Grace and I are looking for guest reviewers to cover Speed Racer and Prince Caspian (plus an optional extra review of Narnia) in the next few weeks. We would appreciate someone who will take a look at the films in terms of feminism and anti-racism, while also monitoring for class, national origin, sexual orientation, disability issues, etc. If you want to take one or both, please email us ASAP. If you don't have a blog, that's fine, as long as you can send us a brief writing sample so we know your review won't come out "HEY DUDEZ THIS F1LM RUUUUULD!!!"

Now on to the links.

First, a big ol' apology to the always awesome People of Colour in SF Carnival, which posted a day or two before we did our carnival last week. My Google Reader was overflowing and I totally missed it. Go there! Go there now!

News blurbs recently:

• Ghost in the Shell going to be adapted in 3-D.
• Moon Bloodgood has been cast as the female lead in Terminator 4 (she's also now in Street Fighter, says Cinematical)
• Finally, A Dystopia Grim Enough For Vin Diesel with stills from Babylon A.D. on io9

Bizarre interview reprinted from USA Today at ComicBookMovie.com: The Supergirlfriends of Batman, Hulk & Iron Man. Gwyneth Paltrow apparently thinks "Comic books are still for boys." Maybe that's why she was so lifeless in Iron Man? Maybe if you're going to get caught sneaking into an office, you should at least TRY to bluff instead of just looking terrified? Maybe when your boyfriend is on the roof, you could try yelling "Get off the roof, dammit!" instead of screaming "But you'll die!"

To be fair, Patrick at The Hathor legacy thought Pepper was fine. Jess McCabe has something to say about it on The F-Word blog, and links to this awesome post at WOC PhD.

Elisabeth Rappe over at Cinematical asserts that Frank Miller Loves Tough Girls, in reference to the forthcoming film The Spirit.

(I love the descriptions of the women in this synopsis from Lionsgate:

...a bevy of beautiful women who either want to seduce, love or kill our masked crusader. Surrounding him at every turn are ELLEN DOLAN (Sarah Paulson), the whip-smart girl-next-door; SILKEN FLOSS (Scarlett Johansson), a punk secretary and frigid vixen; PLASTER OF PARIS (Paz Vega), a murderous French nightclub dancer; LORELEI (Jaime King), a phantom siren; and MORGENSTERN (Stana Katic), a sexy young cop. Then of course, there's SAND SAREF (Eva Mendes), the jewel thief with dangerous curves. She's the love of his life turned bad.

With characters like that, how can we lose? Oh, I mean, how can we win?)

Sarah Seltzer gives us a little link love in Take Back The Screen at R H RealityCheck, analyzing the portrayal of rape and assault in film. She mentions 300 and Spiderman, so go take a look.

I have a really hard time believing that Zombie Strippers is an intellectual feast.

The 58th Carnival of the Feminists is up at Be A Good Human, who then moved to Hop To It.

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Welcome to the 21st Edition of the Carnival of Feminist Science Fiction and Fantasy Fans. We're glad to include some new voices this time as well as some old favorites.

Props to Uncool, host of the 53rd Carnival of the Feminists, for clever use of alphabetization as a carnival organizing technique. It's not as lush as the technique we used last time, which was to spend 1.2 million hours organizing by theme and including long quotes and pictures, but doing it this way meant we could actually get it done!

So here we go:

A

Alan Kistler at Alan Kistler's Universe gives his thoughts on women in Marvel.

Mana G takes a look at Stargate: Atlantis - Gender, Race, and Teyla's Baby at All Mirth and No Matter.

Niall at All Things Uncertain gives a very favorable review to Jeanette Winterson's The Stone Gods.

C

Announcement: Cerise is looking for interviewers.

D

Dollymix asks Do Video Games Need More Naked People? If Skye had written that post, she wouldn't have been able to say "Thanks" to Kotaku without adding "for totally missing the point, you morons."

F

Naamen talks about The Fantasy of Rape: The Use of Rape as a Catalyst on Female Protagonists in SF/F at Feminist SF - The Blog!

Shannan takes on the problems of race and gender in Torchwood at Feminist SF - The Blog!

G

okelle at Garden of Words has some media recommendations.

H

Hathor Legacy's Revena tells us about Nim's (almost awesome) island.

Patrick at The Hathor Legacy gives an introduction to Justice League.

I

Ink-Stained Amazon Jennifer introduces The Sarah Jane Adventures and discusses the issue of powerful women being mentored by men.

