Julie & Julia [Movie Monday]

Movie Monday is a weekly feature that highlight a movie every Monday. I watch a lot of movies, so this is my way to share my "expertise" with you. In the inaugural Movie Monday post I will be reviewing the new movie Julie & Julia, starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams.

Two amazing women, mouth-watering food, and a great story are what make up Nora Ephron's new movie, Julie & Julia. What started out as a story about cooking and eating delicious food turns into a story about self-discovery and empowerment.

Meryl Streep steals the show with her portrayal of Julia Child. Amy Adams plays Julie Powell, a 30-year-old woman trying to reinvent and find herself after she realizes that she hasn't really reached any of her goals.

Julia Child herself was a pretty amazing woman. She loved to eat good food so took it upon herself to go to cooking school to learn how to make delicious food. She faced her all male class at Le Cordon Bleu and thrived. She stood up to the school's administrator. She wrote a cookbook and didn't give up on getting it published.

Julie Power, on the other hand, was pretty unremarkable until she set on this road of self-discovery. She started a project, with a correlating blog, dedicated to cooking her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in a year. 365 days, 524 recipes. Of course she didn't know it was about self-discovery when she started, she just wanted to do something with her life. Powell found herself in the life and recipes of Julia Child.

And the other main character -- the food. I love cooking so I melted like the pounds of butter they went through during all of the cooking scenes. And I'm pretty sure I started to drool in the theater because the food looked so good!

I was told that the review of Julie & Julia on NPR's Fresh Air said that there was no character development. I don't know what they were thinking about. Julie Powell went from a shy, self-depricating woman to someone who is confident and loves life, all through her connection with food and Julia Child. Julia Child went from a secretary and someone's wife to developing a passion for cooking and making a name for herself. There's plenty of character development.

And now on to some of my favorite parts of the movie:

• Any scene with Meryl Streep: she's one of my favorite actresses. As Julia Child, she was charismatic and funny. I was laughing throughout all her scenes.
• Changing the song "Psycho Killer" by the Talking Heads (one of my favorite Talking Heads songs) to "Lobster Killer"
• Mary Lynn Rajskub: I love her in whatever she does and her relationships with Julie Powell reminded me at points of my relationships with one of my friends
• The promotion of blogging as a form of self-expression

I think is movie is definitely feminist. It's made by and starring some awesome women. It's all about finding your passions, doing what you love, and finding yourself along the way. Part of my values in feminism are all about the right to self-expression as well as allowing and encouraging women to follow their dreams and do what they love.

I highly recommend this movie. It's well made and has a good message. When I saw it, the theater was packed, primarily with middle aged women. But this is definitely a movie for all ages (well, maybe not all -- there are sexual references and cursing) and sexes. Finding yourself and doing what you love should be a message that everyone should get behind!

Further Reading:
Julia & Julia By the Numbers [Women & Hollywood]
Julie & Julia Need More Julia, Only a Dash of Julie [Jezebel]
Julie & Julia [Women & Hollywood]
Julie & Julia: A Film Review [Entertainment Realm]

Harry's All About the Sexual Tension

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince came out last Wednesday and I have already seen it twice. I really liked the most recent installment. However, I have talked with some people who haven't read the books (gasp!) who didn't really care for it. I think that if you have read the books, you can better understand the pivotal points in relation to the Deathly Hollow (the 7th book and 7th and 8th movies). This movie doesn't do a great job at filling in people that have forgotten what has happened or hasn't read the books or seen the movies.

I thought that the movie was really good and pretty funny, at least more so that the other Harry Potter films. In this installment, the main characters discover the opposite sex. Harry and Ginny Weasley start to develop feelings for each other (which I was a little disappointed that they didn't develop this further as they did in the book), Ron starts dating Lavender Brown (which is where a good amount of the comedic relief comes from, that and the love potion Ron accidentally ingests), and Hermione is all about the teen angst when she sees Ron with Lavender.

