Friday is the (Inspirational) Movie Night: Philomena (2013)

#inspirationalmovies

Continuing with my special mini-cycle dedicated to Catholicism and women, today's movie is basically a (polished up) sequel of The Magdalene Sisters. 

Philomena (2013, Stephen Frears) is based on a true story that nevertheless feels somewhat unbelievable. Well, there's reality for you. If after The Magdalene Sisters you asked yourself about the possible futures of the girls who got away from the religious institutions controlling them, here you have the story of Philomena Lee.

There's difference and nuance, though. In the eyes of the religious establishment Philomena had comitted a sin. She had sex before marriage (oh!) with someone she (apparently) barely knew (gasp!) and she liked it! Mind you, this is a very important difference between the discourse that The Magdelene Sisters present and Philomena's story. As Rose in last week's movie (in contrast of other women in that film), Philomena did actually transgress the social norms and was very unlucky to become pregnant as a consequence. And her child was taken away from her.

This is the double sword of the story. On one hand, there's actual pleasure involved. She enjoyed being with that boy. On the other hand, this very fact makes her even more vulnerable to all the injustice done to her afterwards. If your religion (and people in position to punish you) maintain that you have to repent and suffer for your sins, and you know very well that you have transgressed, the likelihood of rebellion seems to be lower.

Yet this is only a part of the story. The second drama revels when Philomena - already older and after a marriage and other children - gets help of a journalist in trying to find her son. Apart from a pretty unbelievable turn of events... Ah, go, see it! ... you get the amazing dame Judi Dench playing someone torn apart by her trauma of loss of a child and faith that's represented by the same people who treated her so badly.

An additional feature that makes the movie a treat is the clash of worlds that her interactions with the world class journalist embarked upon a human interest story lead to. These ar class difference and not gender driven, and challenge the airbrushed image of drama-worthy and interesting people. Good for you, Philomena!

Friday is the (Inspirational) Movie Night: Sylvia Plath movies

#inspirationalmovie

This is a tragic story. We've warned you. But it's also essential for your herstory knowledge and a very good way to empathize with the problematic of The Feminine Mystique, to understand the great drama of those women educated (therefore craving stimulus and self-realization) but confined to running a household and suffering whatever comes in order to keep up the appearances and keep the family together*.

We offer a double feature about the poet Sylvia Plath (1932-1963). Open her wikipedia page, scan through it, then start with the movie version of her acclaimed semi-autobiographical novel The Bell Jar (1963) - The Bell Jar (1979, Larry Peerce). A coming-of-age story gone sour is just what you need to observe the moment when the idealism and ambition (to become a renowned poet) clashes with the adult world. In this case the adult world implies dumbing things down for the audience of a women's magazine, men that think people owe them sex, fear of pregnancy, fear of the future, invasive and traumatic psychiatric treatment, the desire to disappear...

The novel is based on the experience Plath had while doing an internship in a New York magazine and her consecutive mental breakdown. A version about that summer in Sylvia's life can be read in Pain, Parties, Work: Sylvia Plath in New York, Summer 1953.

Then go on with Sylvia (2003, Christine Jeffs) covering Plath's career after the recovery, relationship with Ted Hughes, and suicide at the age of 30. While putting no stigma on Sylvia's history of mental health issues, the movie charts the path from poetry and love, through the hell of betrayal, inability to create and utter abandonment, back to writing from the darkest places of her experience and moving generations of people with the sheer force of her suffering. 

The relationship dynamics are pretty much the same as depicted in Hemingway & Gellhorn (2012) - full of the struggle to create, to get out of the shadow of a celebrity-partner and deal with their ego - just more intense and with a tragic ending.

* Here it is about running a household instead of doing anything else as a consequence of social norms requiring it (while offering almost no alternatives, and demanding that you become a wife and a mother primarily even if you are a great poet, scientist, dancer, doctor...). It is obviously not the same as being able to decide to dedicate yourself to caring because that's what resonates with your most authentic self.

