A summary of Ginny and Georgia reveals issues of white writers using mixed Black people for diversity, yet simultaneously centering whiteness in their stories and erasing monoracial Black girls. This issue also reflects poorly on the current state of the film industry and its colorism.
Romantic comedies and reality dating shows sell the fantasy. From Love Island to When Harry Met Sally, we’re constantly being told that our soulmates are right around the corner. But this content also treats being single as the ultimate failure.
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As the FX series comes to an end this spring, this article will amplify the impact of POSE, as well as discussing the narratives and the central themes of the show. With the influence of creator Steven Canals and director and writer Janet Mock, POSE is a series like no other; centered on family, love, community care, and the necessity of intersectionality. POSE is also influential in continuing the conversations about the importance of affirming, protecting, and uplifting the Trans* communities, especially Black and Afro-Latine Trans* women. This series has aided in shifting dialogues about representation and storytelling in the entertainment industry.
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It’s quite evident that Hollywood loves producing remakes. I mean, seriously, Mulan, The Mummy, Charlie’s Angels, the list goes on. Though not always the case, many of these remakes are simply Hollywood’s lazy attempt at trying to cash in the big bucks by contributing as little creative effort as possible. Honestly, there are a lot of problems with this, but that’s for later discussion. I want to talk about a specific moment when Hollywood has crossed the line with their idea of an adaptation: when they recently decided to recreate the beloved South Korean film, Train to Busan.
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The years of consuming countless TV shows that contain the ‘guy saves girl’ trope have finally caught up to me, forcing me to confront the beast that is my ‘damsel-in-distress’ complex. In this article, I interrogate why I avoid being vulnerable in my female friendships when I am completely comfortable with confiding in, and crying to, my guy friends. Getting to the root of my damsel-in-distress complex has been a hard lesson in unhealthy attachment, managing my expectations, and healing my own insecurities and trauma.
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The 2017 film I, Tonya is centered around Tonya Harding, a former Olympic ice skater who is most known for her involvement in the attack of Nancy Kerrigan, another skater. The film shines a different light on Harding, showing the abuse she endured, along with the skating world’s refusal to accept Harding as a worthy face in the sport. In this article, I will focus on the classism and sexism Harding faced as a working-class female athlete in a field that stresses wealth and femininity as the ideal skating image.
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What are the creative possibilities of self-direction? Enriched by both positions, actor-directors push the limits of filmmaking with acute self-awareness and subjectivity. This list spotlights a selection of the finest examples of self-directed films.
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From the beginning of his career, Jean-Luc Godard was a revolutionary. He inaugurated his revolution by dismantling cinema as the world had known it up until that point, later expanding his movement into the realm of ideas. With an array of heavily theoretical leftist films, Godard created a historical legacy that would have the power to change laws and overthrow governments.
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Gorgeous and moving, Nomadland follows the free-spirited van life of widowed Fern as she journeys through the American West. Despite being an Oscar frontrunner with outstanding ratings, criticism formed surrounding the film’s romanticization of poverty and the tone-deaf voyeurism and exploitation of working-class people. With a Chinese-born woman director, Nomadland is credited with bringing more diversity to the esteemed film world, but is it all sauce and no substance?
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Amy Poehler’s Moxie recently hit our screens. Since the world is full of movie adaptations of novels, here are some of the differences between the two stories and how they affected the overall plot and themes.
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Anime explores many complex themes and topics, with mental illness being one of them. 'Psycho Pass', 'Higurashi: When They Cry' and 'March Comes in Like a Lion' are just some examples of anime that do an excellent job of portraying mental illness in different ways, exploring how it can affect society, how it can influence a villain's motives and how one can deal with mental illness.
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With the rise of major franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we’ve also seen a rise in anti-spoiler culture. This essentially means that certain aspects of a newly released film or television show can not be publicly discussed for fear of ruining the story. However, according to a study by the University of California, it was found that revealing what would be considered spoilers can actually improve the viewing experience. Maybe spoilers aren’t the end of the world after all.
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Who are we and what are we doing here? Terrence Malick tackles themes of innocence, nature, and the complicated relationships we have with our loved ones throughout his epic and masterful filmography. If you’re in the mood for some meditative indie flicks, I got you, but be warned, existential crises may ensue.
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This article will link my favorite things: music and film. There are countless ways to make connections between the two art forms; film scores, soundtracks, movie references in songs.. Today, however, I will attempt to offer movie suggestions according to your music taste. All of this sounds extremely subjective, and for the most part, it is. Music taste is not as distinctly defined as music genres. It can be more broad, or, in many ways, more specific. I am well aware that we all have unique music tastes and they cannot be strictly categorized or reduced to a few bands. But, for the sake of this article, I will do my best to identify some of the different “tastes” we may share and give movie recommendations accordingly.
Read MoreAntiheroes are often fan-favorites, with audiences becoming captivated by these morally grey characters. Many of the most loved characters of modern film and television fit into the antihero trope. However, certain fans seem to admire these characters too much, ignoring the flaws vital to understanding their character. Some viewers also seem to put male anti-heroes on a pedestal for exuding masculinity. In this article, I will examine two popular TV antiheroes; Tony Soprano and Don Draper, and explore why people shouldn’t see them simply as role models, and instead see them as what they really are: fucked-up individuals.
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Writer Jade Yong discusses how the 2020 psychodrama Horse Girl, co-written by Alison Brie and Jeff Baeman, portrays the experience of severe mental suffering. Jade explores how our definitions of reality and truth are challenged by the film’s paranormal elements, which highlight the alienation that comes with mental illness, and how hostile the real world can be to those suffering
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Sweeping numerous award shows and receiving consistent critical and audience praise, there is little doubt that Succession has earned its place as one of the most highly-regarded series currently on television. With the seemingly dry synopsis of the series focusing around the occurrences of a media conglomerate and its leading family, the idea that begs exploration becomes; what keeps us watching? (Warning - spoilers ahead!)
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At the height of this pandemic, filmmakers have created a factory line of shows and movies addressing, or even based on, the very global health crisis we’re still experiencing today. But, why? What does this thematic element add to the plot? Are these projects merely exploitive? Does anyone really want to watch this kind of content while we are stuck living in this actual dystopia? In this article, I start a conversation about these pressing issues, discussing how Covid-19 related films and series have plagued Hollywood as we know it today.
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Most of us know the classic Shakespeare play, ‘Romeo and Juliet’. We read it in school, we watched one of the movie adaptations, and then we had a conversation about how these young individuals fell in love in a matter of three days. Then comes R#J, directed by Carey Williams, who challenges our views of this classic play, and executes the whole performance through the perspective of the two young lovers’… iPhone.
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As Bridgerton is one of the most talked about shows this year, this article will examine the racial and societal politics behind it while also questioning Hollywood’s recent quick resort to “diversity,” yet keeping problematic tropes lying within the fabric. Is this show “progressive” or reductive?
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