Blog for Sofia Quintero aka Black Artemis. Ivy League homegirl. Novelist. Filmmaker. Cultural activist. Part-time comedienne. Media literacy maverick, Urban goddess. Unapologetic dilettante. Cancer warrioress.
(Note: If this post is your first encounter with my Feminist Film Moment postings, kindly read the rules of engagement before reading, commenting, etc.)
Written by Josefina Lopez and George LaVoo based on the play by Josefina Lopz
Directed by Patricia Cardoso Cast: America Ferrera, Lupe Ontiveros, Ingrid Oliu, Soledad St. Hilaire
Synopsis: A young Chicana struggles between her mother's cultural expectations and her personal desires.
Moment: The title says it all!
Rationale:
Although told with a Latino cast, Real Women Have Curves tells the universal story of individuating from our parents and their expectations for our lives. This film also shows one take on how gender, cultural and class can intertwine to shape those expectations and make them difficult to resist. But resist Ana Garcia does, and this feminist film moment is only example. In this scene, she doesn't just stand up to her mother (played by the late and underrated Lupe Ontiveros who was one of several people of color overlooked during last month's Oscar in memorian tribute), she inspires resistance to our society's narrow standards of beauty. It's wonderful on film so I can only imagine how powerful it was on stage!
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(Note: If this post is your first encounter with my Feminist Film Moment postings, kindly read the rules of engagement before reading, commenting, etc.)
Written by Michael Elliot and Rick Famuyiwa
Directed by Rick Famuyiwa
Synopsis: Best friends Sydney (Sanaa Lathan) and Andre (Taye Diggs) love hip-hop... and possibly each other.
Moment: Andre's wife Reese confronts Sydney with her love for Andre.
Rationale:
The two women in this scene are deeply emotionally attached to the same
man. Reese (Nicole Ari Parker) is his wife. The other is Sydney (Sanaa Lathan) is his best friend. And here they
cross paths at a boxing class. Naturally, their sparring match is going to
devolve quickly into a catfight, especially 'cause, you know, they're Black
women, right? Wrong! Daps to screenwriters Michael Elliot and Rick
Famuyiwa for resisting lurid expectations by depicting not one but two
multidimensional female characters in conflict who handle the matter with maturity
and dignity.
You may argue, "Well, they're just behaving like
adults." The fact that they're Black women in love with the same man - one of
those proverbial good Black men - makes theirs a feminist interaction because
of the racist (both overt and internalized) pearl-clutching over (1) the number
of marriageable Black men available and the (2) desirability of Black women. I
have no doubt that if Black women were given more opportunities to write and
direct narrative features, scenes such as these would be the norm, reality TV
housewives be damned. Still it's nice to see that some brothers can take the opportunity that male privilege has afforded them and represent the sisters right. Too few of 'em do. And I have to say as a screenwriter, I though this was an effective example of giving characters an interesting context for their conversation, especially when they're characters in conflict.
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(Note: If this post is
your first encounter with my Feminist Film Moment posting, kindly read the rules
of engagement before reading, commenting, etc.)
Written by Abby Kohn, Marc Silverstein, Greg Behrendt and
Liz Tuccillo based on the book of the same name by Greg Behrendt and Liz
Tuccillo
Directed by Ken Kwapis
Synopsis:The film follows several characters of different relationship statuses
as they experiences the trials and tribulations of finding and/or sustaining
love.
Moment: Beth (Jennifer Aniston) realizes that a wedding and
marriage does not a husband make.
