The Racism Behind District 9 [Movie Monday]

I had heard the bad things about District 9. I had heard that it was racist, but didn't go too much into these blog posts because I didn't want to see the spoilers because I was still interested in it. Then I read the Time magazine review of the movie that hailed it for it's innovation and social commentary on apartheid. I was confused as to why these progressive bloggers would call the movie racist and Time magazine could have such a great review because of the social commentary that the purposeful racism provides. So I had to figure this out for myself (of course, if I had read the spoilers in those blog posts, I would understand why they called it racist, but I didn't want to ruin the movie).

The movie was shot and edited in a really interesting way. It was a combination of a documentary with interviews about the incidents and actually seeing these incidents. It had great special effects - the aliens, explosions, gun fights, and all. The story line is actually fairly interesting.

*Spoiler Alert!*

District 9 is a story about aliens that have become stranded on Earth in Johannesburg, South Africa. They have been sectioned off to District 9 - a slum full of crime, violence, and prostitution - and the aliens are referred to as prawns. They are referred to as prawns because of both their appearance and the view that they are "bottom-feeders."

Now District 9 is a very clear (and pretty intentional) analogy for apartheid in South Africa, especially seeing as how it takes place in South Africa. So if the aliens are supposed to be the black South Africans, the black South Africans are not painted in that good of a light. The aliens are mean, violent, dumb, have very little social order, and are just generally pictured as evil. This is not an accurate picture of the life in the slums of South Africa during apartheid.

The writer and director, Neill Blomkamp, is a South Africa native who is now 29, but left South Africa when he was 18. In the Time magazine review of District 9, Blomkamp had this to say about the political commentary of the movie:

He became aware "that all these very serious topics about racism and xenophobia and segregation would start to shine through the science-fiction-esque veneer. I had to be very careful that i didn't get too close to these serious topics with a film that's mostly a summer thrill ride."

He should have taken these "serious topics" more seriously. While the end of the movie does become a science-fiction "thrill ride," the beginning of it is very much serious and very much about apartheid. He should have thought more about the portrayal of the aliens.

So while there is definitely supposed to be racism in the movie between humans and the aliens, the movie is more racist that it intends to be by portraying the aliens in such a bad light when they are supposed to be an analogy for black South Africans.

Christopher is the only alien that is really painted in a good light. He just wants to get home and protect his son. He's more intelligent than the other aliens. We are supposed to side with him and feel empathetic towards his decisions. But he is the one exception!

Then we get to the portrayal of the black humans in the movie. All of the main people in the movie are white and part of a private military company. The main black people in the movie were the Nigerians living in District 9. The Nigerians were major antagonists in the movie. They were cruel, thieves, and obsessed with alien technology. They even eat pieces of aliens in the thought that it will give them alien powers. Not a very friendly portrayal.

And then there is the representation of being mixed-raced. The protagonist, Wikus, becomes infected with alien technology and starts to morph into an alien. He is treated as sub-human - medical testing is done on him, he is valued solely for his ability to operate alien technology - and as soon as he escapes, he is targeted, hunted. He's not human and not an alien.

The movie would have been better on many levels if the aliens were portrayed as more sophisticated, less violent, etc. Not only would it be less racist (not completely erasing the racism), but it would also make the story more complex and increase the internal struggles of the human characters.

District 9 was hard for me to place. It was blatantly racist (and not in its representation of apartheid). How can I take a movie seriously if it aims to provide social commentary on apartheid but then is racist itself? But the movie was beautifully made and unique. Since I'm writing this right after I saw it, I am still kind of shocked. It was gruesome and gory on top of the racism. I don't know what to tell you about a recommendation. If you can handle the blatant racism (and the gore), it might be worth it to see because of its uniqueness. But I don't want to support something that is so racist. So I will let you make the decision for yourself after I have given you my opinion about the movie.

Post Grad [Movie Monday]

I went to go see the new movie Post Grad, starring Alexis Bledel, this past Friday. I wanted to see it because it looked like a movie that was about my life right now. I saw it as being about a young woman who has recently graduated from college and has to struggle with not being able to find a job and living with her parents. [Warning: there will be some spoilers, but the movie is so predictable that I don't know if it will matter]



While that is definitely part of the story, I was hoping for something more. I was hoping that the movie would delve deeper into the struggle that many people (including myself) are facing right now of going from the (limited) independence of college to the dependence of being unemployed and living with your parents while everyone else is out doing something fantastic. It's an internal struggle that many people would be able to identify with in this current economic climate.

The first part of the movie touched on this struggle. But then the movie just turned the predictable route. Ryden (Bledel) lands her dream job in publishing out of the blue. I would have liked to see her try some other jobs (other than working at her dad's luggage store for a total of 2 hours) and struggle in minimum wage work before the "happy ending" of landing that dream job.

After she lands this dream job, she has another dilemma to face: how does she reconcile going for her dream with keeping the people that she loves in her life? Oh, poor Ryden, she has to choose between a great job that can lead to a lot of great things and a cute guy that has been in love with her for four years and she finally realizes that she's in love with him too. And what do you guess she chooses? That's right, the guy. Because dream jobs come and go (even though she had to struggle to find the first one) but you are never complete without that guy by your side.

