Meet the Robinsons redeemed the Disney corporation in my eyes a little bit this weekend, with an hour and a half of side-splitting hilarity for grownups and kiddies alike. What captured me most were the fleshed out characters: from goofy Goob with his lovable lisp to the psychosis of Dr. Krunklehorn, the character interaction was what kept the film going. The occasional nod to the great film classics didn’t hurt it either (can anyone say “trunk shot”?). I still say the 3D animation isn’t up to Pixar’s standard, but it was visually appealing nonetheless. It had me laughing, and I would recommend it for moviegoers of all ages. It’s a great feelgood film.

Simply stated, I am disturbed by the small number of individuals who have not yet heard of the greatest cultural film of our time: “Idiocracy.” It’s lewd, crude, and frightening. It needs to be viewed by all and unfortunately has received little to no press, at least that I have seen. It’s been out on DVD for quite a while, but few people seem to have heard of it or seen it. Rent it at your local video store, watch it, and tell your friends. Please, dear mother of Abraham. For the sake of all mankind.

Nearby Indiana college DePauw University has been in the national news recently, but not for anything remotely positive. The national headquarters of one of its resident sororities, Delta Zeta, was accused of removing 23 of its DePauw members from the sorority house because they weren’t “attractive” enough. These claims were alleged by the women who were ousted from the house, who stated that among the women asked to leave were those who were overweight and from minority groups

According to students at the college, the DePauw chapter of Delta Zeta was often called “the dog house,” and it was known as a more academically oriented sorority. The women living there weren’t very interested in the drinking and partying that often comes with Greek life. The chapter was known for having trouble recruiting because its current members were not considered “conventionally pretty” by their college colleagues; they only had 35 members, which pales in comparison to the average 100 members that other Greek organizations have at that university.

Apparently the national headquarters of Delta Zeta was concerned with the DePauw chapter’s negative image. It appears that in response to this problem they removed members who they thought contributed to that negative image by changing their status to alumnae and thereby forcing them to leave the house. Additional claims have been made that the headquarters also encouraged the sorority to only recruit new members who fit the societal stereotype of beauty. The national chapter claims otherwise, but the majority of the members of the DePauw chapter don’t seem to agree. Several of the women who were not asked to leave quit the sorority in protest. The President of DePauw was also distraught and has already kicked Delta Zeta off the DePauw campus.

To be honest, when I first heard about this, I couldn’t believe it. These girls claimed that they were removed from an organization because of their looks and because they didn’t party hardy enough. The situation seems to indicate that they are telling the truth, though I cannot claim to know who is being honest. Regardless, these events bring to light ugly stereotypes that hurt the position of women in this country.

I came across several articles covering this situation where DePauw students were quoted as saying that discrimination based on appearance is nothing new, especially in the Greek life on their campus. In this situation with these 23 girls, however, the decision was sent from the national headquarters of Delta Zeta. It was institutionalized judgment. The national office of Delta Zeta sent a message to the entire nation: girls need to be skinny and “pretty” to be worthwhile. They need to be sexual objects to have value. Intelligence has no merit, since the office apparently scorns the DePauw chapter’s academic reputation. That is a disgusting message to send to the college-aged women of this country, many who already battle self-esteem issues that stem from our skin-deep culture.

Luckily I attend an all-female college where we are told that women are intelligent, strong, creative, skilled, and deserve to be treated like the powerful people we are. Women are not merely sex objects, and we can rise above the societal stereotypes of women that still exist. Women who work hard deserve respect, and that is something that Delta Zeta lost sight of.

Greetings and welcome to the new ShotgunReviews.com. Since 1999, we’ve done our best to give you worthwhile (and often funny) reviews and columns, and it’s time to shake off the rust and do it a little differently. We’ve kicked around a few ideas regarding how we’d do this new thing, and we hope you like what you see.

The new design comes to us from Barb Hallock, a student of mine with the appropriate attitude for this place (that is, bad). The more bloggish format puts us more on par with the current landscape. After all, we’ve been doing this almost eight full years. It was time for a big change. I think that you’ll agree that the new format, with a huge list of categories and easy searching, is a good one.

As part of that big change, we’ve brought in an influx of new talent from a variety of places. The entirety of our Best Shots team, responsible for the Best Shots column that runs every Monday at Newsarama.com, is now operating here in several capacities. You’ll also meet several talented young writers, including Barb herself, who will be tackling a variety of topics.

However, if you’re one of the rare folks that has read us since 1999, don’t get too worried. Shawn Delaney will still grace us with terrific music reviews, as will Jonathan Birdsong and the Lyrical Lounge crew. The Russ is back on wrestling coverage in full force. L.I. Rapkin’s already kicking in some culture. Eric Barker’s already opened the film vaults. And they aren’t the only familiar faces lurking around.

In the next few days and weeks, you’ll see the roster expand a little more and you’ll see some new recurring columns and features that we hope will become favorites. If you want to check out the old stuff, the old site currently still exists in its full glory under the archive button. If you want to talk about any of the stuff, old or new, visit our newly established forums.

So there’s my big speech. Enjoy yourselves, express yourselves, and invite friends. ShotgunReviews.com never went away, but we are most certainly back. Thanks for your time.