Eric Freeze, Department of English
Mean Girls. Lady Gaga. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Xena: Warrior Princess. Dark Angel. Kill Bill. This course will explore the phenomenon of girl power, starting in the 90s with musical groups such as the Spice Girls, laying a historical and theoretical groundwork for identifying key elements of girl power in various pop culture media. It will examine some of the movement’s core philosophies as extensions of third-wave feminism. It will also address current criticism of the movement as regressive consumerism. Is Girl Power enhancing women’s equality or limiting it? Can a movement so closely linked to consumer culture still effect positive social change? We will seek answers to these questions by reading heaps of interesting theory, watching movies and TV shows, and analyzing marketing and ad campaigns.
