In defense of the sanctimonious women's studies set || First feminist blog on the internet

Feminist Movies and TV

Lauren

So I was updating my Netflix queue and started looking for feminist and feminist-friendly movies, decided to do a Google search, and found out that The Apostate was in the same conundrum last year. She and her commenters came up with a good list, including awesome staples like If These Walls Could Talk, Thelma and Louise, Frida, Maria Full of Grace, and Fargo. The problem is, I’ve seen most of these.

Any suggestions? And if the movie’s “feminism” is ambiguous, can you explain why you think it would be fun or interesting for a feminist to watch as entertainment?

110 thoughts on Feminist Movies and TV

  1. Saving Face!
    “Saving Face is a 2004 American romantic comedy drama film directed by Alice Wu. The film focuses on Wilhelmina, a young Chinese-American surgeon; her unwed, pregnant mother; and her dancer girlfriend.” Does a really nice job of looking at the tension between a patriarchal native culture and personal happiness without making it a “Asian culture bad! Western Culture GOOD!” simplistic argument. Fantastic twist at the end, too.

  2. ghost in the shell, both the animated series and the movie are really good. its anime if youre into that… its a sci fi series/movie that focuses on a police squad called section 9 that is lead by a really interesting female leader. she is totally the reason the series is so successful. shes strong, commands respect, and is just generally amazing. i would have to explain the entire series to get into why i think its such a great piece of feminist fiction but i would rather not bore everyone.

    The descent is a really good horror movie, im not into horror movies usually but this one is good. it has a really good sisterhood feel, its about women who go spelunking and chase adventure in their lives together. good stuff. it doesnt suffer from the same gender stereotypes that most horror movies have going on.

    and well, weirdly I would reccomend king of the hill. its a funny show in my opinion and there is a suprisingly high number of episodes that deal with how screwed up the world is towards women and points out the absurdity in the attitudes others have about womens issues. it actually tackles class issues and racism in midwestern type societies as well.

    All the movies written by charlie kaufman have been great about writing women as actual characters instead of writing bland “insert women here” roles so many other movies have and well i would reccomend these movies to anyone simply because they are outstanding. so that includes eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, being john malkovitch, adaptation, and his newest movie which i did not end up seeing unfortunatley 🙁

    i have never been too into buffy but im sure youve heard about how well this show does with women characters. they had one character come out as a lesbian and it wasnt a big deal and it wasnt sexualized for male viewers like most lesbians on tv are. a+ in that department

    the wire is an excellent show that features more storylines about race and poverty than just women specifically but it certainly has a lot of storylines about womens issues like trafficking sex workers from other parts of the world to america. it also has a no big deal lesbian character which i like a lot. if you only pick one thing to watch from what i reccomend make it this show. everyone should watch this show i think.

  4. Saving Face is a lovely movie!

    If These Walls Could Talk 2 can also be seen as a feminist movie, especially the second part. It focuses on lesbians across the 20th century; the second part, during the ’70s, is about the tensions between straight and lesbian feminists, and between feminist lesbians and a butch gal.

    Itty Bitty Titty Committee is about a radical feminist group and how a newcomer to the group learns about feminism. My favorite part about the movie is the huge gender diversity among all the female-bodied characters.

  5. Antonia’s Line — it’s been a while since I’ve seen it now, but I remember thinking it was awesome. Most of the characters are women and they are in charge of their sexuality.

    Bones — not perfect, but it features a female lead who regularly defends herself physically and is super smart and competent and none of that is treated as remarkable. There’s a cool female best friend too, but the cast is disproportionately male and one of those characters is kind of an asshole about women but that’s treated as endearing and oh so hilarious.

    Persepolis — this one’s probably obvious?

    Once — ’cause I love this movie and while it’s not particularly feminist, I have no criticisms of it being unfeminist either.

  6. Imagine Me & You? (A lesbian romcom)

    In Her Line of Fire? (Should you like cheesy, overly violent action movies… it’s basically a female Rambo)

    Those are both *lesbian* movies, though. That really doesn’t make them feminist, but at least they’re about strong women!

    I haven’t seem the movie version of Mamma Mia!, but the musical had some feminist overtones. (The mother had slept with lots of guys and didn’t seem to regret it, and the ending was basically: “Let’s screw this whole traditional marriage thing!”) So it might be okay if you like ABBA.

    Honestly, I don’t think that there are many, especially ones that fit the second half of The Apostate’s definition, “…deals in woman-sympathetic terms with an issue that’s central to feminism.”

  7. The most feminist movie that I have ever seen is the Dutch movie “Antonia’s Line” (1995) which won an Oscar for best foreign film. I also recomend Iranian films by the director Tahmineh Milani. It might come as a surprise but some of the best feminist films are from Iran specially those made by women directors being critical of Iranian society. The list is big but here are a few: Leila, Twenty Fingers, Two Women, Hidden Half, The Day I Became a Woman, Our Times, Offside, Ten…etc. Enjoy!

  9. “Faster Pussycat, Kill! Kill!” Not just the greatest movie ever made, but has an awesome underlying feminist tone. Also, “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls”. Both films have really strong female characters.

  10. This may seem out of place, but I recently re-watched the classic 1964 “Dr Strangelove,” and found its outlook to be radically if not feminist, at least harshly anti-patriarchal. Despite its cast containing almost no women, I think it is well worth watching and thinking about as an outrageous satire of hyper-masculinity. The powerful men in the film are driven by slightly exaggerated and distorted but more or less conventional male sexual attitudes to make world-destroying decisions. Plus, it’s hilarious.

  11. “Impromptu” is about Georges Sand and her relationship with Frederic Chopin. Her life is fascinating and inspiring.

    I would have said “V for Vendetta” if the movie was as great as the comic book. The comic book has some great female characters and transformations.

  12. Surprisingly, Mamma Mia!. Not only is there a strong message that marriage isn’t the only thing, but it passes the Bechdel Test with a vengeance. There are women of all ages and body shapes in the film, and it’s very much about the female gaze — there’s one big dance number in which I kept thinking “This HAS to be by a female director, because there are women of all ages and body types dancing.” Sure enough, it was. And, wickedly, “Does Your Mother Know” is turned around and sung by a middle-aged woman to a hot young bartender.

    Also, Pierce Brosnan totally going for it and being unafraid to expose his complete lack of a singing voice.