But some controversy has come up over the sexualization of the characters. In the movie, the characters are entering their sixth year at Hogwarts, making them 16-years-old. This seems like a perfectly reasonable age to bring romantic relationships into the mix of the Harry Potter movies. But many don't think so...

An article on EW.com attacks the film for being too sexual, saying that's not what J.K. Rowling intended. Maybe the film did develop these relationships further than the book (it has been a while since I've read the book all the way through), but the book definitely had these relationships in them. The author, Jean Bentley, proclaims that, "Despite illusions to the contrary, teenagers don't actually have adult relationships."

What? I'm pretty sure if you talk to 16-year-olds, they are capable of romantic relationships, and even want them (oh no!). But apparently, according to Bentley, teenagers don't have relationships and don't have sex. While there is no sex in the Harry Potter movies (and I don't think there should be because it was technically started as a children's series, even though it's evolved into much more), there is definitely a lot of sexual tension and snogging (I love British lingo).

And what of the lovely actors who play the main characters. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint are now between the ages of 19 and 21. Oh no! They've grown up! This seems to be particularly treacherous for Emma Watson, the beloved Hermione Granger. As Salon points out, it is harder for Watson to transition into maturity and change her image from girl to woman than it was for her co-star Daniel Radcliffe, aka Harry Potter (or would be for most any male actor).

After discussing Watson's "Interview" cover, Joy Press (author of the Salon article) states...

Is this Hermione's get-out-of-child-stardom card, I wondered? Daniel Radcliffe had already plotted his escape route last year with a quick shortcut to instant adult status: full-frontal nudity. Since it was for a serious role in a serious play (Peter Shaffer's "Equus"), Radcliffe was feted for artistic credibility and bravery (especially after he talked in interviews about the shriveling effects of a live audience on the male member).
But shifting your image into a more mature gear has very different ramifications for a young woman than for a young guy. I doubt many people actually wanted to glimpse Harry Potter's wand, whereas at least one creepy Web site counting down the days till Watson's 18th birthday popped up back in 2004.

Yes, there was some controversy surrounding Radcliffe's appearance in Equus, but, like Press says, that was accepted once it was realized that it was a "serious role." But Watson's entrance into maturity is not as easily accepted because it involves her posing seductively on covers of magazines, not taking serious roles where you have to run around naked on stage. But she's 19. We only care because we still think of her as the 10-year-old from the first Harry Potter movie. And she can hold her own against the press (at least from what I've seen) and even describes herself as "a bit of a feminist."

And speaking of the movies again, can we talk about Watson's character, Hermione? She's amazing. She's smart, sexy, and kicks ass (much like I believe Emma Watson to be). One of my favorite scenes of the series (there are many) is from Prisoner of Azkaban when she punches Malfoy for laughing at the execution of Buckbeak the Hippogriff.

Overall, I really loved the Half-Blood Prince. I appreciated the sexual tension that was there, I thought it lightened the movie and gave some great comedic relief. And really, there wasn't a whole lot of it seeing as how the movie was still PG. But, granted, it would take a lot for me to not love the movie because I am pretty much obsessed with the series. I think people just need to get over the fact that teenagers have romantic relationships. It's really not a big deal.

Further Reading:
Half-Blood Prince Suffers From Lack of Action, Emma Watson's Hotness [Jezebel]
Our Little Wizards Are All Grown Up [RHRealityCheck]
Emma Watson Owes It To Her Public To Get Naked, Says Public [Jezebel]
Just Saw Harry Potter and... [F Bomb]

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!

Why I'm Glad Chivalry Is Dead

Apparently feminism has killed chivalry. Not that I'm going to mourn this loss or anything. For me, chivalry is all about the attitude and intention behind the belief that men have to take care of women because women are too weak and dainty to take care of themselves.

