n this episode of the podcast, we discuss Sarah Polley’s new Oscar hopeful film: her screen adaptation of the Miriam Toewes’s novel Women Talking. We talk about how the film works (or doesn’t) as an adaptation, its lack of specificity in depicting a mennonite community, and the many problems that plague the film.
Rape culture podcast
Ep. 113: About Time and I’m Your Man: Sci-fi love stories
We discuss two sci-fi-ish romantic comedies, Maria Schrader’s I’m Your Man and Richard Curtis’ About Time
Ep. 92: Sugar Daddy and An Easy Girl: Commodifying women
In this episode, we discuss two recent films directed by women about how women commodify themselves and are commodified by society and the people around them: Wendy Morgan’s Sugar Daddy and Rebecca Zlotowski’s Easy Girl. We ask how these films comment on patriarchal norms without (or if they manage to do so) reproducing them.
Ep. 86: Una & Slalom: Depictions of childhood sexual assault
On this episode we discuss how two films, Una and the recent Slalom, depict the trauma of childhood sexual assault. We discuss the films’ messy navigation of depiction and questions of empathy and catharsis.
Ep. 73: Promising Young Woman and The Assistant: Explorations of rape culture
This week on the podcast we discuss two explorations of rape culture that approach the topic in very different way. We look at Emerald Fennell’s stylish revenge thriller Promising Young Woman and Kitty Green’s The Assistant, a portrait of a young woman working in a misogynistic office environment.
Ep. 57: Misbehaviour and British revolution ensemble films
On this week’s podcast we contextualize Philippa Lowthorpe’s new film Misbehaviour as part of a trend of British social activism films starring amazing ensemble casts. We discuss complicating history to move beyond just feel good films, why these films are particularly popular in Britain, and many of our favourite actors.