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Civic Engagement through Media: Public Enemy’s Fight the Power and Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing

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Civic Engagement through Media: Public Enemy’s Fight the Power and Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing

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Both Public Enemy’s song Fight the Power and Spike Lee’s film Do the Right Thing serve as powerful examples of how artists use media to engage with social issues. These works exemplify civic engagement by transforming symbol systems, including music, film, and public discourse, into a means of activism. They intervene in critical issues like institutional and systemic racism, police brutality, and racial tensions in the US.

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Fight the Power (1989), a soundtrack for Do the Right Thing, became an anthem of resistance. Public Enemy, led by Chuck D and Flavor Flav, blended aggressive beats, powerful samples, and politically charged lyrics to challenge racial injustice and call for systemic change.

The artists sampled multiple Black music icons like James Brown and the Isley Brothers by blending funk and rap to create a layered, urgent message of rebellion. Also, the lyrics directly critique American historical figures like Elvis Presley and John Wayne to question white-centric narratives in pop culture. The song serves as a call to action. It urges young people to recognize their power in the fight against oppression and systemic inequality.

Hip-hop, as a genre, remains as a critical scene of storytelling and resistance that offers youth a more accessible and expressive means to traditional political discourse.

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Do the Right Thing (1989) is a groundbreaking film that portrays racial tensions in a Brooklyn neighborhood. It ends in a tragic confrontation between police and a young Black man which leads to riots and critical conversations about race relations in the US.

The film presents realistic, emotionally charged depictions of racial division and the frustrations of Black communities facing injustice. It uses visual and auditory storytelling, including graffiti, music, and dialogue, to create the complexity of systemic racism. Instead of offering a clear resolution, the film leaves viewers with the question of what “doing the right thing” means in a racially divided society. The film’s climax, the police's killing of the Black man, foreshadowed real-world incidents such as the murders of Eric Garner and George Floyd and has remained as a piece of civic media.

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Do the Right Thing | Restored Trailer [HD] | Coolidge Corner Theatre

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Both the song and the film engage in critical participatory acts by remixing and reclaiming hiphop genre as a political platform for Black resistance and disrupting traditional storytelling through documentary-style interviews and direct-to-camera addresses. These works inspire audiences to take creative political action, whether through protests, voting, or grassroots organizing.

Even today, Fight the Power continues to be remixed and referenced in movements like Black Lives Matter, and Do the Right Thing remains a pivotal reference in discussions on racial injustice. Together, they demonstrate how artists and the public use digital media to engage civically, remix historical narratives, and re-story injustices through art.

References

Gibson, C. (2017). “Fight the Power”: Hip Hop and Civil Unrest in Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing. Black Camera.

Johnson, B. (2017). Baltimore 2015, Black Lives Matter and the Prescience of Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing. Film International.

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Restorying Gender Representation in Nezha 2

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Restorying Gender Representation in Nezha 2

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Some time ago, "Nezha: The Devil Child 2" was released worldwide. While the popularity of the film continued to soar, it also triggered widespread discussions on gender expression on social media. For example, there were many discussion topics on Weibo surrounding the vulgar jokes in the film; in the Douban film review area, a large number of viewers criticized the film for its stereotypical expressions of women, believing that these contents were not appropriate. On the Bilibili platform, some UP hosts reinterpreted the controversial clips through editing and ghost videos, responding to the gender stereotypes in the film in a satirical way.

From the screenshots of Douban's popular short reviews I attached, it can be seen that many viewers have their own opinions on the humorous style of the film. Although some viewers generally approve of the content of the film, they still question certain clips. For example, comments such as "Nonsense comedy is not a shield for vulgarity" and "These jokes made me lose interest in this show" show that the current audience's expectations for animated films are no longer limited to passion and special effects, but more concerned with complete narrative structure and value expression.

Through searching for related content, I found that some viewers also believe that these controversial contents may also be an exaggerated interpretation of the director's image of women in the workplace. But regardless of the original intention, the different reactions these expressions have caused among the audience also reflect the cultural context in which the public is increasingly sensitive to gender issues.

Source： https://www.163.com/dy/article/JQD0IVMS0517JNH6.html

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A strong woman does not have to act like a man, and sweat is originally a female attribute.

