Letters to the Editor
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Rebecca Traister writes about "gender politics?"
Just read John Friedman's Media Web article, "How Traister Works the Gender Beat."
Hmm...I guess "gender politics" don't apply to one's "intimate companions" - strange that these 2 dominant storylines both center on male characters and involve "bad guys" - Harry Potter fights bad guy Voldemort et al. and Tony Soprano - well, he IS the bad guy.
Are the Sopranos "just like us?" - no, they're not "just like us" - they're just like the families of the people who dream up $35 "overdraft protection" fees for debit card users, allowing debit card users to rack up one fee after another - yes, commentators have observed that the banks (and credit card companies) get "better rates than the Sopranos!"
The Sopranos are just like the families of the people who think charging ER visits at a higher rate to the uninsured is a good business practice - rather than having less expensive clinics staffed by nurse practicioners available 24 hours a day. And what about all those families of people who thought Biggie Fries and Biggie drinks were a good idea, or advertising junk food to children? All those people have families, and probably pretty nice homes and cars.
But, I digress - back to Traister's "gender obliviousness" when it comes to "IC" (Intimate Companions) Potter and Soprano. I read some great commentary by bell hooks on Harry Potter - wow, a critique of Potter from the point of view of gender and race AND class! Wow!
I have enjoyed both the Sopranos and Harry Potter. But critically...as a writer myself...with my main characters women...I have to wonder, if deep down inside, if there aren't a whole lot of women walking around with the deep seated belief that women are just LESS INTERESTING than men - I mean, groups of women, like you have a group of mafia men in Sopranos or a group of boys (with a girl here or there) in Potter. Or like the writers at Salon...not just a Carmela here and there.
I hope that very soon a story centered on a group of women NOT solely interested in fashion and getting a man (or men) as in Sex and the City...that oh-so-dated Marlo Thomas "That Girl" story updated and rehashed for a whole new generation of the feministically challenged...will be as culturally resonant as Potter and the Sopranos...a new heavy metal calypso punk string quartet soap opera: The Potter Sopranos.
I will end my rambling comments with the observation: It's possible to combine analysis and appreciation in a single article. But maybe that would be too "male" for the female writers at Salon?????
I wonder if I can find an article exploring the gender dynamics at Salon.com on the Net - just seems like something very weird here at salon...anybody know of such articles?