Friday is the (Inspirational) Movie Night: Bringing Up Baby (1938)

#inspirationalmovies

This is a very good one and very bad one at the same time. Weird, I know, but hang in there with me.

Bringing Up Baby (1938, Howard Hawks) is an old fashion comedy-romance with continuous silliness that ends with a happy finale. An almost Shakespearian comedy/mess, if you may. Entertaining, anachronic, and not much feministing to be expected here.

I warn you that most of the movie does point at humans in general - the protagonist very much so - as hapless and ridiculous creatures, unable to communicate among themselves. The most amazing Katharine Hepburn is obliged to go through a series of weird adventures and lots of banter, some of it very witty, some of it very obnoxious... and most of the mess is just because of a romantic whim of hers!

And that's exactly what's so powerful about this classic: the protagonist is a breathtaking, impulsive and clumsy girl that follows her hunches and just really wants to be with Carry Grant timid (and also clumsy) doctor Huxley. She does most extraordinary things and goes places because she has decided that she wants to be with this man. And she's so sharp and witty (so is her aunt, just to add intriguing female characters).

The same relationship dynamics could be very toxic indeed, but not in this case. She's the natural force that brings the dry scientist out of his shell and he (secretly) likes it.
Relax and enjoy, but do not try these tactics at home, at least not to the same extent!

*And the very final (no surprises there, though)!*

Friday is the (Inspirational) Movie Night: Gay men in homophobic cultures

#inspirationalmovies

While these are not an obvious part of our repertoire, they still make sense to be watched from a feminist and I Being a Girl perspective. Even though cis-men are at the center of these movies, and women is only a backdrop for their drama and passion, it still emanates from no other place than patriarchy and the obsession with controlling the sexual and amorous lives of people.

So, today's offer is two movies that look into the lives of gay men in culturally very restrictive contexts: A Single Man (2009, Tom Ford) and Eyes Wide Open (2009, Haim Tabakman). Set in two very different but undoubtedly socially controlling places - 1960's USA and nowadays Israel among the Orthodox Jews - both of them tell the dramatic tale of how even male privilege won't save you if you transgress the code of sexual morality.

Of, course there are differences. The aesthetics, trying to be true to time and place depicted, are very different. Eyes Wide Open adds a religious restriction where A Single Man deals with a more secular type of institutionalized homophobia. It is loss of a loved one when you are not really allowed to mourn vs. the discovery of lust where it's strictly forbidden and harshly punished. Nevertheless, the main theme is the social pressure to negate ones real desires and feelings in order to keep up with what's esteemed to be proper and moral. And what that does to people.

One of the lesbian versions of the same story would be Fire (1996, Deepa Mehta), already covered before here. 

Friday is the (Inspirational) Movie Night: HIV/AIDS in the big cinema

#inspirational movies 

Putting this under "inspirational" may be somewhat questionable. Movies that have HIV/AIDS as their central theme are not even expected to be inspirational (or uplifting). But in the light of the recent incomer into the genre - Dallas Buyers Club (2013, Jean-Marc Vallée) - a little, very critical round-up seems adequate. And all of those movies touch the activism theme, so they are relevant anyways.

While our all-time favorite still is Rent (2005), these do have some attractive points to it (and downsides too, unfortunately). Curiously enough, there's a decade between the release dates for all three while there are set pretty much around the same time, mid-eighties up to early nineties:

Philadelphia (1993, Jonathan Demme), the ultimate HIV/AIDS classic on the legal battle against discrimination. Has quite some real life inspiration.

Lessons learned: (a) privilege does not protect you from HIV, and (b) homophobia can be cured dealt with if empathy kicks in and if close contact / familiarity is established.

Lacks in the department of: women. Only at the background, and the whole battle for rights is fought among privileged men.

Angels in America (2003, Mike Nichols), the we-are-all-connected esoteric epic on sexuality, coupledome, love, and HIV.

Lessons learned: (a) privilege does not protect you from HIV, and (b) HIV affects also those that are themselves sero-negative but with their lives inter-weaved in those of PLWHA, an obvious truth, but beautifully depicted. Also, (c) you cannot pray away homosexuality. Nor mental health issues.