  13. i might be stiring the pot here, but…

    if you take the definition to include: having two or more female characters who have conversations and that those conversations are not just about men…

    i think both firefly and Serenity, despite a lot of screaming, comes close. Kailee and River, especially, have conversations not about men. it shows women kicking ass, even the ass of the male lead. and i, being a military brat, canNOT 100% agree with problems stated about Zoe (there was a huge rant about her being a black woman calling the white male captain “sir”, that totally didn’t care about military culture. whatever else about the military, the discipline involved really does require that one call a superior officer “sir”; its A Thing. i understand that many people have issues with the fact that the main person calling the captain “sir” is a black woman, but if you step back from that there’s an entirely different thing brought to light – the person who is SECOND IN CHARGE is a black woman, and everyone on the ship OBEYS her when she is the one in charge. so that right there is, i think, in itself very feminist)

  15. The film version of FAME–I was surprised and impressed and how it told the varied stories of talented and ambitious characters. One character even gets an abortion … you don’t see that much in movies anymore.

  16. I just finished watching Serenity, the capstone to the Firefly series of Joss Whedon (guy who did Buffy). I would definitely watch Firefly first, though, so you don’t miss anything in the movie Serenity. There are a wide variety of female characters (a former rebel fighter and all-around badass, a mechanic, and a genius are all among the standard cast) who are all strong women in their own ways. It even deals with some prostitution issues, and while you may or may not like the conclusions that are reached, it at least poses interesting questions about female sexuality.

    The best way to describe the series in terms of plot is that it’s a space western about a group of mercenaries. Sounds weird, sure, but it’s absolutely captivating and an excellent example of sci-fi that features women in real, important roles.

  17. Muriel’s Wedding. It’s funny and strange. It’s basically about a woman finding out who she is and going from a beaten-down shell who won’t feel she’s worth anything until she finds a husband to a happy, fulfilled, independent woman.

    Also, the humour is subtle but jaw-droppingly funny at times (like listening to her racist father talking) and there is a major ABBA theme running through it… I highly recommend it.

  18. Iron Jawed Angels, which is all about the women who struggled to get the 19th
    Amendment passed, specifically Alice Paul. Chokes me up every time.

    Tank Girl, because the main character kicks huge ass and it’s just generally a hugely fun, action-filled, women-empowering movie.

    Teeth. I don’t know that I can say it’s completely feminist, since the main character starts out so much a victim, but I think it really does show her learning her own body and taking control of her life by the end. Sure, it’s by biting misogynists’ dicks off with the teeth in her vagina, but she’s still taking control.

    Down with Love. It’s a pastiche of all the old Doris Day and Rock Hudson movies, and it has some delightfully feminist twists. I like the way it takes the complexities of being an empowered woman and gently jokes about them.

  19. I saw in the comments at The Apostate a mention of Waitress, and wanted to add that I enjoyed it. Also, Iron Jawed Angels was excellent.

    I recently watched XXY. It’s about a young hermaphrodite. I won’t go into more detail, but I thought it was a good movie and reasonably dealt with gender-identity.

  21. Any Miyazaki film; they’re anime and kids films, but wonderful for adults too.
    The main character is usually a young girl and there are usually several other important female characters throughout the film. For instance, while Mononoke Hime has a male main character, the other main characters are female (Sen, Lady Eboshi, & the mother Wolf)–it also has interesting thoughts on environment vs progress.

    I also liked WALL-E; especially if you queer it and view WALL-E and EVE as a butch and a femme instead of a boy and a girl.

    I also liked Mr and Mrs Smith; Jane kicks just as much, if not more, ass than John does.

  23. Season One of Veronica Mars was about as good as anything I’ve ever seen on television. The second two seasons were, in my opinion, a steady (but not precipitous) decline.

    The Big Sleep isn’t really very feminist, but I think it’s a great movie. The Lauren Bacall character is interesting, and there are a lot of ways in which she might qualify as “feminist.” She’s deceptive and protective of her sister (kind of a drug-addled nyphomaniac: “She tried to sit in my lap when I was standing up”), but is tough as nails and intelligent. There are actually two versions of the movie, one with much more Bacall, including a scene where she and Bogart are talking about “horses” but are obviously talking about sex. It’s pretty surprising (at least to me) that that made it into the movie. She’s a good example of a strong, intelligent woman exercising a lot of agency in an obviously patriarchal context. But, really, that’s not why I’m recommending it; I just think it’s a great noir and a great movie.

  25. oh yeah i totally forgot ‘monster’. It deals with being gay in society, rape, the treatment of sex workers, etc. wonderfully acted.

  26. Aliens! Totally Aliens.

    I don’t think I need to explain how Sigourney Weaver as Ripley is a fully realized human being with a wide range of emotions who is allowed to expressed such emotions without being seen as one sidedly weak or 2 dimensionally tomboyish.

    Props also go to Vasquez for being so kickass and able to stand up alongside the guys in poking fun and jiving with one another. Plus, she goes out like a champ, calling her CO an a**hole and pulling the pin on grenade, taking out a multitude of aliens.

    I’ve yet to see, in science fiction or even action, any two female characters as well done as those two, but if anyone knows, I’m more than happy to take the suggestion running to a video store.

  27. A lot of these suggestions are great. I would also recommend Girls Town. Its a story of four high school girls coming to terms with the sexism and abuse in their lives. The characters are really great and the revenge they take on the men in their lives is even better!

  29. I’ve been watching The Sopranos, Battlestar Galactica, and 30 Rock recently, and besides all passing the Bechdel test time and time again, they all have excellent, strong female characters in positions of leadership. I also recommend King of the Hill. None of these shows are feminist, but they all give me a lot of fodder for feminist thought.

    The Sopranos may seem like a weird choice because it portrays an extremely patriarchal world, but it’s also an indictment of the Mob culture and an explanation of how their retrograde values are the cause of their downfall. Melfi, Carmela, and Meadow are also wonderful characters – strong, fully-developed women with rich inner lives. I’m not going to claim that this is a feminist show, but not for nothing do my two majorly feminist friends (my mom and a college bff) share my adoration of this show.

    Battlestar Galactica is. awesome. It is suspenseful and exciting, and it has great female characters including a female president. Rad. Rad. Rad.

    30 Rock’s credentials are obvious. Liz Lemon is sympathetic, ambitious, powerful, and well-developed. My partner thinks that it’s racist, but I think Tracy Morgan is straight-up hilarious as always.

    King of the Hill is one of my all-time favorite. Though it’s superficially extremely traditional, there are a number of vibrant and interesting female characters with untraditional roles. The main relationship between Peggy (Kathy Najimy, duh) and Hank is an equal partnership, and their non-gender-normative son Bobby is treated with sympathy, humor, and respect. Additionally, one of the prominent secondary characters (Nancy Hicks-Gribble) is an unapologetic breadwinner with an interesting alternative family structure. They frequently address social issues, though their morals are not necessarily or even usually feminist.

    Anyway, none of these shows are feminist, but they’re all interesting to view through a feminist lens.

