Revisiting a classic: Grand Hotel

Check out my new piece on CURNBLOG: 

Revisiting a classic: Grand Hotel 

B-Movie Television: the Feminist Frontier (Part 2)

A completely unrelated, but relevant B-movie poster of a movie I haven’t actually seen (dir. Lew Landers, 1938)

I ended my last post by saying that commercial cinema is failing women. Allow me to reiterate: As it exists now, the film industry is a betting game, and studios just don’t seem to be banking on women in creative roles, despite the fact that we still make up about half of the audience. Why not? There are many reasons. However, in my last post I argued the disparity may have something to do with attributing so much of a film’s worth to just one individual. In an ideal world, this recognition wouldn’t hold anyone back. But when producers need to make a return on investment, it may be pure sexism that guides their decision to fund one project over another.

In a now roughly 4-year-old article, the often contentious (I mean that as a compliment) Manohla Dargis bemoaned the lack of women in the industry. In the article, she notes how a box office failure doesn’t necessarily spell out the end for a male director. But for a woman, it can potentially wreck a career. Studios appear to be more forgiving to male directors – male auteurs, rather – who have a vision. However, the Hollywood machine doesn’t grant visionary women the same benefit of the doubt. 

Seeing with the Ear: Mediations Seeing with the ear: Meditations on the use of sound in the films of Dario Argento

Seeing with the Ear: Mediations Seeing with the ear: Meditations on the use of sound in the films of Dario Argento

Check it out: I wrote a piece for CURNBLOG, where I’ll be contributing from time to time. While you’re there, be sure to take a look at the work of the many other talented contributors.