Rape-revenge movies have a reputation as voyeuristic at best, or at worst, distorted fantasies made by men, for men. Emerald Fennell’s “Promising Young Woman” reimagines the genre by exploring what revenge and reparations would be sufficient to punish a rapist. We explore the societal and legal structures that fail rape survivors and how men respond when women don’t act the way they expect. Content warning: This episode deals with rape and trauma, so if that’s not something you want to listen to, check out one of our other episodes.
We talk about ‘Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey’ (a.k.a. ‘Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn’) and discuss the figure of the anti-heroine, how Harley rejects the Lolita effect, and her quest to define herself. Cited: Balakian, Nona. “The Prophetic Vogue of the Anti-Heroine.” Itzkoff, Dave. “Cathy Yan on the Rerelease of ‘Birds of Prey,’ the Harley Quinn Movie.
We talk about media made for teenage girls, comparing ‘Bring It On’ (2000) and ‘Never Have I Ever’ (2020), and discuss why teenage movies were dismissed, the importance of women in the film industry, and the evolution in the way we talk about sexuality in media. Cited: Cohen, Anne. “Teenage Girls Loved These Movies, Critics Didn’t — Who Was Right?”
We discuss the novel “Girl, Woman, Other” by Bernadine Evaristo and explore rejecting binaries, celebrating the diversity of voices in feminist discourse, and racticing feminism as social justice. You can find the “Girl, Woman, Other” character map here: https://twitter.com/bernardineevari/status/1208313873473966081?lang=en
This week, we review a brief history of women in the film industry and discuss “The Velvet Vampire” and “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night,” two vampire films by female producers. Through vampire women, we examine humanity, criminality, morality, and cats. Cited: Aylsworth, Laura. “Harmless Victims or Harmful Villians: The Representation of Criminalized Women in Public Discourse.”
Isolation has us creeping up and down the walls, so we’re turning to some of our favorite women authors of the 19th and 20th centuries and relating to them in whole new ways. We talk about feeling trapped inside the home in “The Yellow Wallpaper,” appreciating life after encounters with death in “Mrs. Dalloway,” and finding a little hope in Emily Dickinson.
We discuss the series “Sex Education” and the ways it challenges assumptions about sexuality, promotes open and healthy communication about sex and relationships, and creates an idyllic world in which acceptance is the norm. Contains spoilers for seasons 1 and 2!
We talk about the series “Killing Eve,” the way women murderers are portrayed as monsters, how Villanelle uses femninity as a mask, and what representations of violence reveal about society’s preconceptions. Spoilers abound!
We talk about the series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” the state of feminism in 1960, the constraints for women comedians at teh time, and Midge Maisel’s own brand of feminism and femininity.
We discuss the sci-fi novel “The Dispossessed” by Ursula K. Le Guin and talk about why temporal physics is a good metaphor for social movements, how gender dynamics look under different societal structures, and the cyclical nature of anarchy.
On this “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” Halloween special, we revist the iconic series’ treatment of gender, power, sexuality, and sexual assault. We consider what makes Buffy a feminist text and why it’s worth analyzing and discussing today.
We discuss Her Body and Other Parties, the collection of short stories by Carmen Maria Machado, and grapple with its ideas of embodiment, revising the horror genre, and society’s treatment of women’s bodies and desires.
We talk about "Big Little Lies" (the series and the book), the way women are judged by their community, how marriage is depicted in literature, and women banding together to protect themselves from persecution. We also pay tribute to Toni Morrison and her contributions to literature. As usual, spoilers abound.
This episode, we're talking about Fleabag. We discuss the many forms of feminism depicted in the series, the issues of gender and sexuality in the workplace, and giving people the chance to not be awful. Spoiler alert: We talk extensively about important plot points, so finish watching the series before you listen!
We dive into Game of Thrones, female representation in the fantasy genre, women and power in Westeros, and how sexual assault is treated in the series. Spoiler alert: We talk extensively about how Game of Thrones ends, so if you haven't finished the series and have somehow eluded spoilers so far, come back after you finish watching.
In the inaugural episode of the podcast, Veronica Penney and Nathalia Vélez Ryan define what we mean by "female gaze" and discuss the 2015 film The Invitation, directed by Karyn Kusama.