The radical notion that women like good movies
Cecil B. DeMille Award: presented to Jodie Foster “Cecil B. DeMille Award Recipient Jodie Foster: Credibility Over Celebrity” by Robin Hitchcock Lincoln: nominated for Best Picture, Drama; Best Director, Steven Spielberg; Best Actor, Drama, Daniel Day-Lewis; Best Supporting Actress, Sally Field; Best Supporting Actor, Tommy Lee Jones; Best Screenplay, Tony Kushner; Best Original Score, John … Continue reading “2013 Golden Globes Week: The Roundup”
Jessica Chastain as Maya in Zero Dark Thirty Written by Megan Kearns. | Warning: Spoilers ahead!! Driven, relentless, bad-ass women in film always hold a special place in my heart. Ripley from Alien and Aliens, Patty Hewes from Damages, Carrie Mathison from Homeland. Maya, the female protagonist of Zero Dark Thirty, is no exception. But … Continue reading “2013 Golden Globes Week: ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ Raises Questions On Gender and Torture, Gives No Easy Answers”
This is a guest review by Candice Frederick and is cross-posted with permission from her blog Reel Talk. Zero Dark Thirty teaser With her latest film Zero Dark Thirty, filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow continues her charge of completely eliminating any doubt that she’s going to be to that type of female director. You know the kind, … Continue reading “2013 Golden Globes Week: Jessica Chastain’s Performance Propels the Exquisitely Sharp But Aloof ‘Zero Dark Thirty’”
Written by Rachel Redfern. New York Times film reviewer A.O. Scott said that 2012 was a year of Hollywood heroine worship, and he lists some fabulous movies with strong and unique female characters. In a similar spirit I’d like to promote my top (female-centered) film and TV show of 2012. While Turn Me On, Dammit … Continue reading “The Best of 2012 (I think)”
A Lady Lonely at the Top: High School Politics Take an Ugly Turn in ‘Election’ by Carleen Tibbets Election, the 1999 film directed by Alexander Payne and based on the novel by Tom Perotta, chronicles type A personality Tracy Flick’s (Reese Witherspoon) quest to become student body president and the unraveling of her social sciences … Continue reading “Women in Politics Week: The Roundup”
Kirsten Dunst in Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette This post by Megan Kearns originally appeared at Bitch Flicks on March 27, 2012. Many chastised Sofia Coppola’s re-imagining of Marie Antoinette. Some critics complained about the addition of modern music while others thought it looked too slick, like an MTV music video (remember those??). But I think … Continue reading “Women in Politics Week: Sofia Coppola’s ‘Marie Antoinette’ Surprisingly Feminist”
CJ Cregg (Allison Janney) in The West Wing Guest post written by Pauline Holdsworth. CJ: They beat women, Nancy. They hate women. The only reason they keep Qumari women alive is to make more Qumari men. Nancy: What do you want me to do? CJ: How about suggesting that we sell the guns at … Continue reading “Women in Politics Week: "The Women of Qumar": Feminism and Imperialism in ‘The West Wing’”
In 1923, Margaret Sanger opened the first legal birth control clinic in America. Almost 90 years later, HBO’s Boardwalk Empire is reminding audiences of those early struggles for women’s reproductive health and education, which don’t seem as foreign as they should. In the premiere episode of season 3, Margaret (Schroeder) Thompson hears a radio story about Carrie … Continue reading “‘Boardwalk Empire’: Margaret Thompson, Margaret Sanger, and the Cultural Commentary of Historical Fiction”
Bromances, buddy films, buddy cop movies, — notice a theme here? Most movies about friendship are about dudes, usually white hetero dudes. Considering the sheer magnitude of films and TV series, it’s shockingly rare how often a movie or series showcases female friendships. So we asked you: Who are your favorite female friendships? We received … Continue reading “Weekly Feminist Film Question: Who Are Your Favorite Female Friendships in Film and TV?”
Disney logo with Death Star Last week, one of the only news items to penetrate the horrifying coverage of Hurricane Sandy’s devastation and the nerve-wracking anticipation for the US Elections was the surprising, perplexing, but exciting news that Disney was buying Lucasfilm and planning to release Star Wars Episode VII in 2015. It was like a … Continue reading “Disney Buys Star Wars: A New Hope for Women and Girls”
Here we are, at the end of Horror Week 2012! If you missed last year’s Horror Week and want to keep reading feminist analysis of the genre, check out these great articles. Sleepaway Camp by Carrie Nelson The shock of Sleepaway Camp’s ending relies on the cissexist assumption that one’s biological sex and gender presentation … Continue reading “Horror Week 2012: Roundup of Horror Week 2011”
Vivien (Connie Britton) in American Horror Story Ladies, how many times have you been called a “crazy bitch?” Once? Twice? 5 thousand times?? Or is that just me? This oh-so-not-lovely term of endearment gets tossed around waaaaayy too often. It’s bad enough when we get labeled the sexist term “bitch” — and it’s very different … Continue reading “Horror Week 2012: That "Crazy Bitch": Women and Mental Illness Tropes in Horror”