  30. One of Pushing Daisies‘s hobbyhorses is subverting masculinity. Don’t know if I would call it feminist, per se.

  31. The Korean film ‘Sympathy for Lady Vengeance’ is about the most empowering and captivating film I’ve ever seen. And it’s very feminist–surrounding a woman who leaves prison and goes looking for the man who framed her and killed 4 little kids.

    The other films by this director that are a trilogy with “Lady Vengeance” are “Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance” and the famous one “Oldboy” but neither of them are that feminist. “Lady Vengeance” is phenomenal.

  32. i would second a bunch of these (30 Rock, iron jawed angels, bones the tv show (highly recommended), persepolis, and buffy)

    of those i’ve seen, i’d also add: “bend it like beckham” as my top favorite woman-centered sports flick “commander-in-chief” as my all-time favorite tv show (with geena davis as 1st woman POTUS), “girls rock!” as my favorite documentary (i just got the dvd in the mail today and am soooooo excited to see it again), and “thelma and louise” (obvious).

    of those i’ve not seen, but have been recommended to me: whale riderand rabbit proof fence.

    for films that aren’t necessarily feminist but arguably have feminist content: “hairspray”, “down with love”, and “to wong foo”

  33. I have some more anime suggestions.

    Revolutionary Girl Utena- This series was made for feminist analysis. A girl who wishes to be a prince, living in a surrealist boarding school and forced to duel for the heart of the “rose bride”. It deals a lot with identity, and not letting your sex determine what you can do. It’s an older series, so you should be able to rent it on Netflix.

    Baccano!- This one isn’t overtly feminist, but it has a ton of awesome female characters who are not sexualized. It’s the 1930s, and the mafia and a group of alchemists collide in a battle for immortality. Mob bosses, crazy assassins, thieves and bomb experts- it has everything! Warning for quite a bit of gore, though (like, Quentin Tarantino-levels of violence). The first two volumes are out in English right now, and the rest are coming out at a steady pace.

    Michiko to Hatchin- This one is currently out in Japan, no word if it’s going to be licensed in English yet. A woman breaks out of prison to rescue her daughter from abusive foster parents, and they go on a journey to find the girl’s father. Lots of awesome female characters (there are really no main male characters that I’ve seen so far), and a great Brazilian-influenced style.

    Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex- With the suggestion above of the “Ghost in the Shell” movie, check out the tv series, too.

  34. Oh, I forgot one!

    Kino’s Journey (Kino no Tabi)- Seriously, watch this. One of the best anime series out there. an androgynous girl named Kino travels to different countries on her talking motorbike (it sounds weird, but it works in the show). She’s a tough little thing, welding a huge gun better than anyone. But the series itself it very calm and slow, focusing mainly on traveling and meeting different people and cultures.

  35. hey miss lauren, did you ever watch itty bitty titty committee? i’ve been wondering about it…

    i would also add ‘the contender’: does not pass the bechdel test, if i remember, but a well-made movie in which joan allen plays a senator being confirmed as vice president. one of those “man’s world” kind of movies, but good, because allen’s so amazing and jeff bridges plays the best president ever. however it receives demerits for using the tragic death of a woman as a political weapon, though at least it is self-conscious about that use and how crappy it is.

  37. Joan of Arcadia. At first it would seem that a show about a ditzy teenage girl who gets instructions from God would be patriarchal, but it’s not. The God of this show appears as all races and genders, and sometimes is even coded gay. While he does give Joan assignments, they are usually vague and all about getting her to find her own potential and connect to those around her for the common good. He doesn’t seem to adhere to any specific religious principles, and his morals are practical rather than preachy. The show passes the Bechdel test in every episode, with kick-ass female characters such as Helen, Joan’s artistic mother who struggles with being a rape survivor, teacher, and mother to a dysfunctional family; Grace, an androgynous anarchist with a complex sexual identity; Lily, a surfing, smoking ex-nun; and Joan herself, who is…well, pretty much the weakest female on the show, but she has her moments. She is snarky to God, and that says a lot. The show also deals with disability pretty realistically. Sadly, there aren’t any recurring characters of color, however God appears as many different races. I have never been more angry over a series cancellation.

    I’m also seconding Buffy, Veronica Mars, and Firefly (though many radfems have denounced it as mysoginistic, so your mileage may vary). I also love Pushing Daisies, but see nothing feminist about it.

  38. The screwball comedies and musicals of the 1930s and 40s provided many wonderful images and stories, which (with some flexibility about the romance genres) will fit many a feminist test:

    HIS GIRL FRIDAY
    BRINGING UP BABY
    IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT
    THE PHILADELPHIA STORY
    TOP HAT (or SWING TIME)
    THE LADY EVE (or MIRACLE OF MORGAN’S CREEK)
    THE THIN MAN (which has the best screen marriage even included in an American film)

    OK, now I’m going to go re-watch THE AWFUL TRUTH.

  39. The Kid, a Charlie Chaplin silent film. Waaayyy ahead of its time, not just because it portrays overturned gender roles but because it does so completely unquestioningly.

    Also the 1959 version of Imitation of Life, if nothing else then for the scene where the heroine totally pwns the guy who wants her to give up her dreams in favor of his.

    I’ve seen Aliens and Ghost in the Shell mentioned, and while I am a fan of both I have to say that their feminist-friendliness is somewhat dubious. Aliens way overplays its theme of motherhood and maternal instinct, probably because that was the only thing that could vindicate a gun-toting heroine to the movie’s backlash-era audience. Ghost in the Shell can only be called feminist insofar as Wonder Woman can, since both of them are subtextually belittled for all that they are superficially empowered.

  41. YES to Gingersnaps!

    Also anything by Mary Harron–I shot Andy Warhol, American Psycho, The Notorious Bettie Page…American Psycho in particular is one of my favorite movies, it is far less problematic than the book and much more clearly feminist.

    The original Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie is a bit of a disaster, but still fun. And feminist.

  42. I liked Kadosh, directed by Amos Gitai. It’s in Hebrew, set in Israel, and deals with the effects of an extremely conservative, patriarchal religion on women. It’s pretty disturbing at some points, and has what I found to be a truly devastating rape scene (though it wasn’t explicit at all), but none of it was sensationalized. The audience is intended to identify with the female characters. Overall, a very feminist movie.

  44. I’ll second the first season of Veronica Mars suggestion. I half wish I hadn’t watched the second season because, while it’s still better than 95% of what’s on tv, a lot of it kind of pissed on the first season. Whale Rider and Rabbit-Proof Fence are both right on.

  45. I would strongly recommend that those looking for a feminist experiences stay the *fuck* away from Firefly. There’s racism all over the fucking place (despite the society supposedly being an amalgam of American and Chinese culture, none of the main characters are Chinese – the Tams were going to be, but noooo. The Reavers are uncomfortably close standins for the Native American part that must be played in any Western. The only black villain is portrayed as animalistic, threatening to rape the sweet white woman.)

