Please recommend me some pro-feminism films- I am fed up!

[Aworryingtrend]

The last few films I have watched have either had very few female characters, or the ones they have had have either been 2-dimensional characters as a prop for the main lead characters, or simply as a sex object love interest.

It's really getting me down now, and Idon't think I am being paranoid as DH also remarked upon the lack of strong female characters.

Recently I have seen

• New Years Eve- anti-feminist on sooo many lvels
• The Accidental Husband- turned it off after 20 minutes
• Horrible Bosses- didn't even attempt to hide its 'women as sex objects' plot, use of lots of anti-women swearing and insults
• Teeth- NOT my choice to watch this, saw it at a friends house and was

The only half-decent film I have seen recently with a strong female character is 'La Potiche', a French comedy.

Does anyone have any recommendations for pro-Feminism films?

God, those all sound ghastly!

I'd recommend the new film of Jane Eyre - of course Jane Eyre is quite complex in feminist terms what with the mad wife in the attic, but the film is lovely and Jane is portrayed very much as a strong character who wants to be in control of her own life.

I've seen the adverts for New Year's Eve. It looks like a shite Love Actually wannabe.

I'll be watching this thread with interest. All I can think of at the moment are the various studio Ghibli films (spirited away, princess mononoke etc.) but not everyone enjoys animated films

Oh I have seen Jane Eyre actually and you are right, there were actually more female characters in that film than male which is surely a rarity these days.

Yes I do seem to have had rather a run of late of very male-dominated films! We have got in the habit of just watching the films that come on TV rather than making a decent Lovefilm list, so I'm looking to do that now.

The issue is that after a long week at work, on a Friday evening we want to watch something fairly 'light-hearted' rather than a very gritty intense film, but somany 'comedies' seem to have the female characters as the butt of the jokes.

New Years Eve was appalling. Not a patch on Love Actually, which is saying something. The female characters were a bunch of simpering idiots all of whom had to be 'rescued' by a man. Even a plotline about two pregnant women was hijacked by their husbands' domineering attitudes/compettitveness.

it made me really depressed actually, that it was being portrayed as an idealistic lifestyle.

There'd was a thread a little while ago about films which passed the Bechdel (?) test. That's not a complete answer, but it's a start (I've got to go out on the school run now - I'll look for the thread and link it to this one, if someone doesn't do that anyhow whilst I'm out).

Are you looking for current releases, or any film?

The classic has to be Thelma and Louise.
A favourite of mine is Orlando with Tilda Swinton - it's kind of obscure but very beautiful, stunning photography, and about women/men and empowerment (I think...).
And as Brandy above mentioned Mike Leigh, I love love love Secrets and Lies, it'll have you blubbing, and funny too.

Hi Edith, yes any films really although current would be nice- if only to prove that someone is making films that portray women as somethign more than an object o be rescued/have sex with!

I willhave a search now for that thread, thank you.

Brandy Butterfly I have added those to our Lovefilm list, thank you.

Bridesmaids was funny.

Thelma and Louise isn't feminist!

The whole premice is based on rape myths, ffs!

and they die in the end ('bad' girlz deserve to DIE, doncha know?)

Juno has it's good points, but I do still have issues with it.

The Opposite of Sex with Christina Ricci is good in that it is told form the woman's pov but it is still suck in the angel/whore dyad.

Educating Rita, I find quite inspiring and empowering as is Shirley Valentine, the only recent one like those would be Erin Brockowich, but even that is 10m years old. the new millenium isn't very good for femininsty films unfortunately. They tried but spectacularly faied with Mona Lisa Smile.

aubergine THANK YOU, I can't stand that film and am mystified as to why people consider it feminist.

I am struggling to think of a single film that could be described as feminist. I'm sure there must be some out there, but I haven't seen them Just having strong female characters and/or passing the Bechdel Test doesn't necessarily make a film feminist does it?

If you just want a light hearted fun film what about Whip It?

Bechdel test thread, films that do pass the Bechdel test thread, and women on film thread.

ooh hello dollymixtures and welcome

I watched Whip It last night and although it's a fun film and has stuff going for it, I wouldn't call it feminist.

Yeah there are things to really like about it:

• good female main character
• strong female friendships
• love and romance not being at the forefront of the women's minds
• Bliss's mum (beautifully played I thought) and their relationship

and at least one other thing to do with how it ended that I won't mention because it's spoilery.

But the coaches and the ringmaster = all men (albeit quite pathetic men, but doesn't that kind of suggest that the women wield real power over the foolish blokes when in reality we don't)
The skaters = obliged to be hawt and sexay albeit in a grungy way
Baying men getting off on hawt and sexay women fighting

I guess I'm not the target audience :)

'Mona Lisas Smile' with Julia Roberts- it is fairly light hearted and is about her trying to teach girls in the 1950's there is more to life than marriage and babies.

what about nine to five? would that qualify?