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International Women's Day has just passed, and we have seen a lot of advocacy and activism on social media. The commercial market has also responded accordingly. Notably, many brands have recently focused their campaigns on shifting away from male-centered patriarchal narratives to telling women's stories from a female-centered perspective.

The screenshot above shows an advertisement placed by a skincare brand on International Women's Day. The above text is translated as“A strong woman does not have to act like a man, and sweat is originally a female attribute.” The advertisement reflects the claim by actively challenging patriarchal narratives, Traditional gender norms often equate strength, resilience, or hard work with masculine traits, reinforcing the idea that women must mimic men to be seen as strong or capable. By stating that "a strong woman does not have to act like a man," the advertisement rejects this notion and asserts that strength can be defined on women's own terms.The advertisement’s message aligns with the concept of restorying, which involves reclaiming and redefining narratives that have historically marginalized or distorted certain identities.

Source of Picture: https://www.xiaohongshu.com/explore?app_platform=ios&app_version=8.75&share_from_user_hidden=true&xsec_source=app_share&type=normal&xsec_token=CBe9AoquW8nlmr9GgRoNcSag2qfWAC6kxT5cVRL96dY3E%3D&author_share=1&xhsshare=WeixinSession&shareRedId=ODc2REVKPT02NzUyOTgwNjY1OThKOzxC&apptime=1742776411&share_id=6418000fbe434c8ba7706d1a0cd67946&wechatWid=fbf308a38e1c22caa6607ea8aea1d033&wechatOrigin=menu&target_note_id=67bde214000000002901a646&note_flow_source=wechat

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The opening of Shanghai Disneyland's Zootopia

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The opening of Shanghai Disneyland's Zootopia

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As the staff of the world's first ‘Zootopia’ theme park, we are on a journey like no other. This is not just a simple opening of a theme park, but an opportunity to rethink the relationship between people and stories, reality and imagination. We've been thinking a lot about how to make visitors feel like they're not just “visitors” but part of a “story”. We designed an interactive experience that combines Augmented Reality (AR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) so that the movie characters can communicate with visitors in real time, respond to their personalized emotional needs, and even give them unexpected surprises.

In addition, we also pay special attention to the needs of visitors from different cultural backgrounds, incorporating local elements and multicultural details; thus making the park a platform for cross-cultural exchange. Our vision is not only to bring visitors into the world of animation, but also to let them leave with a reflection on the diversity, tolerance and harmonious coexistence of the real world.

Source: https://disneyparksblog.com/disney-experiences/a-complete-guide-to-zootopia-at-shanghai-disney-resort/

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How Fan Productions Offer Old Stories New Meanings 

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How Fan Productions Offer Old Stories New Meanings 

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Real Person Story (RPS) and fan fiction have long been powerful formats for re-storying narratives on social media platforms. An interesting observation is that while fan productions are often regarded as an empowering space for female online participants, they have traditionally focused on male-male or male-female interactions. However, in recent years, there has been a growing trend of fan productions centering on interactions between female characters.

Chris provided a compelling example of re-storying female characters in Nezha 2. Another notable case is the fan productions based on God Creation 2. While the film follows a stereotypical hero’s journey centered on a male protagonist—where female characters are designed to be sacrificed for his transformation—fan fiction and fan-edited videos have reimagined the narrative. By connecting the storylines of two female characters and creating a romantic attraction between them, these fan works offer entirely new meanings to the original characters and challenge the conventional narrative structure.

link to the original gif: https://weibo.com/5732552960/5130037732838356

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Beyond the Test, AAT as a Tool of Social Governance

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Beyond the Test, AAT as a Tool of Social Governance

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The administrative vocational aptitude test, is the core written test of China's civil service examination, which tests logical thinking, reading comprehension, quantitative reasoning, data analysis and general knowledge judgment, with the aim of screening candidates with basic administrative skills. From a socio-cultural perspective, however, the AAT is also a standardized screening tool that reinforces the legitimacy of the civil service career as “aptitude-based” and serves as a structural transfer mechanism, providing a “stable outlet” for college graduates to alleviate the pressure of youth unemployment.

It is a continuation of the logic of the college entrance examination, which emphasizes “fair competition,” but the results are often closely related to origin and poor information. 2024 fresh graduates will reach 11.79 million, while civil service positions will be about 500,000, so competition is extremely fierce, and the examination for the public service has become a passive choice for many young people in the winter of employment. In terms of preparation resources, information channels, and interview experience, 985/211 graduates have a significant advantage, while international students, despite their cultural capital, are often marginalized by the “institutional culture”, especially in grassroots positions, where they lack the support of “local experience”.