Rhonda Jones, the Independent Author, Grace - Chapter 1: Bad Cargo. (We ask you, what's not to love about a blog with the tagline "Humor. Guns. Spaceships. Freedom."?)

L

nenena at Little Iron loves Wonder Woman, loves Shadow Hunter, and had a complete freak-out about Sakura Taisen, which "features one of the greatest casts of kick-ass women ever featured in a combined video game/anime/manga/novel/stage musical franchise."

LesbiaNation give us their Top 10 Women of Sci-Fi.

P

Kylie at PodBlack Blog gets our attention with a post titled From 'Bimbos' To Books And Wonder Women.

S

Filed under S for Shameless Self-Promotion: Grace loves on Firefly and Serenity here at Heroine Content.

T

The 2007 Tiptree Award for "gender-exploring science fiction" was announced this month! Congratulations to all the nominees and to winner Sarah Hall for The Carhullan Army (Daughters of the North)!

W

Katie King at Women, Art and Culture discusses the history of women in science fiction.

Naamen makes his second appearance in the Carnival with Female Protagonists and Why I Connect With Them Across Gender Lines posted at Words From The Center, Words From The Edge. Some good discussion of both gender and race in this one.

In Conclusion

The location of the next Carnival of Feminist Science Fiction and Fantasy Fans is as yet unknown, but keep your eyes peeled!

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A few news items about movies I've been tracking. Cinematical says Rose McGowan is Still Barbarella. Also, Rogue Giving Femme-Centric Comic Book a Chance - 'Hack/Slash' on the Way. Then, we find out that Michelle Yeoh is in Babylon A.D. as a butt-kicking nun, but the movie has been edited from 160 to 90 minutes. Yikes. Finally, Radha Mitchell, who was in Silent Hill, poor thing, will be in a sci-fi thriller called The Surrogates. Can't quite tell if it's an action role, but it looks promising.

There is going to be another Ultraviolet, this time anime. All I can do is show you the entirety of the notes I took when I reviewed it:

And not in that good way.

You should read Firefly: The Trouble With Saffron by Purtek at The Hathor Legacy.

The Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film is being created at San Diego State University.

The Carnival of Allies has been announced at The Angry Black Woman. The April edition of Cerise is up. The 57th Carnival of the Feminists is up.

And an old one: Decoding Hot Girl-on-Girl Action by Lisa Jervis, LiP Magazine, as published on Alternet.

Have a good weekend, everyone.

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I liked Doomsday. Cinematical liked Doomsday, though I can't figure out why the reviewer thought Sinclair was a doctor/scientist - she's obviously the muscle. io9 also liked Doomsday.

Hollywood's 6 Favorite Offensive Stereotypes by Juan Arteaga on Cracked was, well, a crack-up. And a really good, thoughtful read. So of course the commenters slammed it repeatedly.

The 55th Carnival of the Feminists is up at Penny Red. The 56th Carnival of the Feminists is up at Redemption Blues.

A couple of older links:

Bad Heroines, by Mary Spicuzza, published in the San Jose Metroactive in 2001. You know, back in the good old days when heroines abounded.

Revena, on the Hathor Legacy, reviewed Fantastic Four 2. My favorite quote: "I think I knew from the moment Jessica Alba looked into the camera while sporting contacts that made her look like she'd been vacationing on Arrakis and eating melange between the two films that things were not going to go well." I was interested to learn, though, that a character who was white in the comics was cast as black in the movie. Is that a first? (Also see these thoughts on Jessica Alba's appearance on notcoming.)

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Doomsday isn't being screened for critics. I'm going to see it anyway. Will it be another waste of babysitting, or a "so bad it's good" excuse to get out of the house? I will report back this evening.

On to the links.

Reese Witherspoon: Action Star? "Why does the guy get to shoot him - why can't the girl shoot him?" Excellent question, Ms. W.

io9 has been rockin' it lately. Worst Possible Outfits for the Apocalypse. Why All Female Superheroes Look the Same. Similarly, see If Lucas Had Given Vader a Love Interest on Feminist Law Professors.

You know your blog is totally sweet when people blog comments on the comments. Check out this analysis of a comment by d here at HC on Grace's review of the Kill Bill films.

The 8th People of Color in SF and Fantasy Carnival is up at Subtle, Yet Effective Mood Adjustment. The 54th Carnival of the Feminists is up at in a strange land.