    And the main female villain is disgustingly sexualized, her first episode arc culminating in a scene meant to reenact domestic violence and sexualize it. Her appearence in general stands in for the Bad Woman, the one who seems so sweet but is really a whore and a bitch. The structure of the ship is patriarchal, and the societies without the ship give the lie to the “post-gender” view within it. Nothing about gender roles in this future society has changed. There is one episode (Heart of Gold) where the show seems to pit feminism against patriarchy explicitly, and sympathizes with feminism, but it’s done so poorly and ends in the death of the strongest female character purely in order to make way for the show’s main romantic subplot.

    It’s a good series, but don’t go into it expecting feminism.

  46. Mi Vida Loca – I haven’t seen it in years, so I’m not going to try to relay too many details, but it’s a wonderful movie about two young, latina women in Los Angeles dealing with gang-banger boyfriends, having children as teenagers and life in general. It’s a beautiful story about young women coming together and learning to rely on themselves and each other to deal with tremendous challenges.

    Saved! – A girl at a Christian high school is impregnated while trying to turn her boyfriend straight and it spawns a war between her misfit group of friends and the super-popular but super-mean preacher’s daughter. Hilarity and sweet moments ensue.

    Pan’s Labrynth – I’m not sure how feminist this one is, but the two main characters are strong women who struggle against a masochistic general in the Spanish army during the Spanish revolution. It’s filmed beautifully but is a pretty gory fairytale and has Spanish subtitles. So if you’re not into gore or reading your movies, it may not be for you.

  48. Hindle Wakes – 1927 silent film based on a 1912 play about a working girl trying to avoid a shotgun marriage after an unchaperoned night on the town.
    Manages to be fairly lighthearted given the subject.

    Also also recommend Miyazaki, especially Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind.

    In a similar vein, the series Mushishi is what you’d get if Miyazaki had directed the X-Files. The main character is male, but both the artistic and script portrayal of the female characters is at a level of respect I haven’t seen outside of Miyazaki in an anime.

  49. If anime’s on the table: Black Lagoon! There are only 2 seasons out, but it is brilliant. Some amazing female characters, and a good amount of racial diversity as well. The main character’s a Chinese-American ex-pat/pirate living somewhere near Indonesia, and she has some lovely and multifaceted interactions with other women throughout the show. Other strong female characters include the leader of the local branch of the Russian mafia (she is military all the way, and *will* take down a full-grown man with her bare hands if she feels like it) and a “nun” with a mysterious past who lives in the Church of Violence, providing a thin veneer of religion to paste over a major weapon-smuggling business. Also appearing are an Indian counterfeiter (she’s a little *too* proud of her craft) and an introverted Japanese teenager who just inherited her father’s doomed Yakuza gang and now has to decide what or who will be sacrificed as rival gangs target them for extinction.

    It’s definitely violent (this really ramps up in the second season) and the show isn’t shy about dealing with some pretty disturbing themes. It’s all about pirates and gunfights and what happens to people when the wars end but they can’t stop shooting…

  50. Whale Rider deserves a mention here. It’s the story of a Maori girl whose family try to deny her heritage because she’s a girl, instead of the first-born son they expect to fulfil the chief’s role.

    Also A League of Their Own; Fried Green Tomatoes.

  51. I don’t believe that there can ever be a good movie that’s explicitly feminist – since good movies, to me, are ones that contain some measure of moral/ideological ambiguity.

    Having said that, I do recommend both the “Firefly” series and “Serenity” – they make you think. The violence isn’t airbrushed either. I still remember the hard knocks Inara gets when she tries to get the Operative to stop beating up Malcolm – and then how she gets her own at the end of that scene, when the Operative is tricked by her. Damn, reminds me of my life, in an odd way. 😉 And the Operative is a great character in his own right, both terrifying and noble.

    I’m not overly familiar with the subject of FGM and the many writings about it, but the film “Moolade,” though disturbing, presents the subject with an aura of hope.

    I liked the French film “Chaos” a lot – it explores human trafficking, race, class, and even infidelity. There are some sad conclusions in the film, but it’s also pretty stunning. The lead character – Noemie/Malika – is fantastic.

    “The Dawns Here Are Quiet” is a great Soviet film about female fighters in WWII. The censorship machine required the director to tack on a pretty bad, flag-waving ending – but it’s a tragic and beautiful story about women making sacrifices for each other and their male captain, who doesn’t really deserve the sacrifice, and realizes it, and is able to do the right thing in spite of his own ways… It’s a movie about female heroism like no other. I’m pretty sure it’s available with subtitles too.

    Also, female heroism in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” is interestingly portrayed, I think. I have a lot of sympathy for the female villain, in the end.

    All ambiguous films, of course, but that’s what I like about them. 🙂

    Great thread.

    Oh, and as far as kids and kids’ movies are concerned – I didn’t think that “The Golden Compass” was that great of an adaptation, but the portrayal of Lyra was terrific.

  52. Second to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

    Also The Kid, a Charlie Chaplin silent film that was waaaayyy ahead of its time. Not only does it portray flip-flopped gender roles, it does so completely unquestioningly. And the 1959 version of Imitation of Life.

    I’ve seen Ghost in the Shell mentioned a couple times, and while I am a fan I’d say that its feminist label is extremely dubious, for much the same reasons as Wonder Woman. Ditto to Aliens for different reasons: the themes of motherhood and maternal instinct are way overplayed, since that was the only way to vindicate a gun-toting heroine to the movie’s backlash-era audience. And while Firefly is well-intentioned, it often walks a fine line. Stay away from the episodes “Our Mrs. Reynolds” and “Trash” and you should be good, though.

  53. We enjoyed the hell out of “The Triplets of Belleville” here. Undoubtedly there are problems with it, but seeing a heroic rescue carried out by three elderly jazz singers, a teeny grandmother with an orthopedic shoe and a dog is pretty awesome.

  54. Chocolat
    Whale Rider
    A League of Their Own
    Kill Bill
    Joan of Arcadia (t.v. show)

    There are more, but these are off the top of my head.

  55. Also, I second Alien(s) and I think you have to add Terminator 2 to that list.
    Also, I liked the Buffy movie.
    Also, as far as classics go, Fiddler on the Roof.
    It’s really too bad they messed it up the Golden Compass so bad.

  56. HOW could I have forgotten Alien(s) and Terminator 2? Ripley only tops my 25 Greatest Movie Characters List (so far)! And Sarah Connor’s in the top 5!

    Agreed about the Golden Compass, Nadia. I hated the poor editing the most. It made the movie jaunty – and not in a good way.