Rationale:
He’s Not That Into You
is one of the rare relationship books with a male author (comic Greg Behrendt co-written
with his wife Liz Tuccillo) where you get the sense, “This guy really likes women and wants them to be happy
on their terms.”Not being a work
of fiction, the screenwriters had to work overtime to create characters and
relationships that reflect some of the book’s insights. The result: a rare
rom-com that both men and women can watch, enjoy and discuss. For the most
part, all the relationships are realistic and nuanced, and my favorite
relationship is the 7-year romance between Beth and Neil. She breaks up with
him because he loves her but doesn’t believe in marriage (which is a dumb
saying when you think about it. I mean, marriage exists. It’s not like, you
know, a unicorn or the tooth fairy.)When Neil is there for Beth when she needs him most despite their split,
she realizes that he already embodies everything she wants in a partner without
marriage. This is not to say that marriage doesn’t have its benefits and
charms. It certainly has its privileges for those who can marry. That said,
it’s pretty damn feminist for a heterosexual woman to just appreciate and enjoy
the partnership she has co-created with the man in her life, and especially to
let go of the societal pressure to legally hitch herself to him.
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In celebration of Women’s History Month 2013, I’ll be
posting what I call a Feminist Film Moment every Tuesday and Friday for the
month of March. I welcome comments and suggestions. However, I ask that you keep
in mind the following rules of engagement.
A
selection is not an endorsement of the overall film in general neither with
respect to content nor craft.Chances
are if I deeply appreciate the film, I’ll most likely say so in my
summary.If I can’t stand the movie otherwise,
I’ll probably say that, too.Suffice it
to say, the only thing you can presume is I do appreciate the moment as an
image that advances gender equality even if that's all the movie has going for it.
Don't assume that the clip I selected is reflective of the film's feminist bona
fides. This moment might be all the film has to offer in that regard. And
it may just be the case that if you put the moment in its narrative context, it
just might not be that feminist at all. None of this means, however, that the
film lacks other elements of sociopolitical or artistic merit.
Just
because I deem this to be a feminist moment does not mean it gets a pass with
respect to other social constructions and identities. Sometimes I'll
speak to this in my summary if I have the time and inclination. I'd like these
posts both to be short and leave room for discussion. Hence, my intention is
not to write thorough cinematic essays that cover all the intersections or lack thereof.
If anything, I encourage you to post comments and have discussions in that
regard. All I ask is that you don’t assume that by my posting the clip and
not commenting on something like race, class, sexual orientation etc. necessarily means I missed it. I mean, I might have... which is why I invite you to
comment. What you're not allowed to do is attack me on the assumption that I
don't "get" it.
You’re
not allowed to attack me or anyone else at all. Point, blank, period.
Respectfully and even vigorously disagree, question, challenge… all of this is
a great. If I think your tone or language is any way trolly, I'll publish your comment just to call you out and warn you to check yourself. I won’t boot you without a warning, and I'll do my best to be nice about it, but you’ll only get that treatment once.
I
like the Bechdel test. As a screenwriter, I use it. I’m not using it, however,
to choose clips. While a good exercise to begin discussion, it's not a
fail-proof litmus test for rating the depth of female characters in film.
6. The
clip may be a spoiler or contain triggers. When it comes to the latter, I'll
make a good faith effort to consider that and warn you. As for spoilers, you
read the blog and watch the clips at your own risk. We’re grown here.
7. By
all means, share and comment via Twitter. Please mention me @sofiaquintero so I
see it and use the hashtag #feministfilmmoment. If you’re inspired to elaborate
on your own blog, awesome. It’d be a tremendously appreciative show of integrity
to acknowledge what sparked your musings with a mention and link back to the posting.
8. Have
fun with this! Sure, I’d love for these blogs to be a springboard to thorough
and critical discussions about media literacy, depictions of women in popular
media, and all that good stuff. There’s no reason, however, that we can’t have
a few laughs as we respectfully push each other to expand our understanding of these things.
9. The
rules of engagement are subject to change because, you know, it’s my blog and
shit.
10. Of course, I welcome suggestions, especially
those that are strong on intersectionality, complexly depict underrerepresented
communities, are well-crafted etc. I mean, just because I’m not going to narrowly
restrict myself to these criteria (‘cause you know what that’d mean if I did) doesn't
mean I don't care about these things. So if you have a recommendation fill out
this survey. Please be concise and precise.
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We activists are fond of
saying, “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem, and when
it comes to the representation of Latinos in popular entertainment, the problem remains huge in 2013.