Lacks in the department of: spirituality. All the angels, prophets, ghosts thing goes from whimsical to annoying to just crazy at times.

Dallas Buyers Club (2013, Jean-Marc Vallée), the quite shitty movie with a pseudo-alternative HIV/AIDS narrative that just got 3 Oscars. Also inspired by an actual person. Caused a major stirring not only because of the overall sexism of the movie but because of Jared Leto - a cis-male - being cast to play a trans person, and about how he does that. 

Lessons learned: (a) heterosexuality (and homophobia) will not protect you from HIV, (b) homophobia is not cured dealt with just by lose contact / familiarity if no empathy can be activated, (c) the big pharma says is not always in your best interest, (d) traditional masculinites are bad for your health.

Lacks in the department of: women. Only at the background, and the whole battle for rights is fought among men. Women are the angry but passive doctor, nurses, and random people that men have sex with.

Other movies that we have talked about before where HIV drives some part of the plot are Kids (1995) and The Hours (2002).

Friday is the (Inspirational) Movie Night: Gone with the Wind (1939)

#inspirationalmovies 

"Why does a girl have to be so silly to catch a husband?"

OK, this one is a challenge, because you can interpret it both ways. You could argue that - as in the case of Dirty Dancing, for example - there's not much empowerment or feminism to be found in Gone with the Wind (1939). It's racist. It's androcentric. It's about a privileged girlie facing the world and looking for a man to shelter her from the reality.

But here comes the trick: she ends up having to do stuff for herself. On her own. And that is revolutionary. Well, especially for a Hollywood studio superproduction of 1939 and a novel (written by a woman, take note) describing realities of a Southern-belle suddenly thrown into a turmoil.

Our impulse for including Gone with the Wind among our suggestions come from this article in Spanish critical feminist magazine (google translate should be able to help you!). They ask the following question: how come that even people aware of all those shortcomings (when it comes to aspiring towards empowering feminist fiction) do find it inspirational and somehow - backwardly - groundbreaking?

Their answer goes along the lines of recognizing the qualities of the heroine. Because beyond the superficial persona that Scarlett puts up in order to - very strategically! - try to attract a good match for marriage there is strong person able to grow and overcome the loss of privilege and vanity. An additional credit has to be given for the courage to admit - although through pain and not by choice - that there is life beyond romance and coupledom. And to the conviction that "tomorrow is another day". Resilience, therefore.

By the way, reading the book is always a good idea, too.

Friday is the (Inspirational) Movie Night: Stonewall (1995)

#inspirationalmovies

For a little walk in (again, a dramatized one) history, we offer Stonewall (1995, Nigel Finch). While it has 1990's written all over and sometimes makes you cringe because of awkwardness, it's still worth the while.

Playing with the idea that every LGBTQI activist has their own Stonewall story (yes, yes, go, read the wiki, we'll wait), so here you have one particular story with all the dramatic ingredients and dichotomies you wanted. Being out / being in closet. Trying to fit in / defying. Creating closed ghettos / suffering discrimination. Different ways of doing activism. Love. Friendship. Corrupt policemen. Street riots. Some jail. Lots of the Shangri-Las and lip-sync. Reminder that the most famous LGBTQI riot (and historical milestone) was fought by trans persons of color and not well-groomed rich white men.
Don't expect much from this, and you might be surprised.

 

Friday is the (Inspirational) Movie Night: Girls (2012-)

#inspirationalmovies

This goes in the same way as Sex and the City (1998-2004). While you would like to hate it and tell everybody how shallow and untrue it is, you find yourself glued to the monitor. And being thankful that each episode is just about 20 min.

Again, this is mostly a story of how not to. And how we all do stupid things. And we all are somewhat anxious at times. While Girls (2012-) caused various storms in the US media bla-bla (well, see here where the series is compared with a 1925 hipster essay on emancipation and cliche formation, here, and here; and that's just one magazine that prides itself on going deep into pop phenomena), take it for what it is.
A story on being structurally privileged - go, google the whole thing about Girls lack of racial diversity, like this - and still very insecure. On being confused and very weird. Very weird.

