Julie and the Phantoms: More Than Just a Kid's Show

Based on the 2011 Brazilian show Julie e os Fantasmas, Netflix’s 2020 hit musical dramedy does way more than the traditional kid’s show it could have been.

I’m a little bit embarrassed to say that I’m a sucker for a good boy band. Netflix definitely knew what they were doing by opening Julie and the Phantoms, the latest from Kenny Ortega of High School Musical and Descendants fame, with a song that’s just angsty enough from the (soon to be) ghost band Sunset Curve. It certainly got me hooked.

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I Found Some Light in a Cold, Wet Field in Franklin, TN

I attended Colony House's "Everybody Is Looking For Some Light: A Drive-In Movie + Concert Experience" on October 30, 2020 in Franklin, TN. It was everything I wanted it to be.

Drive-ins have been having a bit of a moment while indoor venues and theaters are closed. Movies might be more traditional drive-in fare, but it didn't take long for music to get in on the trend in a big way, especially during the already typically-outdoors summer festival season. For the most part, it seems like the consensus for these events is that even though it's nowhere near the same experience, it's certainly better than an endless string of livestreams on laptops.

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The Dangers of Disney

This video is of a Ted Talk I gave at an event held by TedxEmory called SexTalks. In this presentation, I discussed the cultural impact of Disney princesses on how we perceive rape culture and decide what acceptable forms of behavior are. These are some of the most classic stories of all time; any child that grew up in America knows them and most have seen some of the movies (especially with all the new versions that keep coming out). There’s nothing inherently wrong with that. Stories and icons are an important part of forging cultural connections and can be useful in allusions. The problem arises when we forget that the princesses and other Disney stories aren’t inherently cultural legends, a corporation whose main goal is to make money adopted them. This should be important because these movies are primarily created for children—sponges for new information as they try to make sense of the complex world around them.

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