Critical Hits & Misses #232

The King of Rock & Roll... but also the King of Cultural Appropriation?

• NPR has a potent commentary on the indefensible nature of cultural appropriation, a response to the New York Times op-ed in which Kenan Malik attempted to suggest that cultural appropriation could be defended. 


• The Establishment blog has quite the post on Laci Green, a feminist hero, once a defender of the abused and a voice for Planned Parenthood, who has turned anti-feminist and is currently dating a Nazi. 

For today's musical hit, we have Lorde and "Liability"

Today's critical rolls: Have any of your heroes or cultural icons or feminist icons ever disappointed you, by going astray? Or maybe you used to look up to an actor or someone else, only to find out later that their politics or social stances are disappointing? Let us know!


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Critical Hits & Misses #217

• We're still basking in the greatness that is Wonder Woman. If you've seen it, you probably noticed all the badassery of the Amazons. The Nerdy Birdy did some serious fieldwork to document the varied and beautiful and powerful female athletes that populate Themyscira. 


• Refinery29 has a story on how Katy Perry appears to be finally acknowledging her history of cultural appropriation. Let's hope the lesson sticks. 

For today's musical hit, we have Andra's "Why"

Today's critical rolls: Did you do anything exciting this weekend? Tell us what was going on!


Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.

Critical Hits & Misses #210

• Today in Marketing Fails and Let's-Give-Little-Girls-The-Wrong-Message: Salon has the story on Chloe Grace Moretz's new kids movie, Red Shows & the 7 Dwarfs, which as you can see from the poster above, has a really fucked up message in its marketing. It should be noted that Moretz and the movie's producers are more than a little pissed. 


• We don't normally cover foodie culture here on this blog, but this story has more to do with cultural appropriation than it does food. The Portland Mercury has a story about the opening of a Mexican food truck by two ladies who are distinctly not Mexican. How they learned their craft is rather predatory and gross. 

For today's musical hit, we have Andra and "Why"

Today's critical rolls: Do you have any favorite female artists (that includes fan artists on DeviantArt, etc)? Share with us!


Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.

Critical Hits & Misses #204

• In excellent news for diversity and cultural respect, the state attorney general of Massachusetts ordered the Mystic Valley Regional Charter School to end its ban on hair extensions. The policy was considered racist and one that affected black and biracial students unequally. 


• Back when Overwatch, Blizzard's golden goose of an FPS, launched, there was some controversy around the Native-American alternate skin for the character of Pharah, who was initially presented as an Egyptian woman. One year later, Overwatch is celebrating a year of massive success, and with it, has teased a new skin for Pharah, along with some background story in recent months, that may explain the cross-cultural signals. Turns out, Pharah's dad may be a member of one of the Canadian First Nations, which would explain the Thunderbird skin. (This Kotaku article also goes on to discuss some of the other problematic skins in Overwatch.)

For today's musical hit, we have Hellsongs and a cover of Iron Maiden's "The Evil That Men Do"

Today's critical rolls: Did you watch the season finale of Supergirl last night? What did you think?


Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.