Again and again, and it's impossible to repeat it too much, this is not role-model show. There are no such, btw. Watch it as an anthropological study on some girls in some place. I doesn't have to be representative. It doesn't have to be healthy. But it may take some stigma off from being weird, having mental health issues, dealing with your own body, being entangled in relationships that you know are no good, etc. The usual stuff.

The obvious bonus is that the creator of the series is a girl (Lena Dunham was born in 1986), so we can just relax and listen to her stuff. As an anthropology piece, we said.
Just to realize that the problem is not only the perfection, the girls that Courtney Martin describes as

"We are the girls with anxiety disorders, filled appointment books, five-year plans. We take ourselves very, very seriously. We are the peacemakers, the do-gooders, the givers, the savers. We are on time, overly prepared, well read, and witty, intellectually curious, always moving… We pride ourselves on getting as little sleep as possible and thrive on self-deprivation. We drink coffee, a lot of it. We are on birth control, Prozac, and multivitamins… We are relentless, judgmental with ourselves, and forgiving to others. We never want to be as passive-aggressive as our mothers, never want to marry men as uninspired as our fathers… We are the daughters of the feminists who said, “You can be anything,” and we heard, “You have to be everything." (from this book)

We also have the other end of the messiness and anxiety spectrum. Plus all the shades in between.

Friday is the (Inspirational) Movie Night: The Hours (2002)

#inspirationalmovies

The Hours (2002, Stephen Daldry) reflects the inner life of three very different women - one of the being Virginia Woolf - connected by Woolf's novel Mrs. Dalloway (1925). Based on Michael Cunnigham's eponymous novel, the plot revolves around the fragile nature of happiness and how, even when satisfaction is expected, is does not always come.

Other recurrent themes are the complexities of affective relationships (love is complex, you know), sexual orientation and ways to canalize it (especially in oppressive setting), femininity and gender roles.

Of course, the three lead actresses - Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore - add value to the picture. Also, pay attention to the colours and to the beautiful, stream-like pace of the movie

Friday is the (Inspirational) Movie Night: Sex and the City (1998-2004)

#inspirationalmovies

OK, OK... this is one of those you never thought of this as being a feminist piece. Again. And each of those surprises have their own special reasons. Sex and the City, the series (1998-2004) is no exception (add the moves to this at your own risk).

An innovation when it comes to drama-comedy long term series. A series with 4 women as the central characters. A nonchalant attitudes about sex. Life beyond sex and men, like, emm, jobs. Outrageous dresses. Non-perfect women. So on...

Obviously, it can be annoying, stereotype-ish... Yes.
Here's the trick - and read the article linked below, it does a better job at explaining it - too many people all around the world took it as a how to be and what to strive for look-book.
In many most cases it's a visualization of how not to (the obsessions with looking for the perfect partner, making up drama for drama's sake, etc). Take it as a meditation of the flaws of the sexual and romantic liberation of women who are still brainwashed into looking for the right one while wearing dangerously high heels and managing professional lives.

If we can't convince you to give a second watch to Sex and the City, maybe this Emily Nussbaum's article will convince you about its special place in the pop history: Difficult Women. How “Sex and the City” lost its good name.

Friday is the (Inspirational) Movie Night: The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

#inspirationalmovies

OK, this is cult. This is scandalous. This is classic. If you haven't seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975, Jim Sharman), drop everything and get a copy!

If you thought that Shortbus (antother must movie for people in SRHR, mind you) was outrageous, this is even better. No graphic sex but an even more whimsical take on sex and sexuality. Gender fluidity, happily (pleasurably!) lost virginities, ditching the monogamy... all that in 1975 and in drag!

In case you saw The Perks of Being a Wallflower and didn't really get the performance part, this movie is what they were mimicking. Being part of the fandom, obviously.