Look no further than this
past Sunday’s Oscar telecast.In
addition to overlooking prolific and gifted actress Lupe Ontiveros in the
memoriam segment, Seth McFarlane’s “joke” about no one understanding nor caring
what Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz or Salma Hayek says because they’re so hot
had a dissertation full of fail. For example, Zoe Saldana – who co-presented earlier a technical award with former co-star Chris Pine a technical award doesn’t
count as a Latina because… what exactly? She’s Black? She’s not hot? She
doesn’t have an accent?Or is she not
hot because she’s Black? Because she’s doesn't have an accent? Or because she's Black and doesn't have an accent? See… layers upon
layers of failure. And let’s not forget the enduring and complex politics of
casting most recently exemplified and further complicated by this year’s Best
Picture ARGO.These are only three
examples of how little Latinos have come in fourteen years since the so-called
Latin Pop Explosion.
Lupe Ontiveros, 1942 - 2012
One way to be part of the
solution is to seize control of our own images and independently produce media
with whatever technology, capital, talent and other resources we have
available. For two seasons, producers Jenny
L. Saldaña and Linda
Nieves-Powell did that with the web series Happy Cancer Chick. Read on in this
third of three installments to discover how they exemplified another saying by
inspirational writer Orison Swett Marden: Don't wait for
extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great!"
SQ: Before HCC, Linda, you were well-known for theater and your novel Freestyle.
What made you decide to realize this concept as a web series instead of, for
example, a play such as YO
SOY LATINA?
LNP:I
love writing.Period.I don't stay in one place for too long.My first short story, The Fly Ass Puerto
Rican Girl from the Stapleton Projects was just published in the Akashic Books
anthology, Staten Island Noir.I love
to try new things and I'm not afraid of the learning curve when doing so.I really wanted to try this out and now that
I have, I think I'll produce more
SQ:With two seasons under
your belt, what advice do you have to others who may have an idea for a web
series?
LNP:Writing, whether it's on the web or TV or the stage is still key
to a successful show.Writing is the
blueprint.If it doesn't work on paper,
it won't work at all. Season 2 I actually got hung up on this a lot.I threw out a lot of ideas before finally
feeling that the current format would be the best format to use.I watch a variety of different webseries,
some feature great actors, great writing, most have great intentions, but a lot
are trying to mimic TV.My favorite
webseries is THE GUILD.It's done really well and the content is
perfect for the medium and demographic.There are other series like THE
MISADVENTURES OF AWKWARD BLACK GIRL, that are about funny moments and less
about story arc.I think ABG structure
is a great format for the web.This
isn't always easy. I'm story driven.So
for me, I have to learn to keep it shorter and sweeter but still have a great
beginning, middle, and end.I find that
the ABG series is more about that moment.I like that.But I can't write
like that.My brain doesn't function in
moments.I need connect ideas and
themes.Stories have to be bigger for
me. So fitting my writing sensibilities
into this tiny, quick format, requires me to build new skills and create ideas
that will fit this format.My overall
advice is do it.Just do it.You won't know until you try.And don't be afraid ofthe unions like SAG/AFTRA or WGA.Jenny and I were able to become members of
the Writer's Guild Of America because of this series and several of our actors
were able to join SAG through our little project.
SQ: So what is next for you? HHC Season 3? Something else?
JLS:I think we've
said all we've wanted to say with HCC. For right now the HCC is going to bed.
I'm working on a book of short stories, and am really enjoying that process of
reliving some of my college antics.
LNP:Yes, we decided that we
said everything we wanted to say about HCC for now. If someone came along with an idea for future
episodes, I'd think about it. For now, I've been developing a few projects the
last few months, one for the stage and a few screenplays. As for the web, I have a couple of ideas I'm
developing. One is very close to being
finished. Now that I know the medium a little better I want to try a few
things. I find that I can now play in
two worlds instead of one. The web (new
format) and the real world (traditional format).
Here are Parts I
and II
of my Q & A with the fierce women behind Happy Cancer Chick. In the
meantime, you can check out all five webisodes here and
on Facebook. And by
all means, comment and share!
