STUDENTS OF ENGLISH 405 (UNIVERSITY OF PUGET SOUND, SPRING 2002) RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING MOVIES, WHICH CONCERN A VARIETY OF GENDER ISSUES. THE STUDENTS HAVE BRIEFLY ANNOTATED THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS.
Courtney Pfahl Recommends the following films:
But I’m a Cheerleader (2000). Michelle Williams, Melanie Lynskey, Mink
Stole, Julie Delpy, Bud Cort. Dir: Jamie Babbitt A popular high school cheerleader has trouble accepting her homosexuality and
is sent to a homosexual rehabilitation center. Addresses the questions of whether homosexuality is "wrong" and
also whether homosexuality is biological or a social construct.
Foxfire (1996). Angelina Jolie, Hedy Burress, Jenny Lewis. Dir: Annette
Haywood-Carter.
A social misfit enters a group of high school female’s lives, causing them
to question their identities.Questions social conventions in regard to what it means to be a woman.
Girl, Interrupted (1999). Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Clea DuVall,
Brittany Murphy, Elizabeth Moss. Dir: James Mangold
After a suicide attempt a recent high school graduate is sent to a mental
institution. By presenting women in extreme mental situations, this movie is able to show
social problems that women faced in the 1960s, such as eating disorders,
promiscuousness, and career opportunities.
Heathers (1989). Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk. Dir: Michael Lehmann
Jawbreaker (1998). Rose McGowan, Rebecca Gayheart, Judy Greer, Chad Christ. Dir: Darren Stein. The most popular girls in school accidentally murder one of their friends during a birthday prank.
Heathers and its more recent remake, Jawbreaker, show the stereotypical, popular, high school clique and expose the nasty tendencies beneath this ideal female exterior.
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001). Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Jason Lee, Chris Rock, Shannon Elizabeth. Dir: Kevin Smith. Because of internet trash-talk, Jay and Silent Bob journey to Hollywood to stop a movie that is being made about them.
Mallrats (1997). Shannen Doherty, Jeremy London, Jason Lee, Claire Forlani, Priscilla Barnes. Dir: Kevin Smith. Two men experiencing recent breakups hang out at the mall and devise a plot to win their ex-girlfriends back.Both of these Kevin Smith Movies expose and exaggerate social stereotypes of how men view women.
The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human (1999). Carmen Electra, David Hyde Pierce, Mackenzie Astin, Lucy Liu. Dir: Jeff Abugov.A psuedo-documentary on the mating habits of human beings. What could be more fitting to gender studies than taking an objective look at the mating habits of our species?
The People Under the Stairs (1991). Everett McGill, Wendy Robie, Brandon Adams, A.J. Langer. Dir: Wes Craven. Trying to find a perfect child of each gender, a sister and brother posing as a married couple steal children. Parody on the nursery rhyme illusion that girls are made of sugar, spice and everything nice while boys are made of snakes, snails and puppy dog tails.
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994). Terence Stamp, Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce. Dir: Stephan Elliot. Three drag queens journey across the desert in Australia to perform a drag show.
To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995). Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze, John Leguizamo. Dir: Beeban Kidron Two contest winning drag queens and a queen in training set off for LA, but break down in the middle of nowhere and have to deal with homophobia. In viewing the gender identity in the extreme anti-norm, i.e. studying the male gender from the perspective of the drag queen, one is able to make judgments on what gender really amounts to and when conventions are just absurd. Completely off the subject, did you know that David Duchovny was a cross-dresser in the Twin Peaks series?
Catherine Cambra recommends the following films:
Mulan. Rated: G. Directed by: Jeff Tracha (1998) Disney’s first genuinely liberated woman dons her father’s armor to replace him in combat.
Boys Don’t Cry. Rated: R. Starring Hillary Swank. Directed by: Kimberly
Peirce. (1999) 20-year-old Teena Brandon assumes the identity of Brandon Teena
because she has a sexual identity crisis. The unraveling of her identity
culminates in her eventual rape and murder in a small Midwestern town because
she is viewed as a freak.
