When I was growing up, I often observed that there was a distinct lack of good women role models in film and TV. Women characters always seemed to fit into a limited set of stereotypes: the damsel-in-distress, the leading man’s beautiful-but-personality-free love interest, the femme fatale, and the Cruella de Vil-style villain. The first good woman character I remember as a small child was Wonder Woman from the 1970s TV series. I adored her; not only did she beat up the bad guys with ease and always came back from adversity to save the day, but she had some fantastic moves! The twirling transition from Diana Prince to Amazon Goddess, the iconic crossed bracelets stance to defend against gun attacks, and best of all her boomerang tiara! Dressed in my Wonder Woman pyjamas, I would proudly strike a pose with my arms crossed. Usually indignantly whilst being given a ticking off for leaving my toys on the floor!
Issues of anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim sentiment in Europe and America occupy a persistent place in politics and conversations. From the Charlie Hebdo murders in France to the backlash against Syrian refugees and the perennial conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, there is no shortage of global discussion on religious freedom and Jewish-Muslim relations.
In this lecture, Dr. Mehnaz Afridi, assistant professor of religious studies and director of the Holocaust, Genocide and Interfaith Education Center at Manhattan College, discusses how the state of religious freedom in Europe is affecting the lives of Jews and Muslims today, and argues that the ideal — and perhaps only — venue for a Jewish-Muslim dialogue is here in the United States.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATTjUtqdJfU
Friday, February 5 – Thursday, February 11: Regression
This psychological thriller of small-town Satanic suspicion in the 1990s begins when a young woman (Emma Watson) accuses her father of an unspeakable crime, leading a grizzled detective (Ethan Hawke) and a regression therapy psychologist (David Thewlis) to unmask a horrifying nationwide mystery. From director Alejandro Amenabar (The Others, The Sea Inside).
Connect with your community and ignite your mind, body and spirit with the unique experience of yoga in Chihuly Garden and Glass’ inspirational Glasshouse. Accessible and designed for all skill levels, local instructors from Core Power Yoga Studio will take participants through a special 60 minute session, drawing inspiration from the creative environment. Space is limited. All levels welcome.
If the current debate over the name of a certain NFL team in our nation’s capital is any indication, many have not yet gotten the message regarding the harmful effects of ethnic stereotyping.
Why is willful ignorance about American Indian realities so deeply entrenched and passionately defended? Key answers are embedded in early 20th century federal court cases and legislation, including the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act. Tracing the history of U.S. debates over the status of Native people, K. Tsianina Lomawaima, professor, school of social transformation, Arizona State University, illuminates the challenges and opportunities that surviving, thriving Native peoples pose for U.S. society.
Do you love board games and enjoy teaching others how to play? Explore the board/card game hobby and meet folks happy to teach you their favorite board games! No pressure though, you can just come and play with folks who love playing games. And the best part about the GeekGirlCon game nights with our friends at Wayward? They are absolutely FREE with no cover charge!
Bring a game with you or just bring yourself. Join GeekGirlCon staffers, make some new friends, play some games, and enjoy some delicious organic, fair trade, and shade-grown coffee.
There are also local pastries and vegetarian/vegan treats, if you get hungry during all that gameplay. Their pastries are delivered daily from local vendors including donuts from Mighty-O Donuts, croissants from Le Fournil Patisserie, bagels from Blazing Bagels, and the rest of their tasty treats provided by Little Rae’s All Natural Bakery. There are even GF cookies from WOW Bakery!
Seattle’s annual Lunar New Year Celebration is back on Saturday, February 13 from 11am – 4pm in the heart of the Chinatown-International District. Come out and help us usher in the Year of the Monkey!
Join us at the Main Stage where there will be non-stop cultural performances from dragon and lion dances, traditional Japanese taiko drumming, Bollywood dancing and the 7th annual Children’s Parade and Costume Contest.
Kids of all ages will enjoy the Arts and Cultural Pavilion, with arts and crafts projects for all!
Attendees at October’s All Geeks, All Games event. Photo credit: Kristine Hassell
Tuesday, February 16: All Geeks, All Games at Mox Boarding House
6:00pm – 10:00pm, Mox Boarding House, Bellevue
Our event is growing in popularity! Join GeekGirlCon andMox Boarding House in Bellevue and help us continue to expand our community of diverse and inclusive gamers to the East Side! We want to fill that beautiful Tournament Room with folks enjoying our favorite games in a safe and accepting atmosphere. Why mess with the headache of traffic when you can come and play games with us instead.
Staff from both organizations will be on hand to help facilitate gameplay for the shy to the extroverted, from the expert strategist to the board game neophyte. With a huge lending library of games on hand, there will be something for everyone!