The public examination fever has also changed the orientation of university education: students choose courses based on whether they can help them pass the public examination/graduate school, and tend to “brush up questions, templates, and techniques”, ignoring the complexity and creativity of knowledge. Repeatedly failing the examination also aggravates the youth's “sense of failure”, “sense of social detachment” and “delayed independence”. The test is not only a test, but also an extension of the social governance mechanism, under the shell of “aptitude test”, to maintain the existing employment order and class structure.

Source:

https://www.chinaselect.cn/en/tools/mental-ability-tests.html

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This article reports the 6.8 magnitude earthquake in Xi Zang, China, presenting many people online on social platforms praying for the victims and expressing concerns and worries. However, during this tense moment, a picture of a small child at the scene of the disaster being crushed under a building appeared on social media platforms, which was dramatically forward on the internet and triggered a lot of attention from netizens. This report finally confirmed that this image was generated by the AI tools but was forwarded by ignorant netizens. This behavior not only misleads the public but also may affect the allocation of disaster relief resources, slowing down the rescue efficiency.

In today's increasingly convenient information transmission, social media has become an important way for individuals to obtain information, but the authenticity and accuracy of the information are often challenged. Some ignorant people or irresponsible people use AI tools to generate fictitious photos and widely spread them on the Internet to gain attention, thus affecting public order.

With the development and advancement of AI technology today, the use of AI-generated pictures and audio videos has become so easy that it has developed into a new way of spreading false information, which is difficult to manage and spreads quickly. With everyone using AI technology these days, using AI needs to be strictly managed and is very important.

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Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) is a movie about Miles Morales: Spider-Man. This movie presents a multiverse of Spider-Men across different universes each with their own story and personality. Miles Morales is the focus of this story and presents a different version--an AU--of the original Spider-Man story. Miles Morales' story follows the same beats of the original character and story, but with changes that reflect Miles' identity as an Afro-Latino teen boy living in modern NYC. This film not only presents one new image of a new Spider-Man, but many images of Spider-Men from many universes and many identities. I think that this movie--in addition to its many other wonderful aspects such as phenomenal animation and vibrant storytelling--thinks about Spider-Man and identity really well, demonstrating that anyone can wear the mask and be the hero in their own way because everyone is unique and brings something unique to the table. Responses to the film (and its sequel) have remarked on the importance of Miles Morales' identity and the strength that it provides him as one of the many Spider-Men AU characters who provide genuine representation to prove the point that anyone can wear the mask.

https://medium.com/@angelowrites/across-the-spider-verse-hits-harder-for-black-brown-latine-viewers-a4aeb9531437#:~:text=I%20was%20electrified%20in%20my,Latino%2C%20and%20that%20means%20something.

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Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a classic tragedy, but Arthur Laurents took that story and brought it to 20th-century New York, turning it into West Side Story. This time, the main characters aren’t Italian nobles—they’re two young people from different ethnic backgrounds: one Puerto Rican, one white. And instead of a family feud in Europe, the conflict is now between street gangs in New York. Basically, racial and immigration issues replace family hatred as the biggest obstacle to their love.

This story isn’t just about romance—it puts real racial tensions in America front and center. The Puerto Rican and white gangs despise each other, fighting for territory, while the two lovers try to break through those divisions, just like in Romeo and Juliet. But in the end, tragedy still wins.

In a way, West Side Story is a modern take on Romeo and Juliet, but it’s about more than just love. It dives into real-world issues—racism, the struggles of immigrants, and class divisions. This kind of adaptation makes the classic story feel more relevant, giving audiences both an emotional love story and something deeper to think about.

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In 2019, Disney announced that Halle Bailey, a Black actress and singer, would be playing Ariel in the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. This casting decision sparked an immediate global reaction. While many praised Disney for taking a progressive step toward better racial representation, others claimed that the choice strayed too far from the “original” image of Ariel as a white, red-haired mermaid. The controversy quickly turned into a conversation about race, nostalgia, and who gets to exist in fantasy.

