A new PBS documentary gives us a rare look inside the Vatican

Pamela Hill NettletonArticles, Essays, U.S. CatholicLeave a Comment

‘Inside the Vatican’ premieres Tuesday, April 28 on PBS Next week, PBS releases a new documentary of the Vatican offering tantalizing peeks into spaces no tourist can access and revealing the everyday work life for some of the 2,600 people working in the independent city-state. Filmed during Pope Francis’s fifth year, “Inside the Vatican” is loosely structured around the church calendar and important events: Easter, a papal visit to Ireland, installing new cardinals, preparing for Christmas. It feels a bit like three documentaries: one of workers and who make the Vatican run, one of the clerical leadership, and a closing—and hopeful— section on the sex scandals inside the church. It’s an espresso-tinged steep in Italian culture (The sculptures! The paintings! … Read More

Writing on the table

Pamela Hill NettletonArticles, Essays, Milwaukee WeddingsLeave a Comment

Come the holidays, I feed a lot of people. I have five sisters, they went out and got five husbands, the begatting began, those kiddos grew up and brought home new people, and soon we needed a valet to park the cars for a family dinner.  I order two birds and a breast, set up a turkey roaster on the mudroom bench, and buy so many pounds of potatoes that the grocery bagger helps me schlep them to the car. I move the buffet out of the dining room, tie up the chandelier so it doesn’t bonk people on the head, and scour the house for every available chair. My grandmother’s table takes five leaves and seats 12 if I … Read More

19 for ’19: Pamela’s Op-Ed Makes #4 Most Read for Star Tribune

Pamela Hill NettletonArticles, Star TribuneLeave a Comment

The end of the year is here, and with it comes Star Tribune’s list of most read Opinions. 19 for ’19: The most-read opinions 4. “We are asking the wrong questions about domestic violence,” by Pamela Hill Nettleton, Ph.D., who studies gender in media and teaches media studies and communication at the University of St. Thomas. When it comes to domestic violence, we ask the wrong question: “Why does she stay?” We ought to ask: “Why does he hit?” You can read the full article via the Star Tribune, and the article is also available here on this site.

Pamela on The Electorette [Podcast]

Pamela Hill NettletonPodcastsLeave a Comment

Listen to Pamela’s at the link. Dangerous Discourses: Media Coverage of Violence Against Women, Dr. Pamela Hill Nettleton “We’ve been asking the wrong questions. We ask ‘why does she stay’ instead of ‘why is he hitting her…’” This is just one of the points you’ll hear in my conversation with Dr. Pamela Nettleton. We discuss how the media’s coverage of violence against women perpetuates a culture of violence. We also discuss how our social systems are set up to burden women who are victims of violence.

All The Whos Down In Whoville

Pamela Hill NettletonArticles, Southwest JournalLeave a Comment

There’s a difference between going green and going Grinch. In an online custom that has become biliously trendy, local agencies blame holidaying folk for creating the bump in extra trash between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. Food, wrapping paper and tossed decorations are the culprits, according to the websites of Hennepin County, Do It Green Minnesota, Minnesota Pollution Agency and Rethink Recycling. Back off, dudes. Don’t guilt me about using two feet of curling ribbon on my mother’s slipper sox until you outlaw coal plants, build mass transit systems that go where people want to travel and tax private jets enough to pay for more legroom in coach. I’m all for recycling, reusing and reducing, but the advice from our governmental … Read More

We are asking the wrong questions about Domestic Violence

Pamela Hill NettletonEssays, Star TribuneLeave a Comment

Focus needs to shift from the victim to the abuser. When it comes to domestic violence, we ask the wrong question: “Why does she stay?” We ought to ask: “Why does he hit?” In media coverage of domestic violence, in social media conversations about intimate partner violence, and when we as individuals try to think through why tragedies like the Nov. 24 Schladetzky familicide in Minneapolis occur, the focus too frequently turns to what part the victim played in attracting violence. Our conversations rarely ask why men abuse women. In an attempt to be helpful, we offer information about how women can leave abusive men or where the local shelters are located. But there are no messages for men about … Read More

In ‘Tales of the City,’ A Netflix Reboot that Celebrates our Differences

Pamela Hill NettletonEssays, U.S. CatholicLeave a Comment

This miniseries will change how you see the world. When you turn on the television, the people you see may look like you. But if they don’t, you may feel invisible to the very culture in which you live.  The most powerful tasks media perform are to show us ourselves, show us one another, and show us how others see us. For example, most Christian Americans were taught what the Crusades were about—which side was honorable, which side was godless. I recently edited a military history novel, Brotherhood of the Mamluks (The Sager Group) by former Marine Brad Graft, about a disillusioned crusader who switched sides to fight with Muslims. That uncommon perspective changes how you see the world working—just … Read More

It’s not the flavor of odd holiday foods we crave, but the taste of home

Pamela Hill NettletonArticles, Star TribuneLeave a Comment

Foods like fruitcake, pig’s jowls and lutefisk are all but unpalatable, but we keep making them, year after year. Sometimes food is not really good at being food but we still love it. Why, for Pete’s sake? Many a culture, religion, ethnic group, and extended family has some traditional thingy on its holiday menu that takes a day-and-a-half and six people to prepare, looks odd, smells disgusting, tastes terrible, and is sensibly avoided by the most logical people at the table — the 5-year-olds. We do not require these foods for nutrition or enjoy these foods as edible stuffs, but by golly, we keep reproducing them, and forcing beloved family members to eat them. Take, for example, the brick of … Read More

Perspective: Engaged, at Your Age?

Pamela Hill NettletonArticles, Essays, Milwaukee WeddingsLeave a Comment

An older newlywed shares what it’s like to walk down the aisle when you’re in your 50s, 60s or beyond. Saying “I do” is gutsy at any age, but when that age also qualifies you for an AARP card, it’s downright heroic. Senior newlyweds understand what those vows really mean, having lived through the better and worse bits a time or two already. When a 25-year-old promises to hang in there in sickness and in health, he’s probably imagining heading to Costco for Nyquil when his partner gets a cold. But when a 55-year-old speaks those same words, he knows whereof he speaks. He’s hauled kiddos to the ER in the middle of the night, done laundry for 24 hours … Read More