DEVI’S DISCOURSE

On alternating weeks, Devi will explore a series of film-related topics via a feminist gaze much like she conducts her college courses, drawing from history, sociology, anthropology, psychology, gender studies and film theory.

Unit 1: Beyond the Bechdel Test

Post 1: Welcome to Beyond the Bechdel

Post 2: The Good F-Word (Despite its Bad Reputation)

Post 3: Moving Beyond “Chick Flicks”

Post 4: What is a Feminist-Friendly Film?

Post 5: How to Watch a Film from a Feminist Gaze

Post 6: Passes the Bechdel, Fails Feminism (Bridesmaids Revisited)

Post 7: The Fully Monty: Fails the Bechdel, Feminist-Friendly

Post 8: The Princess Bride: A Missed Bechdel Test Opportunity

Post 9: Oscar Winner / Bechdel Loser: Manbabies By The Sea

Post 10: Male-Driven Films Can (and should) Be Feminist-Friendly Too!

Post 11: When A Film Fails to Pass The Reverse Bechdel Test

Post 12: When Boys Write Girls: Gender Appropriation in Films

Post 13: What Feminism Isn’t Myth #1: Keeping Score

Post 14: What Feminism Isn’t Myth #2: Gender Swapping

Post 15: What Feminism Isn’t Myth #3: Lionizing Women

Post 16: What Feminism Isn’t Myth #4: Demonizing Women

Post 17: What Feminism Isn’t Myth #5: Aggrandizing Female Dysfunction

Post 18: What Feminism Isn’t Myth #6: Feminism isn’t Feminism w/o Intersectionality

Post 19: How to Be An Active, And Activist, Film Spectator

Post 20: Gender Bullies at the Movies: From Apatow to Weinstein

Post 21: Female Gender Bullies and The Shaming of Carrie Bradshaw

Post 22: Gender Disparity Behind the Camera

Post 23: How Our Feminist History Can Help Our Feminist Present and Future

Post 24: Seven Feminist Calls to Action

Post 25: Feminist Call to Action #2: Protest the Problem

Post 26: Feminist Call to Action #3: Demand More of Movie Execs

Post 27: Feminist Call to Action #4: Think For Yourself

Post 28: Feminist Call to Action #5: Engage With Men

Post 29: Feminist Call to Action #6: Practice Cinematic Cultural Anthropology

Post 30: Feminist Call to Action #7: Mind Your Language

Post 31: Feminist Call to Action #8: Embrace O.C.D.

Post 32: How We Move Beyond the Bechdel Test

Unit 2: Romantic Comedies Via a Feminist Gaze

Post 1: The Polarizing Trends of the Romantic Comedy

Post 2: Why Rom-Coms Matter

Post 3: The (Un)Changing Roles of Women in Early Narrative Cinema

Post 4: Screwball Comedies: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Post 5: 1950s Sex Comedies: The Unromantic Rise of Toxic Masculinity

Post 6: Male Domination in 1960s Rom-Coms

Post 7: The Needy Men and Liberated Women of 1970s “Radical Rom-Coms”

MISC.

The Thrilling ‘Baby It’s Cold’ Kerfuffle

Why This Feminist Praises ‘Bombshell’