  57. This thread has been so much fun to read! I want to second several things.

    Itty Bitty Titty Committee- a lot of fun to watch.
    Miyazaki movies: absolutely wonderful: the ones I reccomend are Kiki’s Delivery Service, Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle. All three have female lead characters who show enormous strength and bravery.
    The triplets of Belleville: I loved it, and I’m surprised to see it on here, not because it’s not feminist, but because it’s French. Anyway, it’s got an old grandmother who crosses the ocean on a little tiny little paddleboat, some kick-ass old ladies who are really good in a fight, and a lot of hilarious critique of American popular culture.

    I’m going to add two more things to the list. One is a lesbian movie called Tipping the Velvet: I think straight women could enjoy it too because it is beautifully photographed, contains a lot of genderfucking, and shows the strengh women have to get through a hardship. It’s very dramatic so watch it when you’re in the mood to curl up and get emotional!

    I’m going to say something that might get me laughed off of the thread, but I’m addicted to Gilmore Girls. It’s not a feminist show, but it’s enough for me that the show is centered around women. When I watch tv, as long as the show is about women, however traditionally feminine and impossibly privileged they are, it is fine with me.

  58. Random old one: National Velvet. I just rented it for my girls a while back.

    It’s not feminist insofar as it’s set in a time when women were, quite obviously, held back. But at heart it’s the story of a a girl who breaks free of those things. And she’s encouraged by her mother, who is also a very good role model.

  59. http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:FiaZtszQy7oJ:www.imdb.com/name/nm0331296/+marleen+gorris&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us

    The first feminist film to enter my consciousness & spin my brain around was A Question of Silence by Marleen Gorris. The link above is her filmography on IMDB. Another of my favorites is The Bandit Queen, not sure who made it. There’s another amazing filmmaker, a French woman, whose name escapes me, but I think one of her titles is Fat Girl…I’ll see if I can find it. Catherine Breillat? Something like that? I’ll be back with more suggestions.

    A meta comment: I see mostly foreign films because American films dumb down and stereotype everything, imo. They might as well be cartoons.

  61. Christ, people! These are some awesome suggestions. I’ve seen a few of these, and passed over a few in the past, but I just added at least ten movies to the Netflix list.

    Would anyone be interested in feminist movie reviews?

  62. I just want to say THANK YOU Natalia for mentioning the French film Chaos — I came here just to add it. LOVE IT – an upper-middle class couple see a North African prostitute beaten outside their car and the film follows the wife as she becomes involved in the woman’s life.

    I don’t think anyone’s mentioned Gas Food Lodging, so I will. Single blue-collar mom and her two daughters trying to figure out life, directed by Allison Anders.

    I also second Girls Town, The Contender, Aliens, Season 1 of Veronica Mars, Teeth, Antonia’s Line, If These Walls Could Talk 2, Saving Face, Fried Green Tomatoes, Silence of the Lambs, Firefly/Serenity, and Buffy.

    I would also add Billy Elliot (feminism ain’t just for women!), Dangerous Beauty (a Venice courtesan goes up against the Inquisition — with some amazing dialogue about women’s choices during the Renaissance), the classic and still-hilarious 9 to 5, Bound (lesbians v. the mob!), The Client (Susan Sarandon kicks ass), and Stage Door (a boarding house of actresses, including Ginger Rogers and Katherine Hepburn, try to survive — an almost all-female cast in a film that is MUCH more feminist than it’s more-famous contemporary The Women).

    I don’t think Strange Days counts as feminist, since the two women in it don’t ever talk to each other that I remember, but Angela Bassett kicks so much ass that I have to recommend it anyway.

  63. Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day lends itself to an interesting feminist interpretation—female characters exploit their sexual relationships with rich men while sleeping with whom they wish on the down low, and while Miss Pettigrew judges them for this, it’s much more ambiguous on the whole. After all, it’s understandable that a woman might need to do this in a world where her options are limited.

  64. I second T2 and Silence of the Lambs. And I’d love to see feminist movie reviews here.

    As for more explicitly feminist film, if you ever get a chance to see Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles–harder than it sounds, there’s no video release in the US–do. It’s long and a bit avant garde, but so very moving. Chantal Akerman is great.

    (And if anyone’s looking into V for Vendetta the comic, don’t. Alan Moore and Frank Miller both subscribe to the whole idea that any strong woman is either mentally deranged, a sex worker, or a lesbian. Which is not to say that being any of those things is bad, but the stereotypes, they burn. Not to mention the ever-present idea of rape as plot device.)

  66. Lauren, I would absofuckinlutely be interested in feminist movie reviews!! I’ve been having the same problem—-finding good movies to watch with my daughter (who’s already a kickass young feminist who talks back to the screen when she sees bullshit going on—you should hear her running commentary during “Chocolat”; the Comte de Reynaud doesn’t stand a chance!).

    I have to second the mentions of V for Vendetta, Fried Green Tomatoes, Kill Bill, Persepolis, Fargo, Silence of the Lambs, Chocolat, and Frida. The Sopranos, Homicide, and the Wire for television dramas.

    North Country
    Norma Rae
    Girlfight
    Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains
    Backbeat
    Long Kiss Goodnight
    She’s Gotta Have It
    Mediterraneo
    Crooklyn
    Bound
    Chasing Amy
    Dogfight
    I Shot Andy Warhol
    Mississippi Masala
    Mona Lisa
    Once Were Warriors
    Real Women ave Curves
    Riding in Cars with Boys
    Harold and Maude
    Reds
    Salt of the Earth
    Princess Caraboo
    Trust
    Osama
    Pleasantville
    Babette’s Feast

    and of course, the documentary Searching for Debra Winger. My mother’s favorite is the Long Kiss Goodnight. She’d deny it; she’d say her favorite movie is “the Godfather”, but she’s about burned a hole in the DVD of a Long Kiss Goodnight from playing it so damn often (I bought it for her for Mother’s Day a few years ago, since she likes action/adventure/shootemup type of stuff). No heavy feminist message there; just a good-old-fashioned kickass superspy woman killing bad guys like there’s no tomorrow. With comedy, too. And, uhhh, Samuel Jackson (the real Samuel Jackson).

    😉

  67. Pan’s Labyrinth if you haven’t seen it already. The visuals are gorgeous, and it’s one of the most pro-feminist movies I’ve seen in a long time. It’s about a little girl whose mother has recently remarried to a General in the Spanish army (this is after the more recent Spanish revolution). She and her mother, who is heavily pregnant by the new step-father, go to live in the mountains at the military base where it is the step-father’s responsibility to wipe out insurgents living in the hills.
    The step-father is evil in this one, and the little girl-Ophelia- uses her fantasies to try and escape from his brutalities towards her and her mother. The real world is represented as angular and harsh and masculine, and the imaginary world (which is in some ways no less frightening) as rounded, womb-like and feminine (not in the frilly and pink sense, but in the original sense-as simply having to do with women and their anatomy).
    At the same time, a nurse in their household is smuggling medication out to the insurgents, who she happens to be a strong member of. I’ve seen few movies so concerned with the strength of women, their convictions, and their personal agency (particularly in the face of oppression). This paired with equality and partnership with men towards the cause of freedom.