Marvel Universe LIVE! will captivate audiences with an authentic and original story that brings more than 25 Marvel characters together on one epic quest. The story is framed around the battle over the Cosmic Cube, the source of ultimate power and one of the most feared and coveted treasures in the Marvel Universe, that has been shattered into pieces by the Mighty Thor in order to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. With the pieces scattered across the globe, Thor’s villainous brother Loki devises a scheme to clone its powers, inciting a threat that could not only decimate Earth but also obliterate the Universe.
To defeat Loki, Marvel’s biggest Super Heroes must band together, including The Avengers – Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk and Thor along with Spider-Man and Wolverine, must trek across the globe to retrieve the Cosmic Cube fragments and unite them. As the Super Heroes track the Cube, they will encounter some of their biggest adversaries including Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Red Skull, Madame Hydra, Aldrich Killian, Electro and more, in the quest for the very same fragments. These foes have no problem teaming up if it gets them closer to their ultimate goal of world domination.
The Seattle Asian American Film Festival (SAAFF) showcases feature-length and short format films by and about Asian Americans across North America, with an emphasis on filmmakers from the Pacific Northwest. Our next festival takes place Feb. 19th -21st, 2016 at Northwest Film Forum.
SAAFF is the only film festival in Seattle to provide a space for Asian American voices, perspectives and histories by screening independent films that reflect the diversity and richness of the city’s Asian American community.
As part of Black History Month, EMP’s Campout Cinema presents Prince’s first starring film with Purple Rain (1984).
“The Kid” (Prince) is a young musician, tormented by a miserable home life, who must contend with a rival singer and a burgeoning romance as he reaches the pinnacle of stardom.
Part film, part music video, this glittering journey to fame is highlighted by a catalogue of Prince’s hits, including “I Would Die 4 U,” “When Doves Cry,” and “Let’s Go Crazy,”—a score which deservedly won both an Academy Award and a Grammy.
Tickets include admission to Guitar Gallery: The Quest for Volume, where you can explore the evolution of the guitar through the lives and accomplishments of other musical innovators such as Eddie Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, and Kurt Cobain.
An increasingly common topic in our cultural conversation, issues of race are largely ignored as a consideration in the policies that shape urban schools and school systems. Charles M. Payne, professor, school of social service administration, the University of Chicago, explores how taking race more fully into account may allow us to shape more powerful educational practices and adequately address social inequity.
Join EMP Museum for the third annual Through the Eyes of Art, the city’s premier Black History Month celebration.
Presented by EMP and Brandkings, the city’s premier Black History Month celebration will take an artistic look on the topic of Black Love with a welcome address from King County Councilmember Larry Gossett and Seattle King County NAACP president Gerald Hankerson; a live performance from Draze and special guests; presentation of the Servant of the People award honoring gospel singer Rev. Patrinell “Pat” Wright, Gregg Alex (Matt Talbot Center), and wife Dora Krasucki-Alex; and an art show from some of Seattle’s top painters and photographers.
Do you love board games and enjoy teaching others how to play? Explore the board/card game hobby and meet folks happy to teach you their favorite board games! No pressure though, you can just come and play with folks who love playing games. And the best part about the GeekGirlCon game nights with our friends at Wayward? They are absolutely FREE with no cover charge!
Bring a game with you or just bring yourself. Join GeekGirlCon staffers, make some new friends, play some games, and enjoy some delicious organic, fair trade, and shade-grown coffee.
There are also local pastries and vegetarian/vegan treats, if you get hungry during all that gameplay. Their pastries are delivered daily from local vendors including donuts from Mighty-O Donuts, croissants from Le Fournil Patisserie, bagels from Blazing Bagels, and the rest of their tasty treats provided by Little Rae’s All Natural Bakery. There are even GF cookies from WOW Bakery!
Seattle Writes is a project to support local authors and connect them with our large and avid community of readers. It includes workshops on the craft of writing, write-ins, author panels, classes on digital publishing and more.
Seattle Writes invites writers to submit a work of flash fiction to the Door to a Pink Universe competition in honor of science fiction writer and Seattle resident Octavia Butler, who heralded libraries for their contribution to her development as a writer.
See website for submission and competition details.
Over the weekend in downtown Seattle, you may have seen cosplayers dressed as Black Widow by the International Fountain, or you might have noticed your social media feeds were flooded with pictures of Black Widow. You might have seen that the hashtag #WeWantWidow was trending.
That’s because there was a multi-city flash mob to generate buzz and awareness of the lack of Black Widow on Avengers merchandising, as well as to show support for Black Widow to star in her own movie. Starting in Sydney, Australia at 12:00 pm local time, the “Widow Wave” spread across to Canada and the United States. In cities from Tampa to Ottawa, and from New York City to San Diego, hundreds of cosplayers dressed as Black Widow descended on the streets, while even more online supporters showed their support by changing their profile images to ones of Black Widow, and reposting images or tweeting using the hashtag #WeWantWidow.
