People who don’t work in the arts don’t realize how much work goes into it. Writers write hundreds of pages before any reader (who isn’t a blood relative) loves their work. Musicians practice for countless hours and write a lot of shitty songs before they compose a tune that makes someone want to sing along. Moms Mabley, the Black, queer woman comedian born in 1894 in the Jim Crow south, ran away at age 14 to become a performer and spent much of the next 66 years onstage, performing and polishing her own comedy routines. Her long experience may be why her work, nearly 40 years after her death, still elicits laughs.
# The 100 3rd Rock from the Sun 30 Rock 2 Broke Girls A Ackee & Saltfish Adventure Time Agent Carter Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Alias All-American Girl Ally McBeal Alphas American Crime American Horror Story American Horror Story: Asylum American Horror Story: Coven American Ninja Warrior The Americans Angel Anne of Green Gables Archer The … Continue reading “TV Directory”
The ethics of the film are one thing, but it says a lot about the world of the movie that it’s able to go nearly two hours without a single important female character showing up on screen. There are no women cops, there are no women in the mob, there are only a couple of wives or passers-by or maybe a drug-addled girlfriend or two. But no one who matters. The acting characters in the film are all overwhelmingly and vocally male.
Even the ethos of the characters, that they will destroy that which is evil, but leave alone the pure and blameless, is inherently sexist. Because when they say pure and blameless, what they mean is the women and children. In this universe, women are not even people enough to do things wrong. We do not have enough agency even to commit evil.
# 50/50 5 Broken Cameras 500 Days of Summer 45 Years The 40-Year-Old Virgin 4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days 9 to 5 1971 101 Dalmations 127 Hours 10 Days in a Madhouse 10,000 km 3 1/2 Minutes, Ten Bullets 300: Rise of an Empire 12 Years a Slave 28 Days Later A Abuse … Continue reading “Film Directory”
Written by Leigh Kolb Hiroshima mon amour debuted in 1959, 14 years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed. Alain Resnais’ first feature film explores memory, forgetting and tragedy on an individual and worldwide scale, largely through the lens of Elle (“Her”), played by Emmanuelle Riva. While Resnais had signed on to do a documentary about the atomic bomb, … Continue reading “Foreign Film Week: Remembering, Forgetting and Breaking Through in the Female Narrative of ‘Hiroshima mon amour’”
The 27th BFI London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival: 14 – 24 March 2013 From the press release: The 27th BFI London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival (LLGFF) is back at BFI Southbank London with a festival of 11 days and a new look programme that’s packed full of films, special guests, events, workshops, and music. … Continue reading “Foreign Film Week: BFI London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival”
No other type of character seems to tug at our nostalgic heartstrings like TV moms. So we asked you to tell us: who are your favorite moms on television? While the answers crossed boundaries of socio-economic status, race and TV genre, the female characters named embody many similar traits — warm, intelligent, loving, educated, stern, … Continue reading “Weekly Feminist Film Question: Who Are Your Favorite TV Moms?”
*This guest post also appears on Gender Across Borders. Last week, I saw the much-anticipated film Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire. And I haven’t stopped thinking about it all week. Not because I’m in shock, though the film does depict a number of truly horrific and violent situations. And not because I’m … Continue reading “Movie Review: Precious, Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
Check out the Emmy-nominated women below. I haven’t included all categories, but you can check out the entire list of Emmy nominees here. Outstanding Directing For A Comedy Series 30 Rock • Reunion • NBC • Broadway Video, Little Stranger, Inc. in association withUniversal Media StudiosBeth McCarthy, Director Outstanding Directing For A Miniseries, Movie Or … Continue reading “2009 Emmy Nominations”