The radical notion that women like good movies
The Great Lie (1941) This is a guest post from Erin Blackwell. My mother used to sit me down to watch movies in front of a small black-and-white TV in our Southern California living room, not far from Hollywood, where she’d spent the happiest years of her childhood. Watching movies was part of a wide-ranging … Continue reading “Motherhood in Film & Television: ‘The Great Lie’”
One of the aspects that struck me in the show though, is the portrayal of motherhood. Far from being absent or swept to the side, the film’s mothers are a driving force in the plot development and are some of the most multi-dimensional of the series (credit has to be given to the actresses who play them).
Piper Laurie and Sissy Spacek (1976 film) This piece is from Monthly Contributor Carrie Nelson. (Warning: Contains spoilers about Stephen King’s Carrie and its film and stage adaptations.) I love Stephen King’s Carrie, and not just because we share the same name. More than anything, I love the way that Carrie honestly explores the tensions … Continue reading “Motherhood in Film & Television: The Evolution of Margaret White”
This is a guest post from Erin Fenner. Rosemary’s Baby, the Roman Polanski 1968 adaptation of the novel with the same name, uses minimal effects. While it is a horror story about the mother of Satan’s child, we only briefly glimpse the arm and eyes of the feature’s supposed monster. And, while the plot against … Continue reading “Motherhood in Film & Television: ‘Rosemary’s Baby’”
Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) This is a guest post from Megan Ryland. For me, no television mother springs to mind faster than Lorelai Gilmore of the long running show The Gilmore Girls. In fact, what is arguably so special about the show is that it offers a popular mainstream venue to focus on mothering, and … Continue reading “Motherhood in Film & Television: Three Generations of Mothering on ‘The Gilmore Girls’”
Jamie Lynne Grumet on Time Recently there’s been major hullabaloo about Jamie Lynne Grumet, the 26-year-old California mom who proudly posed on the cover of Time magazine breastfeeding her 3-year-old son. Ridiculed, condemned and completely unorthodox, this shocking image continues to reverberate across the globe. A similar effigy from the 1976 film Carrie has lingered … Continue reading “Motherhood in Film & Television: ‘Carrie’”
Julianne Moore and Hugh Grant in the film Nine Months This is a guest review by Tyler Adams. Male Pregnancy Nine Months, contrary to all expectations, is not about pregnancy. It’s about a man coping with a pregnancy. Yes. Here’s a film whose subject absolutely and biologically requires a woman – and it’s still about … Continue reading “Motherhood in Film and Television: Nine Months Forward, Three Centuries Back”
Cierra Ramirez (Ansiedad) and Eva Mendes (Grace) in Girl in Progress When I was growing up, I never felt like a child. With her continuous string of bad boyfriends, I always felt like I was the one taking care of my single mother and myself. I couldn’t wait to leave home and start a new … Continue reading “‘Girl in Progress:’ Female-Centric Film Tackles Strained Mother-Daughter Relationships, Single Motherhood and Navigating Adolescence”
Manifesta by Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards I’ve been reading the 10th anniversary edition of Jennifer Baumgardner’s and Amy Richards’ Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and the Future, which was first published in 2000 and revised in 2010. One chapter in particular struck me, and in honor of Mother’s Day this past Sunday–and our upcoming theme … Continue reading “Quote of the Day: Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards”
The Avengers movie poster This is a guest review by Soraya Chemaly and is posted with permission. The Avengers opened last week and, shattering records, far outpaced all other Cineplex offerings nationally. The movie grossed more than $200 million over the weekend (compared with The Hunger Games $8 millon weekend receipts and seven week total … Continue reading “Guest Writer Wednesday: The Avengers: Are We Exporting Media Sexism or Importing It?”
This piece by Ana Mardoll is cross-posted with permission from her site Ana Mardoll’s Ramblings. Disney. The word is so synonymous in my mind with “animated feature films” that it’s like using “Kleenex” for “tissue.” When children come to my house, as they sometimes do, they’re invariably drawn to my huge selection of “Disney movies,” … Continue reading “Guest Writer Wednesday: Disney: The Little Mermaid”
Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) in The Avengers Cross-posted at Fem2pt0. Smashing box office records, audiences have been swept up in The Avengers hullabaloo. Interesting and compelling, the epic superhero film based on the Marvel comics unites Black Widow, Captain America, Iron Man, Hawkeye, the Hulk and Thor “to form a team that … Continue reading “‘The Avengers,’ Strong Female Characters and Failing the Bechdel Test”
