Neil LaBute’s In The Company of Men is described as black comedy.  In some twisted universe, perhaps this is a comedy of a sort, but I see something else, perhaps several things.  This is an exploration of masculinity, yes, but it is also an exploration of stereotypical locker-room, hate-filled testosterone-filled masculinity, one that describes men… Read More


While segregation has been mostly and forcibly eradicated in education, categories of segregation (or queues) have not been eliminated in the work place (Manza, et al: 415).  Primarily in the control of the employers’ and their representatives, they stereotypically categorize women and minorities in various rankings of lesser importance, visualizing the segregation and prejudice as… Read More


Ma Vie En Rose, directed by Alain Berliner, is a Belgium film produced in France.  While this film is obviously in French, the surrounding set design embodies an “American” look and feel for most of the film.  The characters also appear to be atypically “American” in their extreme negative reactions to Ludovic’s realization that he… Read More


Poverty can be explained with cold hard statistics.  Racism, on the other hand, cannot be explained scientifically, but it is explained as an individual social construct. (Omi 2001: 243).  Racism is derived from generalities that individuals use to separate the different from him/herself. (Hume 2007: 99-102).  Unfortunately, little has changed in centuries.  We are all… Read More


In chapters 8-10 of The Price of Inequality, Stigitz concentrates on the battle of the federal budget, monetary policy, and fixing what is described throughout the text as woefully desperate and dire.  He addresses many varied points and somehow misses a few others that some would deem obvious such as what some would describe as… Read More


John Crowley’s Boy A tests our perceptions of social acceptance of a boy/young man  (Eric/Jack) in arrested masculine development who has had few opportunities to properly mature outside of a prison/youth detention culture for fifteen years.  Crowley contrasts this vis a vis Jack’s male co-workers and the masculinity of his girlfriend Michelle’s romantic advances as… Read More


In chapters 4-7 of The Price of Inequality, Stigitz concentrates on the importance of inequality, the fragility of democracy, influence and propaganda, and the rule of law.  Here, he continues to utilize sweeping generalities but fails to analyze those generalities in detail.  In fact, he uses some of the same tactics that have been used… Read More