WST Blog 5 (Baudrillard and Kipnis)

This week's class was good, because it really started to tie together all of the theorists we have been looking at thus far, and at the same time completely spun my head around. There were some interesting points, such as Baudrillard's claim that significance requires reflection, and that our society does not reflect enough to have a history. This got me thinking about my own history, and whether or not I spend enough time reflecting on things that have happened in my lifetime. However I would like to focus my thoughts for this week on the Kipnis article, specifically her rejection of modernism, and her argument that in order to be effective, we need to take all of the interpretations and analysis of high culture and transform them into a plan of action. Her claim that by continuing to re-interpret popular culture, the left involvement has limited it's ability to effect change is a strong argument, and I like that she chooses to call feminists into action in this way. It therefore poses the challenge to us, the reader.
This "call to action" got me thinking about method of action that I have observed, such as the radical feminist cheerleading. This is something that Kipnis could certainly have considered in her article (if she had known about it at the time) because radical cheerleading seems to me a very effective way to transform the goals of feminism into an action plan. Another method of action which came to my mind is the work of playwright and feminist Eve Ensler, who's now well known "The Vagina Monologues" has become the face of the V-day movement, which aims to stop violence against women. And to be sure, another form of action will take place next week, when groups of feminists step and chant their political messages to........ well.... the entire Tory Atrium.