Rape-revenge movies have a reputation as voyeuristic at best, or at worst, distorted fantasies made by men, for men. Emerald Fennell’s “Promising Young Woman” reimagines the genre by exploring what revenge and reparations would be sufficient to punish a rapist. We explore the societal and legal structures that fail rape survivors and how men respond when women don’t act the way they expect. 

Content warning: This episode deals with rape and trauma, so if that’s not something you want to listen to, check out one of our other episodes.

Cited: 

Clover, Carol J. "Men, Women, and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film." Princeton University Press, 1997.

Machado, Carmen Maria. "How 'Promising Young Woman' Refigures the Rape-Revenge Movie." The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/how-promising-young-woman-refigures-the-rape-revenge-movie

Wilson, Lena. "Rape-Revenge Tales: Cathartic? Maybe. Incomplete? Definitely." The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/14/movies/rape-revenge-films-flaws.html

The music used in this episode is "Lost Souls" by Portrayal freemusicarchive.org/music/Portraya…l_-_Lost_Souls used under an attribution license creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

You pretend to be nice and you're trash.

We talk about media made for teenage girls, comparing ‘Bring It On’ (2000) and ‘Never Have I Ever’ (2020), and discuss why teenage movies were dismissed, the importance of women in the film industry, and the evolution in the way we talk about sexuality in media. 

Cited: 

Cohen, Anne. “Teenage Girls Loved These Movies, Critics Didn’t — Who Was Right?” Refinery29. https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/12/8952462/girl-movies-for-women-reviews-male-film-critics-problem

Getz, Dana. “What Happened To Sleepover Movies?” Bustle. https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/90s-2000s-teen-movies

Orenstein, Peggy. “The Movies Discover The Teen-Age Girl”. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/11/movies/the-movies-discover-the-teen-age-girl.html

Scott, A.O. “Strong, Modest and Sincere Behind All the Giddy Cheer.” The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/25/movies/film-review-strong-modest-and-sincere-behind-all-the-giddy-cheer.html

“Never Have I Ever I Co-Creators Mindy Kaling & Lang Fisher On Creating Teen Comedy “ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mE_Oah0RxQE 

“Never Have I Ever | Mindy Kaling & Maitreyi Ramakrishnan Celebrate Ganesh Puja Episode” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzVYRST0h3Q

The music used in this episode is "Lost Souls" by Portrayal freemusicarchive.org/music/Portraya…l_-_Lost_Souls used under an attribution license creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Cool, Interesting Nerds

We talk about ‘Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey’ (a.k.a. ‘Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn’) and discuss the figure of the anti-heroine, how Harley rejects the Lolita effect, and her quest to define herself. 

Cited: 

Balakian, Nona. “The Prophetic Vogue of the Anti-Heroine.”  https://www.jstor.org/stable/43467384

Itzkoff, Dave. “Cathy Yan on the Rerelease of ‘Birds of Prey,’ the Harley Quinn Movie.” New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/24/movies/cathy-yan-harley-quinn-birds-of-prey.html

Schmidt, Katlin, "Siren Song: A Rhetorical Analysis of Gender and Intimate Partner Violence in Gotham City Sirens." 
https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/thesesdissertations/2423

“Watch Margot Robbie Fight on Roller Skates in ‘Birds of Prey’ | Anatomy of a Scene.” New York Times. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IzKamea9ww

“'Birds Of Prey' Takes Flight.” Pop Culture Happy Hour. https://www.npr.org/2020/02/13/805620651/birds-of-prey-takes-flight

The music used in this episode is "Lost Souls" by Portrayal freemusicarchive.org/music/Portraya…l_-_Lost_Souls used under an attribution license creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The Anti-Lolita

We talk about the 2009 film ‘Jennifer’s Body,’ why it wasn’t appreciated when it came out, and what it has to say about the expectations we project onto young women’s bodies. We discuss Megan Fox’s theory about why the movie bombed and the treatment of actresses pre-MeToo, and we dive into how the movie plays with horror tropes.

Cited: 

Blichert, Frederick. “'Jennifer’s Body' Would Kill if It Came Out Today.” Vice. https://www.vice.com/en/article/qv99y3/jennifers-body-would-kill-if-it-came-out-today?utm_source=vicetwitterus 

Clover, Carol J. Men, Women, and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film. Princeton
University Press, 1997. 

Grady, Constance. “How Jennifer’s Body went from a flop in 2009 to a feminist cult classic today.’ Vox. https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/10/31/18037996/jennifers-body-flop-cult-classic-feminist-horror

Scott, A.O. “Hell Is Other People, Especially the Popular Girl.” New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/18/movies/18jennifer.html 

The music used in this episode is "Lost Souls" by Portrayal freemusicarchive.org/music/Portraya…l_-_Lost_Souls used under an attribution license creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Demons Don't Have an Agenda

A podcast dedicated to the female gaze. Hosted by Veronica Penney and Nathalia Velez Ryan.

Madeline Looks Back