This casting represents a powerful example of restorying. By casting a Black actress as Ariel, Disney reimagined a character who has long symbolized beauty and magic through a Eurocentric ideal. Bailey’s visual portrayal became a statement that Black girls can also be magical and royal.

On social media, hashtags like #NotMyAriel and #RepresentationMatters trended side by side. While some users stick to a nostalgic vision of the past, others used the moment to call out the importance of inclusive storytelling. Creators posted fan art, wrote supportive essays and pay attention to other characters of color. The movement gradually became a social intervention.

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Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun is a novel that explores themes of artificial intelligence, love, loneliness, and what it means to be human. It tells the story of Klara, an Artificial Friend (AF), who observes the world with optimism and curiosity, despite being treated as disposable by human society.

This story highlights a crucial issue in today’s world: the ethics of human replication and AI consciousness. As technology advances, we are moving toward a world where artificial intelligence and digital recreations of people are becoming more realistic. Deepfake technology, AI-generated personalities, and even the idea of uploading human consciousness into machines are raising profound ethical questions.

If a person could be digitally replicated, would they still be the same person? If AI can mimic human emotion, does that mean it experiences emotion? And if we begin to replace people with artificial versions of them, what does that mean for the way we define identity, love, and loss?

This story challenges us to consider the consequences of trying to replace the irreplaceable, asking: At what point do we stop valuing what makes us truly human?

Source of picture: Klara and The Sun by Lia Liao - The Creative Inspiration behind the work

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Rethinking Disney’s Mulan Between Representation and Distance --Sonja

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Rethinking Disney’s Mulan Between Representation and Distance --Sonja

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I chose the 2020 live-action film Mulan produced by Disney, starring Liu Yifei. Compared to the traditional Chinese legend and the 1998 animated version, this film presents a kind of “restorying” of the original tale. In this version, Mulan is given a supernatural power called qi, and the story emphasizes that she has had extraordinary talent since childhood, rather than showing her growing stronger through training and hard work in the army. I feel a bit conflicted about this change: on the one hand, this innate power does strengthen her image as a hero; but on the other hand, it also weakens the powerful message that an ordinary woman can become a warrior through persistence and effort.

The film tries to show that a woman can also become a hero on the battlefield without needing to be saved by a man. However, I think it follows the Western “strong female lead” formula a bit too much. For example, Mulan’s growth is no longer based on her intelligence and resilience, but more like she was born to be the “chosen one”. This kind of storytelling was a bit disappointing to me, because it loses the touching message of an ordinary girl breaking gender limits. In contrast, the animated version of Mulan and the traditional folk story feel more real, she becomes a warrior through hard work, adaptation, failure, and resistance.

Moreover, although the film includes many elements that appear to be "Chinese style" and features an all-Asian cast, many viewers feel that its cultural representation does not truly reflect an authentic Chinese context. Some aspects of the film, such as the witch character played by Gong Li, have no clear basis in traditional Chinese culture. The concept of qi also seems more like a combination of Chinese martial arts and Western fantasy powers. The film feels more like a version of China imagined by the West, performed by Chinese actors.

This film makes a positive attempt to address gender issues and cultural diversity. However, its restorying still feels distant and lacks an authentic perspective from within the local culture. Therefore, although this version of Mulan holds symbolic significance, I believe it reflects more of the tension and limitations often found in cross-cultural storytelling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KK8FHdFluOQ

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"Brazil, my dear
Mangueira has arrived
With the verses erased by the books
Since the 1500s, there is more invasion than discovery

Behind the framed-up hero
There is trampled, deep-hued blood
Women, Tamoios, mulaos
I long for a country not seen in the official picture"

(Translated from Portuguese)

In Brazil, "Carnaval" is known as the party of the people, where popular artistic manifestations often challenge power dynamics. In 2019, when conservative, extreme-right president Bolsonaro had just been elected, the Mangueira Samba School took the parade themed "A Lullaby of Samba for Grown-Ups" to Rio's Samba Avenue. This "lullaby" had the purpose of restorying Brazil's official History, celebrating popular heroes and advocates neglected in the country's history as told by those in power. In the picture, there is a remixed version of the Brazilian flag, with the colors of Mangueira samba school (green and pink) instead of the traditional yellow, green, and blue. In the middle of the flag, where the official version reads "order and progress" (a positivist motto), this version reads "Indigenous people, Black people, and the poor". The flag on the background shows the face of Marielle, a Black female political leader murdered in 2018, for whose murder the Bolsonaro family is still investigated. In the political context of 2019, Mangueira's parade was celebrated as an act of political resistance, and the school was Rio's Carnaval champion.

