The weekly buzz

This week we have: The Princess is Dead; cowards behind the 'Brave' project; The Art Directors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award goes to Patricia Norric and Buffy reboot.


The Princess is Dead
Disney announced it will not be producing fairy tale stories anymore. That means the death of the princess crappola! It's things like that that make me think that maybe, just maybe, something is changing in the rusty Hollywood. Disney has an awful record of making girls look like retards. Because, lets face it, thats what a princess is. She has no opinions of her own, dreams only about getting married (which, in this context means, changing the owner from her father to another man) and worries only about what to wear. Not to mention, that any other women in these stories are either demanted and/or evil. Burn Down The Tiaras, I say!

Obviously, whether we are going to see any difference in their bizzare production politics, is another issue. There is an absolutely phenomenal study, released by the Stacy L. Smith and Marc Choueiti from University of Southern California, on gender disparity on screen in the kid movies. According to the study in the films released between 2006 and 2009 in the US:

- 29% of the speaking characters were females and 70% were male
- a higher percentage of females than males (24% vs. 4%) are shown in sexy, tight, or alluring attire
- females are more likely than their male counterparts to be physically attractive (14% vs. 3.6%) and portrayed with some exposed skin between the mid chest and upper thigh regions (18.5% vs. 5.6%)
- though not depicted, waist size is also related to gender with a higher percentage of females than males shown with a small waist (22.9% vs. 4.5%). The percentage of characters with a large chest (males=15.3%, females= 12.6%) or an unrealistic body ideal (males=2.9%, females=7.5%) varies significantly -- but not meaningfully (less than 5%) -- with gender

I can't really put into words how much this pisses me off. The study also provides us with this sad stat:

the biological sex of 1,565 directors, writers, and producers was ascertained.11 Only 7% (n=10) of directors, 13% (n=56) of writers, and 20% (n=200) of producers are female. Stated in another way, 93% (n=134) of directors, 87% (n=376) of writers, and 80% of producers (n=789) are male. Taken together, these numbers calculate into a ratio of 4.88 males to every one female in key production occupations. If the film is the unit of analysis (rather than the individual), a total of 8.2% of the movies feature a female director, 32% feature at least one female writer, and 80.3% feature at least one female producer (source)





Unfortunately, this news connects with the Cowards Behind 'Brave' Project story or The Bigelow Effect (great article by Melissa Silverstein: link)

Meet Branda Chapman. The first female director hired by Pixar. And, to everyone's surprise, the director fired from working on studio's first girl-centered movie, 'Brave', just after few weeks time.

Chapman is no stranger to the industry, she has worked on many acclaimed animations thus far. 'Brave'  seemed like a perfect fit for her. The movie tells a story of a princess who instead of being all princess-like, prefers to become the best archer in the kingdom. The release has been pushed to Christmas 2012.

Branda Chapman has apparently been fired from the project due to 'creative differences' (which basically translates to: studio is being a dick). Miss Brenda Chapman remains on staff at Pixar. The studio is being secretive about the future of the film.





Now, onto some good news.

Patricia Norris is going to be awarded with Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual Arts Directors Guild event in February. She has worked as both a production designer and a costume designer on many film sets, including 'Lost Highway'; 'The Singing Detective'; '2010 The Year We Made Contact', to name a few.

She is only a second woman to be awarded by the guild. In the words of the Guild's President: 'by celebrating Patricia's life and career, the guild reaffirms the hopes of every young designer regardless of their background or gender, encouraging them to pursue their dreams and overcome the status quo in the pursuit of their creative aspirations'





Buffy Reboot

 Now, there's the scoop that got the fansites traffic steaming. Buffy reboot is going off under Warner Bros. There's an entirely new writer, Whit Anderson who is going to take over Joss Whedon's spot. The pressure on this woman's shoulders is enormous. Because, for Buffy fans, Whedon is god. No discussion.


The idea of another Buffy movie, after a terrible flop of a first one, seems shaky. But, after Warner got Charles Roven (producer of Batman reboot franchise) on board, the internet seems to be more hopeful.

