Down With Dowries

Posted on Jan 20, 2012

Online game “Angry Brides” tackles the issue of dowry culture in India; Lady Gaga is set to launch the Born This Way Foundation at Harvard next month; and apparently the CIA used American abstract expressionist painting as a weapon during the Cold War. These discoveries and more below.

On a regular basis, Truthdig brings you the news items and odds and ends that have found their way to Larry Gross, director of the USC Annenberg School for Communication. A specialist in media and culture, art and communication, visual communication and media portrayals of minorities, Gross helped found the field of gay and lesbian studies.

The links below open in a new window. Newer ones are on top.

‘Angry Brides’ Takes on India’s Dowry Culture
The game ‘Angry Brides’ is a free application on Facebook, which sees an angry bride attacking prospective grooms with household objects in response to their dowry demands.

After ‘Citizens United’: The Attack of the Super PACs
We have seen the future of electoral politics flashing across the screens of local TV stations from Iowa to New Hampshire to South Carolina.

Lady Gaga Seeks a Kinder and Braver World
Lady Gaga and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, announced today that they will officially launch the Born This Way Foundation (BTWF) on Wednesday, February 29th, 2012 at Harvard University’s Sanders Theatre.

Translating the American Highway System Into a Subway Map
A month ago the Wire spotted an incredibly intricate rendering of American highways, drawn in the style of a subway map. The work was done by graphic designer Cameron Booth, a Sydney, Australia, native who moved to Portland in 2007.

The False Ideals of the Web
WE who love the Internet love the fact that so many people contribute to it.

Americans Won’t Welcome Web-Piracy Crackdown
This month, Congress is expected to move forward on controversial legislation, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) in the Senate, both aimed at halting online copyright infringement.

Reports of the Religious Right’s Death Are Greatly Exaggerated
The political fumbling by Christian conservatives has been even worse this presidential cycle than it was in 2008, when their blood-enemy, John McCain, won the top spot on the Republican ticket.

Bradley Manning, Washington, and the Blood of Civilians
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta called it “utterly deplorable.”  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed “total dismay.”  General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, was “deeply disturbed” that the actions in question would “erode the reputation of our joint force.”

Public Domain Works Can Be Copyrighted Anew, Supreme Court Rules
The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a federal law that restored copyright protection to works that had entered the public domain.

Modern art was CIA ‘weapon’
For decades in art circles it was either a rumour or a joke, but now it is confirmed as a fact. The Central Intelligence Agency used American modern art—including the works of such artists as Jackson Pollock, Robert Motherwell, Willem de Kooning and Mark Rothko—as a weapon in the Cold War.

More Below the Ad

New and Improved Comments

We are launching a major overhaul of our comments section.

In addition to more robust spam filtering and moderation, new features include the ability to rate other comments, sort how they are displayed and respond directly via e-mail or in a thread.

Unfortunately, commenters will lose their existing Truthdig identities. It's a pain, we know, but on the plus side you will now be able to log in with a plethora of options, including Google, Twitter, Facebook and Disqus accounts.

Before launching this system we spent months in discussion with our top commenters. We listened to the feedback and we hope you like what we've come up with.

Please direct any problems or concerns to us via our contact page.