As commenter

• In Media Res
  Re: Cruise Control: The Battle Over the Celebrity Image

  Cruise Jumps the Shark

  By

  Alice Leppert Ursinus College

  Tuesday, August 13, 2013 — 12:35 am

  Thanks for this post, Erin! This moment is so interesting, especially given Oprah's open acknowledgement in this clip of Cruise's behavior and its incongruence with his guarded image. And, of course, it also sets the stage for the narrative surr ...
• In Media Res
  Re: Performing American Masculinity

  Jerry Maguire

  By

  Alice Leppert Ursinus College

  Tuesday, August 13, 2013 — 6:43 pm

  Thanks for this map, Brian! It got me thinking back to Jerry Maguire as another example of Cruise's 90s "softer" masculine image, with the popular scenes between him and Jonathan Lipnicki that were used so frequently in trailers and TV ads. ...
• In Media Res
  Re: (Weddings * 4) + Audience = ∞ Surveillance

  Four Weddings and Classed Norms?

  By

  Alice Leppert Ursinus College

  Monday, June 18, 2012 — 5:28 pm

   Nice post!  I'm fascinated by Four Weddings.   I'm wondering how you see class operating alongside heteronormativity here.  It seems like a lot of the critiques are leveled against brides who are cutting corners financially.  I've seen qui ...
• In Media Res
  Re: The Marginalized Brides of Say Yes to the Dress: Big Bliss

   Thanks for the citation, I

  By

  Alice Leppert Ursinus College

  Tuesday, June 19, 2012 — 3:40 pm

   Thanks for the citation, I haven't seen that, and it sounds like an interesting counterpoint to Big Bliss.  You're exactly right that the program reduces almost all back story on the brides to their weight, even those brides who proclaim to be ...
• In Media Res
  Re: The Marginalized Brides of Say Yes to the Dress: Big Bliss

   I think surveillance and a

  By

  Alice Leppert Ursinus College

  Tuesday, June 19, 2012 — 3:54 pm

   I think surveillance and a punishing gaze are definitely key here--the women's bodies are scrutinized in much closer detail on Big Bliss than they are on the original series.  As we hear the brides decrying the appearance of various body parts, the ...
• In Media Res
  Re: The Marginalized Brides of Say Yes to the Dress: Big Bliss

  Thanks, Suzanne!  You are

  By

  Alice Leppert Ursinus College

  Tuesday, June 19, 2012 — 4:09 pm

  Thanks, Suzanne!  You are absolutely right that many times the brides confess to not wearing dresses, and indeed, their "victories" are presented as marginal successes of femininity.  One of the most egregious episodes featured a woman who was a ...