+ The soundtrack is the best. Here, have a taste!

Friday is the (Inspirational) Movie Night: Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)

#inspirationalmovie

Probably the most gender-not-in-the-picture movie about a girl-child that you will ever know. Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012, Benh Zeitlin) is at the same time scary (be aware of the possible trigger of very rough kind of parenting) and somehow inspiring...

If you treat it as a metaphor (yes, again, as with Picnic at Hanging Rock) - and not as an actual story of a small child wandering around, lost and scared - it is a journey of a free person in the big, wide world. Occasional damage is caused, being nature and all, but things somehow make sense, there are people you can trust and even the scariest monsters (storms, police, actual monsters) can be tamed if you stand brave and look them into eye.

An additional gem is the very young Quvenzhané Wallis who we are waiting to see in upcoming movies. While so, she's already known for not playing dumb nor fake humble. And having been nominated for a Best Actress Oscar when you're 9 is, well, AWESOME! 

Friday is the (Inspirational) Movie Night: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

#inspirationalmovies

OK, so this one has to be explained.

So, do we suggest that Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953, Howard Hawks) can be a feminist inspiration? Yes. Is it that obvious? No.

First of all, the title of this musical and feel-good-fun-piece is totally misleading. It's not about gentlemen and what they prefer. This is a feature of what do girls want and how they get it.

Obviously, exaggerated and containing some not that inspirational puns (thinks of the 1950's gender ethos in general), but still it's them - the amazing and beautiful Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe - who move the script. And the solutions of the difficulties (there had to be, because no difficulties = no plot) come from their resourcefulness and intelligence. And their erotic capital, too, yes.

It is just anthropologically how a message of female supremacy emerges in a totally sexist setting. Not that we agree with any gender-based supremacies, but you have to admit the weirdness of the message. So here you have a wrongly wrapped anthem to blondes and brunettes getting what they want, both honestly and with some cunning. And almost never engaging in mutual slut-shaming while doing it, bravo!

Plus, of course the fact the both of them are curvy and believable-bodied. And below you can find an excerpt of some of the objectification of the male body going on in the movie, for a change.

Friday is the (Inspirational) Movie Night: Ghost World (2001) vs. The Help (2011)

#InspirationalMovies

Compensating for last week, here we are with a double feature and an almost contradictory message. It is Ghost World (2001, Terry Zwigoff) vs. The Help (2011, Tate Taylor).

Both might result triggering and problematic (nerdiness, cruelty, whiteness, self-righteousness are all featured) but this is not why we are bringing them up. We are bringing these two together because there you have the forever dilemma - especially felt by women in certain situations but universal still - between fitting in and daring to be different.

And those two movies are antithesis to each other: while The Help is exploring the impulses that makes one to step out and stand her ground about one's core beliefs, although it may imply social sanctions, Ghost World introduces you to Enid and Rebecca who, having spent years curating their weirdness and marginalization in the realms of formal education, are negotiating a re-entering into the world of normal.

The morals is the following: trying to find strength to be as authentic as you wish and courage to change if you feel that the previous you is somehow outdated and needs an update. Transformation is human. It's really OK. As is questioning, searching, and not really knowing.

Sunday is for horizons: Makers (2013)

#Feminism #MakersChat #InspirationalMovies

Again, a #SundayIsForHorizons slightly out of what it was conceived to be. Perfect and extremely educational, though. The three-hour PBS documentary Makers: Women Who Make America (2013) is a very well done account of the history of feminism and empowerment of women during the second half of the 20th century.

While there is some (rightful) criticism regarding the portrayal of the current movements among women and feminisms, this is a very solid work of documentation on how the feminism (the second wave, that is to say) we know as such started. Even if you are not that into women studies. Even if you are not that into the history of the U.S. Even if you don't identify as a feminist (ouch!)... these are things every person to some extent involved in the social movements, social justice, and living in a society should know this story of empowerment and enormous (although not as big as hoped for) success.

And while not a feature film as #InspirationalMovies tend to be, still full of very real testimonies and able to push for change (even if those are baby-steps and very basic awareness raising).

