Tag: Rachel Redfern
The Four Mothers of ‘Hanna’
The Dark Side of ‘The Dark Knight Rises’
The revolutionaries of this film literally destroyed the vestiges of wealth as they smashed pictures and pulled scared socialites out of their homes and yanked the fur coats off their backs. However, the film did have some subtler points on economy, most notably offered by the reluctant billionaire Bruce Wayne (who admittedly has experienced poverty in his travels) when he critiques the charity functions where thousands are spent on venues and food. A valid point, since the money spent on the charity function could probably just have been given to the charity in the first place. Similarly, Catwoman states that the “rich don’t even go broke like the rest of us,” disgusted that even without money, Wayne will be able to maintain his lifestyle.
The two women in the movie actually play an important role in the economics portrayed: Catwoman as a sort of liaison between the wealthy do-gooders and poor revolutionaries. She pretends wealth in order to achieve her thieving, but claims herself to be a woman of the people. Miranda as well comes from nothing and has managed to rise up in the ranks of the world, only intending to tear it down again. I found it interesting though, that both women seem to at first be a part of the upper classes, but instead, stand as symbols for those who are struggling (though neither seems to have a very positive way of dealing with their financial difficulties).
Welcome New Contributors!
My love for pop culture, analysis, argument and feminism created the person at this keyboard. I’ve learned to bring notebooks with me to the movies, keep one handy in the living room when we watch TV, and keep my eyes and ears open constantly to connect representations of gender roles in the media to our culture. [click here to read more about Leigh]
New ‘Bitch Flicks’ Regular Contributor: Rachel Redfern
I have a Bachelors of Arts in Humanities and a Master of Arts in English; during my masters degree I focused mostly on modern American literature and film, really enjoying interdisciplinary work, and after my degree, taught composition, creative writing and literature at the university level for a few years.
While I grew up in California and still consider it home, I’ve moved around a bit since then; currently, I live in South Korea where I teach English and stuff myself with Kimchi and Toblerone bars and watch way too much TV. My tastes extend into the realm of the eclectic and some of my favorites are Arrested Development, Castle, pretty much anything by HBO but specifically True Blood and Game of Thrones (ditto for BBC), and loads of old shows, Star Trek, I Dream of Jeannie, Murder She Wrote, Northern Exposure, most of which are campy and nostalgic (who else loves the original Doctor Who?).
Similarly, my taste in movies is all over the place: old movies and classics (Arsenic and Old Lace, The Odd Couple, anything with Jack Lemmon), The Last of the Mohicans, Legends of the Fall, The Producers (the original), Drop Dead Gorgeous and a vast collection of the ridiculous and poignant.
I look forward to discussing all of the above and more with you (whilst probably saying far too much myself) here at Bitch Flicks.
Women in Science Fiction Week: A Feminist Review of ‘Prometheus’
Noomi Rapace as Dr. Elizabeth Shaw in Prometheus |
Guest post written by Rachel Redfern previously appeared at Bitch Flicks on June 20, 2012 and was originally published at Not Another Wave. Cross-posted with permission.
The prequel and spinoff for the classic film Alien has as much feminist food as its precursor did, albeit slightly less groundbreaking, though we can’t fault it for that: Alien did give us the first female action hero in Sigourney Weaver’s portrayal of the irrepressible Ripley.
Guest Writer Wednesday: A Feminist Review of ‘Prometheus’
Noomi Rapace as Dr. Elizabeth Shaw in Prometheus |
Guest post written by Rachel Redfern originally published at Not Another Wave. Cross-posted with permission.
The prequel and spinoff for the classic film Alien has as much feminist food as its precursor did, albeit slightly less groundbreaking, though we can’t fault it for that: Alien did give us the first female action hero in Sigourney Weaver’s portrayal of the irrepressible Ripley.
Guest Writer Wednesday: A Feminist Review of ‘Snow White and the Huntsman’
Guest post written by Rachel Redfern originally published at Not Another Wave. Cross-posted with permission.
The fairy tale redux is the latest vogue in Hollywood and poor Snow White has been remixed and redone twice in the past year. I didn’t see the Julia Roberts and Nathan Lane adaptation, about which I heard unpleasant things (I wonder though, can anything with the brilliant Nathan Lane ever be that bad?), but the trailer looked promising, despite the presence of Kristin Stewart.
Motherhood in Film & Television: Spawning the World: Motherhood in ‘Game of Thrones’
One of the aspects that struck me in the show though, is the portrayal of motherhood. Far from being absent or swept to the side, the film’s mothers are a driving force in the plot development and are some of the most multi-dimensional of the series (credit has to be given to the actresses who play them).
Game of Thrones |