• Introductions

Knowing

• What we talk about when we talk about pop culture

Reading

Parks and Recreation

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bechdel_test
• http://tigerbeatdown.com/2010/03/24/13-ways-of-looking-at-liz-lemon/
• Female friendship and mentorship are important
• The work/life balance
• Leslie and Ben
• Career advancement motivated by compassion
• “The Fight”: Flawed relationships that are realistic as well as comedic
• “Beauty Pageant” and feminist ideals
• “Women in Garbage” and female representation
• http://www.thenation.com/blog/166311/republican-hearing-contraception-no-women-allowed# [Note: The episode aired a year after the hearing, so not as timely as we thought, but still relevant]
• Layered political messages
• Ron Swanson as male feminist in “Woman of the Year”
• Progressive human complexity
• The Langmans: Parks and Recreation’s Christianity problem

The Blacklist

• Elizabeth Keane and biotexts
• Adoption as feminist choice
• More on the work/life balance
• Raymond Reddington: Pro-feminist Felon?
• Feminist missteps and the Final Girl
• This plot sounds kind of familiar…
• Et tu, Clarice Starling?
• Why do we equate power with violence?
• There is nothing new under the sun.
• A good conversation-starter
• Good v. Evil

Friday Night Lights

• It’s not really (just) about football
• Let’s talk about Tami, y’all.
• Even more on the work/life balance
• “How the Other Half Lives” and the principal’s husband
• Marital give-and-take is important in both life and art
• You will cry, and you should skip Season Two.
• Fighting with compassion behind it
• Thanks to all three Christian Feminist Husbands ™ for their support
• Christianity, hypocrisy, and individual religion
• Becky’s abortion: a nuanced portrayal

Passing On

• Firefly
• Maude and Golden Girls
• http://www.youtube.com/user/smartgirls
• Trophy Wife