This is the official video clip for the "Lullaby of Samba for Grown-Ups": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMSBisBYhOE

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Anora is a powerful movie directed by Sean Baker. It won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024 and later won five Oscars, including Best Picture.

The story is about Ani, a smart and hardworking stripper who lives in Brooklyn. One night, she meets Ivan, a rich and young man from Russia. At first, he seems fun and generous. He takes Ani to parties, gives her expensive gifts, and invites her to travel with him. Their relationship feels like a dream, and soon he asks her to marry him.

But after they get married, things start to go wrong. Ani begins to notice that Ivan is selfish and immature. He does not care about her feelings, and when problems come, he leaves her without thinking twice. Ani realizes that she was used. People around Ivan, like workers and helpers, are all treated the same way — they do their jobs, but they are not respected.

As the story continues, Ani becomes closer to Igor, one of Ivan’s bodyguards. Igor is quiet and kind in his own way. Even though Ani doesn’t trust him at first, they go through many difficult things together. In the final scene, Ani breaks down and cries after being with Igor. It is a very emotional moment, showing how tired and hurt she really is.

Anora is not just a love story. It is about survival, work, power, and how people are often treated unfairly. The film shows how rich people can use others and throw them away. But it also shows small moments of connection and care between people who are struggling.

This movie is full of emotion. Even though the ending is not happy, it feels honest. Anora is a movie that stays in your mind long after it ends. https://images.app.goo.gl/GxJmnq9rSN1z2jgt7

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It's a scene from Game of Thrones where Daenerys slaughters the city, and what makes her do it is the fact that she's been betrayed by a male power player multiple times before, and that Cersei killed her best friend right in front of her. When she does this, everyone blames her, including her boyfriend, which leads to her eventually being killed by her boyfriend in a hug. Many viewers at the time were in favor of Daenerys because looking back at history, revolutions in the world have been accompanied by massacres, but the leaders at the time were all men, but in this drama, Daenerys made the decisions a leader should make as a woman and ended up dying at the hands of her beloved. This exemplifies the injustice done to women in a patriarchal society. At the end of the TV series, Daenerys' dragons burn the Iron Throne, a symbol of power, which exemplifies that when the world refuses to give justice to women, there will always be someone who will stand up and speak out on their behalf, and ashes are their only language.

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Restorying Identity: Philadelphia as The City of Brotherly Love AND Sisterly Affection

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Restorying Identity: Philadelphia as The City of Brotherly Love AND Sisterly Affection

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Philadelphia's motto is generally referenced as "The City of Brotherly Love." My immersive photo exhibit at the Free Library of Philadelphia, SIMBY Presents: The Voices of Sisterly Affection, was created to honor Philly's Black music herstory and reshape conversations about our city that exclude women while also addressing sexism in the music industry, white supremacy in this country, and intersectionality.

Philly's motto was officially expanded to "The City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection" by the efforts of the godmother of Black Music Month, Dyana Williams. As someone with music industry experience, a Philly native, a Black woman, and a Black Music City grantee tasked with honoring Philly's Black music heritage, it was important for me to create an impactful work of art that intentionally resisted the dominant and exclusionary narrative of our city and told stories in which Black women and girls could see themselves reflected. A part of that reflection is amplified through the use of local Black women and girls to portray these artists.

Through photography, videography, and VR, this exhibit honors the impactful legacies of nine Black women who hail from our city: Billie Holiday, Patti LaBelle, Phyllis Hyman, Left Eye, Eve, Jill Scott, DJ Diamond Kuts, Jazmine Sullivan, and Tierra Whack. Through intergenerational pop-ups at World Cafe Live, the African American Museum in Philadelphia, REC Philly, and now a 6-month display at the Free Library, this project has educated, inspired, and moved people beyond anything I could have imagined. The impact of this project so far exemplifies the importance of restorying in media, especially for Black people.

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SIMBY Presents: The Voices of Sisterly Affection by Kyra Williams

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Taylor Swift’s The Man music video is a powerful example of restorying. In this work, Swift transforms herself into a stereotypical “successful man” and reimagines how society would treat her behavior and achievements differently if she were male.