But there is a big different between men feeling as if they have to take care of women and being nice. I won't get upset if someone holds a door for me. But I hold doors for people too. It's all about being nice and respectful of other people, not feeling as if someone needs to door held for them. One of my professors at Beloit College used to tell this story about when he was a freshmen at Beloit he held the door open for a senior woman and she punched him in the face for it. Now, I see this as an extreme. This guy was not trying to offend the woman or say that she couldn't open the door for herself, he was just trying to be nice.

Just because the values behind chivalry is dead, doesn't mean that people can't be nice to each other.

And for those who equate chivalry with romance, the art of romance is apparently dead as well, and feminism is again to blame. Lauren at Chickspeak says...

We are women, hear us roar! We want a career, our own home and car, and a life that can not only function but thrive without the help of a man. At the same time most of us still want to fall in love, get married and have a family. The question is where is the balance, and have we intimidated the male gender so much we have killed the chivalrous acts of dating?

But being an independent, strong woman and being in a healthy, romantic relationship do not have to be mutually exclusive and romance does not have to be associated with chivalry. There are plenty of ways to be romantic without the attitude of chivalry (because chivalry is really all about the attitude and intention, anyways). A woman can have a successful career and be an all around strong woman and be in a romantic relationship, trust me, I've seen it. It does take certain kinds of people to be in these relationships, but they are possible.

All in all, chivalry is dead, but romance can still be alive and kicking...and that's the way it should be!

Don't Worry, Be Happy

Jezebel had a post today about how to relax and enjoy life in response to Gweneth Paltrow's need to do a detox program after her own "relax and enjoy life" phase. In "JOOP: Your Guide to Not Feeling Bad About Relaxing and Enjoying Life," Jezebel argues that there is no need to feel bad about relaxing and lays out their guide of how to love the life you lead.

This article inspired me to reflect on what I think is necessary to lead a happy and fulfilling life and not feel bad about the decisions you make about your life...

• Do what makes you happy. It may sound simple, but it's the most important. So many people do what they think is expected of them instead of doing what they actually enjoy. You need to identify the things that make you happy and then make time to do those things.

• Love yourself. So much of not being able to enjoy life is not being able to love yourself and your life. Ignore what society and people tell you what is wrong with you and love the way to you, right now (this is not to say there is no room for improvement through constructive criticism, but you have to know when it is constructive criticism and when it is not beneficial to listen to certain criticism). There is nothing you need to change, especially when it comes to appearance.
  

• Eat whatever you like. If you like cake, eat cake. If you like salad, eat salad. Don't just eat what you are "supposed" to eat to make the right impression, to lost weight, etc. Jezebel suggests that you "SEE: A registered dietician, if you really want to change your eating habits." While yes, this is better than those crazy fasts, diets, and detoxes, why is it even necessary to change your eating habits? People need to stop worrying about controlling what they eat, and just eat what makes them happy.
  

• Slow down. In today's society, everyone is moving so fast. Slow down and appreciate your surroundings. Appreciate what has gotten you to that point. It is important to just slow down and appreciate all the small things in life that are often taken for granted. See how shadows fall on the ground. Smell the flowers. Talk with friends or family that you don't get to talk with that often. It's all about appreciating the good things in life and slowing down enough to actually appreciate them.

• Surround yourself with people you love. You will have a much better time in whatever you do if you like the people you are around. Spend time with our friends and family. Make friends with your coworkers. Make time to see friends and family that you don't normally see.

• Take a nap. I love to nap. This kind of goes along with slow down, but taking a short mid-afternoon nap can really brighten the rest of your day and help you to slow down.
  

• Don't worry, be happy. Don't worry about what others are going to think of you. Don't worry about making a fool of yourself if you are having fun. If what you are doing is what makes you happy and you are having fun, you shouldn't worry about how others see you. It's also important to not put too much energy into worry about things that are more or less out of your control. Worrying leads to stress, which is not relaxing. If you worry too much about things that are not in your control, you are just going to add to your unhappiness, how ever much of it you have.
  

Doing the things on this list require counteracting everything that society and the media tell us. They tell us to be thin, to work hard, to believe in the American Dream, etc. But actually relaxing and enjoying life requires forgetting this societal pressures and paying attention to your needs and desires.