Maybe it's just the point that I am at in my life right now and the way that I was raised, but I would like, for once, to see a strong woman choose her career goals over the guy that's making her decide. To be fair, the guy in Post Grad didn't exactly make her decide between the two, but still.

Oh romantic comedies that try to pass themselves off as something else but end up being the same old formulaic movie. I was hoping to be able to see a little bit of myself in this movie. I guess I could say it's the story of my life right now with the exception of the dream job and the cute guy. While it attempts to show some of the struggles faced by recent graduates, it just ends up being the happily-ever-after -- with the guy -- story that is oh so common.

Isn't It Romantic?

Ok, Twilight fans are seriously getting a little out of control. They are just a little too obsessive. And about a story about a stalker and a girl who doesn't realize she's in an abusive relationships.

Some of the reasons why I think Twilight fans are getting a little out of control:

1. You can now have your very own stalker - Robert Pattinson style. You can purchase an outline of Edward Cullen to paste onto your bedroom wall so he can watch you sleep, just like he watches Bella. Just what I always wanted - a shadowy figure hanging out in my bedroom while I sleep. Twilight fans see Edward's stalker tendancies as romantic, but they really aren't. There's nothing romantic about a stalker. Portraying stalking as romantic is just encouraging abusive relationships - Edward treats Bella like his possession istead of an autonomous human being. (h/t to o filthy grandeur!)
2. Edward Cullen Ken and Bella Barbie. Is there anything more to say? You can now buy Barbie's designed after your favorite Twilight characters. Now you can play with the dolls while you watch the movie and reenact your favorite stalker-y scenes.
3. Twilight fans can't take criticism. Jezebel has a post about how Twilight fans, unlike die-hard fans of Harry Potter, LotR, Star Wars, and Star Trek, can't take criticism of their beloved movie. Fans of other movies can take jokes about said movie - and even sometimes are the ones that make the joke. But Twilight fans cannot handle any ill-mouthed words. They are so connected with the characters of Twilight, that they cannot picture anything wrong with them. Never mind the fact that it portrays an abusive relationship (not only emotionally abusive, but sometimes physically as can be seen in the New Moon trailer) and a girl who is always in need of being saved. It's apparenlty the best piece of literature and the best movie ever made.

Even though I am weirdly fascinated by the phenomenon that is Twilight, the phenomenon has recently gotten too out of hand than I can handle. Recently at a block party, my twelve-year-old neighbor, whom I know very well, made a comment that caught me off guard. I knew she really liked the Twilight series - she's read the book, owns the movie, and is anxiously awaiting New Moon. When we were filling out name tags for the block party she randomly (and i mean this is completely out of the blue) says, "If we had to put one fact about ourselves on here, I would put 'I love Jacob,'" (for those of you who don't know, Jacob is the werewolf in Twilight that is in love with Bella).

People's lives are becoming consumed by Twilight. It's gone from a phenomenon to a lifestyle. And that's what scares me. Edward is seen as romantic instead of a possessive stalker, like he really is. But that's nothing really new. What's getting out of hand is the increase of marketing and profiting off of promoting Edward as romantic, especially with the wall decal pictured above. The wall decal of Edward also comes with the words "Be Safe." Maybe it's just me, but I don't exactly feel safe with a shadowy figure hanging out in my bedroom.

Linkapalooza!

Happy Thursday everybody! Only one more day to the weekend, not that it matters to me because the entire week is like the weekend for me, just less exciting. But that's all about to change. I've finally found a job at Barnes & Noble that I will be starting soon!

Here are some of my favorite posts from the past couple days...

Lois Lane at the Movies: A Brief Herstory Part Two! [Bitch Blogs]
Looking at the role Lois Lane plays in the Superman comics and movies.

"Blinded by privilege": ableist language in critical discourse [Deeply Problematic]
A reflection on how the language we use contributes to the oppression of others.

Carnival of Feminists #2 [Female Impersonator]
A collection of feminist blog posts over the past two weeks.

Women in the Boardroom [Gender Across Borders]
Why are so few women making it to the top of employment ladder?

Racism and Power [Womanist Musings]
"The insistence on using terms like post racial, race card, and reverse racist, stem from the desire to not only present racism in a past tense but to infer that only Whiteness should exist with the power to realize its prejudice."

All About Obsession

What the hell is with this movie?! This trailer for All About Steve has always rubbed me the wrong way.



Sandra Bullock plays a woman named Mary who is set up on a blind date with Steve (Bradley Cooper). Steve is soooo not into it, but Mary sooo is. She's so into that she somehow thinks that he loves her too so decides to follow him to where he is working -- filming a hurricane (?). She's obsessed and pretty much becomes a stalker.

What kind of message is this sending about women? The trailer tries to claim that the movie is all about being yourself and not changing for anyone. Ok, I can see that. Mary doesn't change her obsessive/stalker tendancies. This movie just portrays women as desperate and obsessive when it comes to relationships.

Romanitc comedies (and other genres too) have the tendancy to portray women as not whole unless they have found that "one" guy. Women cannot have a successful career, great friends, and by happy with that. She will never be happy (even though she thinks she might be) until she finds a perfect guy...and that guy will probably make her realize that she is too committed to her career (see my review of The Proposal).

