The Pursuit of Happiness?

This is the first post I’ve written that is not tied to one specific popular culture anchor, so forgive me if I’ve already broken our nascent blog’s rules.  Perhaps my heightened awareness of gender issues in pop culture–thanks in large part to Professor Moss’s and my decision finally to start sharing our thoughts with the world–has just made me see this trope over and over again lately and compelled me to get out some thoughts about it.  Perhaps I’ve been watching too many movies like The Ugly Truth and too many television shows like The Bachelorette; oh, and don’t ask me why, but I thumbed through an issue of Maxim at my hair salon the other day and actually read the articles–big mistake.

I speak, of course, of the dreaded notion that men need to pursue the objects of their affection (and since our culture is heteronormative, this usually means women) and that women long to be pursued.  A traditional feminist way to view this cultural norm might be to say that it reinforces the power and freedom of men while taking freedom away from women.  While I think this is true in part, I don’t think it’s the whole story.

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The Cliched, the Bad, and the Ugly: Take Two

Yesterday, Professor Moss vented her ire at the atrocious new film, The Ugly Truth.  Since I barely endured the entire 90 minute movie without reenacting the final scene of Oedipus Rex, I’d like to add a bit more insult to injury here:

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