Unemployed Theologian

Pop music has a misogyny problem. I can already hear the chorus of dissenters citing examples of empowered women in the medium in an attempt to stave off having this conversation: "What about Beyoncé, huh? How can pop music have gender equity problems when Beyoncé is Beyoncé?" "Lorde's a feminist right? Doesn't that mean everything's basically fair?" As though the success of a few women/minorities means the playing field is suddenly level. As though, because a few women have successfully navigated the murky waters of fame, we should stop talking about female representation in music. It's a flimsy line of thinking, albeit a familiar one. Granted, the popular music scene may be the closest we get to equity in the entertainment sphere. Hollywood is still lagging behind the times, producing more male-centered films by far, with woefully inadequate female representation in such films. At least in the music industry we have certain female artist...

I don't walk out on movies. Honest, it's just not my MO. For perspective, I sat through to the end of Rock of Ages . I finished  Bruno  in the theater. I  do not  walk out on movies. That is, until Friday before last, when I encountered a film I could not in good conscience finish, prompting me to leave my group of friends and walk out of the theater. I made it through about two thirds, but at that point was so profoundly disturbed I had to walk out of American Sniper.  Before we go any further allow me to clear something up: American Sniper  is not a bad movie. As a matter of fact, from a technical standpoint it's pretty good (from what I saw). Gritty, poignant, emotionally gripping, smoothly directed, well-acted, not a flop by any means. But I had to leave, because Sniper surfaced in me a host of profoundly confusing, troubling issues, rendering the whole viewing experience alternately painful, numbing and infuriating. For one thing, I remember ...