Allison Callan recommends the following films:
Boys Don't Cry (1999). Hillary Swank, Chloe Sevigny. Dir: Kimberly Peirce. Young Nebraskan woman living as a man deals with the effects of crossing gender boundaries. [Film shows reality of life outside the two-gender system.]
Elizabeth (1999). Cate Blanchett, Joseph Fiennes. Dir: Shekhar Kapur. Henry XIII's youngest daughter, a Protestant, takes throne despite Catholic protest. [Film questions systems of partriarchal government.]
Kelsey King recommends the following movies:
Clueless (1995) Alicia Silverstone, Paul Rudd, Stacey Dash and Brittany
Murphy. Directed by Amy Heckerling. An a-typical, wealthy Beverly Hills
teenager experiences superficial adolescent dilemmas.
[An over-feminized heroine degrades women by displaying a lack of
intelligence and sensibility in this recreation of Jane Austen's Emma]
The Birdcage (1996) Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Dan Futterman, Gene
Hackman. Directed by Mike Nichols. The hilarious comedy depicting the
struggles a homosexual couple goes through in trying to by typical American
parents to their only son. [Highly saturated with gender stereotypes, the
film portrays the struggle a young man goes through to conform his
homosexual, transvestite parents into 'normal' people]
Erin Miner recommends the following films:
Aliens. (1986). Sigourney Weaver, Paul Reiser, Bill Paxton. Director: James Cameron. Woman returns from drifting in space to fight predatory aliens. Film successfully creates a woman action hero while playing up maternal instinct.
Chasing Amy. (1997). Ben Affleck, Joey Adams, Jason Lee. Director: Kevin Smith. A passionate couple ultimately discovers their different ideas about love can drive a wedge between them. A lesbian falls in love with a man who cannot find a balance between her undefined sexual orientation and his set perceptions of the world.
Anna Bugge recommends the following films:
Parenthood (1989). Steve Martin. Dir: Ron Howard. A comedy surrounding the perils of modern American family life. Gender roles are explored as parents raise their kids (forever), and work to maintain, or dissolve marital bonds.
Zorba the Greek (1964). Anthony Quinn. Alan Bates. Dir: Michael Cacoyannis. A British man comes of age rather late, as he learns about gender roles in Crete, and makes a wonderful friend along the way.
Susan Duis recommends the following films:
How to Marry a Millionaire (1953). Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe, Lauren
Bacall, Rory Calhoun. Dir. Jean Negulesco. Three women (all working as
clothing models) set out to marry wealthy husbands in any way possible, but
end up finding true love instead. The film employs negative stereotypes of
women (ditzy blonde, money-hungry women, etc.), and while it rejects
marrying for money the women end up rather powerless as to their
situation/love/monetary status.
The Philadelphia Story (1940). Carey Grant, James Stewart, Katherine
Hepburn. Dir. George Kukor. On the eve of her second marriage, wealthy,
headstrong Tracy Lord encounters a nosy reporter and her exhusband, forcing
her to reevaluate her life and her self. The film shows the struggle for a
woman to be independent yet not be seen as an 'ice queen', America's
fascination with seeing how the rich live through tabloids, and questions
women's role in marriage in general (re: her first marriage, her parents'
relationship). I'm not sure if the conclusion is completely positive, but
she seems happy ...
Perfect Blue (animated, 1997). Junko Iwao, Rica Matsumoto, Shinpachi Tsuji,
Masaaki Ôkura. Dir. Satoshi Kon. Teen pop idol Mima decides to change her
image and become a serious actress; to do so, she must not only face the
ghost of her pop-star self, but fend off an obsessive, murderous fan. Public
ideals of the teen pop idol, the influence of the entertainment industry,
values (including morality, sexuality, and individual free-will) and
personal motivations are all put to the test as a young girl tries to change
her image not only for herself but also to the public.
