Look at all the awesome DVDs we got in today! Home Use: Free Solo (DVD 16217) Can You Ever Forgive Me? (DVD 16218) Colette (DVD 16219) At Eternity’s Gate (DVD 16220) Crazy Rich Asians (DVD 16221) Crazy Rich Asians (BLU 16221) Shoplifters (DVD 16222) Boy Erased (DVD 16223) Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman … Continue reading “New Acquisitions!”
Look at all the awesome DVDs we got in today!
Home Use:
Free Solo (DVD 16217)
Can You Ever Forgive Me? (DVD 16218)
Colette (DVD 16219)
At Eternity’s Gate (DVD 16220)
Crazy Rich Asians (DVD 16221)
Crazy Rich Asians (BLU 16221)
Shoplifters (DVD 16222)
Boy Erased (DVD 16223)
Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman (DVD 16224)
We have some fresh, new-to-DVD additions to the collection today! Home Use: Paddington 2 (DVD 16211) Thor: Ragnarok (DVD 16212) A Star is Born (DVD 16213) Bohemian Rhapsody (DVD 16214) Widows (DVD 16215) Mandy (DVD 16216)
We have some fresh, new-to-DVD additions to the collection today!
This week’s random movie is a two for one: DVD 7446 holds two silent movies, Salome and Lot in Sodom. here are our summaries for the films: Salomé: Salomé dances for King Herod and demands that the head of John the Baptist be brought to her on a platter Lot in Sodom: A lyrical interpretation … Continue reading “Random Movie Monday — DVD 7446”
This week’s random movie is a two for one: DVD 7446 holds two silent movies, Salome and Lot in Sodom. here are our summaries for the films:
Salomé: Salomé dances for King Herod and demands that the head of John the Baptist be brought to her on a platter
Lot in Sodom: A lyrical interpretation of the Biblical Old Testament story based on rhythmical arrangements of symbols rather than on chronological development of action
Salome is based off an Oscar Wilde work, but both Salome Lot in Sodom are great examples of surrealist cinema.
What’s the theme of this week’s whiteboard? Why, the Bechdel Test, of course! The Bechdel Test originated in a 1985 strip of Dykes to Watch Out For, a comic by renowned cartoonist (and MacArthur Genius Grant recipient) Alison Bechdel. In order for a movie to pass her test, it must: Feature two or more named … Continue reading “The Bechdel What?”
What’s the theme of this week’s whiteboard? Why, the
Bechdel Test, of course!
The Bechdel Test originated in a 1985 strip of Dykes to Watch Out For, a comic by
renowned cartoonist (and MacArthur Genius Grant recipient) Alison Bechdel. In order for a movie to pass her test, it
must:
Feature two or more named female characters
Who talk to each other
About something other than a man
This test is admittedly a low bar—a movie can pass with
just one line of dialogue between two women. However, it’s frustrating that so
many movies made today fail to pass, more than twenty years after the test’s
inception. It’s also an incomplete measurement. Star Wars:A New Hope
really, really fails the Bechdel Test, but it introduced the world to Princess
Leia, who takes over her own rescue operation after Luke, Han, and Chewie start
floundering. Four decades later, most recent addition to the main Star Wars
films, Star Wars: The Last Jedi
barely passes the Bechdel test, but characters like Rey, Rose, Leia, and Admiral
Holdo are essential to the plot.
So, what’s a girl to do? Is there any good, uniform way
to tell if a movie is sexist or not? Well, when I’m evaluating a movie, I like
to add Kelly Sue DeConnick’s “Sexy Lamp Test,” in with the Bechdel for a more
complete picture.
But what’s the Sexy Lamp Test? If you can replace a
female character with a sexy lamp, and the main plot of the movie is
unimpacted, then it fails the Sexy Lamp Test. Essentially, it’s a measure of
how relevant a woman is to a story.
Unfortunately, there was no good way to highlight the
Bechdel and Sexy Lamp tests on one
small whiteboard. Still, we were dissatisfied with giving the movies we
highlight a simple pass/fail grade. So we came up with the report card. We
awarded movies that passed the Bechdel Test with flying colors (like Persepolis, Legally Blonde, Hidden Figures,
and Thelma and Louise) an A+. Movies
that passed by the skin of their teeth (like Rogue One) we gave Cs. Other movies that did a better job, but didn’t
feature multiple Bechdel Conversations, we awarded Bs.
And if they failed the Bechdel Test? Then they straight up failed. No grey areas there. Because really. Women make up 50% of the world’s population. We talk about waaay more than mediocre men. We deserve to see ourselves in the movies we watch.
It’s women’s history month, and I have thought long and hard about how I want to celebrate it here on the blog. I’ve decided that it’s the perfect time to celebrate AU alumnae on film. The first alumnae on my list is Alice Paul. Alice Paul was a suffragist, feminist, and a founder of the … Continue reading “Women’s History Month — Biopics About AU Women”
It’s women’s history month, and I have thought long and hard about how I want to celebrate it here on the blog. I’ve decided that it’s the perfect time to celebrate AU alumnae on film.
The first alumnae on my list is Alice Paul. Alice Paul
was a suffragist, feminist, and a founder of the National Woman’s Party – she also
earned three degrees from American University. First a law degree in 1922 (from
WCL), a master of laws degree in 1927, and civil law PhD in 1928. She’s currently prominently displayed on the
pillars of the Kerwin Building.
