The radical notion that women like good movies
I’m reposting my review of Vamps—which previously appeared at Bitch Flicks on May 3, 2012—in honor of Vamps opening in theaters (in limited release) tonight and releasing on DVD November 12. Movie poster for Vamps Vamps, the new indie film directed by Amy Heckerling and starring Alicia Silverstone and Krysten Ritter (the upcoming star of … Continue reading “How ‘Vamps’ Showcases the Importance of Women Friendships”
The Final Girl Gone Wild: Post-Feminist Whiteness in ‘Scream 4’ by Jeremy Cornelius Wes Craven’s 1990s Scream trilogy completely rewrote the slasher genre in a postmodern meta-film. In March 2011, Scream 4 was released, ten years after Scream 3 was originally released, starring the original trio: Neve Campbell, David Arquette, and Courtney Cox-Arquette along with … Continue reading “Horror Week 2012: The Roundup”
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’”
This guest review by Mychael Blinde previously appeared at Vagina Dentwata and is cross-posted with permission. Please don’t film the demons! I’m partial to the Paranormal Activity trilogy for three reasons: the clever camera work, the pitch perfect execution of tension building and release, and the films’ focus on women’s stories and histories. (The first … Continue reading “Horror Week 2012: ‘Paranormal Activity’: The Horror of Waiting, of Watching, of Things Unseen”
Jennifer’s Body (2009) This is a guest post from Erin Blackwell. Jennifer’s Body, the 2009 horror chick-flick that was a coming-of-age for sex goddess Megan Fox after hyper-lucrative, career-building toil under the aegis of Michael Bay’s teenage-boy-centric Transformers franchise, now enjoys a cult following outside the Transformers demographic. And yet, on release, Jennifer’s Body was … Continue reading “Horror Week 2012: Portrait of the Artist as the Demon’s Best Friend Forever”
The Vampire Lovers | L-R: Carmilla (Ingrid Pitts) and Laura (Pippa Steel) Guest post written by Lauren Chance. It is a truth universally acknowledged that any fandom, genre or medium must be in want of some lesbians and lo, the so-called ‘lesbian vampire’ genre that exists as a subsidiary to the vampire mythology is here … Continue reading “Horror Week 2012: The Failure of the Male Gaze in ‘The Vampire Lovers’”
I spent my teen years hopelessly addicted to zombie movies. No matter how poorly made, no matter how artistically worthless, no matter how nasty and exploitative, if the movie had zombies in it, I would watch. The first thing I bought with the first paycheck from my first job at seventeen was Jamie Russell’s Book … Continue reading “Horror Week 2012: A Brief Feministory of Zombie Cinema”
Reality television has never held much appeal for me. I get plenty of reality in reality, thanks – I like my TV fictional. Besides, hasn’t the last decade or more of respectable journalism assured me, in the shrillest possible tones, that reality TV is the very lowest form of entertainment, positively reveling in the filth … Continue reading “Counterreading ‘Here Comes Honey Boo Boo’”
‘The Mindy Project’ premiers Sept. 25 (the pilot is available on Hulu). The anti-hero is in. While one could analyze at length what this says about our society, it’s clear that we are more smitten with the male anti-hero than the female one. There’s still a notion that our female protagonists–when we get them–need to … Continue reading “‘The Mindy Project’ : A Case for the Female Anti-Hero”
Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Guest post written by Jennifer M. Santos. “It’s a relief to hear papers that don’t go on about feminism.” Such was Patricia Pender’s report on the mood of attendees at the second Slayage Conference in 2006, just three years after Buffy ended (5). Pender punctuated … Continue reading “Buffy the Vampire Slayer Week: The View from the Grave: Buffy as Gothic Feminist”
The cast of Breaking Bad Warning: Spoilers Ahead Season five of Breaking Bad began with the unraveling of Gus Fring’s drug operation, which had served as a puppeteer for most of the cast during the preceding seasons. The second episode, “Madrigal,” is named for the German parent company of Fring’s Los Pollos Hermanos. While the business … Continue reading “‘Yo Bitch’: The Complicated Feminism of Breaking Bad”
Anne Hathaway as Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises [source] While The Dark Knight Rises has had a more mixed reception than Christopher Nolan’s previous two entries in his Batman trilogy, everyone, even President Obama, can agree that Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman was the best thing about the movie. Slate’s Alyssa Rosenberg calls her, “the best … Continue reading “‘The Dark Knight Rises’s Catwoman: a (Shhh!) with a Heart of Gold”
