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Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:02.65,0:00:06.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm Anita Sarkeesian and I run the video web series called Feminist Frequency.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:06.94,0:00:11.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I started Feminist Frequency because I felt like feminism was sort of trapped in academic spaces and
Dialogue: 0,0:00:11.71,0:00:16.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,politically radical spaces. They talked about systems of oppression and privilege
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.18,0:00:20.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it was in this language that was really hard to understand and I wanted to create a
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.14,0:00:23.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,space where feminism was easy to engage with in an accessible way.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.94,0:00:28.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think that popular culture is a common language that we all speak. The poet Muriel Rukeyser wrote,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.89,0:00:33.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that the universe is made up of stories, not of atoms and I really like that quote because I feel like
Dialogue: 0,0:00:33.53,0:00:37.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,pop culture is one of the ways that we learn about ourselves and the world around us.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.45,0:00:41.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's often a lot of hostility towards watching TV like it's this big, bad, horrible thing
Dialogue: 0,0:00:41.99,0:00:48.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's going to warp our brains, but I just don't think that's true. I'm a fan and I love stories
Dialogue: 0,0:00:48.11,0:00:53.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and part of being a fan for me is to enjoy and celebrate characters and stories and programs
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.62,0:00:59.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I love while simultaneously being critical of the myths and representations that the media can perpetuate.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.82,0:01:05.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think it's important to critically engage with video games and comic books and movies and TV shows
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.22,0:01:11.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because it's a reflection of our society. I think that there's a lot of negative stereotypes and stories
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.31,0:01:17.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the media that work to amplify and perpetuate oppressive social norms.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.76,0:01:21.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I don't think that we should just disconnect from the media and throw our TVs out but that we should
Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.79,0:01:27.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,equip ourselves with critical media literacy tools to creatively and critically engage with the media
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.41,0:01:30.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and fan communities have been doing this for decades.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.54,0:01:35.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I chose a video web series format because I wanted to speak clearly and directly on some of these really
Dialogue: 0,0:01:35.30,0:01:39.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,complex issues. I put my videos on YouTube because I wanted to speak to my generation about
Dialogue: 0,0:01:39.89,0:01:45.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,systems of privilege and oppression and feminism and increasingly we're an audio-visual culture.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:45.32,0:01:51.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're engaging with popular culture through remixing and videoblogging in really interesting ways and
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.80,0:01:57.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I feel like that's where the learning is actually happening. But sadly educational institutions and
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.03,0:02:00.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,academia are pretty hostile towards popular culture.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.65,0:02:04.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I get a lot of support from people who really like my videos and they've even been used as educational
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.61,0:02:09.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,tools in classrooms and screened at film festivals. I've actually gotten messages from mothers who've
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.67,0:02:13.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sat down and watched them with their daughters, which is so heartwarming to me.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:13.12,0:02:18.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But I also get a lot of harassment as do most other feminist bloggers and women on YouTube.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:18.58,0:02:23.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You might be surprised at the amount of times that I get comments that say "Get Back in the Kitchen"
Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.47,0:02:29.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or "Go Make Me a Sandwich." It's nearly on a daily basis and I feel like in order to deal with that we
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.07,0:02:32.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,also need to look at the inequities that exist in our society offline
Dialogue: 0,0:02:32.64,0:02:35.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and how that reflects in these online spaces.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.77,0:02:41.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But one way that I personally deal with comments is to moderate them because I really want to create
Dialogue: 0,0:02:41.16,0:02:45.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a space where people can come and engage with feminist ideas where they don't have to risk
Dialogue: 0,0:02:45.82,0:02:48.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,being harassed or ridiculed.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:48.36,0:02:52.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You know I think of it sort of like my living room, so if someone came to my house and started saying
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.90,0:02:57.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Get back in the kitchen" I would not-so-kindly kick them out and I think of my website
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.92,0:03:00.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and my YouTube channel in the same way.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.04,0:03:03.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can check out my videos at FeministFrequency.com
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.37,0:03:06.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and you can also follow me on Twitter @femfreq