Category Archives: Chapter 8

Questions Worth Asking (Maybe)

Why did James Bond switch from a 25 Barretta to a Walther PPK? Because the man who would inspire Ian Flemming to create Q said that Bond wouldn’t live very long with a girly gun like the  Barretta. Why is … Continue reading

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Oscar Nominations 2014: Brühl snubbed, Hustle gets acting nominations in all four categories

Oscar nominations were announced bright and early this morning, with several surprises in what is widely considered to be one of the tightest fields in years. Gravity and American Hustle led the nominations with 10 nods each, followed by 12 … Continue reading

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Women and the Movies 2013 Part 2 – Where are the women directors?

While women talking to each other about something other than a man in movies was a good indicator of success last year, 2013 was not a stellar year for women directors.  According to a story from Variety, only two of … Continue reading

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Women and the Movies 2013 Part 1 – Bechdel Test Movies

There’s long been the argument made that the reason that movies primarily feature male characters is that these types of movies make more money than those that have prominent female characters. For 2013, that statement is demonstrably false.  A study … Continue reading

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Reposting – Questioning The Hunger Games

Last evening I went to see the movie Catching Fire, the sequel to The Hunger Games with students in my media literacy class.  As you all no doubt know, Suzanne Collins wrote the hugely successful young adult three-volume series that … Continue reading

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For my Media Literacy Students: Movie Links

Here are links to the film clips (and more) that we saw in class today: Chapter 8 – Movie Links Everything is a Remix series Movie Trailer Remixes Parody trailers of Cars 2 as a horror movie (with music from … Continue reading

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Director Brad Bird Tweets on Gravity

Brad Bird has directed a bunch of movies I really love, including The Incredibles, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, and the woefully underappreciated Iron Giant. Over the last few days he has sent out a series of Tweets about what makes Gravity important and … Continue reading

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Gravity Shows the Limits of the Bechdel Test

Let me start by saying I’m more than a little bit obsessed with the Bechdel Test.  As I wrote back in August when Pacific Rim was released: You all know the Bechdel Test for the role of women in film, right? … Continue reading

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Why Gravity is Grabbing So Much Attention

The Sandra Bullock 3-D space movie Gravity has opened to spectacular reviews and record-breaking October box office numbers.  And after going to see it last Tuesday in 3-D at my local theater, I have to say that the movie has earned … Continue reading

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Four Rules to Make Star Wars Great Again

An open video letter to J.J. Abrams from Sincerely Truman. This is brilliant and correct.  And as one commenter on YouTube put it: “So basically… Make Firefly.” Pretty much. Shiny!  

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