This post is originally published at The World’s Most Famous Man and is cross-posted with permission. So let me just get two things out of the way before I get really, really deep in detail about one specific aspect of the Oscars intro last night: 1) it was super, super-long and self-indulgent. Even by Oscar [...]
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There is No Such Thing as Traditional Activism
Tweet Chat: On Thursday, February 28, at 2 PM ET Fem.2.0 will host a Tweet Chat with special guests, Cindy Cooper, creator of ”Words of Choice“, and feminist writer, Soraya Chemaly , to discuss how important it is for women to keep fighting for their reproductive rights and the role the theater plays as a vehicle to transmit [...]
Race and the Academy: Black Characters, Stories and the Danger of Django
Guest post written by Leigh Kolb. Originally published at Bitch Flicks. Cross-posted with permission. “It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity.” – W.E.B. Du [...]
Dear Academy: You are Aging and Sexist, Now What?
Dear Academy, I love the Academy Awards. Along with millions of other people, I wait for the annual ceremony, yell at the screen when I disagree with winners, pick my favorite dresses and cheer for people whose work I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying. Like my parents before me, I fight with my kids about [...]
‘Zero Dark Thirty’ Raises Questions On Gender and Torture, Gives No Easy Answers
Originally published at Bitch Flicks. Cross-posted with permission.| Warning: Spoilers ahead! Driven, relentless, bad-ass women in film always hold a special place in my heart. Ripley from Alien and Aliens, Patty Hewes from Damages, Carrie Mathison from Homeland. Maya, the female protagonist of Zero Dark Thirty, is no exception. But can a film be feminist [...]
5 Ways To Use Music To End Violence Against Women
From Bob Dylan protesting for peace to Bruce Springsteen railing against Wall Street, music has always been a powerful medium for raising public awareness about the important issues of the day. Indeed, music is the original viral messaging tool as songs were one of the main ways of keeping cultural and political messages alive and [...]
2013 Athena Film Festival Lineup: Films on Women & Leadership
Get excited for the 3rd annual Athena Film Festival! The festival features narrative films, documentaries, short films along with panels and workshops for filmmakers — all focusing on women’s leadership. Co-founded by Melissa Silverstein and Kathryn Kolbert, the festival runs from February 7-10 in New York City at Barnard College. Kathryn Kolbert, Athena Film Festival Co-Founder and [...]
‘Les Miserables,’ Sex Trafficking & Fantine as a Symbol for Women’s Oppression
Some writers, like professor Stacy Wolf, have enjoyed yet criticized the film adaptation of Les Miserables for not being feminist enough and turning the female characters into “bit players.” Whileothers have lauded its feminism. Sure it irks me yet another film focuses on the journey, salvation and redemption of a man. We clearly have enough of those. But that ignores [...]
Does ‘Argo’ Suffer from a Woman Problem and Iranian Stereotypes?
When I saw Argo in the theatre, I wasn’t really expecting to have a whole lot to say regarding gender in the film. In the majority of the trailer, all you see is men, men, brief glimpse of the women, and more men. Did Argo reaffirm my fears of making women silent and invisible? Based on the 1979 Tehran [...]