Fingers crossed. After all, there's a whole generation of people who are brought up on the Twilight, instead of Buffy goodness.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

 

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

The only princess story worth watching.


Synopsis

Nausicaa might be the princess but she doesn't wait for her prince to be happily wedded. She doesn't take century-long naps nor does she have slaves *coughs* sorry, house help. It's thousand years after the war that almost wiped out the whole of the human race. The earth is a hostile place with poisonous winds and giant insect-like Ohms, living in toxic forests. Nausicaa protects the Valley of Wind from any dangers of this post-apocalyptical world. One day, a ship from a powerful state of Tolmekians crashes in the Valley of the Wind. Turns out that the leader of Tolmekians- Princess Kushana plans to awake the Giant Warrior and with his aid, destroy the forest. People of the Valley of the Wind know that this could only mean a war between Ohms and humans.


Review   
The character of Nausicaa was born out of two wonderful stories: a tale about Nauiscad from 'The Odyssey' and a princess mentioned in 'The tales of the past and present'  (source). Miyazaki became fascinated with Nauiscad after reading Japanese translation of a small book on Greek mythology. When he got to read 'The Odyssey'  he thought it didn't deliver on the sheer awesomness of this heroine. As Miyazaki imagined from reading the Japanese book 'Nausicaa was a beautiful and fanciful girl, quick on her feet. She loved playing the harp and singing more than the attention of her suitors or pursuing earthly comforts. She took delight in nature and had an especially sensitive personality. It was she who, unafraid, saved Odysseus and nursed his wounds when he drifted ashore covered with blood. Nausicaa soothed his spirit by improvising a sing for him.' The heroine from 'The tales of the past and present' was called the "princess that loved insects." Miyazaki states that 'she was regarded as an eccentric because even after reaching marriageable age, she still loved to play in the fields and would be enchanted the transformations of a pupa into a butterfly. Her eyebrows were dark and her teeth white - unlike the other girls of her era, she did not follow the custom of shaving off her eyebrows and blackening her teeth. According to Tales, she looked very strange!' I think that this amazing creative process behind the movie tells an equally mesmerising tale, as the film itself. Nausicaa was born out of stories about strong, independent women who were regarded as outcasts by their societies because they broke the patriarchal rules. That's how you re-define the ridiculous Disney cliches!

In the movie, Nausicaa flies this:

 

She fights these guys:

And these guys:

She saves Lord Yupa:

And these people:

And basically protects the whole planet from this:

She rocks. Nuff said.

IMDB Page

Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles

Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles

Synopsis

Jeanne is a widow who lives with her son. She supports the household with government's money and prostitution. Throughout over three hours of the movie we witness her mundane life. During these hours, the stealthy, suffocating existence of a woman trapped in her own tragic life is unveiled. It's a difficult, complex cinema. The film, almost immediately after its release, became a cult classic and one of the most important feminist movies. 

Review

The film, made in the 1975, is a clever re-telling of Zavattini's (one of the main names in the cinema's neorealism movement) motto ' the ideal film would be a ninety minutes of the life of a man whom nothing happens.' We see Jeanne confined to a space of her apartment, doing everyday housewife chores and serving her son. She seems mechanical and controlling. The movie speaks the loudest in details. Because, on the surface of things, there is nothing unplanned and/or unwanted in Jeanne's life: from the encounters with other people to making a dinner, there is no freedom of casuality.

'The first blow against the monolithic accumulation of traditional film conventions (already undertaken by radical filmmakers) is to free the look of the camera into its materiality in time and space and the look of the audience into dialectics, passionate detachment. There is no doubt that this destroys the satisfaction, pleasure and privilege of the 'invisible guest,' and highlights how film has depended on voyeuristic active/passive mechanisms. Women, whose image has continually been stolen and used for this end, cannot view the decline of the traditional film form with anything much more than sentimental regret.' (source )

Akerman's film-making is intentionally avoiding the voyeurism. Static shots, no close-ups, camera fixed on a continually same height, all to make sure the audience 'always knows where I (the director) am'. These formal decisions help in not only stressing out the feminist factor of the project. But also, to support the intensity of the narrative. Strict editing (no fades), no score and a stark mise-en-scene make the disconnected life of Jeanne that much more difficult to watch.

