One of the elements that most intrigued me when I watched Firefly years ago was the idea of a sex work as a positive, healthy, prestigious occupation - which I believe it could be in a society more evolved than ours. But it didn’t take long to realize the creators either didn’t get it or were setting up a revelation that despite the Companion Guild’s great public relations buzz, it hadn’t really reformed sex work to the degree Inara claims. … READ MORE

SBG recently talked about Susan Boyle, the singer who blew everyone away on Britain’s Got Talent despite, gasp, not looking like a Hollywood starlet. The reactions to this woman’s looks have been interesting, to say the least. Katie Couric called Boyle’s story “a reminder that looks can be deceiving” - I believe this was meant entirely as a compliment, but it begs a troubling question: when on earth did we get the idea that talent and starlet looks typically go together? … READ MORE

O.W. at Poplicks recently found my post, Why film schools teach screenwriters not to pass the Bechdel test and had the following to say about it:

To use her example, if Hollywood has traditionally catered its products to white male moviegoers, it builds an expectation amongst audiences - and executives - that the only successful movies are those that cater to…white male moviegoers. Thus, there is no financial incentive to break the cycle and the very bias that exists helps to … READ MORE

It’s just not possible for us to see and review every movie while it’s hot. So one of our readers had a great suggestion: an open thread where those who have seen the new Star Trek can tell us what they thought.

This is it. Tell us what you thought about the female characters and any gender issues or politics the movie raised. And feel free to talk spoilers.

This comment thread WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS.

As many of you may not even realize, we have three separate sections: Film, Books and Feminism. We’re merging these sections in the next few days so that all posts will appear on the front page and you won’t have to subscribe to three different RSS feeds to get all our content. We hope this will make following the site much easier for everyone. It also enlarges the scope of the front page from covering film and other visual media … READ MORE

This article contains spoilers for the final episode of “One Foot in the Grave.”

There’s a British sitcom called One Foot in the Grave, which I don’t believe has ever aired in the US. It’s all about a retired man who spends most of his time finding ways to get even with or teach lessons to stupid and/or selfish people. While it conforms more or less to the standard sitcom conventions, the humor was at times dark enough to stir up … READ MORE

Bea Arthur died on April 25, 2009. She was probably best known for her roles as an outspoken liberal feminist in Maude and as retired divorcee Dorothy Zbornak whose life was far from over in The Golden Girls.

I’ve never reviewed Maude, mostly because others have done it better years before I came along. Maude was flawed, middle-aged and not someone you’d mistake for a supermodel. Today, I wonder if someone like her could ever be the central character in a … READ MORE

I have to be honest: I’ve been a webmaster for years, have owned a number of domains, and I would never ever consider registering a domain with Godaddy after my one and only experience dealing with them. I found them to be completely fraudulent digi-thugs, and I’m not the only one. Therefore, I’m predisposed to hate anything having to do with them.

That said: Godaddy commercials? They all seem to feature Playboy models skanking it up in various milieus, and it … READ MORE

Karen Healey highlighted this link on her LiveJournal, and I encourage everyone to check it out. It’s just what I’ve been talking about for years, the faux-liberalism of Hollywood.

“Hollywood is anything but liberal. I call them liberal bigots. Hollywood is filled with liberal bigots, and they use the thing of being liberal as a reason for being bigoted, for if they’d listen to themselves talk, and listen to their friends talk, they would find that they tell way too many … READ MORE

A long time ago, I reviewed Sports Night in general, and talked a little in particular about its examination of a neurotic male lead. I know the show is old, but I’ve recently re-watched it yet again, and there’s a lot more to be said about it. This article assumes you know the basics.

Dana and Natalie.

Sports Night passes the so-called Bechdel/Wallace test in every single episode, because the fictional TV show is run by two women producers - Dana Whitaker … READ MORE