    Another good one is “The Orphanage”, a rare feminist-friendly horror film.
    Both are Spanish-language with subtitles, which will hopefully not be a deterrent.

  68. Middleman the tv series(despite the name), not only does it have an awesome female friendship, it also features an awesome latina heroine and much ass-kicking.

    Plus it’s a laugh riot and touches every nerd touchstone ever.

  69. I wondered if anyone else would recc “A Question of Silence”! I’m also on board with Dangerous Beauty, Mississippi Masala, Aliens, and Firefly/Serenity.(Quixotess, I couldn’t have a more different reaction than you had!)

    “Offside” (read about it here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0499537/plotsummary ) is a wonderful Iranian film about several female Iranian soccer fans who try to get into Tehran’s stadium to see a huge World Cup playoff game. Uh, see, women aren’t allowed into the stadium. You’d think it would be horrifying but it’s remarkably hopeful, or at least, not altogether depressing.

    I don’t know if you’d call “Truly, Madly, Deeply” feminist exactly, but it’s a very touching story of bereavement and healing, and it stars Alan Rickman and the very wonderful Juliet Stevenson, who is magnificent, and beautiful but not pretty, exactly.

    “Osama” is excellent, as people have said, but heartbreaking.

    “Red Dust” is a Hilary Swank movie with Chiwetel Ejiofor that I remember liking. “Hotel Rwanda” has a stunning performance by Sophie Okonedo – in the midst of all the horror, we also get a glimpse of a strong, loving marriage.

    “The Dream Life of Angels” is a wonderful 1998 French film. “Ponette” is a 1996 French film with the most astonishing portrayal by a young girl; her character is struggling to understand the death of her mother.

    One I haven’t seen yet because it’s so new is the Michelle Williams flick, “Wendy and Lucy”.

    Ooh, and Ellen Burstyn in “Resurrection” is fabulous.

  70. how did i forget the Middleman!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

    i feels dumb for forgetting to mention it. thank you annamal!

  71. Gilmore Girls was funny and the parents cracked me up and I don’t care who knows that I think so, though the last 3 seasons were pretty damn terrible IMO.
    Whedonesque people: would you say that Angel is worth watching for someone that dislikes Angel as a character?

    Also people that liked Juno should try another Canadian teen pregnancy movie called New Waterford Girl.

  72. Manga from my stash that people might be interested in:
    Black Lagoon
    Crest of the Stars (better the TV series, and oops actually relevant to the thread!)
    XXXHolic
    PlanetES
    Battle Angel Alita
    Hot Blooded Woman

    A couple of american comics
    “Alias” and “The Pulse”, which is watered down Alias

    Anime’s not mentioned yet…
    Crest of the Stars series
    Juuni Kokkai (12 Kingdoms)
    Haibane Renmei

    Benes‘s Alan Moore comment was really unfair. If anything, the movie was *more* sexist than the comic, and obviously she hasn’t read Promethea or some of his other works–Miracle Man probably would be interesting to analyze from the feminist viewpoint…

  73. “Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day lends itself to an interesting feminist interpretation”

    I don’t know if it’s even really an interpretation. The movie is pretty blatant about how dependent the women’s fortunes are on the idle whims of the men in their lives, and how shabbily the women are treated because the men know they can get away with it. Miss Pettigrew judges the women who use sex to enable their careers and ambitions, but she’s reduced to swiping food and severely compromising her straight-laced code of behavior by poverty brought on by society having no use for a woman who’s neither pretty nor perfectly compliant.

  74. @shah8: i’m sorta in the same camp as Bene wrt Moore. I want to like him, because he seems capable of complex writing and Neil Gaiman thinks the world of him, but I cannot think of a single one of his works that doesn’t use sexual assault as a plot device…Promethea included (I was thinking you were right there, and then remembered the cabbie)

    I do like XXXHolic, especially for Yuuko and Ame Warashi and some of the weird subtle things they do with gender that don’t always make it into the official translations. The random bouts of fanservice bother me a bit, though it helps to think of Yuuko as a young Nanny Ogg. Animation quality is pretty lousy in the first season, too.

  75. I’m surprised no one has mentioned 4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days, which I learned about on this very website.

    And I agree with Ginger SNaps, and also with the Charlie Kaufman movies — I did see the latest one, and feel it was horribly overlooked, for female roles if nothing else. You may find it depressing or confusing, but you can’t deny that the female characters are really interesting.

  76. Oh, obviously, shah8. Sorry for only reading V and Watchmen, and a bit of League. I decided not to stick with it after all of the bullshit.

    Thanks for addressing me directly, it’s greatly bleeding appreciated.

  77. I 2nd the rec for “Kino’s Journey”. It really superb.
    Also, I recommend “Paris, J’taime” It’s got 16 different stories, but quite a few of them have incredible analysis of race, sex, gender, and class.

  79. While not expressly feminist, almost all of Pedro Almodóvar’s films have amazing, multifaceted female characters. He’s also very sex positive and queer positive in his story telling. “Volver” and “Talk to Her (Hable con Ella)” are a couple of his most recent.

  80. I completely disagree with Quixotess’s analysis of Firefly.

    I’m not going to comment on the possible racism (except with one word – ZOE) but the idea that “Nothing about gender roles in this future society has changed” – what??

    First of all, the crew of Firefly are FIGHTING the future society. The future society are the BAD GUYS. So if gender doles haven’t changed, in this outer society, then the Firefly crew are fighting the patriarchy. And that’s not feminist how?

    Secondly, within the ship gender roles are clearly quite different. I could go on, and on, pointing out the various nuances and etc but I haven’t time. I will just say as far as I’m concerned, it’s totally feminist viewing.

  81. “Whedonesque people: would you say that Angel is worth watching for someone that dislikes Angel as a character?”

    Yes, but not worth watching if you’re looking for anything approaching feminism. And this is from someone who found both Buffy and Firefly remarkably feminist.

  82. No offense is meant by directing a response to you, Benes. That’s just pretty much how I roll. I just think it makes it easier to converse.

