Whip It, Whip It Good

Thanks to Amy at Appetite for Equal Rights for tipping me off to this.

In October, there will be a movie coming out that is the directorial debut of Drew Barrymore, starring Ellen Page, and centering around (as far as I can tell) female empowerment. This movie is Whip It.



Personally, I think this movie looks amazing. Not only is it written (Shauna Cross) by, directed (Drew Barrymore) by, and starring (Ellen Page) women, it seems to be promoting female empowerment and doing what you love to do as well as portraying strong female characters.

"You all are my new heroes." "Well, put some skates on and be your own hero."
"We cannot take losing the chance for our kid to be happy."

Ellen Page's character, Bliss, is happy participating in Roller Derby and finally finds a place where she feels like she belongs, which at first she hides from her parents. But it seems like when her parents find out, her dad supports her. I think it is important that he realizes that this makes his daughter happy and that she feel good about herself doing this. These lines show how women can take charge of their lives, do what makes them happy, and not care what others think of you. If this isn't one aspect of female empowerment, I don't know what is.

Earlier I wrote: if women make movies, is it necessarily feminist in relation to the movie Jennifer's Body. While I had some doubts about that movie being feminist, Whip It, which is made by and starring women, I see as definitely feminist. This is not just because it is made by and starring women, but that fact definitely adds to the feminist nature of the movie. And it's important to support movies made by women because they are so few and far between. Of course, we'll have to wait til the movie comes out to be sure. But I will definitely be in line to see this one.

P.S. It also seems like it has great music!