And a few from yesteryear:

Resident Evil: Extinction, a review at femtique. Here's my review of the third RE film, quite inferior to the first in the series. Even with the zombie crows.

The intro to the book Reel Knockouts: Violent Women in the Movies, edited by Martha McCaughey and Neal King, is available on Mr. King's website. I have asked the library to have it waiting for me next time I stop by, but you might want to read a bit online and see what you think.

Female film heroes: Yu Shu Lien and Jen Yu from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon on Dollymix.

Superwomen Belted, Buckled and Booted on Ink-Stained Amazon, about Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

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Hello all, I'm back with another round of Friday links. I'm sure you were all devastated when I missed last week.

I try to keep an eye on Heroine Content contenders that are in the pipeline, but I had never heard of Twilight until now. It's a teen vampire thing. I'm having bad flashbacks to Blood and Chocolate, but I'll pencil it in anyway.

I have been waiting to review Starship Troopers until I am in a mean mood, since it is so awful, but Starship Troopers 3 is apparently on its way to DVD and some people are taking it seriously. I imagine the fact that it's "actually based on" a Heinlein novel would tend to make it more sexist, though.

It's only 24 minutes long, but the documentary Kick Like A Girl looks quite interesting. "The 24-minute documentary examines what happens when the Mighty Cheetahs, an unbeaten elementary school level girls soccer team, graduates to a boys' league." It will allegedly be available online in March at a website which is currently a parked page.

Amy Monaghan called out My Super Ex-Girlfriend as one of the most misogynistic movies of the decade in her article No Country for Fat Chicks. Grace gave it no stars.

It's not specifically about action films, but check out I am woman, hear me snore by Stephanie Bunbury at The Age. Also see And the best frock is ... by Sarah Churchwell at The Guardian.

The 53rd Carnival of the Feminists and the 54th Carnival of the Feminists were posted recently. Props to Uncool, host of the 53rd, for clever use of alphabetization as an organizing technique.

And some quality links from the past...

Seeing Red by Kalinara at Pretty, Fizzy Paradise, about Red Sonja.

Beyond Children of the Atom: Black Politics, White Minds and the X-Men by Morpheus Reloaded.

how to fight like a girl, a mega-piece about action heroines focusing on Alien, Aliens, Terminator 2, Tank Girl, Long Kiss Goodnight, and Supercop. I have not made it all the way through, honestly, though I'm working on it.

Finally, a shout out to Bitch Magazine. Bitch #38 arrived with a back-page feature on women with amnesia in the movies. One of the four films mentioned is Heroine Content fave The Long Kiss Goodnight. Author Taylor Hudson describes the moral of the film as follows, and we think it's just right:

Suburban sweetness is transient; sharpshooting skills are forever.

Good night, everyone.

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A couple of new links:

Brooke Shields drives Green Lantern crazy in 'New Frontier' on Comics2Film. I have no idea why they chose that title for the article. Love the quotes from Shields about her desire to play an action heroine.

The first trailer for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull shows a hint of Cate Blanchett as a uniformed villain. Can we hope she'll kick a little butt?

And a few older ones:

The Portrayal of the High Kicking Action Heroine: Across Space, Format, and Theories by Angela Waldrop in Latent Image: A Student Journal of Film Criticism. Mentions Supercop 2 and Heroic Trio.

The Long Kiss Goodnight by Gategrrl on The Hathor Legacy. Also see Chick Fight! by Ifritah over there for some good insight.

Violent Femmes by Stephanie Mencimer in Washington Monthly, from back in 2001. Ah, the good old days...

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Welcome to Friday links. On Saturday.

First, check out Fearless female Iranian film maker Tehmineh Milani's new film "Payback" on UK blog Dollymix:

Kick ass Iranian film director Tehmineh Milani has been arrested and charged with four crimes that carry the death penalty because of her relentless bravery and films that "divide Iran". Her latest film called "Payback" is about four Iranian women who meet in prison, and form a vigilante gang, pose as prostitutes and seek the revenge they so desperately need.

Latino Review has an interview with Anna Walton, who will be in Hellboy 2. Her Hellboy role won't be an action role, but she makes some comments about her work in The Mutant Chronicles. Sword fighting? All right! Let's get that thing a release date. Latino Review also has an interview with Selma Blair about Hellboy 2, and SuperHeroHype.com has a piece as well... I'm getting mixed signals on Liz. Time will tell.