    I do not deny that sexual assault is present in much of Alan Moore’s work. I think that Moore’s fixation on sexuality makes his work more interesting than many other comic authors. What’s more, women seems to have a greater degree of roles in Alan Moore’s work, and the some of the key decisions in most of his comics have been made by the female characters. Of the other major writers who are well regarded like Ennis, Miller, Claremont, or Ellis, pretty much only Bendis is comparable in allowing women agency in his works, and Bendis has come in for similar criticisms. However, the arguments over the appropriatness of Moore’s use of sexual assaults as plot device has caused plenty of big threads. Google for them, they are interesting!

    I was upset with the idea that the movie could be considered better (at the very least, in the feminist sense) than the graphic novel, though. I certainly do not think that the movie was especially feminist-minded. One of the critical changes from the novel to the movie was the erasing of Rose Almond, who got the raisin in the sun treatment in the novel before making the assasination that was committed by male underlings in the movie. Another change that truly bugged me was how the movie consistently denied Evey a chance to be, to formulate herself, since that was a big part of the moral of the story. In the novel, she reacts to events by generating new policy/sentiments that she feels will maintain the equilibrium that she desires. In the movie she…just reacts, no evident though-processes or anything. Just more of a plot device than a character at times. The movie denies Evey the chances to follow V’s principles in her own way during and after the end of the story–which the novel allowed for.

  84. LADIES!

    EVERYONE MUST SEE “FLYING: CONFESSIONS OF A FREE WOMEN”
    Absolutely wonderful documentary about the hidden sex lives of women and sooo much more… definitely the type of movie that is on your mind for weeeeeks, dare i say lifechanging! You can even get a free copy to host a screening at your house!!

    http://www.flyingconfessions.com/screenings_Yourown.php

    And I cant believe no one said STEPFORD WIVES!!! Not the remake (refused to see it) but the original 1975 one! Isn’t it just amaaaazing when you see female characters on screen you can actually relate to??! feminist thriller yessss!

    also you all have to see “The Business of Being Born”… another life changer… a birth documentary by ricki lake… learn all about the smear campaign against midwives, or the the vanishing prospect of natural birth, or that the US stands alone from any other country in not having midwives present in the hospital, absolutely disturbing yet still empowering… must see!!!

    http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/

  85. Quixotess brings up relevant points and many that I agree with. While I love Firefly and Serenity and wish I could have had more of it…it is also problematic in how it deals with sex and race.

    The Hathor Legacy has great analysis of the roles of the women of Firefly: http://thehathorlegacy.com/tag/firefly-serenity/

    This post opened my eyes to Zoe’s role in the series: http://blogs.feministsf.net/?p=30 And also points out the problematic nature of there being NO Chinese/Chinese-American actors in any main role and Book being an obvious stereotype of the “magical negro.”

    To add to feminist movies? Howl’s Moving Castle (kick-ass old woman as the lead!) Most people have already said “anything Miyazaki” and I agree.

  86. Whedonesque people: would you say that Angel is worth watching for someone that dislikes Angel as a character?

    this depends; how do you feel about Cordelia, and about Wesley? (although Wesley doesn’t show up at once)

    and i have to say, i think Fred is one of my favoritist female characters ever – and the Karaoke demon (whose name escapes me)… well… i am ADDICTED to karaoke!

    so yeah – Angel is broody and, well, broody, but there are LOTS of other redeming qualities.

  87. Showing my age a bit here – but the mid-90s BBC series ‘This Life’ is fantastic, if you can ignore the dated Britpop soundtrack. It had one of the all time great female characters, Anna, who is unapologetically sharp, witty, sexual, complex and smarter than just about everyone around her. It also has some really great, nuanced and non-stereotypical portrayals of gay characters – very much ahead of its time. If you’re at all offended by swearing, explicit sex scenes or drug use, best avoided (it’s about lawyers after all!).

  88. Seconding Real Women Have Curves, Alien(s), T2, and most everything else already mentioned. Ripley and Sarah Conner are two of my favorite woman heroes, followed closely by Veronica Mars (even more so than Buffy cos VM has no supernatural powers and is therefore more believable, plus VM’s relationship with her father Keith is a joy to watch, and Keith Mars is strongly masculine character who supports his daughters strength, a rarity in characters these days).

    Has anyone watched the Sarah Conner Chronicles tv series? Does it meet the standards of T2?

    I love Buffy, but a hell of a lot of the episodes are blatantly racist.

    Also, Girl Fight — creepy title, but it’s about a woman who boxes, and competes effectively against men.

    Also also, Better Than Chocolate, which besides being just a beautiful lesbian love story, shows a wide variety of gender expression; its sympathetic portrayal of a trans woman and cis woman who fall in love with each other and get married (the movie is set in Canada) nicely balances out Itty Bitty Titty Committee’s exclusive focus on the trans masculine spectrum.

    I’d caution against Silence of the Lambs. It is blatantly transphobic and is a favorite hobbyhorse of transphobes who like to equate trans women with fucked up serial murderers.

  89. how do you feel about Cordelia, and about Wesley?

    Cordelia and Wesley were funny in season 3 of Buffy but I don’t know if I’d want to watch 6 seasons of sexual tension between them a la Who’s the Boss. I figure there would have to be other things going on for the show to last that long but I guess I’ll just have to borrow a dvd and see.

    I don’t need all my entertainment to be perfectly progressive, if I had to agree with everything I watched I’d never watch anything. Thanks to the people who answered me!

  90. The first time I saw The Piano in film class, I remember walking out feeling like I’d just seen the first feminist movie of my life. I haven’t seen it since then, but from what I remember it was a movie that felt feminist, not just in its plot & characters, but in tone and narrative structure as well. So I’d recommend that!

  91. I liked “The Education of Shelby Knox” about a budding feminist fighting for sex ed in schools in Lubbock, TX. And I do mean budding- she starts out taking a purity pledge in a church with a pastor who tried to tell kids you can get AIDS from a handshake. By the end of the movie-well, just watch it 🙂
    I will tell you that I had to google her to find out where she is now and I found a couple of her articles on HuffPo.
    Also, I will second Persepolis with enthusiasm. It’s a wonderful film.

  92. Has anyone watched the Sarah Conner Chronicles tv series? Does it meet the standards of T2?

    Yes I have, and no, no, no, big fat smelly no it doesn’t.

  93. I recommend “Cold Comfort Farm”, which is a hoot. The main character is a smart and self-confident young English women living in the 1920’s who’s fallen on hard times. Her trip to stay with her bizarre relatives in the country is a send up of every BBC historical drama stereotype, as our heroine straightens out everyone’s problems–including her own–with complete panache. Not deep, but lots of fun.

  94. How about the Indian film Fire and the Chinese Raise the Red Lantern? Both are about women in sucky marriages. The former is pretty explicitly feminist, I think. The latter is about a progressive woman whose circumstances change and she’s made into a concubine. We know she’s progressive because her father taught her to play the flute, a man’s instrument.