The claustrophobic feel of this woman's daily routine slowly reveals her complete lack of self. Take away the peeling of the potatoes, the groceries shopping and ironing and Jeanne disappears. She holds onto those things so closely because when one day she starts making small mistakes (the burnt dinner, the messy hair), she is left with literally nothing but a threat of facing herself. Realising onself and admitting to the consuming void, seems to be the greatest of fears. It is up to a debate, but many think that her unfolding happens after she, for the first time in her life, experiences climax with one of her clients. If it is true, it adds yet another layer of meaning to the story. Is she rejecting the idea of pleasure or is she not comfortable with her experiencing the pleasure? Is the orgasm unaccaptable because it's so human and not-mechanical; or is it because it means connecting with ones body? From that moment on, the audience knows, the tragedy is close. And even when it arrives, it happens quietly. In the patriarchal system, a woman isn't allowed to experience any extreme feelings. She is deprived of any freedoms. That's why, when Jeanne commits a crime, she is passive, emotionless. She acts like nothing happened. “When she bangs the glass on the table and you think the milk might spill, that’s as dramatic as the murder,” stated Akerman.

'Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles' is a painful but necessary viewing.

IMDB Page 

The weekly buzz

This week was buzzing with three stories: 'Made in Dagenham' ; MPAA ratings controversy and Mark Twain's Award for American Humor for Tina Fey.



'Made in Dagenham'

The movie tells a true story of a group of women working at a Dagenham's Ford car plant. In 1968 they decided to take action against unequal pay. 'Made in Dagenham' is receiving enthusiastic reviews. And thank gods! High time there will be more fun movies telling history from a women's perspective!












 What is shocking, is the R-rating movie got from MPAA. Yup, you heard me. You know what an R-rating means for a film? Box-office death.



Which leads us to the next big story: the MPAA rating.
Harvey Weinstein is a little bit like a pitbull, retired from dog fighting. He doesn't have to seek the attention and fight for his position in the industry like he used to. Everyone knows his name. But, from time to time, when someone or something crosses his path, he gets in the pitbull mode, old style. This time, it's the MPAA. I sense the disturbance in the force.

Weinstein's two films: 'Blue Valentine' and 'The King Speech' have been given highest ratings. And within few weeks time, Weinstein assembled a team of the best lawyers to battle 'the Ratings Appeal of the Century'. Sounds fun, doesn't it? And, a long time coming for a dated MPAA system. What is exciting about the story is Ryan Gosling's ('Blue Valntine' actor) commentary:

“You have to question a cinematic culture which preaches artistic expression, and yet would support a decision that is clearly a product of a patriarchy-dominant society, which tries to control how women are depicted on screen. The MPAA is okay supporting scenes that portray women in scenarios of sexual torture and violence for entertainment purposes, but they are trying to force us to look away from a scene that shows a woman in a sexual scenario, which is both complicit and complex. It’s misogynistic in nature to try and control a woman’s sexual presentation of self. I consider this an issue that is bigger than this film.'

(source)

I always liked Ryan. But, from now on, he is one of the sexiest man alive to me. So. Much. Love.


Last but not least:

Supporting characters in tv- part one

Leslie Winkle
'The Big Bang Theory' 

 Leslie: Listen, neither of us are neuroscientists, but we both understand the biochemistry of sex. I mean, dopamine in our brains is released across synapses, causing pleasure. You stick electrodes in a rat's brain, give him an orgasm button, he'll push that thing until he starves to death.
Leonard: Well, who wouldn't?
Leslie: Well, the only difference between us and the rat is that you can't stick an electrode in our hypothalamus. That's where you come in.

Leslie Winkle (Sara Gilbert) is a physicist working at Cal Tech, Passadena. She's not only clever but also outspoken, witty and (the shock! the horror!) likes sex. She's not emotionally fussy when it comes to men. If you wanted to see her aggravated, try arguing that loop quantom gravity is a lesser theory compared to the string one. You might as well walk up to Sarah Connor claiming terminators are cool as long as they look like GlauBot.  




