At New York University's Kanbar film school, undergrads are training to be the next generation of filmmakers. Jocelyn Gonzales talked to some of her students, and the school’s associate dean, Sheril Antonio, about the ways female characters are portrayed on screen and what they plan to do about it.
Weigh in: Which movie character influenced you as a girl?
The American Girl empire of dolls, books, and accessories bases its products on plucky fictional girls from historical periods like the Civil War and the Depression. Megan McDonald told Kurt that when she wrote the series for the newest American Girl, Julie, she had to delve into an era she’d lived through firsthand: the mid 1970s.
Weigh in: History lesson or over-priced toy?
Lucy reminisces about her own American Girls -- and tells her dad why she won't friend him on Facebook.
Mulatu Astatke's mesmerizing soundtrack for the film "Broken Flowers" brought him a new generation of fans. But the Ethiopian musical icon has spent the last 50 years bridging western jazz with Ethiopia's indigenous sounds.
Gideon D’Arcangelo first met up with him in Addis Ababa.
Zarife Öztürk works at a publishing house in Istanbul. A few years ago she made it her mission to translate Judy Blume's children’s books into Turkish. Öztürk fell in love with Blume’s books when she was 10 years old, and about to attend school in America for the first time. Produced by Michele Siegel.
Growing up, Elna Baker was obsessed with one thing: a dress from her grandmother’s closet. Between body issues, her religion, and trying on new identities, the dress became an oddly powerful talisman. (Special thanks to The Moth.)
Weigh in: Would you get permanent art?
Studio 360 is a co-production of
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Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Our series on Underground Heroes is supported in part by the New York State Music Fund, established by the New York State Attorney General at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. 