I had basically written off Speed Racer, but Rotten Tomatoes has some comments from Christina Ricci about her role that may put this back in Heroine Content land. No points for calling it "progressive women's lib stuff," though, Mr. Reporter, and for the love of all that's holy don't read the comments if you head over there to take a look. (Now you're going to feel compelled to read the comments, aren't you?)

The 20th Carnival of Feminist Science Fiction and Fantasy Fans is up, Diamond Age style. The February 2008 issue of Cerise is up. Feminist Law Professors has details of a Call For Papers from Transformative Works and Cultures, a journal which "publishes articles about popular media, fan communities, and transformative works, broadly conceived."

And from my files...

TMNT: April O’Neil Kicks Ass, Takes Names by Patrick on the Hathor Legacy. I would not have looked there for a heroine.

The Fifth Element: One Man's Guide to Women by Maryann Johanson on FlickFilosopher.com. You know that cringe you get when you read something critical about something you love because you know it's true? Yeah.

And finally, Pirates of the Caribbean: At Wit's End: It's time to throw Jack Sparrow overboard by by Nathan Lee at the Village Voice, for the following line:

Ah, but I have forgotten Captain Sao Feng! Luxuriating in the hysterical chinoiserie of his exotic Singapore lair, this outrageous Oriental (played by Chow Yun-Fat) has been wedged into the Pirates panoply in order to exude colorful slant-eyed menace, enable the destiny of a white woman, then die.

See you next week.

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I'll just pull a few quotes from this Reuters article:

The annual study by Martha Lauzen, of the university's School of Theatre, Television and Film, surveyed the top 250 domestic-grossing films in 2007 and found no growth in the number of women employed in the positions of director, producer, writer, cinematographer and editor.

Lauzen also did a historical comparison of those top films from 2007 and 1998, finding that the percentage of women in every role had declined.

The study also concluded that women were most likely to work on romantic comedies, romantic dramas and documentaries and least likely to work in horror, action-adventure or sci-fi features.

The 7th People of Colour in Science Fiction / Fantasy Carnival is up at Seeking Avalon, and it's AMAZING. I can't wait to read the piece about Dune by Gwneth Jones in its entirety. The 20th Carnival of Feminist Science Fiction and Fantasy Fans will be at Podblack Blog. (You must see the Call for Entries. Trust me.) And last but not least, the 52nd Carnival of the Feminists is up at Figure: Demystifying the Female Physique.

And a few from the vaults:

A review of Silent Hill on Venturesome and another one by Tekanji. I saw Silent Hill, intending to review it, but could not work up any enthusiasm. These two reviews say everything I would have said if I did.

300: A Fangirl's Rant: Zack Snyder Overthought Us Fangirls by Laura Martin at Sequential Tart. Here's Grace's review of 300.

For your entertainment, an article by Kira Cochrane in the Guardian that discusses "torture porn" and includes a discussion of Grindhouse. Via Death Proof protests on UK blog the f-word. Here's Grace's review.

I'm a little behind adding links to our past reviews, since Fridays have turned out to be "no nap" days for the baby I currently supervise (or does he supervise me?). However, I will get caught up! I also encourage folks to send me links. Leave them in the comments, or email skyekilaen@gmail.com.

Have a good weekend, everyone. Or if you're reading this on Monday, have a good week!

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Two links from this week:

Oh yes, a straight to DVD animated Wonder Woman is such a consolation.

I wasn't too crazy about the Chronicles of Narnia movie, but the trailer for Prince Caspian looked like it was shaping up into a decent action flick. Cinematical has a picture and links to more.

And two links from the past, with titles I love:

Live Free Or Die Hard You Ass at Slant Eye for the Round Eye. (Also see More on "Die Hard" and What It Costs for Men to "Live Free" at PopPolitics.)

When last we left our heroine she was in exactly the same fix as the last time we left her before that! by Lance Mannion, touching on both Transformers and Spider-Man.

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Worst Action Movie Cliches: Dirty Tricks We've Seen Again and Again (and Again). I love this list because of the explanation of cliche #2, The Female Hostage: "It's no secret that men rule action movies in Hollywood. But could we start getting more creative with women's roles in them? Do they always have to be taken hostage?" Our question exactly.

I can't tell you how wrong I think this is.

The 51st Carnival of the Feminists is up at Philobiblon.

And from the archives, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Tia Dalma conflict via the 6th People of Colour in Science Fiction Carnival. I need to add this and a few other links about the various Pirates flix to add to Grace's reviews (in order: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Dead Man's Chest, and At World's End), but that will have to happen tomorrow.