Sheldon: Who told you you could touch my board?
Leslie: No one.
Sheldon: I don't come in to your house and touch your board.
Leslie: There are no incorrect equations on my board.
Sheldon: Oh! That is so, so...
Leslie: I'm sorry; I've got to run, if you come up with an adjective, text me.

 Now, imagine these two having a spin-off show together, with never-ending bazingas and the physics banter. What a little nerd heaven that would be.

Maria Riva - First TV Star

A Nightmare on Elm Street '84

 

Meet Nancy (Heather Langenkamp). Lately, she hasn't been sleeping well. 

Synopsis

Teenagers on Elm Street begin to have nightmares. In their dreams, a bizzare creature appears. He has disfigured face, wears a striped, red and green sweater and has metal hands with long claws. His name is Freddy Kruger.

Review

When we meet Nancy, she and her friends seem like typical teenegers. However, looking closer, the difference between the girls and the boys is clear and, may I say, it is not flattering for the latter. Nancy and Tina (Amanda Wyss) might seem silly (boys talk and lots of giggles) but they have the capacity to spot there is something out of place and disturbing about their nightmares. They pursue the issue, finding out more strange details. Meanwhile, all Rod (Jsu Garcia) ever thinks about is how and when to jump his girlfriend. And, Glen (Johnny Depp's first movie) acts like a cute but completely useless puppy (failing at making a simple phone call).

Freddy begins his killings shortly after we are introduced to the Elm Street bunch. The movie would have been perfect, if Mr Kruger didn't turn out to be a bit of a misogynistic pig. His male victims are killed with a lot of splash and fully clothed. Whereas girls face Kruger either wearing hardly anything, or nothing at all (the bath time scene). Their killings are highly sexualised and far less bloody. Other than that, Nancy kicks ass. She is the only one who is smart enough to figure out what is really going on. She proves she can think and act on her own. Whenever a guy is asked to help, he fails spectacularly and the neighbours life and sanity lay entirly on Nancy's shoulders.

Turns out, these suburban girls can fight, who knew?

IMDB Page



 

She's the Man

 

'She's the man' is an impossible teen movie and an implausible romantic comedy. The lead (Amanda Bynes) isn't a shopping obsessed, man chasing, silly girl. She is genuinely clever and funny.  If you are still not sold, how about some of this to sway you:

Synopsis 

Viola (Amanda Bynes) plays soccer. She not only loves it, she's also pretty damn good at it. Unfortunately, her school cuts the female soccer team (Money makes the world go round, that clinking, clanking sound). It might be unfair but Viola isn't easily put down. She wants to join the male soccer team. She's rejected, laughed at by the whole guy's team (Don't you know girls aren't as good as boys at sports?). She reaches out to her boyfriend, also a member of a team, to support her and admit that he, just the other day, said she was better than the majority of his team. He lies and denies it and joins in on laughing at her. Viola breaks off the relationship then and there. She also vows to prove they're wrong. She pretends to be her brother and joins, as a boy, his university's male soccer team. The hilarity and gender twisting ensues.

Review

(Before I start, there are spoilers in this review. I will indicate when needed. But, a word of justification, with this type of cinema, I think it's safe to say, we all know the ending. It's the journey that matters)

It's easy to fall into pitfalls of lazy gender cliches reinforcement with so called chick-flicks. First of all, I resent the name. In my vision of the perfect world, we wouldn't have a male nor a female cinema. Chick-flicks would be an awful reminder of an ancient past. An old and forgotten times, when a movie focused on a female market would tell a story of a woman who never feels fullfiled, unless with a male partner. A women who might even have a succesful career but deep down wants a white wedding,  bunch of kids and a closet full of designer clothes. It's also very easy to repeat the gender stereotypes in a film where a man dresses up as a woman or vice versa. The fact they changed clothes doesn't really make any difference. Boys are still typical boys, same goes for girls. Also, it's always so funny to see a man wearing a dress, isn't it?