    That film is mostly about the interaction of the various “wives” and their power struggles within the patriarchy. It’s a gorgeous film, and it certainly provoked discussion in our movie group. It is not, however, a very happy one.

  96. I second “Iron-Jawed Angels”!! That’s one of my favorite movies.
    I recently watched “Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains” which is an interesting old school (well, ok, 1986) film about an all girl’s rock band. (I watched it because my current obsession is with Bikini Kill’s “Rebel Girl”.)
    The United States of Tara on Showtime stars Toni Colette and is about a woman dealing with multiple personality disorder, the stigmas that come with it, her family, etc. I adore it.
    I’ve also been watching a lot of “That 70s Show”, because I’ve fallen in love with Donna, the outspoken feminist character. She’s always talking about the ERA, it’s awesome. =D

  98. “how do you feel about Cordelia, and about Wesley?

    Cordelia and Wesley were funny in season 3 of Buffy but I don’t know if I’d want to watch 6 seasons of sexual tension between them a la Who’s the Boss.”

    Heheh–don’t worry about that, Nadia. There is virtually NO sexual tension between them on Angel. That seemed to be taken care of in Buffy’s “Graduation Day.”

  99. shah8, sorry. I didn’t mean to be so snappy, I was just in a lousy mood…and I do remain pretty discomfited by Alan Moore’s use of sexual assault as plot device (which is not unique to him in comics, indeed…).

    And yeah, the film’s not really feminist. I just don’t visualize the comics in that manner either, but to each hir own interpretation, as most things in the mainstream have problematic aspects on one level or another (see: Silence of the Lambs has strong women but is, indeed, as GallingGalla points out, transphobic).

  101. Two early pro-choice movies, TO FIND A MAN (1972) and OUR TIME (1974). Both have Pamela Sue Martin in them. Ironically, I don’t think either of these could be made now. They had a huge impact on me when I was young and probably q

    Another old movie, FOXES–it was about this time, one realized Jodie Foster would grow into a major actress and feminist. This movie is about 4 friends, and what happens to them. Really close to my heart. 🙂

  102. Sorry, hit send too fast…

    I was saying they probably qualify as historical artifacts now!

    And forgot link: FOXES (1980)

    My best friend in high school ran away, just like Jodie’s friend in the movie does.

  103. I second everyone on Veronica Mars, but no one, not anyone, remembers “Set it Off” or “Living Single”.

  104. If you haven’t seen them already, I recommend:
    – Orlando (a 1992 film adapatation of the Virginia Woolf novel starring Tilda Swinton)
    – Antonia’s Line
    – Fire, Water, and Earth (3 separate films directed by Deepa Mehta)
    – Ma Vie en Rose (not exactly feminist, but about a boy exploring his gender identity/expression — a delightful film)
    – Whale Rider
    – Real Women have Curves
    – Bend it Like Beckham
    – Quincinera
    – Itty Bitty Titty Committee
    – Monster
    – Shortbus (not exactly feminist, but very sex-positive and queer affirming)
    – Tipping the Velvet (a lesbian miniseries adaptation of the Sarah Waters book, but the book is better)
    – Songcatcher (not explicitly feminist, but has some great female roles)

  106. The only black villain is portrayed as animalistic, threatening to rape the sweet white woman.

    Way to totally miss the point of that scene. Jubal Early attacks the weak points of each of the characters, regardless of gender or race. He’s smart, resourceful and, against any opponent other than River Tam, would have succeeded easily. Even in defeat, he maintains composure, and Whedon has said that if the show had been allowed to continue, he certainly would have brought him back.

  107. Late to the party, but I love recommending shows and movies that are feminist, or at least have cool female characters.

    – Seconding Tank Girl. Love-love-love it. Very flawed, but super-fun. Campy, incredibly weird, high-energy sci-fi dystopia where it’s the future, Earth is gripped by drought, and one corporation controls all the water. Rebecca (“Tank Girl”) has to rescue her little sister (they’re not related, but it’s coded that way) from said evil corporation. On the way, Tanky has total lesbian vibes with a young, brunette Naomi Watts, engages in a random Busby Berkely musical number, and has sexual tension with mutant kangaroos. It’s *awesome*.

    – Third/fourth/whatever-ing Firefly; it has gender and race issues, it’s true, but I think it had great female characters, and I enjoy it a lot.

    – Farscape. *Excellent*, well-drawn female characters in this sci-fi TV series about a lost astronaut from Earth who’s accidentally shot himself through a wormhole and ends up on the run with a band of alien fugitives. There’s kick-ass soldier Aeryn, meditative, wise Zhaan and fun pickpocket Chiana, who totally owns her (bi)sexuality. Also, all the aliens and the makeup are done by the Jim Henson Creature Shop, so you know it’s gotta look top-notch. A wild, passionate, *weird* inverted Star Trek.

    – Also seconding The Legend Of Billie Jean — cheesy and very ’80s and won’t win an Oscar, but those are also the reasons why it’s fun.

    – I haven’t watched it myself, but apparently there’s a German movie called “Bandits” about a group of female convicts who escape prison and start a band? I don’t know about you, but I feel like that literally defines everything that is awesome.

    – Seconding Better Than Chocolate. It’s not without its flaws, but it really is a sweet, sexy lesbian romance. I heart it.

    – You will laugh, and I wouldn’t define it as *feminist* per se, but for all its copious flaws, Andromeda was a sci-fi series with some really cool, lovable female characters, including the title character, who literally was the ship they were riding around in (and also an AI. And a robot.) There was also tough, smart, funny Beka, the XO and former leader of a band of thieves/smugglers, and Trance, whose ditzy persona was just a cover.

  108. Not particularly feminist but these films have prominent female roles that makes you think about gender issues after watching them:

    Monster, Hard Candy, The Duchess, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, North Country, Persepolis (French animation by Marjain Satrapy), Revolutionary Road, Changeling, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Becoming Jane, Little Miss Sunshine, The Hours, Pride and Prejudice, Monsoon Wedding, Erin Brockovich

  109. Ooh, and I strongly agree with “anything Miyazaki.” Princess Mononoke has to be my favorite though… add Valley of Nausikaa.

  110. I second “Monsoon Wedding, Girls Town, and Iron Jawed Angels.” I’d also recommend, “Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, and Secrets & Lies.”

    I’m shocked that no one has mentioned these 3 amazing British TV shows…

    Absolutely Fabulous – Hysterically funny from day one. The lead characters are all strong, witty, eccentric, and flawed.

    Sugar Rush – It’s a coming of age lesbian Drama/Comedy about a 15 year old lesbian who falls in love with her straight (slightly homophobic) best friend.

    The Secret Diary Of A Call Girl – Very sex positive, and it promotes female empowerment.

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