All About Steve seems to take this to the extreme. Mary herself feels like she will not be complete unless she can land her perfect guy, Steve...to the point of obsession.

Portraying women as obsessive and stalker-like when it comes to relationships just reinforces the stereotype that women are desperate relationship-seekers, even if it masks itself as promoting self-esteem and self-expression. I just hope that at some point we can get past portraying women as incomplete without a man in mainstream movies.

Link Love

Due to the large amount of amazing posts that are written throughout the week, I have decided to change my "This Week in Blogs" feature from once a week to three times a week. It will now simply be called "Link Love" and will be posted on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. Sunday's will usually be a little longer because I will highlight my absolute favorite posts from throughout the week, including posts that might have already been highlighted in previous "Link Love" posts. I decided to do this to keep the lists shorter than they have been, because including too many links in one post can be a little overwhelming...at least for me.

Movie Posters: Are You Ready for Death/Love/Prison? - Bitch Flicks
Bitch Flicks continues to look at how movie posters reflect gender norms and women.

Privilege - Clarissa's Blog
A little old, but still good. A look at the overuse of the word "privilege."

Michelle O.: "Intellectual lightweight"? - Salon Broadsheet
Apparently Michelle Obama isn't as smart as she thinks she is...

Costco and the Lil' Monkey Doll - Womanist Musings
Looking at how black dolls and white dolls are marketed differently. Also posted at Feministe.

Is Faking an Orgasm Anti-Feminist? - BlogHer
Pretty self-explanatory -- Do your feminist beliefs align with faking orgasms? Does faking an orgasm do a dis-service to yourself and to other women?

The F Word - Clutch Magazine
I bet you can guess what "f word" they are talking about!

Kate Blatt required to give pictures of genitals as a condition of employment - Deeply Problematic
About how trans people are dehumanized on a daily basis.

Attn. Straight Women: Gay men are not your accessories - Feministing
"Perhaps the more subversive act today is to decline to preface the term "friend" with a description of that person's sexuality."

This Week in Blogs: August 9-15

I'm thinking of having a post like this more than once a week since the list of amazing posts from other blogs is getting to be really long. Look for a post along these lines on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as well as Sundays from now on. Sorry for the late posting time today. I was at my cousin's wedding this weekend and didn't get home until Sunday afternoon. I'm always looking for new blogs to read! Leave your links in the comments!

Victim's don't "get raped": on blaming, passivity, and verbs - Deeply Problematic
A great post on the language we use surrounding rape. No one "gets raped," they "are raped." Also don't forget to check out RMJ's ongoing 50 Books for Problematic Times.

5 Reasons We Still Need Feminism - Appetite for Equal Rights
Some people think that feminism is no longer needed (not me!), but here are at least 5 reasons why we still need it!

They tried that in the 90's - FBomb
Where are all the shows that accurately represent the lives and worries of teenagers?

Nonmonogamy and Feminism: A Happy Couple - Feministe
How do "open relationships" and nonmonogamy fit into feminist values?

Kelly Clarkson should consider moving to the UK - Feministing
On the use of photoshopping in the US and the UK and more on the Kelly Clarkson Self cover.

The "Sixteen Candles" date rape scene - Salon Broadsheet
I love John Hughes and "Sixteen Candles" but don't forget about that date rape scene...

So, why do we blog, anyway? (I am deeply disturbed) - Small Stokes
Ashley takes on some of the trends that she sees in feminist blogging that worry her.

Filament magazine and the female gaze - Swimsuit Issue
There's a new magazine out geared towards women that features smart stories and hunky men.

What We Can Learn From the French - The Undomestic Goddess
What do the French have that we don't?

A "feminist wedding" is an oxymoron - Womanist Musings
I've been thinking a lot about weddings recently as I just attended my cousin's. How do feminist values fit into the patriarchal norm of weddings?

Teen Choice Awards for Adults

I'm a couple years past my teen years, so why would I want to spend my Monday night watching the Teen Choice Awards? Well, I'm fascinated by pop culture, much of which revolves around teens and people who still wish they were teenagers. And when I head buzz around pole dancing and slut-shaming that took place at the Teen Choice Awards (which was filmed on Sunday), I had to watch it!

So I sat down on Monday night with my glass of wine ready to live-tweet the Teen Choice Awards 2009 (@ShelbyKnox came up with the hashtag #teenschoosewine for those of us live-tweeting the awards show under the influence of alcohol).

This year, the awards show was hosted by the Jonas Brothers. I was not terribly impressed and of course we had to listen to two performances from them. Watching the Teen Choice Awards (something I haven't done in a couple years) was an interesting experience. Even if you didn't know it was called the "Teen Choice Awards," you would definitely know who the demographic was. From the humor, the "Dare the Jonas Brothers" bits, and most of the things nominated, you can tell that it is marketed towards teens, especially teens that watch the Disney Channel.

The Teen Choice Awards seemed to basically be a showcase of the sexualization of teen girls and teens trying to be adults.

