply decrease toleration of gender and race and sexual orientation shenanigans in my entertainment. I find that many reviews of Transformers:Revenge of the Fallen are interesting in their own right, with the added bonus of NOT costing me $10 a pop. So…presented for your intellectual appetite (and the stimulation of your funny bone from time to time), here be four reviews. (Because there is apparently so much wrong that not many people managed to get it all in one review) WARE SPOILERS…

Soem Came Running focuses on Why action movies should do away with comic relief. Racialicious inquires Why is it so hard for white writers to write three dimensional characters of colour? And why oh why do they hate women of all colours?. Lj user nihilistic kid informs us:Uh film makers? You all seem to have forgotten the plot. And RogerEbert: In sum, EVERYTHING sucks!. The bottomline, of course, is that it has made a pile of cash. That phenomenon says a great, great deal about us as a society.

While we are still on the subject of the media, visit with me by way of the LJ comm Racebending, an interview with the creators of Avatar: The Last Airbender circa 2005. Compare this with M. Night Shyamalan latest interview about his adaptation (named The Last Airbender to avoid conflict with the James Cameron property Avatar) Bear in mind precisely what he and his producers and Paramount have done with the characters of the film. Combine with a bit on the History of Yellow face in Hollywood. Are we going to let Paramount get away with this? Will we make this into another Transformers?

The Anxious Black Woman offers some cutting edge commentary, on race, gender, sexual orientation and pop culture. Have a taste:

From Chamber Maid to Princess: The Story is Always More Complicated

Someone’s go to tell it like it is: James Baldwin in San Francisco

The Corporate Takeover of Youtube: Why its no longer Fun

Homophobia [on American Idol]? Blame the Show, not the Voters

Reappropriate gives us an interview with Secret Identities: Parry Shen Unmasked. Mr. Shen, if you will recall, is one of the contributors to the absoultely awesome comic book anthology Secret Identities, featuring Asian Americans. She also links us to the first ever Asian American ComiCon happening on July 11 in New York. Why oh WHY does New York and California ALWAYS get the pretties??? *pouts* (Yes, I’m exaggerating. No, I don’t care.) *pouts*

And in terms of Recs: I recommend two bits of reading material today. From Girlchild press: Just Like A Girl: A Manifesta Awesome, awesome AWESOME anthology that I was just rereading today. It is so WORTH the money. Teh cover alone makes me smile! Buy a copy for yourself and any female and (male) relatives that you might have. It is THAT awesome.

I have just gotten into the world of zines. And I highly highly HIGHLY rec:Shotgun Seamstress 1, 2 and 3 from Paper Trail Distro. (Go to bottom of website. Hit “zine catalogue. Hit “Q-S”. Scroll down.) Just look at Osa (the writer’s) motto:

osa writes that her zine is “by & for black punks, queers, misfits, feminists, artists & musicians, weirdos, & the people who support us. this zine is meant to support black people who exist within predominately white subcultures, & to encourage the creation of our own.”

People? It is awesome. In fact, one of her articles got picked up by Colorlines Magazine!

Have yourselves a lovely independence weekend!

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