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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  
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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 literary arts society who gave me the honourable mention will publish my short story later this year. More details to come! 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  Happy International Women's Day, ladies!   It looks like today may be a day of surprises. I just discovered on Twitter that a Spanish woman living in Switzerland translated into Spanish my latest article in 4W, which you can read here. Given that I hadn't asked her to do this it took me quite by surprise. You can read her translation here. To my knowledge this is the first time that one of my articles has been translated. 4W is a publication founded by M. K. Fain in 2019. According to its website, "4W exists to give a platform to today’s feminists who are boldly stepping outside of the mainstream narrative to unapologetically bring you stories about the issues affecting women today." 4W actually pays its female writers, which is uncommon. It also allows women who have otherwise been cancelled and deplatformed to have a voice. In a world sorely lacking in regard for women and girls 4W is a breath of fresh air. Copyright © 2022 Alline Cormier   When I awoke yesterday I could not have predicted that I would have articles published in two great feminist publications, but it was a pleasant surprise. In the morning 4W published the piece I had written the day before on filmmaker Ivan Reitman, and in the afternoon Feminist Current published my piece about actress Pamela Anderson, written earlier this month. My article about director/producer Ivan Reitman focuses on his treatment and portrayal of the female characters in his films. You can read it here. My second article is a defence of Canadian actress Pamela Anderson's right not to be revictimized, namely through a new miniseries called Pam & Tommy. You can read it here. According to its website, Feminist Current, which was founded in 2012 by Meghan Murphy, "provides a unique perspective on gender, women’s rights, violence against women, pop culture, politics, current events, sexuality, and many other issues that are often underrepresented or misrepresented by mainstream, progressive, and feminist media sources." It is Canada's leading feminist publication. Check it out here. (Below: screenshots of Twitter posts by 4W and Feminist Current.) Copyright © 2022 Alline Cormier   This Valentine’s Day women should treat themselves to a romance or romantic comedy that has much to offer female viewers. Instead of settling for regressive narratives packaged as great love stories they should indulge in a truly enjoyable movie, preferably with a huge bowl of popcorn and a box of chocolates. The Disney channel currently has several laughable suggestions for female viewers. For instance, Pretty Woman (1990), a story about a poor, uneducated, unworldly American prostitute hired by a cultured millionaire businessman to be her escort for a week, over the course of which they fall in love (written and directed by men). Or Beauty and the Beast (2017), a story about a young woman who falls in love with the beast who sequesters her after her father steals one of his roses (screenplay written and directed by men). Come on! What century is this? Sexual exploitation and Stockholm Syndrome should not be our best options in 2022. The romance/romantic comedy and drama genres have better offerings. Some movies include a few (and sometimes all) of the following: a female gaze, several significant female characters, affection and congeniality between females (not just antagonism), exchanges between women about things besides men—not to mention an absence of violence against women and girls (VAWG) and hypersexualization of the female characters. The following movie picks do not all contain every one of these inclusions (and exclusions) but they are all enjoyable and have much to offer female viewers. Click on the underlined text to watch enjoyable clips from these movies.
Copyright © 2022 Alline Cormier |
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