The main example of this? Miley Cyrus' performance of her song "Party in the USA." She came out wearing hot pants, heels, a racer-back shirt, and a mesh bra that could be seen from the sides and back. I highly doubt that most 16-year-olds' parents would let their kids out of the house dressed like that. What makes it worse: pole dancing. That's right. The 16-year-old "role model" was pole dancing at the Teen Choice Awards. In fact, with a pole that was attached to the top of an ice cream cart. As @ShelbyKnox said (tweeted): "I wish Miley didn't feel she has to sexualize herself in such a way to have fans. She could be such a role model." Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana had a ton of fans before she started to sexualize herself. I don't care if she's trying to move away from Disney. This is not the way for a 16-year-old girl to do that.

Now don't get me wrong: I'm all for women expressing their sexuality. But when a 16-year-old girl is sexualized in order to sell records, there's problem. I don't see Miley Cyrus' performance as her expressing her own sexuality, I see it as a plot to attrach more fans. The sexualization of younger and younger women is what causes a lot of these body image issues that girls and women have. If they weren't trying to be this "perfect" sexual teenager, girls and women might be more happy to just be themselves.

Then there was the sexism that was in the categories. On instance that particularly stuck out to me was that there was an award for Choice Actor in an Action/Adventure movie, but no Choice Actress. Granted, the action/adventure genre is not heavily populated with women. But there are women in these movies, enough so that they could create a category for these women that "kick butt."

Then there was a new category: Choice Fab-u-lous. A category designed specifically for gay men in fashion. I think the important question to ask is if this category is honoring the contributions that these men have made to the world of fashion, or does it further the "othering" of them by creating a separate category specifically for gay men in fashion? I would probably say the latter, especially because of the title of the award and they way that it was said. But, in Miss J's acceptance speech (Miss J from America's Next Top Model) he shared his award with all the gay, lesbian, and trans people in the country and said that this award made them as fierce as he is. I thought that was a really good touch.

Because the show was filmed on Sunday, some events were leaked. I heard about an event involving Dane Cook on Shakesville in which he "slut-shamed" Vanessa Hudgens for the naked pictures she took a while ago for Zac Efron that were leaked onto the internet. As a result, the crowd boo-ed him. Sadly (kind of), this was not aired. I would have like to seen him boo-ed, but we don't need to broadcast to the country another instance of slut-shaming, so I guess it is good that it was cut out.

I have to say, I'm huge fan of awards shows, especially the Academy Awards. But the Teen Choice Awards was pretty painful to sit through. I hated to see all of the sexualization of teen girls and the stereotyping of numberous demographics (George Lopez on Latinos, for example). I also thought it was inappropriate that this award show was supposed to be run by votes from viewers (aka teens) and some of the things they were supposed to vote on were not appropriate for teens. There were rated R movies (such as Slumdog Millionaire) nominated along with True Blood (which is a great show, but I don't think is appropriate for the age demographic for the show). These things are especially seen for their inappropriateness when they are up against movies and shows from Disney. If parents want to let teens watch these movies and shows, that's their business. But the Teen Choice Awards should not be promoting these age-inappropriate movies and shows to their primary audience of teens.

But the Teen Choice Awards in a venue for teens to try to be adults, for the way they dress, to the way they dance, to the movies they vote for. But I do have to say I have a favorite moment. It would have to be when Ellen Degeneres won Choice Twit (yes, they now have awards for Twitter) and promised that she would give away $1000 to a follower next week. I was happy that Ellen, a proud lesbian, won the award as opposed to Kim Kardashian or Ashton Kutcher, who she was up against.

It's hard to fully summarize what was going on in my mind throughout the Teen Choice Awards because it was a two hour show and so many things happened. One minute I was impressed with a decision made by the show and the very next minute I was disgusted by what was going on on stage. But I guess that says a lot about the Teen Choice Awards. It tried to be a "progressive" but just ended up being a mess of stereotypes and sexualization. I think the awards show should just remember who their main demographic is and fix the show accordingly.

Feminist Reflection on Zooey Deschanel

I have been thinking about my investments in actress Zooey Deschanel every since I read this post from Tiger Beatdown, especially the comments. There was a big outcry in the comments because Sady referred to Deschanel as "a women who only plays hollow, personality-free fantasy objects, and is your imaginary girlfriend." I'm personally a big fan of Zooey Deschanel, so Sady's comments on her really called me out on that. I was forced to think about why I like her as an actress and a singer so much.

In the comments of her post, Sady had this to say about Zooey...

If you can't see that Zooey Deschanel has been positioned as the acceptable, "cool" fantasy girlfriend, and that this is based on lifestyle accessories and marketing and is no more inherently subversive than getting a boner over a Victoria's Secret model, I don't know what I can do for you. I will say, though, that I've never seen the girl play anything other than appropriately quirky saucer-eyed waifs, and that the positioning of this as an "alternative" to any other commodification of women as sex objects makes me want to claw my eyes out.

I understand that her popularity is largely due to marketing towards white, middle class hipsters. I'm not going to argue with that. But I think Zooey Deschanel's characters (at least in some of the movies of hers that I've seen) are more nuanced than Sady claims.