While I am more than willing to give this list, it doesn't mean that it's easy and not a struggle. I struggle with most of the things on this list, as I'm sure most other people do. And some of these things will actually be life long struggles for many people. But working towards these things can help you to enjoy life. And these are definitely not the only things that lead to an enjoyable life, but they are some of the ones that I think are important in working towards a more enjoyable life. It really just comes down to the freedom of choice and choosing to do what makes you happy and not what you think is expected of you.

If Women Make Movies, is it Automatically Feminist?

A red band trailer for the movie "Jennifer's Body" was recently released and a lot of people are talking. This movie is written by Diablo Cody (yes, Juno fans, Diablo Cody), directed by Karyn Kusama, and the two leads are played by Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried (that's right, two female leads).



I have to admit, I can't stop watching this trailer. I'm really intrigued by it. Mainly because I can't decide how women are being portrayed. But also because in all stages of making the movie, amazing women were involved.

Now, I have some problems with Megan Fox and the characters she plays...and I'm not the only one. Her character in "Jennifer's Body" has some interesting implications. Basically, Jennifer (Fox) is high school cheerleader who is possessed by a demon and starts killing the guys in her high school, by what seems like sexually provoking them. This is an interesting concept to me. I can't decide if her killing of these guys is a commentary on the patriarchal view of female sexuality or if the movie is just going to play into the normal sexist horror movie format.

Sady at Tiger Beatdown comments that...

THE SUBVERSIVE CRITIQUE OF PATRIARCHAL SEXUALITY starts, in this trailer, right around the point when Naked Megan Fox, Professional Hot Lady, extends her mouth to about five times its natural size and eats a dude with it. Because: female sexual desirability is simultaneously prized and demonized. Female appetites, sexual or otherwise, are unilaterally feared and shamed.

I'm right there with you. This movie very well could be commentary on the fear of female sexual empowerment in our society. But I'm still kind of weary. Honestly, mainly because it's Megan Fox and she's hyper-sexualized...again. Is this just another excuse to see her in skimpy clothes and even...gasp...naked? Or is she using her sexuality to prove a point about patriarchal society? (note: yes, I realize it is not actually Megan Fox making these decisions, it's the writer and director...it's just easier in the terms of this post to place the agency on the character Megan Fox plays.)

Bitch magazine, like me, is still a little torn, but it seems like they are leaning toward the anti-feminist side. In their anti-feminist column, they have:

- Appears to be a vehicle to allow Megan Fox to flash her bod and be ogled by horndogs
- Makes women look like either femme fatale crazy killers (Fox) or uber-nerds (sorry Amanda Seyfried, you are really great but the beanie and glasses indicate that your character is supposed to be a dork)
- According to the plot synopsis, looks like this might be another attempt by Hollywood to punish women for liking sex by turning them into demons, putting them in insane asylums, and murdering them

Also some good points.

I think that it's hard to determine exactly how this movie is going to turn out from one trailer. And it can be interpreted many ways by different people. As we can see, Tiger Beatdown and Bitch used Jennifer's killing of men by sexually provoking them as both a positive (commentary on fear of sexuality) and a negative (punishment for sex).

I love that Amanda Seyfried is playing the protagonist. Not only is it a woman protagonist in a horror movie (not unheard of, but pretty uncommon), but I can't wait to see her kick Megan Fox's ass (I'm just hoping this happens).

And can we just pause on the "I go both ways" comment at the end of the trailer for a moment? Seriously? I don't even know how to respond. I feel like this comment falls in the anti-feminist category. It's pretty much there to appeal to some men's lesbian fantasies. And it pokes fun at bi-sexualtiy and lesbianism. Not cool.

So what do you think? This movie is made by and stars great (eh, Megan Fox, maybe) women, but is that all it needs to be feminist? The jury seems to be out on how to interpret it. I guess we'll just have to wait for more trailers and until the movie comes out. I'm sure there will be more great commentary as we get closer to its release date.