G'night, y'all.

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Welcome to the second Friday links post!

Cinematical says that March 14th is the release date for Doomsday. It stars Rhona Mitra as the leader of an elite team that heads into a quarantine zone to find a cure for a killer virus. (Looks like Mitra's also slated to be in Underworld: Rise of the Lycans.) So it's definitely in Heroine Content territory.

The 19th Carnival of Feminist Science Fiction and Fantasy Fans is up at Girls Read Comics.

Apparently we have a stunt fighting academy right here in Heroine Content's own backyard.

Monica Gallagher wrote to tell us about her latest comic, Lipstick & Malice, which is "about a model who decides to find an outlet for her rage in part-time assassin work." Do head on over and check it out.

And a few links from summers past...

Bad Movie on feminist dracona, which even mentions us by name while reviewing the film D.O.A. I was only saved from this movie because it didn't run long enough in theaters. My husband needed a good laugh and by golly he was going to drag me with him.

Why “Transformers” Annoyed Me on African American Dad. "I’m sure the money was good for what they little did, but did both characters have to be disrespecting their mothers for the sake of comedy?" (I also added a few more links to the end of my Transformers review, but please let me know if there's something else I should include. Right now it's just what I came across at the time.)

Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman by BetaCandy on The Hathor Legacy. This is the kind of film criticism I really admire. Also see Hell Hath No Fury Like A Kitty Scorned by Ifritah for some additional points.

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Every once in a while, I manage to post a link to a related blog post or news article here at Heroine Content. Often I don't have enough to say about the link in question to make up a full post, so the post comes out badly. Meanwhile, my del.icio.us account is chock full of things I didn't manage to blog about. So every Friday, I'm going to post a few links, some old, some new. We're not trying to step on Celluloid Sally's toes, so we're going to stick pretty closely to our niche of critiquing and enjoying action films (and occasionally television shows) that portray women who kick ass.

Without further ado, here are today's links.

Is there such a thing as a responsible rape scene? at Racialicious, a blog about the intersection of race and pop culture. It's a meditation on the film Bandit Queen - here's Grace's review of the film.

kristin kreuk is chun li in street fighter on the blog angry asian man, who had previously posted about the rumored selection of non-Chinese Jessica Biel as Chun Li.

Denver International Film Festival - Hell on Wheels, a review of the 2007 roller derby documentary on film blog Coffee, Coffee, and More Coffee.

Femtique reviews Alien vs. Predator Requiem, and Crimitism describes Masculinity in Alien vs Predator: Requiem, saving me the necessity of a babysitter. Now I can go see I Am Legend instead. (p.s. DO NOT SEND ME ANY SPOILERS! Thank you.)

New Bollywood women's hockey movie Chak De India breaks gender stereotypes in India on UK feminist blog Dollymix. Netflix said "Long Wait" for this one, but then it showed up. Does Netflix know I'm special?

If you have a link to something that fits into the Heroine Content mission, send it along. Put it in the comments or email it to skyekilaen@gmail.com. We'll also be adding links to other reviews in our old posts as we go along, so don't be shy if you wrote something (or more than one something) and you want us to know about it.

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"People working in the business would name six men working in high-profile positions at the studios and networks and assume that men had achieved equality."

Indeed. For the rest of the article, go here.

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Over at BlogHer, SJ has posted a review of several of her favorite graphic novels, all featuring strong female leads. I've never been a graphic novel person myself, but her description has me itching to check out Girl Genius. I'll be looking forward to the second installment of her piece, and I bet you will too.

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We haven't gotten into animation here at Heroine Content, and likely if we do it won't include children's films, but that doesn't mean it isn't important for kids to have real, positive female role models in their moves. For a review of how current kids' movies are doing on that front, check out C.L. Hansen's post today at Hathor Legacy.

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Please check out More Stereotypes Than Meet The Eye by guest blogger Nora on Angry Black Woman:

As the 2.5-hour movie wore on, I found myself smiling less and less. That’s because as the special effects grew more extravagant and the action became more spectacular, I kept noticing something that left a bitter taste in my mouth, and eventually ruined my enjoyment of the film entirely. Namely, stereotypes.

I missed the boat on Transformers, y'all. My apologies, and my gratitude to Nora for her post.