'She's the man' might sound like yet another one of those movies. It's not only anything but: it's so much more! Viola doesn't dress up like a boy to get a guy. She does it to prove she is equal to a man. She does it to follow her passion. Not once during the whole movie does she need to be saved. ( Spoilers!) In fact, she saves the whole male team. She might be ending up with a guy on her shoulder. But, it's her who gets the guy. NOT the other way round. 

This movie's better than any other teen movie you've ever seen. It's better than 'Bend it like Beckham' which might show some strong girls but they still play on their designated female field. Viola crosses that artificial border. All in all, it's an effortlessly funny (the whole cast is amazing) and very clever movie.

IMDB Page 

The Descent

In terms of strong females in the cinema, this is the new 'Alien(s)' and 'Terminator 1&2'. In fact, it can be argued that 'The Descent' achieved more than what its predecessors: a cast consisting of females almost in its entirety (there is one male character and some extras who don't appear on the screen for longer than a minute). Did I mention the movie aces the infamous Bechdel Test ?


Synopsis
The story focuses on six women and one hell of the caving expedition. Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) has lost her child and her husband a year prior. And, althought we don't get too many details on the rest of the characters, we get enough to gather they are all charismatic and independent young women. They all venture to the Appalachia Mountains to explore a mysterious cave. Little do they know, the cave holds some dangerous surprises.


Review 
The movie begins with an amazing scene where Sarah, Juno (Nathalie Jackson Mendoza)and Beth (Alex Reid) raft through some rough looking river, while Sarah's husband waits with their daughter on the shore. Now, that is some clever and subtle (for a splashy horror) way to communicate the relationship between these people! We have the outdoor type of women (read: tough), sharing the adventurous experience. And, a man, who passively supports their efforts from the safety of the shore. While coming home from their rafting Sarah and her family get into a car accident. Her husband and her child die.

The next scene is somewhat foretelling of Sarah's fate. She wakes up in the hospital with an image of her daughter blowing birthday candles. She struggles into an empty corridor, trying to find her girl. She notices something is terribly wrong. The lights at the end of the corridor go off one by one. The menacing darkness tries to reach her. She tries to escape and screaming, runs into the arms of Beth. Only then, the reality of events truly hits Sarah. The memory of her daughter's birthday is the echoing reflection on the life she ones had and the bitter reminder of the loneliness of her present life. The corridor resembles narrow cave passages. And, in a greater scheme of things, the hospital's corridor might symbolise Sarah's life. The darkness hunting Sarah holds all fears she tries to run away from. She will realise them only in the arms of her friend, Beth. What an absolutely brilliant way to show the strength of female friendship and support!

A year later, the undertaking six women decide on will force them to face their fears and deal with issues they might have with each other. Neil Marshall (the director) does not patronise his protagonists. No cliches of histerical women when confronted with danger. No,so often typical for horrors, scenes with females just screaming and flapping their hands around. This is some serious shit these characters are in. And, trust me, they won't stop fighting until their last drop of blood. What a movie.

IMDB Page

If I had my way...

 

There comes a day in every women's life when she just gets tired. Exhausted of all the laziness we fall into so easily. Me, you and everyone else; we are all guilty. You might say, I am clearly going overboard here. I mean, it's just cinema; it's just tv. At the end of the day, humankind has so much on its plate. But, you see, I can't imagine living withouth the magic of the moving image. And, for me, it's enough to speak out for a better day for it. 

I am bored of laziness of reviews I've been reading. The tv/film critics follow the rules that don't apply to the postmodern society. I'm surprised there's so little on-line talk about feminism in cinema. There should be more buzz about truly independent women characters in the cinema/tv stories. There should be more commotion about some amazing women in the industry. We all (women and men) should not allow the inequality and exploitation. Because, it harms us all. 

So, this is my on-line say, little blog in which I plan to just speak my mind. And, maybe, at some point sparkle some discussion... a girl can dream, right? :)

My plan is to focus on strong women who are really independent. They don't play the helpers role. They don't need to be saved. They stand tall and tough on their own. 

Hang in there, baby!