Week 9 Responses

Society-

 

http://news.yahoo.com/pink-slime-choice-schools-230530972--abc-news.html
Pink Slime is back in the spotlight after ABC News did an investigative report on how much of it is in grocery bought ground beef products. According to the meat industry it is considered beef, therefore it does not have to be labeled on the grocery-bought packaged whether or not ground beef contains the additive. Evidently it is also somehow nutritional, according to the beef industry, however before they began cleaning the meaty leftovers with ammonia, the "BLBT" (boneless lean beef trimmings as pink slime is called by the industry,) was primarily found suitable for dog food mixes. While all of that was interesting (and now I know where to avoid buying beef,) I was primarily intrigued by the fact that it is now a choice for schools. Do the parents realize it is a choice? Because if I had a child in school it would seem there was only one option: ditch the meat filler. While it is assumable that meat with the additive is much cheaper, it doesn't meant that has to be the only option for schools. After watching Jamie Oliver's show last year, "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution," it bothered me how difficult it seems to be for schools to make any changes to create healthier diets for children. I can't help but compare Jamie's fight with this one. It seems unlikely that many schools will drop the pink slime from their menus in order to cut costs and stick to the routine. As it is becoming plainer everyday, cheaper isn't generally better, and in this situation it is important to remember that fact when considering the health of future generations.

Art-
http://www.jenniferlinton.ca/

Domestikia, Chapter 6: An Unfortunate Incident Involving Her Hat. from Jennifer Linton on Vimeo.

In looking for more modern feminist artists, I found Jennifer Linton. Her work blew me away, specifically her time stop animations using prints she has made (which is featured above) in her newest series of work: "Domestikia." Linton is interested in the macabre as well as in the placement of women in society. She has other series on motherhood, specifically her experiences balancing children and being a professional artist, but this one (so far) seems to be more about the placement of women in the home. She is currently working on the series out of order (chapter 6 being the first released,) but according to her description it is a delineated story line. Story lines such as this intrigue me normally, but the way that Linton is approaching time stop, the medium, and  the story are all fascinating.The maid is de-humanized through a baby-bird head, and the woman depicted tries on strange outfits and troublesome hats in this video, and it is all a beautiful sequence to watch. Linton's other work, specifically the St. Ursula series (one of the pieces is depicted below) really comments on the issues of women, especially those that are placed in institutions that supress their sexuality as developing young women. All of her work is very oriented around the issues of women, particularly drawn from her personal experiences to create intimate, complex works of are that are beautiful as well as thought provoking.