Tag: Diversity
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“The Slumber Party Massacre” Satirizes Slasher Tropes While They Are Still Being Established
The Slumber Party Massacre wonderfully combines the suspense of its horror with its commentary on gender, creating a memorable slasher classic that began a horror trilogy entirely written and directed by women.
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Why “The Birdcage” is Still Worth Celebrating 25 Years Later
Perhaps the most amazing and groundbreaking quality about The Birdcage is how removed it is from both illness and insensitivity. Whereas films preceding it were often somber stories about the tribulations of being gay in a conservatively straight world, Nichols and screenwriter Elaine May expose the fallacies of conservatism as traditional values are thrown into…
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A New Masculinity: “The Mandalorian” Redefines Male Representation in Star Wars
The Mandolorian has a more nuanced and commentative take on masculinity that refrains from praising the toxic traits associated with the social category, while also showing a more positive and transformative representation of masculine characters.
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“She’s Gotta Have It” was Ahead of the Curve in Portrayal of Female Sexuality
In Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It (1986), we follow the love life of powerful female protagonist Nola Darling (Tracy Camilla Johns) and explore the relationship dynamics she has with her partners. She sees three men simultaneously: Greer Childs, (John Canada Terrell) Mars Blackmon (Spike Lee), and Jamie Overstreet (Tommy Redmond Hicks). Though an 80’s…
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Pixar’s Objectification Obsession in “Inner Workings” and Beyond
Like all modern societal phenomenons, it started with a meme. This one highlighted that when there’s a mom in a Pixar film, she is almost without fail given striking curves that highlight the bottom half of her body following a minuscule waist. From Elastigirl to the skeletal Mama Imelda, the animation giant’s artists seem to…
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Stowaway: Netflix’s Latest Space Hit
In Stowaway, director Joe Penna narrates the story of a starship crew (Anna Kendrick as Zoe Levenson; Toni Collette as Marina Barnett; and Daniel Dae Kim as David Kim) struggling with serious technical problems on a two-year mission to Mars. During the trip, they discover aboard the presence of Michael (Shamier Anderson), a stowaway who…
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“Bliss” is Magnetic Despite its Flaws
Bliss describes itself as “a mind-bending love story”, and it delivers. Greg (Owen Wilson) begins his journey as a very average, workaday introvert whose serendipitous misfortune leads him to Isabel (Salma Hayek). As her nomadic, rebellious spirit draws him into her “off the grid” lifestyle, she possesses and shares with him an unusual set of…
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‘Hysterical’ is an Absolute Must-See of 2021
In recent weeks, I’ve been on a quest to delve into the disparities in representation within the stand-up comedy community. With no shortage of stand-up specials constantly being released across every platform, it seems only fitting to dig deeper into a behind-the-scenes look at how certain advantages and disadvantages take their toll on diverse joke-telling.…
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Outer Banks Ignores Its Racial Context
Outer Banks (2020-) knows its audience: young adults in a country that can’t stop romanticizing good ole’ treasure hunts. Add a little of Riverdale’s (2017-) sex appeal, and no one can look away. Forty years after The Goonies (1985) America’s consciousness hasn’t strayed from the same tropes: treasure hunts, a vulnerable white male lead, and the whitewashing…
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How Subtle is Too Subtle in ‘Nomadland’?
Minor Spoilers Ahead They say home is where the heart is, and Nomadland is all heart…if you project onto it, at least. Following a woman living in her van going from one temporary, minimum-wage job to the next, the film gives some insight into a world often hidden from the on-screen due to its often…