Posts

A note on updates and new projects!

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 Hello friends! First of all, I'd like to thank you for taking the time to read so many of my blog posts and musings. The Motherhood and Media blog has been a really important outlet and project for me over the past year, and I so appreciate you coming on this journey with me. This is a quick update, however, to let you all know that this blog will probably not see many regular updates for a bit. I have tried to have approximately an average of one blog update a month or so, but now I expect to only update this blog if specific and unique inspiration strikes. I do not consider this blog a finished project (like my old Hobbit walking blog ) or an abandoned project (like my old vampire movie review blog ). Instead, this blog is simply going to be a bit more dormant while I embark on a new project: I'm working on writing a book series for young readers .  As a reader of this blog, you obviously know that I have written non-fiction as both a hobby and within the contex
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Letting go of Lipschitz guilt: Rugrats and parenting experts

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Yes, okay, sure, screen time is discouraged  for children younger than 2 years old... but sometimes you just need a moment to breathe or file a baby's nails. While the saintly Ms. Rachel is often the distraction of choice in our house, my husband and I recently found that old 15-minute episodes of the 1990's series Rugrats  are also a fun option. Watching one episode with us a few weeks ago, our son giggled at the bright colors and baby-view camera angles, and we also chuckled at how nostalgic and nineties the show is. But also how it feels weirdly relatable in a new way.  For those who haven't seen it, Rugrats is an American animated television show that originally aired on Nickelodeon from 1991 to 2004. The show features the adventures of a group of babies and toddlers, including Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, and Angelica, as they navigate the world around them. It spawned several movies and spin-off series (including one where the titular babies are featured as preteens),
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Parents and Gender in Holiday Romance Movies

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It's December, which means winter holidays, cold weather, hot cocoa, cheery music, and hastily-made Christmas movies on every channel! It's been a fun annual tradition with my family to watch those cheesy holiday romances, the kind that you can find airing almost every hour on Hallmark or Lifetime Channel. In fact, Hallmark has made such movies a part of their brand since its first popular Christmas movie in 2006. They've been releasing  around 40 new holiday movies a year for the past few years, with Lifetime channel releasing  26 this year and other years releasing closer to 20. And that's not even counting the many copycats from Netflix, Hulu, HBO, and several other smaller film companies. It's what the podcast American Hysteria amusingly calls the Christmas Movie Industrial Complex.  The holiday romance movie has become a staple for many families, and, with so many churned out each year, it's fascinating to think about the messages and through-lines betwee
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'Hunt Gather Parent' and the Noble Savage trope

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Thanksgiving is this week in the United States. Especially with becoming a parent, this time of year often has me reflecting on the myths we tell, and what they imply. The story of Thanksgiving is typically told as such: the Pilgrims of Plymouth were struggling to survive in this New World until the Indians (few retellings, especially those aimed at children, are specific enough to name the Wampanoag tribe) come and, out of kindness, show the Pilgrims their ancient strategies for planting native crops, such as corn. With this ancient wisdom shared, the Pilgrims were able to survive to reap a full harvest. The Pilgrims then decide to have a large celebration with a Thanksgiving feast and invited the local Indians, who agreed and brought gifts of meats, such as turkey and venison. A grand time was had by all, a celebration of peace and prosperity. But that's not the story. Not really. Like most things, there's a lot more nuance and complication. The Wampanoags did share how to p
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Mothers in Horror Films

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NOTE: This blog entry contains plot points for several horror films that may be considered spoilers. Some of these films include Psycho, The Shining, The Others, The Babadook, and Barbarian. Read at your own risk.  From The Babadook (2014) Outside of October, I don't typically watch horror movies; I'm a wimp, and jump scares work on me far too well. But Halloween is one of my very favorite holidays, so at least one horror novel or film feels essential to the season.  Despite my somewhat-squeamish nature, I also thought a horror film would be a nice break from obsessing about motherhood. After all, not only am I taking care of my now seven-month-old all day during the week, but I've also been recently reading The Montessori Baby and Raising Your Spirited Baby.  That's a lot of baby-focusing, so I decided that turning on the new 2022 horror film Barbarian would be a change of theme.  Imagine my surprise when it wasn't! I'll try and keep this spoiler-light in
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Game of Thrones: House of the Dragon and Mothering

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Lately, my little guy has refused to nap unless he's "contact napping" (an official-sounding parenting term that essentially means "lying entirely on top of Mommy"). So, to make sure he gets in anything even resembling a nap, I play the role of mattress for a couple hours a day. Because of this, I've been able to catch up on some recently airing shows. And I can now tell you that it's rather surreal watching the ruthlessness of House of the Dragon  while cuddling a sleeping baby. But what's even stranger is that this show has turned out to be all about mothers.  For better and for worse.
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'The School for Good Mothers,' Reddit, and Mom-judgment

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"Maybe you should look at Reddit less," my mother suggested. It was a very good suggestion. I'd spent the last few of our conversations discussing one parenting subreddit's warnings against "baby containers" (which is basically anything that might "restrict" an infant's freedom of movement) and was stressing about that and other common parenting forum "controversies" too. It was becoming a bit of a joke in my household; whenever someone suggested buying something for the baby or trying a new approach for pretty much anything, I'd respond, "Well, that is..." My husband has started finishing the sentence: "Wait, let me guess! That's something that is now considered 'controversial.'" Some of the things that have deep, passionate controversies and debates on the parenting forums and subreddits are a follows: formula feeding, spoon feeding, co-sleeping, giving baby their own room, not giving baby their o
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