Take Tin Man, for example. This is the first movie (ok, mini-series) of hers that I lvoes and was the leading factor in my love of her. Yes, DG (Deschanel's character) is pretty naive. But, I see her journey in this movie as a transformation from a naive girl to a strong woman in her transition into adulthood. She has to start out as naive to show this transformation.

Then there was her portrayal of Summer in 500 Days of Summer (my other favorite movie of hers). Even though the movie was told solely from the perspective of a man, I don't think she was portrayed as a "personality-free fantasy object." She had a mind of her own, knew what she wanted, and wasn't afraid to express that. Her love interest (who is the one whose perspective the movie is told through) might have had some unrealistic expectations and memories of her, but I don't think thtat makes her a fanstasy object. Especially because it was clear in the movie that these were unrealistic expectations and memories.

One of the other reasons that I'm such a big fan of hers is because of the music that her band, She & Him, makes. I'm a big fan of their music and I plan on writing a "Sing-Along Saturday" post on them, so I won't go too in depth about them here. I just wanted to through that out there.

At least some of the characters Zooey Deschanel plays could be considered pro-feminist. In Tin Man, I think that the transition into adulthood and into a strong woman are important parts of the feminist's journey. Being able to fend for yourself and standing up to injustices are part of what makes a feminist. Also, not being afraid to express your own desires instead of always succumbing to the desires of others is something that all feminists should be able to do.

While not all of Deschanel's characters are like this, I think it is unfair to write her of as always playing the same, naive character. I do think that Zooey Deschanel is marketed towards the white, middle class, hipster crowd. But does that automatically make her not worth feminist consideration? Just because she isn't a totally "alternative" actress does not mean that her work is not valuable to society in some ways. But she is marketed to people like me, so maybe I'm just too "hipster" (more on this later) for my own good. But at least I think about my investments.

What do you think of Zooey Deschanel? Quality actress or "fantasy object"? Are there movies of hers that fit into my analysis that maybe I haven't seen? Are there movies of hers that completely contradict my argument? I'm interested in your opinion.

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]

This Week in Blogs: August 2 - 8

My has this been an eventful week. On the good news, Judge Sotomayor was finally confirmed to be a justice on the Supreme Court. A definite piece of history. Then there were the misogynistic and racist shooting in Pittsburgh. Horrific. And the loss of one of my favorite 80s icons, John Hughes. Bloggers have been busy this week, reporting and analyzing this news as well as creating fantastic blog posts. Honestly, posts from everywhere this week were fantastic (not that they aren't always). I had a hard time choosing posts to feature here. The list is especially long this week, but these are some really great posts, so make sure to read through them! And leave links to what you have been writing and reading this week!

50 Books for Problematic Times - Deeply Problematic
There has also been some other great things going on at Deeply Problematic this week, so I suggest that you just go on over there and read through her posts. If I had to pick one to display here, I guess I would pick her feminist defense of Megan Fox. But seriously, just go over there

Movie Posters: A Bitch Flicks Verbal Beatdown - Bitch Flicks
Stephanie R looks at how women are represented in movie posters.

Am I a"good woman"? - Choice Campus Blog
Ellen asks what it means to be a "good woman" and why people can't just be "good people."

Girl Politics - Small Strokes
A new series examining why girls (and women) often "turn on" the most successful one of their peers.

The 20 Life-Changing Lessons in September's Cosmopolitan - Glossed Over
What you can learn from reading Cosmo.

Esquire Writer Explains It's Okay To Watch Chick Flicks - Jezebel
While I have objections to the term "chick flicks," do you think that men can enjoy them? Esquire and Jezebel do!

Race and the White Man - Womanist Musings
All about racism

Breastfeeding doll will lead to horny 5 year olds, pregnancy - Feministing
Because about caring for a baby can lead to 5 year olds having sex. Have these people ever played with a doll, that's what they're all about.

EWW! Is That Period Blood? - Jump Off the Bridge
About the creation and beauty that can come from menstrual blood.

Another magazine another photoshopped woman - Feministe
Self magazine photoshopped Kelly Clarkson to make her more skinny.

On Hollywood's Strong, Self-Hating Women - NPR
Strong business women in movies still hate themselves because they are unsuccessful in their love lives. Heaven forbid a woman succeed in business and be happy in her personal life.

Once more with feeling: Media Must Report Gender Motivation for Mass Shootings - WIMN's Voices
Some more on the misogynistic shooting in Pittsburgh.

Who's your favorite John Hughes heroine? - Salon Broadsheet
Pretty self-explanatory and and read through her posts.

Books for the Anti-Princess Girl-Feminist - Bitch Blogs
A list of children's books for the feminist-minded girls.

New Hosts for At the Movies - Another Couple of Guys - Women & Hollywood
Why is that movie critics are generally male? Women know stuff about movies too!

500 Days of Summer: Some Problems, But Overall Worth Watching

I have been waiting for a while for 500 Days of Summer to come out in Grand Rapids. And today, I finally got to go see it. I have been in love with Zooey Deschanel since I saw Tin Man and Joseph Gordon-Levitt since 10 Things I Hate About You, so I thought they were going to be a great match up. I'm going to start off by saying that I really did like the movie overall, but there were some problematic things in it...like every movie.

