We’re back, and we’re ready to share what we’ve been watching (binging) and loving. We discuss the (possible) gains the TV + movie industries made toward better representation, what’s terrible about the Oscar nominations (basically everything), and lots of great shows and movies we’ve been watching and want to share.
We’ll discuss feminism, female representation, gender, sex, language, and why they can’t say “vagina” on a medical drama.
In this episode: Little Women, The Good Place, Watchmen, The Witcher, Grey’s Anatomy, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Marriage Story, Greta Gerwig, Awkwafina, Jennifer Lopez, 911: Lone Star, Regina King + more.
Want extra reading? Here’s where we did our research:
- Time Magazine thought the “era of female-run TV was coming to an end” last year: https://time.com/5511730/female-run-tv-shows-ending/
- The latest “Boxed In” study from San Diego State: https://womenintvfilm.sdsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/2018-19_Boxed_In_Report.pdf
- Variety’s comment on progress of female representation last year (“it’s not all good news,” they said): https://womenintvfilm.sdsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/2018-19_Boxed_In_Report.pdf
- Variety’s comment on that progress this year (it was better news): https://variety.com/2020/film/news/captain-marvel-little-women-female-protagonists-study-1203460436/
- An LA Times article highlighting that most gains for female representation were for white women: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-01-08/women-film-hollywood-gender-study
- Den of Geek’s discussion of gender on HBO’s Watchmen: https://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/284399/beyond-silk-spectre-women-hbo-watchmen
- Den of Geek on fantasy and feminism in Netflix’s The Witcher: https://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/netflix/282415/the-witcher-netflix-series-magic-feminism-fantasy
- Empire’s review of Little Women: https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/little-women-2019/
- NPR’s review of Little Women: https://www.npr.org/2019/12/20/789740628/little-women-again-greta-gerwig-s-adaptation-is-both-faithful-and-radical
- Published in the New York Times, “The Bearable Whiteness of Little Women”: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/13/opinion/sunday/little-women-movie-race.html
Profess-Hers is written and created by Allegra Davis Hanna and Misty Wilson-Mehrtens. We produce the show ourselves, with help from Austin Haynes.
Profess-Hers is presented by Misty, a History professor, and Allegra, an English professor, both of whom are here for having a serious, fun conversation about looking at literature, history, current events, pop culture, and media through a feminist lens.
Find the Profess-Hers Podcast on Twitter and Instagram @Professhers.
