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Stephanie Zacharek on the idea of "good roles for women", with defenses of Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos's Femme Fatale.

Charles Taylor on the Dixie Chicks:

Offered the chance to take it all back and make nice, the Dixie Chicks instead chose to turn the interview around. Sawyer wanted answers; the Chicks offered questions, hard questions. Sawyer wanted to talk about the damage they may have done to their career; the Chicks talked about the damage being done to America in an era where Vice President Dick Cheney has proclaimed "You're either with us or against us."

And from MTV a few months ago, Shakira on peace. Have you guys noticed that her Reebok commercial all but ignores the shoes? I mean, she's wearing them, but who cares: It's a 30-second spot for percussion and peace. In Salon, Hillary Frey makes a related point about her Pepsi ad:

While you couldn't miss the point with Britney or Beyoncé, the Shakira spot simply doesn't work as a vehicle for selling soda. What it does do, and remarkably well, is plant that little seed of a perfect pop song, along with an unforgettable image or two, in heads across America.

I hope this doesn't hurt her career as a commercial spokesdancer.