So, let's start off with the bad news first (aka, the stuff I didn't like or found problematic):

It was told entirely from a male perspective: The movie was through the eyes of Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character, Tom. We only got into the mind of Zooey Deschanel's character, Summer, when she talked to Tom. So we never really got to fully see what she was thinking or feeling. And also because of this, Summer was portrayed, in some parts, as crazy, unemotional, or inconsiderate because all we saw of her was what Tom's interpretation of her was. Granted, Tom's experiences, thoughts, and feelings are just as valid and important to the story as Summer's. But we never really get to hear Summer's side of the story. We hear her explain her feelings to Tom, but it's not the same as getting into her head as the movie does with Tom.

It portrays skinny women as the norm: Yes, most tv shows and movies do this. But the movie actually says it. At the beginning of the movie, the narrator is describing Summer. He says she's normal height, normals weight, and slightly larger than normal shoe size, while pointing out on a still image, her height, weight, and shoe size. Normal weight = 121 lbs? I don't think so.

Skanks, whores and "you're a guy": Summer is often referred to as a skank or whore when she does not conform to to societal feminine norms, such as her desire to not be in a serious relationship, or when she breaks up with Tom. I understand that you're hurting, Tom - fictional movie character, but I don't think that it's ok to call her a skank or whore just because you got your feelings hurt. In addition to that, when Summer is explaing to Tom and his friend that she doesn't want a serious relationship and doesn't believe in love, she gets asked if she's a lesbian and then it is declared that she's a guy. Stereotypes much?

And now on the why I really did enjoy the movie...

Summer actually did have her own opinions and desires: Even though I talked above about how it's told from Tom's perspective and we never really got into Summer's head, it is clear that Summer knows what she wants and has her own desires. She's not afraid to tell Tom that she doesn't want a serious relationship and refuses to put labels on their relationship. She doesn't embody the stereotypical role of women (of wanting relationships and commitment) and she isn't afraid to express it.

It's got a pretty unique storyline and film editing: We know from the beginning that this is not a love story, which is kind of a lie, but kind of not. But this already puts it one step ahead of most rom-coms. The movie also jumps between times, which adds an interesting aspect to the storyline. At one point we see after they have broken up (sorry, but you know it's coming) and then five minutes later we see when they are just starting to date and when they are in a happy relationship. This adds a lot of interest to the movie.

Dating advice from a little sister: Tom gets dating advice from his little sister, who I would estimate to be around 13 or 14 years old. She tells it like it is and actually has some good advice for him.

It definitely has its funny moments: While it's not always funny to watch a depressed person on the big screen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt pulls it off. I laughed throughout the movie and so did a lot of people in the theater (unfortunately, the ones sitting close to me had really annoying, loud laughs).

500 Days of Summer is an big movie trying to be indie. While it's definitely not on the bigger end of most movies made, it's not exactly an indie film either, even though it tries to be. I do recommend this movie because it's amusing, unique, and cute. And I love Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt and they have great chemistry on screen. Have you seen 500 Days of Summer? What did you think of it?

To get a taste of their chemistry together, watch this video that they made to one of Zooey's band's songs ("Why Do You Let Me Stay Here" by She & Him):



I am also contemplating a post on Zooey Deschanel in response to a post at Tiger Beatdown and the comments it received, so stay tuned.

RIP John Hughes

John Hughes died today at the age of 59 of a heart attack.

John Hughes was such an important part of my development. While most of his movies were coming out around the time that I was born, I love most things 80s, so of course became obsessed with movies like The Breakfast Club (one of my all time faves), Pretty In Pink, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. These movies have meant a lot to me over the years. While there are some problematic things in these movies (ok, probably a lot of problematic things), I found myself in these movies. I identified with some of the characters, they told the story of how I wanted high school to be.

John Hughes have not been making movies for a while now, I still feel like I am going to miss him. It's weird how we develop these attachments to celebrities that we don't even know. I remember when Heath Ledger died, I thought it was sad, but I wasn't as heartbroken about it as other people were. I thought it was weird that people were so torn up about it even though they didn't personally know him. Yes, his death was tragic, but I don't know, I didn't really feel the need to cry about it. I'm not having that big of a reaction to John Hughes' death, but I definitely feel like we are losing an icon.

When I told my dad today that John Hughes died, he said, "Who?" I was shocked that he didn't know how John Hughes was by name (he knew the movies once I started naming them). Hughes' movies have just meant so much to me over the years and I will definitely remember them for the rest of my life.

You can read more at Shakesville. And one of my favorite posts that I've read (that I never really commented on) is a post from Jezebel called "The Ups and Downs of Having a John Hughes Boyfriend."

Trailer of the Day: Post Grad

I don't know how I feel about this move overall yet, but it is definitely the story of my life right now. So I will probably see it and hope that it has an uplifting ending to raise my spirits!

This Week in Blogs: July 26 - August 1

There has been some great writing going on this week! Here are some of my favorites. Don't forget to leave your links (that you've been writing and reading) in the comments!

