film

Cynthia Erivo, a Black British woman, portrays Harriet Tubman, a darkskinned Black woman dressed in a brown outfit and holding a gun in her land with a Black child in her right arm

End All, Be All: A Roundtable About “Harriet” and the State of Black Film Criticism

by Gloria Oladipo
December 20, 2019 at 5:32pm
We need to give critics space to ply their craft without pitting them against the films, the audiences, and/or each other. Read more »
A collage of Letitia Wright, a Black woman, the characters from Steven Universe, including Steven Universe, a young, chubby white boy, and June/Offred in The Handmaid's Tale, who wears red and has her hair covered.

The Most Impactful Pop Culture Phenomenons of the 2010s

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
December 18, 2019 at 5:39pm
As we speedily approach 2020, we reflect on some of the most memorable moments in pop culture of the last decade. Read more »
Kaitlyn Dever as Amy Antsler, a white teen girl with reddish brown hair. She wears a denim jacket with a patch that says "sisters" and drives a car.

The Role of Disgust in Contemporary Queer Female Films

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
December 18, 2019 at 5:21pm
Lesbian films focusing on “grossness” is a misguided attempt to combat hypersexualization. Read more »
Illustration of a long-limbed blue body with black stripes, red circle breasts, and long hair with flowers and botanicals in the back drop.

Under Armor: Sex Work, Style, and Survival

by Jourdain Searles
December 17, 2019 at 9:12am
Cinema still frames sex workers as troublesome sirens whose sole purpose is to disarm men and leave them broken. Read more »
a Black man and a Black woman pose in front an old-school Chevy in Queen & Slim

Unpoetic Injustice: “Queen & Slim” Treats Its Outlaws as Misguided Political Symbols

by Jourdain Searles
December 9, 2019 at 3:44pm
It treats its strangers–turned–outlaws as political symbols rather than fleshed-out characters with interests and flaws. Read more »
Sabina (Kristen Stewart), Jane (Ella Balinkska), and Elena (Naomi Scott) stand in the middle of an empty road in fighting poses.

In 2019, “Charlie’s Angels” Isn’t Just about Girl Power—It’s a Critique of Male Leadership

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
November 27, 2019 at 5:08pm
In 2019, Charlie’s Angels is less about impossibly perfect women saving the world. Read more »
A close up of Brandon, played by Hilary Swank, a white teen boy with brown hair looks away from the camera

Fighting to Thrive: Reflecting on “Boys Don’t Cry” 20 Years Later

by William Horn
November 20, 2019 at 11:21am
Representation matters, but so do the stories that the media—film and television—chooses to tell about trans lives. Read more »
Eva Green, a white woman wearing a space suit, plays Sarah in Proxima

The Final (Male) Frontier: “Lucy in the Sky” and “Proxima” Bring Women Astronauts down to Earth

by Beatrice Loayza
November 19, 2019 at 9:01am
The final frontier continues to be a male-dominated arena, fertile ground for storytelling that taps into masculine psychologies in symbolically grandiose fashion. Read more »
Actress Samara Weaving, a white woman wearing a white bridal gown and holding a shotgun, plays Grace in Ready or Not

99 Percent Savior: In Contemporary Horror, It’s the Final Girl versus the Rich

by Mary Beth McAndrews
October 29, 2019 at 11:00am
The Final Girl is no longer a babysitter or camp counselor, but a working-class outsider to wealth and decadence who is treated as an exploitable object to be lured in with money. Read more »
two white women in Vita and Virginia stand in a room together as one takes the other one's shirt off

Finite Love: What Lesbian Period Dramas Lose When We Project Our Fears on Them

by Rachel Vorona Cote
October 24, 2019 at 2:32pm
Films and television series featuring queer characters are still relatively scarce. Read more »

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Best of Bitch

"Moonlight" is an Essential Work of Art for the Current Political Moment

by Nijla Mu'min
December 5, 2016 at 8:15am
Moonlight displays the kind of empathy and humanity that we desperately need right now. Read more »

Films and TV Portray Abortion as More Dangerous Than It Is

by Erica Thomas
February 19, 2014 at 3:47pm
Films and television shows tend to present a skewed portrayal of abortion—when fictional movies and TV shows include a plotline about abortion... Read more »

The Dramatic History of American Sex-Ed Films

by Sarah Mirk
June 17, 2014 at 10:29am
In 1948, in a seventh grade classroom in Eugene, Oregon, a teacher dimmed the lights and flipped on 16mm projector. A film called Human... Read more »

Black Girls Hunger for Heroes, Too: A Black Feminist Conversation on Fantasy Fiction for Teens

by Zetta Elliott
December 17, 2013 at 3:19pm
What happens when two great black women fiction writers get together to talk about race in young adult literature? That's exactly what happens... Read more »