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In case you missed it, and in case you need something to counterbalance Entertainment Weekly's assertion that Sarah Connor was a man, check out the Action Heroine Blog-A-Thon from last week. Hosted at Nathaniel R's Film Experience Blog, it's a great tribute to all kinds of ass-kicking women in the movies.

A few of my faves from the Blog-A-Thon posts:

• Cat Ballou on Coffee, Coffee, and More Coffee
• Michelle Yeoh: kicking ass in “Supercop” on Collecting Tokens
• ¡Sí, soy trailera! on when i look deep in your eyes
• Warrior Women of Asia on Film Otaku
• Next Tuesday's Mood on My New Plaid Pants
• She's a maniac, that's for sure on Way of Words
• Not all gloom and doom in the Tomb on I am screaming and punching myself
• The Two Ripleys on Cinemathematics
• The Action Heroine Makeover on StinkyLulu

Thanks to Nathaniel for hosting the Blog-A-Thon!

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Welcome to the 14th Edition of the Carnival of Feminist Science Fiction and Fantasy Fans, which will probably be known forever as "the carnival eaten by comics posts." When we stepped up to host this carnival, we had no idea how much you people blog! Especially if, y'know, there are two major "incidents" in one month (cough MJ and Heroes cough).

So if you blogged about something other than comics and we missed your post, we apologize. We were caught off guard. We were overwhelmed. And Grace's dogs ate our homework. Thanks to everyone who helped by sending in links, and thanks to all the bloggers who wrote posts this month. Y'all rock!

Off we go....

Continue reading "14th Carnival of Feminist Science Fiction and Fantasy Fans" »

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The 13th Carnival of Feminist Science Fiction and Fantasy Fans is up at Words From the Center, Words From the Edge. The carnival is sure to keep you busy for hours, and I love the photo in the host blog's banner.

The 14th Carnival will be held HERE at Heroine Content! We will publish it on May 30th, so get your submissions in by the 27th. Email us your submission!

For more about the Carnival, check out the Carnival homepage. The Carnival Guidelines page is also helpful.

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Two excerpts from an interview with David Arquette on the Film School Rejects blog:

Arquette: “It is such an awkward conversation... it's like, listen, this is a horror film. In horror films, you're playing the sexy chick and you have to show your breasts. It's like a requirement."

Brian Gibson, the blogger: "On behalf of everyone in the world, I’d like to thank David for his skill in convincing actresses to show their breasts. You can’t have a horror film with out them."

I'm not sure I can add anything to that.

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As mentioned yesterday, Nerve's Blog Screen Grab posted a Top 10 list called Chicks With Guns. I was somewhat afraid to read it, especially since they started with that Godard quote that I can't stand, but they seem to like these heroines for all the right reasons.

Here's part 1 of the list. Here's part 2 of the list. They included previews from several of the films, so it's fun to look through. However, be warned that their permalinks are a little hinky. You may have to scroll up or down a bit.

Here are their 10 picks:

• Pam Grier in Foxy Brown
• Anne Parillaud in La Femme Nikita - Grace gives it 2 stars
• Sigourney Weaver in Aliens
• Jamie Lee Curtis in Blue Steel
• Angie Dickinson in Big Bad Mama
• Geena Davis in The Long Kiss Goodnight - Skye gives it 4 stars
• Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2 - Grace gives it 4 stars
• Joan Crawford in Johnny Guitar
• Seema Biswas in Bandit Queen - Grace gives it 0 stars
• Shu Qi in So Close - Skye gives it 3 stars

Honorable mentions went to Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon in Thelma & Louise and Gena Rowlands in Gloria.

Except for the omission of Tank Girl, it's a respectable list.

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We last highlighted the Carnival of Feminist Science Fiction and Fantasy Fans at the end of December. In case you missed any, here are links to the 2007 issues thus far:

• 9th Carnival at League of Substitute Superheroes
• 10th Carnival at Adventures in Lame
• 11th Carnival at Women's Work
• And the 12th Carnival, which is written Iron Chef style, is at Pen-Elayne

Or if you don't want to rely on us reminding you every four months, you can check out the carnival homepage and sign up for their feed.

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Suzanne Reisman has a post up at BlogHer about 300 and Sin City. You should definitely read her entire post, but the part that caught my eye was her take on the role of Queen Gorgo in 300 and the evolution of that role. According to an article in Entertainment Weekly, Frank Miller objected at first to having the Queen's role expanded for the film because 300 is "a boy's movie."