+ The greatest thing is that you can streamline it for free right now! All three episodes.
Go! Take notes and expand your role model list. And your reading list. Revolutionize your own life. Build a movement.

Friday is the (Inspirational) Movie Night: Babies (2010)

#inspirationalmovie 

Oh, yes, we so are doing the cheesiest, the sweetest New Year's feature. And it's better than Disney. No, seriously... we suggest you watch Babies (2010, Thomas Balmès).

It is a feature documentary showing the first year of life for four little people in four places in the world: Japan, Mongolia, Namibia and USA.
Not to suggest that you should or should not have babies in 2013 or in any other year, but to pay attention to how socially constructed our ideas of upbringing, of care, of socialization, security, hygiene and so on are. How at the same time different and very alike we are.

And to send some unconditional love! 

And don't be afraid of watching in original version with no subtitles as they just speak baby.

Inspirational (short) movie: Gordita (2009)

Gordita from RaqC Cordova on Vimeo.

"GORDITA is an HD short film about a young, plus size Latina who reconnects with her lost confidence through the help of a cassette tape she recorded as a sassy, booty-shakin’ teen in 1994.

We all have moments of self doubt and depression, but sometimes remembering who we were before the pressures of adulthood consumed us helps us get out of our funk and realize our full potential."

Here we are back to talking about bodies and how to inhabit them. This time, a short and very moving gem that brings together the intersectionalities of body expectations and race, culture, class. 

More info here.

I ♥ Being a Girl: Make your day brighter while feministing around

...and an 8 year old wills how you how!

Via A Girl's Guide to Taking Over the World and Guerrilla Feminism comes the inspirational moment of the day:

 "This is how Stella Ehrhart, age 8, decides what to wear for school.

She opens her closet. She opens her book, “100 Most Important Women of the 20th Century.” And she opens her mind.

The Dundee Elementary School third-grader comes to school dressed as a different historical figure or character — Every. Single. Day. And she's done that since the second day of second grade, when this all started.

The budding actress with a social conscience came to school on the first day last year dressed like any other 7-year-old girl, in the outfit her grandpa had bought her: a Love T-shirt and leggings. The following day she was dressed as author Laura Ingalls Wilder.

From that point on, Stella decided that what she would wear to school would represent who she was trying to be. With no repeats, at least through second grade." (More here!)

So, while the geopolitical or whatever else importance of some of these women might be disputable, they are still powerful symbols, it's still so awesome + thrilling is the fact that she does that in a very DIY way, no posh pre-made costumes. And the fact that the school and her classmates are completely OK with it. You go, Stella!

That's her as:

 Grace Kelly

 Billie Holiday

 Elvis Costello (well, she does an "Old Turtle from a children's book by the same name" and her school principal, too)

 Helen Keller

 Joan Baez

 Aung Sang Suu Kyi

Women at AIDS2012: U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee: If We Don't End Discrimination, We Will not End AIDS

Although there are things that seem forgotten and overlooked in the global response to AIDS, like condoms that are present everywhere on the Conference venue but not that much in the speeches. The Pleasure Project shares their disappointment with it here, and we can only agree that condoms are still the very popular, accepted and cheap double protection device we shall keep working with...

Although the tensions between structural disadvantage women keep facing and shortcomings of health care providers failing to work in human rights framework are still piling up (today's workshop My Body, My Rights: Ethics and Human Rights for Women Living with HIV in Research, Care and Treatment Settings tried to shed light on these issues)...

Still, there are also a lot of very inspirational people in the Conference, not only among all the amazing activists but also among people holding offices. So, since yesterday U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee is our hero!

When Beyoncé says that girls run the world...

Amber expressing her outrage about Beyoncé's song "Run the World" in her Youtube channel Nineteen Percent, a piece that could be perceived as empowering...

maybe...

...if you manage to ignore all the fair (and well researched) points Amber is making.

If you have no clue what is it all about, here you can see the Beyoncé's video.