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I belong to a women’s film club, and this evening half a dozen of us were available to watch Blonde together in a theatre. This is the newly released NC-17 rated film about Marilyn Monroe based on a novel by Joyce Carol Oates. It runs two hours and 45 minutes, and you should plan on a delicious treat for afterwards—we went out for supper—because it is a hard, depressing watch. Blonde’s screenplay was written and directed by 55-year-old New Zealander Andrew Dominik and I suspect Dominik has been exposed to more pornography than I have because 34-year-old Ana de Armas, who plays Norma Jeane/Marilyn Monroe, not only appears nearly naked too often but there are also very uncomfortable close-ups of her fellating a man (John F. Kennedy, played by Caspar Phillipson). This is not the only scene female viewers may find difficult to watch. Others include an early scene in which a woman tries to drown her little girl (Norma Jeane), the president of a film company rapes Monroe during an audition, Monroe’s traumatic abortions and her lover (JFK) treats her like a prostitute. The domestic violence is handled more adroitly (i.e. mostly suggested rather than shown). Creepiness abounds in Blonde. For instance, Monroe calls her husbands (Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller) “daddy.” Moreover, she is repeatedly debased. She is called a dirty slut, a whore, etc.—but also a prude. If Joyce Carol Oates’ aim, with her novel—I haven’t read it—was to shine a spotlight on how terribly the men in Marilyn Monroe’s life treated her, then it is a success. Monroe is portrayed as damaged, fragile and vulnerable and men’s blameworthy behaviour is portrayed disapprovingly. Ana de Armas’ accent is somewhat distracting (she’s Cuban). Monroe’s first husband is left out, as is her trip to England to film The Prince and the Showgirl with Laurence Olivier. Still, the cinematography is remarkable and all in all, I found it worth a viewing. Copyright © 2022 Alline Cormier 
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Yesterday was an eventful day for me. Between meeting up with a lovely feminist visiting from out of town and catching a Fringe festival performance my analysis of Blade Runner 2049 was published in The 11th Hour. You can read my article, entitled Blade Runner 2049 (2017) Normalizes Artificial Women, here. This was my third film analysis for the brilliant Jennifer Bilek, publisher of The 11th Hour. Earlier this year I wrote about Her, released in 2013 (read my article here), and Lars and the Real Girl, released in 2007 (read my article here). Copyright © 2022 Alline Cormier  Taking a break from film analysis, last night I was a feature presenter at the Royal City Literary Arts Society's (RCLAS) In Their Words series. I presented Virginia Woolf and the three excerpts I chose to read were from her novels, Night and Day (1919) and To the Lighthouse (1927), and her 1929 essay, Women and Fiction. Earlier this year the RCLAS awarded me an honourable mention in their 2022 Write On! contest (creative non-fiction category) for my short story about violence against women in film. Copyright © 2022 Alline Cormier  This summer is really flying! It's hard to believe we're already halfway through July! My latest published articles focus on: the Netflix series, Heartstopper (read it in Gender Dissent), drag queens and child safeguarding (read it in Feminist Current) and American actor James Caan (read it in 4W). Happy reading! Copyright © 2022 Alline Cormier    This week two of my analyses of Hollywood feature films were published in women-led publications: the first, on the latest MCU movie, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, appeared in Women Making Films (read it here), and the second, on the Spike Jonze directed Her, appeared in The 11th Hour (read it here). Happy Friday! Copyright © 2022 Alline Cormier   Yesterday was full of lovely surprises owing to the fact that I spent the morning at the beach and had supper with friends at a pub. At midday I heard that my first writing contest entry merited an honourable mention, which was particularly gratifying since my creative non-fiction piece centered on women in film. The Royal City Literary Arts Society (RCLAS) will publish my short story later this year. While walking along the beach a woman told me about this pretty sea star (picture by my husband), so small I may have missed it if she hadn't brought it to my attention. People are so friendly here--I'm really enjoying island life. Stay tuned. I have more articles about the treatment/portrayals of women and girls in film/TV coming soon. Copyright © 2022 Alline Cormier   My piece about the 94th Academy Awards ceremony (the Oscars) was published in Feminist Current today. You can read it here. Below are some of the pictures of women's outfits that didn't make it into the article. Copyright © 2022 Alline Cormier             Yesterday Women Making Films (India) published my review of Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), the second part of a series of feminist critiques I am writing about superhero films. My review of The Batman (2022) was published last week (read it here). Although I found the latest installment of the Spider-Man franchise entertaining, ultimately it was disappointing because it had little to offer female viewers. You can read my review here. The Academy Awards ceremony (the Oscars) is tonight, and I'll have some commentary about that soon. Copyright © 2022 Alline Cormier  Yesterday Women Making Films (India) published the first of a series of feminist critiques I am writing about superhero films. This one focused on the latest installment of the Batman franchise, The Batman, which is currently holding the number one spot at the box office. It is a dark film brimming with violence and angry, vengeful men. You can read it here. My second article for Series: Superhero films through a feminist lens will be published next week. Women Making Films is a not-for-profit community that, according to its website, "strives to connect, facilitate and showcase the work of its members through film screenings, workshops, film festivals and other interactive programmes." Vaishnavi Sundar, WMF’s founder and a filmmaker and women's rights activist from India, is dedicated to countering the inequality in the film industry and creating a global solidarity of female filmmakers. Her latest film, Dysphoric, is a four-part documentary series on the rise of gender identity ideology and its effects on women and girls, especially in developing countries. Copyright © 2022 Alline Cormier  |
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