I was actually surprised to hear the role had been expanded. I was hoping to see any hint of heroine content in the trailer for 300, but I was sadly disappointed. Cody then asked why I didn't want to see the film, and I responded with something like "Because it looks fucking sexist!" His response? "It's Frank Miller!" (With a bit of an eyeroll, and I think his hands were raised momentarily as if beseeching the heavens.) I couldn't really tell if he thought I was surprised, or just annoying for stating the obvious.

It reminded me of another incident, though, in which my friend UnwiredBen drew attention to Grace's review of My Super Ex-Girlfriend in a comment on a LiveJournal post that I cannot currently locate. He basically said "hey, my friends reviewed it from a feminist perspective and thought it was really sexist!" Another commenter replied "Were they surprised?"

Hell no. And was I surprised when Frank Miller made that comment about 300, or that it looks sexist? No. But while I'm already aware that Frank Miller (and our society) reliably produces art that treats women poorly, and I expect him (and our society) to continue doing that, I don't see that as a reason for me to keep quiet when it happens again. It's still a bad thing, no matter how tired and predictable.

Suzanne isn't one to keep quiet either, thank goodness, so she goes on to ask:

Why can a "boys' movie" not have a strong woman character in it? Do boys really dislike women that much that we are utterly useless and peripheral to their entertainment, other than serving as sexy fantasy objects? [...] Perhaps Miller is wrong about what boys want: CityMama reports that the audience – filled mostly with teenage boys - cheered most when Queen Gorgo actually picked up a sword and got into the action.

Good question, Suzanne!

Posted by Skye in On Other Blogs
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Here are our highlights from the Carnival of Feminist Science Fiction and Fantasy Fans, editions Five, Six, Seven, and Eight. That gets us caught up for the New Year!

Carnival #5 made me laugh with Writing Cliches, comparing Buffy to atonishing X-Men. Arisia, Bras, and Boob Physics 101 is also pretty entertaining - at least film action heroines actually have to wear the outfits, so there are some limitations. Since I haven't seen Heroes, I tried not to read Seriously, NBC, would it kill you to be a little bit less cliché? in case of spoilers, but now I want to watch the show so I can read the whole post. The end of the Carnival post itself has a photo that I desperately want to steal.

Carnival #6 is chock full of good reading. First, some hilarious responses to a set of "how to draw comics" tutorials. Señora de la Cranky Pantalones did a three part response:

• Editorial Snark, Part 1
• Editorial Snark, Part 2
• Editorial Snark, Part 3

IM IN UR STUDI0 DRAWIN UR D00DZ is another cool response. If you don't make it all the way through the redrawing, do make sure you skip to the notes at the end. Dinosaur Comics has a quick explanation of the male gaze, if you need one. Why better treatment for women in comics does matter is excellent. Here's another post about Heroes, going through the cast to discuss race and gender. Should I perhaps go back to paying for cable?

Carnival #7 had a post that really spoke to me:

In general TV it seems the era of ’strong women’ was short-lived. How surprised am I? We had Xena and Gabrielle, Buffy, Max in Dark Angel, and even Sydney Fox in Relic Hunter, and a few others, but what’s coming up now with independent, active women? Very little, as far as I can see.

I feel the same way about action movies right now. It's annoying to recall the era when I had several films and television shows competing for my attention, and now there are few. I felt the same way about music after the Liz Phair - PJ Harvey - Tracy Bonham era had ended.

The gem in Carnival #8 is an excellent takedown of misogyny in Bond films: Just Back from the Casino. If you love a well-written rant, check this out.

The unfortunate side effect of all this is more blogs I want to read, but I am so glad this Carnival exists. If you've missed any, check out the main page of the Carnival or this list:

• Carnival #1 at Ragnell's Written World
• Carnival #2 at Pretty, Fizzy Paradise
• Carnival #3 at New Game Plus
• Carnival #4 at the Official Shrub.com Blog
• Carnival #5 at One Hundred Little Dolls
• Carnival #6 at the Hathor Legacy
• Carnival #7 at Racy Thoughts
• Carnival #8 at Dance of the Puppets

Posted by Skye in On Other Blogs
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Here at Heroine Content, we have noticed that a good number of butt-kicking women in films seem to inhabit the future, outer space, or other worlds entirely. So I've been keeping my eye on the Carnival of Feminist Science Fiction and Fantasy Fans since it began in July. They've already put together eight Carnivals, linked below in case you need to catch up.

But first, some highlights that are particularly relevant to our theme of women in action. This post will cover the first four Carnivals, and I'll do the next four in a couple of days.