In the video, “male Taylor” displays many behaviors typically associated with male privilege in real life, for example, manspreading on the subway, partying without judgment, and easily receiving a “World’s Best Dad” trophy. This moment satirizes how men are often excessively praised for minimal involvement in parenting, while women are expected to shoulder caregiving responsibilities as a given. In the workplace, he is seen as bold and authoritative, whereas women showing the same traits are often criticized. This highlights the double standards applied to men and women in both public and private spheres.

The ending is especially ironic: Swift appears as the director behind the camera and tells “male Taylor” to try it again, “but sexier this time”. This line directly critiques how women in media are frequently objectified and expected to perform for the male gaze.

Through this gender-swapped visual narrative, Swift not only reimagines the image of success in pop culture but also critically intervenes in conversations around gender inequality, social bias, and power structures. Her restory challenges viewers to reflect on the ways gender shapes our interpretations of behavior and success, prompting a deeper examination of the norms we take for granted.

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The Netflix series Bridgerton, produced by Shonda Rhimes, creates reimagined, racially inclusive Victorian-era England. While the show draws on historical fiction conventions, it departs from the strictly white portrayals of the era commonly seen in media. This choice has sparked conversations about race, historical accuracy, and the representation of Black characters in the series. Some view the series as a racial "utopian," while others feel like it is presenting a surface-level approach to speaking about systemic racism -- as the creators opt for a "colorblind" approach where they don't recognize race in the series.

Representation matters. And I have no stake in deciding what is or isn't representative for communities that I am not a part of. I have seen interesting discourse online between POC creators where they critique the Disney enterprise as they create live action movies, casting women of color to play the animated white fictional characters. Since it is fictitious, some say that it is a win for representation and so little girls can better see themselves. While others say, instead of casting a Black woman to play Ariel or Rapunzel, make stories about Black women. Speak to the nuances and lived experiences of women of color rather than inserting them into white roles that do not reflect the intricacies of being a woman of color.

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This remix is a digital photo-quote collage, overlaying key statistics from the EdWeek article and real teacher testimonials from online educator forums and interviews. I paired each quote from the article with a first-person voice: a special education teacher from a rural district in Montana, a bilingual educator in a low-income urban school, and a veteran special education teacher considering early retirement.

In doing so, I aimed to “re-story” the article’s broad claims about improvement by drawing attention to the human stories and emotional labor behind the remaining shortages. While the article suggests that teacher shortages are easing overall, it acknowledges that special education and rural districts are still in crisis. My remix emphasizes how these exceptions are not just data points—they reflect ongoing structural inequities and underinvestment in the most vulnerable students and teachers.

Restorying the article in this way also invites a shift in perspective: from viewing the teacher shortage as a numbers problem to understanding it as a systemic justice issue. If we celebrate broad improvements without acknowledging where—and why—gaps remain, we risk silencing those still struggling and failing to address root causes like low pay, lack of resources, and burnout.

The original article is informative and well-researched, but its format flattens complex realities. My remix aims to re-center educator voices and provoke deeper questioning about whose experiences get left out when we talk about “progress.”

https://www.edweek.org/leadership/teacher-shortages-are-improving-with-two-big-exceptions/2025/03

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Teacher Shortages Are Improving—With Two Big Exceptions

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New job posting data suggests staffing support needs to be targeted at particular areas.

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In the 2024 horror satire The Substance, director Coralie Fargeat remixes the classic body transformation genre into a feminist revenge narrative. Instead of portraying transformation as aspirational (like in She-Hulk or The Nutty Professor), this film restories the body-swapping trope to critique the beauty industry, misogyny, and media obsession with youth.

The story follows an aging TV fitness star (played by Demi Moore) who takes a mysterious product that lets her create a younger, more “perfect” version of herself. But instead of liberation, this unleashes violence, surveillance, and deep psychological horror. I see this as a restorying of how female bodies are consumed and discarded in pop culture.

This film doesn't just remix genre conventions—it delivers a searing intervention into real-world beauty politics. By exposing how women's bodies are objectified, duplicated, and ultimately disposed of, The Substance challenges the cultural logic that ties a woman’s worth to her youth and physical appearance. In doing so, it forces viewers to confront the violent consequences of a system that commodifies femininity—and dares us to imagine alternative narratives of power, aging, and identity.