Charlie's Angels (2000). Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu, Drew Berrymore, Bill
Murray, Tim Curry. Dir. Joseph McGinty Nichol. Three fantastically
beautiful, athletic, and intelligent women (each with very unique
personalities, mind you) kick, flirt, and high-tech their way through
solving a case for Charlie, their mysterious benefactor and boss. Mindless
yet entertaining, the movie is consciously (and constantly) exploitative
about the women's sexuality. It's so over-the-top that the gender
stereotypes it presents become the real butt of the jokes (to me). Yet,
regardless of how tough they seem, the 'angels' are also vulnerable to love
and men in general. And, lest I forget, there are countless slo-mo shots of
their long luscious hair streaming out behind them. Seriously. ... Is it so
inane that it can be called good? I haven't decided yet.
Jeannie Stuyvesant recommends the following films:
When Harry Met Sally (1989). Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan.
Director: Rob Reiner. Two longtime friends grapple the possibility of a platonic
friendship over the course of their twelve-year relationship. The film explores
the complications that arise in hetero-social relationships.
The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins. Director: Jonathon Demme. Explores the relationship between psychopath and serial killer Hannibal Lecter and FBI investigator Clarice Starling. The roles that emerge within their relationship oscillate between psychopath/female agent, psychologist/patient, and father/daughter, which distribute and redistribute power within the relational structures.
Lisa Janes recommends the following films:
Someone Like You. 2001. Directed by: Tony Goldwyn, starring: Ashley Judd, Greg Kinnear, and Hugh Jackmann. A young woman finds romance with her least likely prospect after being dumped by her boss's boyfriend. Beforefinding true love, however, she struggles to regain her self-confidence by developing what she calls the "old cow theory", which she broadcasts publicly in an attempt to link her own experiences with male infidelity to men of all species.
High Art. 1997. Directed by: Lisa Cholodenko. Starring: Ally Sheedy and Radha Mitchell. On an assignment to fix a leaky pipe in her neighbor's apartment, a young superintendent finds serendipitous romance and lands the job of her dreams witht he help of her new lover. She explores her sexuality, leaving her boyfriend and the straight life behind for Lucy, a dark, passionate, and talented photographer.
Kat Griffin Recommends the following films:
Threesome. (1994) Josh Charles, Stephan Baldwin, Lara Flynn Boyle. Director: Andrew Fleming. The three roommates include the sensitive male, the overly testosterone male and the stuck in the middle female who has fallen for the sensitive yet homosexual male who has fallen for the testosterone male while he lusts after her in a confusing yet blatant ménage a trois while the rest of the college campus watches.
This movie explores all crossing of gender lines with the intertwining of heterosexual and homosexual relationships along with the curiosity of college students exploring new sexual identities.
Miss Congeniality. (2000) Sandra Bullock, Benjamin Bratt, Michael Caine. Director: Donald Petrie. Tomboy FBI agent Gracie Hart (Sandra Bullock) has to go undercover as Miss New Jersey at the United States Pageant to find the Unabomber terrorist who has threatened to bomb the pageant.
In an ugly duckling turned into a swan type of way, girls will learn from this movie that they can be FBI agents and kick butt while also wearing a tight evening dress and heels.Rena Dudzic recommends the following films:
The Silence of the Lambs. (1991). Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins. Dir:
Jonathan Demme. A female FBI trainee hunts down a serial killer by gaining the trust of another killer. She is a female working in a male dominated field, a fact that is in the forefront of her entire investigation and the entire movie.
Thelma and Louise. (1990). Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis. Dir: Ridley Scott. Two girl friends on a roadtrip become fugitives running from the law.These two women leave their traditionally domestic, objectified, and
traditionally feminine roles behind as they move outside of society and embark on an outlaw's adventure--with interesting consequences.