If you haven't seen Joss Whedon's speech on strong women yet, Carnival #1 had a link to the video and a link to a transcript. What Don't We See? at Collie's Bestiary discusses women in video games and comics, but a lot of the commentary applies just as well to action movies. Especially the part about high heels.

Carnival #2 featured Why are you so angry?, a worthwhile discussion of about the intersection of feminism and pop culture. Ifritah commented on Aeon Flux and found the film adaptation wanting. Sad.

Carnival #3 linked to an interesting take on Lady in the Water by bitterfig. After seeing The Village, I had expected more from the female lead in Lady, so I'm glad to see I wasn't the only one who was disappointed.

From Carnival #4, Kirlyn's Voice asked a good question: what makes a strong female character? On other mag's blog, they say So much for the feminist take on Doctor Who. I gave up on the new Doctor after several episodes, once it was clear that Rose wouldn't be allowed to do much (after saving the day in the pilot). Interesting that the post on other blog goes back to a theme in a post from Carnival #1 about X-Men 3: Today's Epiphany at The True Confessions of an Hourly Bookseller. Read them both to find the connection.

The Carnival so far:

• Carnival #1 at Ragnell's Written World
• Carnival #2 at Pretty, Fizzy Paradise
• Carnival #3 at New Game Plus
• Carnival #4 at the Official Shrub.com Blog
• Carnival #5 at One Hundred Little Dolls
• Carnival #6 at the Hathor Legacy
• Carnival #7 at Racy Thoughts
• Carnival #8 at Dance of the Puppets

Posted by Skye in On Other Blogs
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The progression of the female action star has evolved quite a bit since Sigourney Weaver first donned a white tank top and out-manned her male counterparts in the Alien films. The early female hard bodies have advanced into graceful, female sex goddesses who can also kick ass. The repressed masochistic relationship that males have with these women has allowed the films to grow more and more successful as the years pass. These films can be both appreciated and hated by feminists who are either eager to embrace the idea of women who can outfight men or eager to dismiss the over-sexed women as perverse male fantasies. Given the right circumstances, within the right formula, female action films can not only deliver huge box office results, but elevate female actresses to the role of stars who are as capable of opening action films as their male counterparts.

Such is the argument of Adam Karabel's article, "Feminine Masculinity: The Rise of Women in Action Films" featured a few days ago on Associated Content (AC): The People's Media Company. Drawing on popular press (Washington Monthly and Salon.com) and academic (Journal of Popular Film and Television) articles, Karabel traces women in action movies from their "masculine" and "de-sexualized" beginnings (Sigourney Weaver in the Alien films, Linda Hamilton in Terminator: 2) through their current sexualized nature (Angelina Jolie in the Tomb Raider films, all of Charlie's Angels, etc.).

While he makes some interesting comments about the lack of true violence from female action heroes, comparing their ass-kicking to bloodless ballet, I found most of Karabel's article irritating. His assumption that the move to a more sexualized female action hero is a step in the right direction doesn't sit at all well with me, nor does his lauding of Pam Anderson's Barb Wire as the perfect heroine. But the article is still worth reading, if only for the (slightly dated, but fascinating sounding) references.

FYI, for those who don't want to slog through the piece, these are the references:
1. Mencimer, Stephanie. “Violent Femmes” Washington Monthly, September 2004, Pgs. 1-5
2. Arnold, Gina. “Badass Girls on Film” Salon.com, January 22, 2001. Pgs. 1-9
3. Edwards, Marlo. “The Blonde with the guns: Barb Wire and the Implausible Female Action Hero” Journal of Popular Film and Television, Spring 2004, Pgs. 1-9

Posted by Grace in On Other Blogs
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Following up on Grace's review of My Super Ex-Girlfriend, here are a few more choice words from ology dot org:

No, we're not scared of women

One of the trailers we saw before X-Men 3: The Meh-ening was for something called My Super Ex-Girlfriend. The message pretty much boils down to "if strong women are scary and emasculating, just imagine how scary and emasculating the most powerful woman in the world is." C'mon, guys. This is just embarassing.

Can we get a round of applause?

Posted by Skye in On Other Blogs
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I had intended to write a scathing post about how sexist and crappy I found X-Men III: The Last Stand. However, Makani Themba Nixon's review at WIMN (Women in Media and News) says pretty much everything I would have said.

Posted by Grace in On Other Blogs
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