Saturday 24 October 2015

Quality sisterhoods

It's about high time we dedicate a list for female friendships. It's not that surprising to discover that there is a lack of friendships between women in Hollywood. After all, women should only be interested in competing for men's attention, right? But the main reason however is the shortage of female roles per project. This is what we managed to scrape up, and they are awesome. We want more because we need them since girls and women alike need to see that women are not at war with each other but that we should, and we can co-operate and work together.

1. Thelma and Louise from Thelma&Louise. Of course! What else could anyone have as #1? It's a classic. The whole point of the film is their friendship, and their unwavering loyalty to each other. 
















2. Leslie and Ann from Parks&Recreation. This came so close to a tie, since the whole point of the show was their friendship as well. It has everything that a deep and close friendship has; talking about everything and quarreling about insignificant things, and laughing at those quarrels afterwards.



3. Meryl and Milly from Trigun. Ha, didn't expect anime here, did you? Neither did we. But they really ignore all the stereotypes here. They're a really good example of two totally different personalities being friends and supporting each other unconditionally. Plus, they kick ass together.


4. Scarlett and Melanie from Gone With the Wind. Yeah, Scarlett doesn't exactly identify Melanie as her friend in the beginning, but that's just because she's a tad resentful. They work together great though, and Melanie's patience makes up for Scarlett's hostility. And in the end, Scarlett does realise how important their friendship is.


5. Esther and Ada from Bleak House. This is a really positive portrayal of female friendship, and it's not uncommon to find those from period dramas. We picked this one especially because there is so much interaction between them. And it's just nice to see female friendships with no animosity whatsoever in them.


6. Susan and Nancy from Spy. It's great to have such a comedic friendship between women. These two really give a rebuttal to that "women aren't funny" falsehood. But they also share a very sweet camaraderie.


7. Molly and Cynthia from Wives&Daughters. Another period drama, what a shocker! Here we have another example of women of completely different tempers forming a close friendship. In addition, it's really nice to see that although you might care about the same person, it doesn't make you competitors.


8. Joy and Sadness from Inside Out. They don't start out as friends, but because they have to learn how to work together they become such. This is a very good film for children to watch, not only because it portrays female friendship in a positive light, but also the psychology is quite realistic and important for kids to see. 


9. Roz and Daphne from Frasier. First of all, it's pretty awesome to see a woman being sexually active and that it's shown in a mostly positive manner. Plus Daphne's kookiness is great. They don't interact that much together, but when they do, it's legendary.


10. Mary and Elsie from Gosford Park. Their relationship is quite brief, but it's established almost immediately so we thought there was enough material. There is nothing out-of-the-ordinary here, but the contrast between the other female relationships (especially those of the upper class) is very stark. Plus, isn't that the whole point, that there shouldn't be anything extraordinary about women being friends?


Pick of the month

A Patch of Blue (1965, Guy Green)



This rather naive but nonetheless sweet and touching movie is worthwhile checking out. It might not blow your mind or anything, but for its time we imagine it could have been quite groundbreaking. We prefer this over Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? First and foremost because of the personality of Elizabeth Hartman's character. We thought the daughter in the aforementioned film to be pretty dull and one-dimensional (but Katharine Hepburn, as usual, rocks). We really like the two main characters in this film, and they constitute the heart and soul of the movie. Don't expect this to dive too deeply into racism or social justice issues, although it does deal with them a little. After all, at its core it is about two marginalised people finding compassion from each other. It's Sidney Poitier, folks! You shouldn't need other incentives, go watch it!