Thin Privilege 101 [Dolly Speaks]
Labyrinth as Feminist Myth [Hoyden About Town]
Twitter and Gendered Language [The F Bomb]
On the abortion ban in Nicaragua [Appetite for Equal Rights]
The Feminist Lens: Catcher in the Rye and Feminism and Relationships [Small Strokes]
Can we achieve a real "common ground" on abortion? [Feministing]
Shocker! Tiller's Murderer Going to Trial [Feministe]
Oppression, Masculine Power, Duality, and Kant [Gender Across Borders]
HBO Working on Another Feminist Show? [Women & Hollywood]
Julia Child: Feminist Icon? [Jezebel]
"More to Love": That Means FAT GIRLS too! [Womanist Musings]
Breasts: Ready to Go Public? and No Hang Ups on "Hung" [The Undomestic Goddess]
SETH ROGEN IS OUTRAGED, some more [Tiger Beatdown]
"Body Lexicon" for Aging Female Bodies [Sociological Images]
From ax-wielding psychos to she-devils [Salon: Broadsheet]

Why I'm Excited for August 7

It's no secret: I love movies. Way too much money is spent on me getting to see the movies I love oh-so much. I even enjoy watching bad rom-coms and teen movies. There are certain movies I get really excited for, like Harry Potter. But there is a day coming up that I am very excited for: August 7, 2009. I am not excited for some big-budget movie, but for 3 amazing-looking movies.

1. 500 Days of Summer



With movies coming out this summer like The Hangover and The Ugly Truth and all those formulaic rom-coms, I am anxiously awaiting 500 Days of Summer. While this movie has been released, it doesn't open in Grand Rapids until August 7. I will watch the trailer every so often to get my fix of its amazing-ness until the movie comes out.

Part of why I'm so excited for the movie is because I love Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. And the music in it is so great (I've already purchased the soundtrack!). But this movie also looks so different from all those other romantic comedies. It says from the beginning: "this is not a love story." So while I can already guess how the movie is going to end (no I don't mean them breaking up, I mean how the movie ends), it is not going to be like other romantic comedies.

The man (Gordon-Levitt) thinks that his life is incomplete until he finds "the one" and the woman (Deschanel) is the one that doesn't want to be tied down while she's young and doesn't believe in love. It is refreshing to see the stereotypcial roles reversed. It's still very stereotypical to believe that the men are the ones that don't want to be in a relationship and the woman is the one who is romantic. While we all know this is not true, it's still refreshing to see that reflected in a movie.

I am reluctant to call the movie feminist or say that is has a feminist message until I see it and see how the story line actually plays out. There is only so much you can tell from a trailer. But it looks great and probably more feminist that most of the other movies coming out this summer.

2. Julie & Julia



Julie & Julia is definitely more big-budget than 500 Days of Summer. This movie stars two amazing women, Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. Julia Child was an awesome woman in and of herself. The movie shows part of her life in Paris, from starting cooking school with an all male class to her cookbook and TV show. Julie Powell on the other hand, is a woman who doesn't really seem to know what to do with her life and finds her answer in cooking.

I love to cook myself, so I'm excited for that part of it. But I think this movie also has the potential to be empowering. There's the Julia Child side of it: taking on the men of the cooking world and disproving all the nay-sayers. I've also heard that the book (I meant to read it before the movie came out, but I haven't gotten around to it) has a message of developing a healthy relationship with food and your body image. I hope that they keep this part in the movie. It would be great to see a movie with that kind of message.

3. Paper Heart



This movie looks really sweet and awkward. Paper Heart is about the making of a documentary starring a teenage (?) girl who does not believe in love and goes around interviewing people on the subject. Then she meets this boy (Michael Cera) and starts to fall for him, but of course all of their relationship has to be taped for the documentary. This movie just looks adorably awkward, not necessarily feminist. And it kind of looks along the lines of the overall story line of 500 Days of Summer with a documentary and awkward teens (but I would probably rather see 500 Days of Summer). But Paper Heart is only coming to "select theaters" on August 7, so that means that it probably won't be coming to Grand Rapids. But I'm excited to read about what other people think of it.

Funny Men, Attractive Women

Have you ever noticed how male actors, especially comedians, don't have to conform to societal beauty standards? But female actors are usually shunned if they don't conform to these standards and as they get older.

I was watching an interview with Jonah Hill for the movie Funny People (Judd Apatow's latest creation) and they showed a clip starring Hill and Seth Rogen. Neither of these men are "attractive" according to cultural standards, yet they are both popular actors. In the clip that they showed, Seth Rogen was discussing his looks (he has recently lost a good amount of weight for a different role) and how he isn't good looking but isn't bad looking either. Jonah Hill goes on to reprimand him for losing weight because there's "nothing funny about a physically fit man!" This line really struck me because, at least to me, it shed light on the double standard that funny and talented men don't have to be physically fit where as women do.

Men can be physically "unattractive" and make up for it with their personality/humor. But women, on the other hand, have a hard time making it big if they are not culturally attractive. Of course there are some exceptions such as Dame Judy Dench and Queen Latifah. But both of these women are beautiful, they just don't conform to societal standards of beauty; Dench because of age and Latifah because of weight. In comedies, women have to be both attractive and funny where as men just have to be funny.