And a couple of side notes that don't really pertain to this specific conversation:
-LOVE the music in the trailer!
-I'm really happy Adam Brody is in this movie. I love him and have missed his acting.
-I also really like how the poster for "Jennifer's Body" (see above) is eerily similar to the posters for "True Blood"
-The first time I watched the trailer I laughed out load at the "I'm killing boys" comment. Haven't decided how it fits into the feminism argument, but it was funny.

The Truth About the Ugly Truth

I have been seeing trailers for the upcoming movie "The Ugly Truth" all the time as of late. The movie pretty much looks like one sexist stereotype and perpetuation of gender norms after another. Watch the trailer here:



Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler play gross stereotypes of women and men. Heigl is a desperate woman trying to find love wherever she can where as Butler is ego maniac "man whore," as Heigl calls him. According to the movie, women have to wear sexy clothes and be sexually available for a man to like them. While this is not only clearly offensive to women, it is offensive to men as well. Saying that men are only capable of liking women who lack substance and their willingness to have sex with them also demeans men by saying that they are incapable of a meaningful relationship outside of the bedroom.

The movie proclaims that women are desperate for love, desire to be desired (because women have no independent desires of their own), and that women need to change themselves for men to like them - because men would obviously never love someone who was strong and intelligent, only hot and shallow. And yet, the movie is trying to portray itself as some form of empowerment. It seems to me that the movie is trying to show that women can take control of their lives and find love. Yet Heigl is not taking control of her life. Butler is telling her what to do in her love life.

This really got to me when I read "Katherine Heigl Furthers Feminist Agenda With Ugly Truth Vibrating Panties Sequence," an article on Movie Line about how "The Ugly Truth" is a feminist movie.

It’s something of a relief to see Katherine Heigl using her newfound box office clout to forward empowering images of women in the roles she chooses. Take for example The Ugly Truth, a Columbia romantic comedy coming out later this month in which she proves a worthy foe to Spartan warrior Gerard Butler in a war of the sexes.

I cannot speak to what actually happens in the movie (but we can all assume that Heigl and Butler fall in love), but the trailer does not seem to show Heigl as being a "worthy foe" to Butler. I see her following what Butler tells her to do in order to find love. Where is she standing up to him other than saying that he's being gross and then doing what he says anyways?

How does Movie Line see this as empowering? Seth Abramovitch, the author of the article, believes the empowering natures lies in the scene where Heigl is given an orgasm through vibrating panties, therefore showing that "women don't need men to be happy."

Nevermind the fact that it is a young boy who finds the controller for the vibrating panties, which is just weird and disturbing on multiple levels. Abramovitch is strongly misled in the feminist agenda if he thinks that vibrating panties are a good way to bring feminism to mainstream media. So the rigid gender norms and sexism in the movie is all cancelled out by a three minute scene that may or may not be feminist? Also, I find it kind of insulting that a man is determining what is and is not empowering for women. And assuming that what is empowering for one woman is empowering for all women.

Finally, let's take a look at the movie poster for "The Ugly Truth." The movie poster just reinforces the gender norms that the movie portrays. Women think/feel/love with their heads, men think/feel/love with their genitals. Women can't do anything based solely on sexual desire. Men can't do anything based on their or others intelligence.

I was surprised when I found out this movie was rated R. That means that it's not just another romantic comedy. It means that it will be full of crude humor, often at women's expense (at least I'm assuming). Making "The Ugly Truth" rated R is just another way to get sexism into the movie through crude and sexual humor.

I haven't yet decided if I am going to see this movie or not. On the one hand, it disturbs/disgusts me with its gender norms and sexism. On the other hand, I'd like to see how these things play out in the actual movie. While I can guess the plot of the movie, I enjoy seeing how women, men, and society in general are portrayed in popular culture, especially through movies and television ('enjoy' might not be the right word, but it intrigues me). Maybe I could have a better understanding of how Abramovitch sees the movie as empowering and feminist, although I highly doubt it. I'm intrigued by the movie, but I don't really want to financially support something that I can see this sexism in the trailer.