Paul was born to a Quaker family in New Jersey in 1885, and learned the values of public service and suffrage from her parents. After graduating from Swarthmore College, she spent a year as a social worker in New York City before moving to Britain, where she became active in the suffrage movement, specifically civil disobedience. Once she returned to the United States, she threw herself into the American suffrage movement, organizing the 1913 Woman Suffrage procession in DC. After clashing with the leadership of National American Woman Suffrage Organization (NAWSA), Alice eventually left the organization to form the National Woman’s Party in 1916. There, Paul pushed for more militant tactics in order to enshrine women’s right to vote in the Constitution. She was even arrested in 1917 for “obstructing traffic” while picketing.
After achieving the constitutional amendment in 1920,
Paul turned her attention to advocating for an Equal Rights Amendment. Paul
would champion this cause for the rest of her life, and it was partially
through her advocacy and influence that gender-based discrimination was
included in the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Paul died in 1977, but her legacy lives on in the fact
that I and millions of other American women can vote, and in film and media. One
of those films, Iron Jawed Angels, is
currently available to rent from Media Services. It stars Hilary Swank as Paul,
along with a great ensemble cast that includes Angelica Huston.
Currently, Iron Jawed Angels is the only biopic/historical drama about an AU alumnae, but there’s another in the works. A Woman of No Importance is set to star Daisy Ridley (of Star Wars fame), and will tell the story of Virginia Hall, an AU alum/Allied superspy in WWII France. Hall played a crucial role in organizing the French Resistance, and eventually had to flee France after the Nazis put her on their most wanted list. She crossed the Pyrenees into Spain on foot, a feat all the more remarkable due to her wooden prosthetic leg, which she nicknamed “Cuthbert.”
I’ve been a Virginia Hall fangirl since the age of eight, when I saw a display about her at the International Spy Museum. A Woman of No Importance is supposed to be released this year, but given the fact that no supporting cast has been announced, I doubt it’ll be in theaters anytime soon.
And… that’s it. That’s the list. Which makes me kind of sad, because this short list is indicative of the rest of the film industry write large. There aren’t nearly enough biopics about women in history.
Welcome back from spring break! Today’s random movie is DVD 10945, Cosmopolis. Here’s our summary: Eric Packer, a 28-year-old billionaire asset manager, heads out in his tricked-out stretch limo, while remotely wagering his company’s massive fortune on a bet against the Chinese Yuan. Little does he know his perfectly ordered, doubt-free world is about to … Continue reading “Random Movie Monday — Cosmopolis”
Welcome back from spring break! Today’s random movie is DVD 10945, Cosmopolis. Here’s our summary:
Eric Packer, a 28-year-old billionaire asset manager, heads out in his tricked-out stretch limo, while remotely wagering his company’s massive fortune on a bet against the Chinese Yuan. Little does he know his perfectly ordered, doubt-free world is about to implode.
This week’s random DVD is DVD 9156 — Martin. This 1978 film is a weird journey through Pittsburgh and its suburbs, seen through the eyes of a young man, Martin, who believes himself to be a vampire. Martin starts out sinister, and gets more so as the film progresses, going from drugging women in order … Continue reading “Random Movie Monday — Martin”
This week’s random DVD is DVD 9156 — Martin. This 1978 film is a weird journey through Pittsburgh and its suburbs, seen through the eyes of a young man, Martin, who believes himself to be a vampire. Martin starts out sinister, and gets more so as the film progresses, going from drugging women in order to drink their blood to outright rape and possibly murder.
Horror is uh… definitely not my thing. But if it’s yours, consider checking this out.
We have several new DVDs for your viewing pleasure. Campus Use Mi querida Senorita (DVD 14973) Human Flow (DVD 16181) Border Politics: I Wonder Where Our Democracy is Headed (DVD 16179) Home Use Solas (DVD 14971) Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (DVD 9614) What Have I Done to Deserve This? (DVD 5585) Marxism: The … Continue reading “New DVDs!”
We have several new DVDs for your viewing pleasure.
Campus Use
Mi querida Senorita (DVD 14973)
Human Flow (DVD 16181)
Border Politics: I Wonder Where Our Democracy is Headed (DVD 16179)
Home Use
Solas (DVD 14971)
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (DVD 9614)
What Have I Done to Deserve This? (DVD 5585)
Marxism: The Theory That Split a World (DVD 16180)
When the random number generator spat back DVD 5234 at me, I assumed this was going to be a documentary or biographical film about the infamous outlaw. Not so! Instead, Jennifer Venditti’s 2007 documentary follows Billy, an oddball, outsider teenager in rural Maine. The film won Best Documentary at the 2007 South by Southwest festival. … Continue reading “Random Movie Monday — Billy the Kid”
When the random number generator spat back DVD 5234 at me, I assumed this was going to be a documentary or biographical film about the infamous outlaw. Not so! Instead, Jennifer Venditti’s 2007 documentary follows Billy, an oddball, outsider teenager in rural Maine. The film won Best Documentary at the 2007 South by Southwest festival. Here’s our summary:
The story of Billy, an articulate but isolated fifteen-year-old boy trying to figure out life and death, love, and rock and roll. Billy wanders through a small town in Maine, trying to traverse the frustrating gap between imagination and reality.
The film is an intriguing look at the type of teenager you could find at almost any high school in the US, but there’s something about Billy that’s bursting with a unique energy.