The radical notion that women like good movies
Father of the Bride Values Relationships With Women by Mab Ryan Father of the Bride (1991) is aptly named, as its focus is not on the wedding itself or the couple involved but on the titular character’s neuroses and journey to maturity. The wedding is the backdrop and the incident that provokes growth in the … Continue reading “Wedding Week: The Roundup”
Gender, Family and Globalization in ‘Eat Drink Man Woman’ by Emily Contois Foreign Film Week: Red, Blue, and Giallo: Dario Argento’s ‘Suspiria’ by Max Thornton Sexism in Three of Bollywood’s Most Popular Films by Katherine Filaseta BFI London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival Realistic Depictions of Women and Female Friendship in ‘Muriel’s Wedding’ by … Continue reading “Foreign Film Week Roundup”
The Tempest (2010) directed by Julie Taymor and starring Helen Mirren as Prospera Written by Amber Leab I like films that take risks. I like filmmakers who take risks. Even if the film ends up flawed, an interesting risk always trumps the tidy execution of a flat story. Helen Mirren wanted to do Shakespeare, but … Continue reading “Classic Literature Film Adaptations Week: Helen Mirren Stars in Julie Taymor’s Gender-Bent ‘The Tempest’”
Pop-Tarts and Pizza: Food, Gender, and Class in Gilmore Girls by Brianna Low While it could be argued that it is somewhat progressive of the Gilmore Girls series to portray two women who have no hang-ups about publicly consuming large amounts of food, it is important to remember that despite their voracious appetites, Rory and … Continue reading “Gender and Food Week: The Roundup”
Last year, we published the Top 10 of 2011, with the only criteria being the number of page views each post received. This year, we’re publishing the most viewed post in each month of 2012. The list, of course, would be entirely different if we published the 10 most viewed posts in all of 2012, … Continue reading “Popular Posts of 2012”
Arresting Ana (2009) This post written by Amber Leab originally appeared at Bitch Flicks on April 10, 2012. In February of this year, Tumblr made news when it announced it would no longer host “self harm” sites–which promote anorexia or bulimia as a lifestyle choice, among other subjects–and would pop up a public service announcement (PSA) whenever … Continue reading “Gender and Food Week: ‘Arresting Ana’: A Short Film about Pro-Anorexia Websites”
Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games This Review in Conversation on The Hunger Games with Megan Kearns and Amber Leab previously appeared at Bitch Flicks on April 19, 2012. Megan’s Take:In a dystopian future, the nation of Panem stands where North America once existed. The government at the Capitol, which controls the … Continue reading “Gender & Food Week: ‘The Hunger Games’ Review in Conversation: Female Protagonists, Body Image, Disability, Whitewashing, Hunger & Food”
Amber‘s Picks: Hollywood’s Year of Heroine Worship by A.O. Scott via The New York Times Oscars and casting: Hollywood insiders discuss diversity by Solvej Schou via Entertainment Weekly30 Lessons We Learned From Amy Poehler in 2012 by Krutika Mallikarjuna via Buzzfeed Megan‘s Picks: 7 Ways Women and Girls are Sexualized, Stereotyped and Underrepresented On Screen by Dana Liebelson … Continue reading “Bitch Flicks’ Weekly Picks”
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”
This piece on Persepolis, by Amber Leab, first appeared at Bitch Flicks on July 1, 2009. I rented Persepolis before the recent Iranian election, and have been thinking ever since about the film. Persepolis is adapted from the autobiographical graphic novels written by Marjane Satrapi (which I haven’t read), and represents the first graphic-novel-as-film. … Continue reading “Women in Politics Week: ‘Persepolis’”
Big Girls Don’t Cry: The Election that Changed Everything for American Women by Rebecca Traister Rebecca Traister’s Big Girls Don’t Cry looks at the 2008 election through a feminist lens and, (no surprise), focuses most on primary candidate Hillary Clinton, and later Sarah Palin. The book is, however, much more than just an analysis of … Continue reading “Women in Politics Week: Quote of the Day: Rebecca Traister”
Stephanie‘s Picks: Women in the Media: Female TV and Film Characters Still Sidelined and Sexualized, Study Finds by Nina Bahadur via Huffington Post Hollywood’s New Feminists, Why the Old One Went Away and What’s Coming Next? by Sasha Stone via Awards Daily Fighting, Flirting, Feminism: The Bond Girl Evolution by Lily Rothman via Time V … Continue reading “Bitch Flicks’ Weekly Picks”
