Chick Flicks
Another one from our fantastic guest blogger Trudi Evans...
Trudi Evans is the publisher of As We Are Magazine(http://www.aswearemagazine.com) new space on the web for women to feel good, speak out and be heard. When she’s not promoting the magazine, Trudi acts as the president of the board of directors for the Eating Disorders Action Group (http://www.edag.ca), plays in the sprinkler with her 4 ½ year old son, hangs out with her husband of ten years, and chases the cat back into the house. She is currently growing pumpkins in containers on her deck and thinking about female super heroes.
I’m not a big movie-buff. I don’t see many films in the movie theatre (too cheap to hire a babysitter) and I generally know what I’m going to like, so I don’t see a lot of films that I presume will fall outside that realm. That sounds awful, I just realized; much like judging a book by its cover. I should work on that.
The term chick flick tends to be a bit derogatory. They are films that not only appeal to women more than men, but are assumed to be mindless and meaningless. The fact is, that isn’t always true. Some of my favourite films fall into this genre. So when you’re looking for something to feed your inner-chick, perhaps you’ll want to check out some of these. If you’ve seen them before, maybe it’s time to watch them again!
Auntie Mame (1958) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051383/
Long before the term chick-flick or the idea that single women could possibly be happy on their own, there was Rosalind Russell as Auntie Mame. Funny, independent, opinionated and ahead of her time, Mame never fails to remind me to be myself. Quote to live by: Yes! Live! Life's a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!
A League of Their Own (1992) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104694/)
This film stars some big name women: Gena Davis, Madonna and Rosie O’Donnell and was directed by Penny Marshall. It is a fictional story based on the real life All American Girls Baseball League that was started in the U.S.A. during World War II. While many of the able men were overseas fighting, the baseball commission decided they wanted to keep the folks at home focused on something positive and what do people love? Baseball! Thinking that the women would be more entertainer than athlete, they were dressed up in skirts and lipstick and paraded about, but they triumphed with their passion and skill for the sport. This movie never fails to make me well up with admiration and pride, and yes, I cry. But it’s a good cry.
Steele Magnolias (1989) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098384/)
This movie has been around long enough that most people know it is a real tear-jerker, but the movie really shines in the way it depicts friendships among women. A variety of complex women played by Sally Field, Olympia Dukakis, Shirley MacLaine, Dolly Parton, Darryl Hannah and Julia Roberts, are woven together in ways that are real and heartbreaking and filled with hope. Olympia Dukakis plays Clairee and utters my favourite line in the movie: If you can’t find anything good to say about anybody, come sit by me. Watch this one with friends. Bring tissue.
Erin Brockovich (2000) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0195685/)
I’m a bit of a sucker for movies based in real life. There are so many great stories about women that don’t get told and I’d like to see the film industry find a way to tell more of them. Erin is a real person who lived this real story, that Julia Roberts depicted in the Hollywood version. When a tenacious single mother with a big mouth takes on a big corporation on behalf of the little guy, she becomes a real-life heroine. Erin inspires.
The list goes on and on and on. I have an equally long list of movies I haven’t yet seen, but will keep working my way through. I’m always on the lookout for stories about women that inform and inspire me. It is not often that Hollywood gets it right when it comes to portraying women, so I feel it’s important to hold close the stories that ring true for me. The beauty of every art, including film, is that there is something for everyone. Selfishly, I hope they make more movies for me.
Trudi Evans is the publisher of As We Are Magazine(http://www.aswearemagazine.com) new space on the web for women to feel good, speak out and be heard. When she’s not promoting the magazine, Trudi acts as the president of the board of directors for the Eating Disorders Action Group (http://www.edag.ca), plays in the sprinkler with her 4 ½ year old son, hangs out with her husband of ten years, and chases the cat back into the house. She is currently growing pumpkins in containers on her deck and thinking about female super heroes.
I’m not a big movie-buff. I don’t see many films in the movie theatre (too cheap to hire a babysitter) and I generally know what I’m going to like, so I don’t see a lot of films that I presume will fall outside that realm. That sounds awful, I just realized; much like judging a book by its cover. I should work on that.
The term chick flick tends to be a bit derogatory. They are films that not only appeal to women more than men, but are assumed to be mindless and meaningless. The fact is, that isn’t always true. Some of my favourite films fall into this genre. So when you’re looking for something to feed your inner-chick, perhaps you’ll want to check out some of these. If you’ve seen them before, maybe it’s time to watch them again!
Auntie Mame (1958) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051383/
Long before the term chick-flick or the idea that single women could possibly be happy on their own, there was Rosalind Russell as Auntie Mame. Funny, independent, opinionated and ahead of her time, Mame never fails to remind me to be myself. Quote to live by: Yes! Live! Life's a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!
A League of Their Own (1992) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104694/)
This film stars some big name women: Gena Davis, Madonna and Rosie O’Donnell and was directed by Penny Marshall. It is a fictional story based on the real life All American Girls Baseball League that was started in the U.S.A. during World War II. While many of the able men were overseas fighting, the baseball commission decided they wanted to keep the folks at home focused on something positive and what do people love? Baseball! Thinking that the women would be more entertainer than athlete, they were dressed up in skirts and lipstick and paraded about, but they triumphed with their passion and skill for the sport. This movie never fails to make me well up with admiration and pride, and yes, I cry. But it’s a good cry.
Steele Magnolias (1989) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098384/)
This movie has been around long enough that most people know it is a real tear-jerker, but the movie really shines in the way it depicts friendships among women. A variety of complex women played by Sally Field, Olympia Dukakis, Shirley MacLaine, Dolly Parton, Darryl Hannah and Julia Roberts, are woven together in ways that are real and heartbreaking and filled with hope. Olympia Dukakis plays Clairee and utters my favourite line in the movie: If you can’t find anything good to say about anybody, come sit by me. Watch this one with friends. Bring tissue.
Erin Brockovich (2000) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0195685/)
I’m a bit of a sucker for movies based in real life. There are so many great stories about women that don’t get told and I’d like to see the film industry find a way to tell more of them. Erin is a real person who lived this real story, that Julia Roberts depicted in the Hollywood version. When a tenacious single mother with a big mouth takes on a big corporation on behalf of the little guy, she becomes a real-life heroine. Erin inspires.
The list goes on and on and on. I have an equally long list of movies I haven’t yet seen, but will keep working my way through. I’m always on the lookout for stories about women that inform and inspire me. It is not often that Hollywood gets it right when it comes to portraying women, so I feel it’s important to hold close the stories that ring true for me. The beauty of every art, including film, is that there is something for everyone. Selfishly, I hope they make more movies for me.
posted by Jess at 10:04 AM
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