Where's the Empowerment?

Something I have been thinking about lately is the female empowerment (or lack there of) in young Hollywood. Looking around at the young women singers and actresses, there aren't a lot of good examples of empowerment, even though they might like to think so.

As I have discussed earlier, Megan Fox is becoming increasingly known as a sex symbol. Fox herself finds being a sex symbol empowering. This Us Magazine article says,

Megan Fox doesn't mind that she's viewed as a sex symbol.
"I think it's wonderful. I didn't decide I'm gonna be an actress cause I wanna be respected for how I play chess," she tells Entertainment Tonight. "Part of Hollywood is being perceived as attractive."

While Fox may be ok with her sex symbol status, what kind of example is this setting for all of the teenage girls and young women that idolize her? According to Fox, the only way to be valued in Hollywood (and society) is to be attractive. You cannot be valued for your talent. Is this empowerment? Being valued just for your looks?

Another prominent example is the music icon Lady Gaga. She's all about sexual empowerment, as she calls it, but is this a beneficial form of empowerment? Lady Gaga's lyrics are all about sex and her taking control. While this may be great, Lady Gaga is not necessarily setting a good example. In an Entertainment Weekly article, Lady Gaga describes her lyrics as, "sexually empowering women.''

But Lady GaGa is not a feminist. ''I think it's great to be a sexy, beautiful woman who can f--- her man after she makes him dinner,'' she says. ''There's a stigma around feminism that's a little bit man-hating. And I don't promote hatred, ever. That's not to say that I don't appreciate women who feel that way. I've got a lot of gay women friends that are like, 'Put your clothes on.' People just have different views about it. I'm not wrong. I'm free. And if it's wrong to be free, then I don't want to be right. Things are changing. We've got a black president, people.''

What are these things that Lady Gaga says are changing? Women being valued for purely for their sexuality? I don't think that's anything new (see Jessica Valenti's book, The Purity Myth). And what is her deal with feminism? She seems to be greatly misinformed if she thinks feminism is all about man-hating. There are many things about this quote that bother me (like why is it important that her gay women friends tell her to put clothes on?), but it seems clear that Lady Gaga's form of empowerment is all about valuing women purely for their sexuality.

Just look at her lyrics. The song "Love Game" centers around her wanting to "take a ride on your disco stick." And "Poker Face" declares "and baby when it's love if it's not rough it isn't fun." And that's only a small selection of her lyrics.

The female empowerment that seems to be coming through in young Hollywood is the "empowerment" of sexuality, where these "role models" are valued purely for their looks and sexual knowledge (or perceived sexual knowledge).

What does this form of "empowerment" say to teenage girls and young women? The message that I get is that you have to be attractive to do anything in life and be valued in any way at all. What about the majority of teenage girls that have body image issues that don't see themselves as attractive? These teenage girls will think that they are not valued by society because they do not see themselves as attractive (even if they are).

I guess I should also address what I see as empowerment. To me, empowerment is about being a strong, successful (in a way that the woman herself is proud of what she's done), confident woman. Being able to take care of oneself and knowing what you want in your life.

Now, you may ask: if empowerment is partly about a woman knowing what she wants in life, can't being valued for your sexuality be empowering if that's what the woman wants? Empowerment can definitely be about sexuality. But when empowerment becomes solely about one's sexuality and valuing someone purely for their sexuality, then we have a problem. Seeing sexuality as the root of empowerment devalues women because women are so much more than their sexuality. Empowered women are strong, successful and confident, as well as sexually empowered.

As I was writing this, I was trying to think of a woman in young Hollywood that would be a good example of empowerment, but I could not think of one off the top of my head (what does that say about young Hollywood?). Does anyone have any examples of young singers, actresses, etc. that could be seen as an empowering example for girls and women?