Bitch Flicks’ Weekly Picks

Amber‘s Picks: The Science of Racism: Radiolab’s Treatment of the Hmong Experience by Kao Kalia Yang via Hypen Magazine Oscar 2012: Best Actress, Old and Young by Jackrabbit Slim via Gone Elsewhere Parody piece is more feminist than Rolling Stone‘s actual women’s issue via About-FaceLana Wachowski Wins Visibility Award From HRC by Monica Castillo via … Continue reading “Bitch Flicks’ Weekly Picks”

The Neeson Identity: What the Release of ‘The Grey’ Got Wrong About Men

This is a guest post by Margaret Howie. With the release of Taken 2, Liam Neeson impersonations are all over the internet again. You’d think that we had all been starved of Neeson material, but it was only back in January that his Man vs. the Wild movie, The Grey was released. Along with it … Continue reading “The Neeson Identity: What the Release of ‘The Grey’ Got Wrong About Men”

Horror Week 2012: Roundup of Horror Week 2011

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”

Horror Week 2012: “We work with what we have," The Subversion of Gender Roles in ‘The Cabin in the Woods’

This is a guest post from Amanda Rodriguez Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard’s Cabin in the Woods is a fantastic movie, laying the horror genre bare, critiquing its conventions, and creating a space for a larger cultural conversation. Gender roles (both in and out of horror movies) are a major component of this conversation in … Continue reading “Horror Week 2012: “We work with what we have," The Subversion of Gender Roles in ‘The Cabin in the Woods’”

Horror Week 2012: That "Crazy Bitch": Women and Mental Illness Tropes in Horror

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”

Horror Week 2012: ‘The Walking Dead’ and Gender: Why I’m Skeptical the Addition of Badass Michonne Will Change the TV Series’ Sexism

This piece by Megan Kearns previously appeared at Bitch Flicks on April 10, 2012.  Michonne (Danai Gurira) in The Walking Dead Warning: if you haven’t seen Seasons 1 and 2 of The Walking Dead, there are spoilers ahead. Have you ever dated someone because of their potential rather than what she/he/ze brings to the table? … Continue reading “Horror Week 2012: ‘The Walking Dead’ and Gender: Why I’m Skeptical the Addition of Badass Michonne Will Change the TV Series’ Sexism”

Horror Week 2012: ‘Absentia’ Showcases Terror, Strong Female Characters and Sisterhood

Guest post written by Deirdre Crimmins. Though I like explosions and interesting methods of execution as much as any other horror fan, it is always great characterization and relationships that make a horror film great. Actually, great characters and their relationships are what help make any film great, but often they are an afterthought in … Continue reading “Horror Week 2012: ‘Absentia’ Showcases Terror, Strong Female Characters and Sisterhood”

Too Many Hitchcocks

Sienna Miller and Toby Jones in HBO’s The Girl 1997 had volcano movies. 2000 had Mars movies. 2006 had magician movies. 2012 has Hitchcock movies. The Girl, premiering tomorrow on HBO at 9PM, stars Toby Jones as Hitch, Imelda Staunton as his wife Alma, and Sienna Miller as Tippi Hedren. Hitchcock, opening in limited release … Continue reading “Too Many Hitchcocks”

Women and Gender in Musicals Week: The Roundup

Rock of Ages Warms Your 80s-Loving Little Heart With a Cheesy Two-Hour Music Video by Candice Frederick Even though its finest moments all boil down to well-intentioned, high energy karaoke numbers, and its script (co-written by Justin Theroux) left more cheese in the recipe than what was called for, Rock of Ages is still great … Continue reading “Women and Gender in Musicals Week: The Roundup”

E.T. – Queer Space Jesus

People love writing stories about Space Jesus. The Ur-example is, for me, Klaatu in The Day The Earth Stood Still (believe it or not, the scriptwriter thought he was being subtle with that one, bless his heart). An alien stranded, alone of its kind, on another planet is the very archetype of a stranger in … Continue reading “E.T. – Queer Space Jesus”

Women and Gender in Musicals Week: Aladdin

This review previously appeared at Bitch Flicks as part of our series on Animated Children’s Films. This movie is about a princess and a “street rat” who fall in love and must overcome the evil Jafar to get married. This movie is also about generalizing non-Western cultures (mainly Middle Eastern cultures) and perpetuating cartoonish stereotypes … Continue reading “Women and Gender in Musicals Week: Aladdin”

Women and Gender In Musicals Week: The Surprising Feminism of ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Movie Poster It’s always difficult to review older movies from a feminist outlook, especially ones that predate not only second-wave feminism, but the civil rights movement as well. On the surface, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is kinda anti-feminist – we have the stereotypical dumb blonde and the smart brunette, the dumb blonde is … Continue reading “Women and Gender In Musicals Week: The Surprising Feminism of ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’”