This is oh-so evident in Judd Apatow movies. The women that "star" in these movies are much more attractive than the men that play opposite then. Not to say that a relationship where the woman is more attractive than the man could never happen, but it is definitely not the norm in movies. For example, in Knocked Up, Katherine Heigl stays with her unattractive, slacker boyfriend, Seth Rogen. I could understand that if Rogen was actually a good boyfriend, but he wasn't. Just one example of how women in comedies have to be attractive in order to play a prominent role.

And even as attractive, funny women age, they are shunned from the mainstream. They are offered roles to play the mothers of people they are only 10 years older than and to play the old hag next door. Feministing posted a video with Amy Pohler, Sarah Silverman, Christina Applegate, Jane Krakowski, Mary Louise Parker, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus discussing what it means to be getting older in show business. They talk about the roles they are offered and the ones they are turned down for, about not getting magazine covers because they are over 35, etc. While all these women are amazing actors and very attractive, this video speaks to the value of youth (including society standards of beauty) in show business and society.



There are of course exceptions to this "rule." But they are few and far between. Men have the pleasure of relying on their talent and humor instead of their looks whereas women generally have to rely on their looks in order to get roles...at least at first.

Further Reading:
Judd Apatow Talks About Sexism, Seth Rogen [Jezebel]

Pregnant Bodies in Away We Go

Today I finally went to see Away We Go. It was a great movie, both funny and touching, and not that predictable. Watch the trailer if you've missed out so far:



The movie is the story of Burt and Verona, who are 33 and about to have a baby. They go on a trip trying to find a "home" near friends or family. They go from Phoenix to Madison to Montreal to Miami, meeting up with hilarious characters along the way. Every place they see as some where they could live but then realize that the people they are visiting are just as messed up as they are.

One of the things that really struck me about the movie was the commentary (I believe it was purposeful) on pregnant women's bodies as public property. There were of course all of the people who felt that they had the right to touch Verona's stomach. And then there was the mother who pointed at Verona and asked her child: "what's that?" The child's response: "a baby!" (Not a woman, not a pregnant woman, just a baby as if her sole purpose in life was the serve as an incubator for this one child.) And the airline workers who stood around debating how far along Verona was. Verona was only six months, but the airline workers thought she was lying and was actually 8 months which means she wouldn't be able to fly. And it was completely appropriate to stand around discussing not only the woman's body, but her size and weight. Plus, the topic of parenting is always open for discussion with no real consideration of how the parents want to raise their children.

For pregnant women (I am NOT speaking from experience here), the world has open access to your body. Women's bodies and personal space are completely eradicated when there is a baby growing in there. In society, the baby/fetus is more important than the woman.

And then there was the hilarious charicature of a feminist women's studies professor played by Maggie Gylenhaal. While I a normally completely opposed to stereotypes of feminists portrayed in movies, this was different. Maggie Gylenhaal played a women's studies professor at U of Wisconsin Madison who breastfed her 3 year old (I'm estimating on the age), used a family bed shared with her husband/partner and their children, and did not believe in strollers ("why would you push your child away from you?"). She was the earth mother type of feminist.

Even though it was kind of a stereotype of a feminist, the way that it was handled was hilarious. Ending with Burt putting her 3-year-old in a stroller and running him around the house.

This movie was the perfect combination of humor, story line, with a smidge of social commentary about pregnancy (at least to me and I really hope that it was purposeful) and finding home in what is meaningful for you. It even kept me occupied enough to forget that I was hungry! If you haven't seen this movie already, I recommend that you see it if it is still playing near you or go out and rent it as soon as it is released on dvd!

This Week in Blogs: July 19 - 25

This week has been pretty uneventful for me. I get to spend my weekend babysitting three hyper kids, that's about as exciting as it gets. I hope all of you have had more eventful and productive weeks. Here are some of my favorite blog posts from this week. There are a lot of them because, well, there were a lot of really good posts this week and I am still constantly discovering new feminist blogs that I want to share with everyone!

Daily Kos's Feminist Wish List -- What Do You Think [Bitch Blogs]

Quick (listening) hit: Debating abstinence [Feministing]

Will "Orphan" hurt orphans? [Salon Broadsheet]

Is Marie Claire Just Messing with Us [Glossed Over]

Thoughts on oppression, masculinity, power, the male gaze, street harassment, and slavery [Gender Across Borders]

Jimmy Carter leaves church, criticizes religious sexism [Appetite for Equal Rights]

Should Tiller's Assassin Be Charged as a Domestic Terrorist? [RH Reality Check]

Those Who See "U.S." Read "Us" [Shakesville]

Dancing Around Race Relations: Prom Night in Mississippi [Jezebel]

Health Care, It's Personal [Womanist Musings]

Obama uses tradition to justify dismissing abortion rights [Deeply Problematic]

The Hermione in my Head [Feministing Community]

LOL you're a feminist [o filthy grandeur!]

Let's not be so quick to judge in 'women vs. Ben Roethlisberger [Spare Candy]

What Feminism Is and What It Should Be (with a little help from bell hooks) [Small Strokes] - a little over a week old, but still good!

And finally, both The Curvature and Jump Off the Bridge participated in the blogathon yesterday - check out their numerous posts!

What have you been writing and reading this week? Leave links in the comments!

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]