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Attraction to bad guys, written properly: Few tropes anger me like “Woman Of Allegedly Sound Mind Falls For Murderous Thug, Knowing He Is Murderous Thug.” It bothers me because, as far as I can tell from my experience, the experiences of people I’ve known, and basic logic, a person’s survival drive always takes precedence over her sex drive. No matter how attractive someone may be in some ways, once she knows he is a murderous thug who won’t hesitate to, for example, knock her frail father ... READ MORE

Open Thread: Precious: None of us have seen Precious, so I thought I’d open a thread inviting comments from anyone who has? The limited-release movie, based on the novel Push by Sapphire, features a female African-American lead and a number of other female characters (many of color, and at least one is a lesbian). The character “Precious” is an African-American teenage girl who is pregnant for the second time by her father and abused by a mother who has been encouraged by the ... READ MORE

Embracing the other side: Alison Mundy of “Afterlife”: The most memorable TV sci-fi and paranormal genre characters are those who have touched the hidden side of life and been convincingly affected by it. Whether that “hidden side” is aliens, the spirit world, or some great secret quest, the best characters need: a motive for seeking out the “weird”, difficulties in coping with the weird, and palpable battle scarring (physical, emotional or mental) from having touched it. These roles, when they’re done right, are usually awarded to male characters, ... READ MORE

Open thread: chiding women for turning men down: I’m hoping this sounds really, really bizarre, but does it sound familiar? A man asks an available woman out. The woman says no, thank you, because she’s not interested/not attracted to him/busy with her career or something else non-sexual that she cares about/is going through something tough to cope with and doesn’t need the complication of a new relationship. Another woman who finds out about it – possibly even an alleged friend of the woman who was asked out – chides her for ... READ MORE

Function versus feeling: I realized something recently, and I’m still working through it. There’s a trope in television that always really bothered me: female characters all the time monitoring everyone’s feelings and remarking on them. “I can tell you’re sad.” “Talk to me – I know it bothered you.” “Aha, you love her! Have you told her yet?” I’m not wild about Emotions Exposition in general, because character motivation should be shown, not told. When Emotions Exposition is strictly the function of your female ... READ MORE

Open Thread: sex as a commodity in Hollywood: A couple of weeks ago, DoctorScience said this in comments on Hollywood’s claims of “compassion” for Roman Polanski, but apparently not his victim: I think what Hollywood puts onscreen reflects their offscreen lives: a world where many (most?) of the women they know are trading sex for something: money, position, access. They’re living in a world where sexual harrassment is not a crime, but a perk — it is accepted by all that a powerful man can do things like make ... READ MORE

New Tricks: Esther Lane: New Tricks has the most enjoyable female lead I’ve ever seen in a crime drama: Detective Superintendent Sandra Pullman. But there’s a secondary character – a frequently recurring guest role – who also really interests me: Esther Lane. Esther is the wife of Brian Lane, one of Sandra’s team of retired detectives. To reveal Esther, I need to tell you that Brian is a real piece of work. He’s brilliant, with an incredible memory, but he’s obsessive, anxious, depressed, highly suggestible ... READ MORE

New Tricks: Sandra Pullman: “You shoot one bloody dog in this country!” –Detective Superintendent Sandra Pullman. I love this woman. One day, Pullman is a fast-tracked British career detective whose team gets a Doberman sicced on them during a raid. She does the only sensible thing – shoot the dog – but that’s not good P.R. for the police department, which seems more focused on getting the public to like them again than, you know, crimes. So the next day, Sandra Pullman finds herself in charge ... READ MORE

Are conservatives and liberals really aligned on Polanski?: I recently pointed out a New York Times article that totally whitewashed the Polanski case as a simple case of underage sex. E.J. Graff agrees, and had this to say in the Boston Globe today: A New York Times story this week compared Polanski’s rape with the consensual (if discomfiting) cross-generational affair in Woody Allen’s movie “Manhattan.’’ The article suggested that Polanski’s arrest brings “some sharp reminders that, when it comes to adult sex with the under age, things have changed’’ ... READ MORE

Polanski: it’s not just about age: God almighty, it’s been two weeks since Roman Polanski was arrested, and still we’re getting articles where even the title is a whitewash: In Polanski Case, ’70s Culture Collides With Today Manners, mores and law enforcement have become far less forgiving of sex crimes involving minors in the 31 years since Mr. Polanski was charged with both rape and sodomy involving drugs. How can anyone mention “drugs” in their description of the charges, then continue yammering on about her age as if that’s ... READ MORE