Ladies of the 1980s

July 11, 2016 5:39 PM

Bitch Flicks offers a number of pop culture related essays (mostly film) from their recent website event, Ladies of the 1980s Theme Week.

Black Women in 1980’s Horror Films: Tokenism and Regression (by Ashlee Blackwell)
Rethinking ‘Say Anything’ and the Film’s Actual Protagonist Diane Court (by Charlotte Orzel)
Historical vs. Modern Abortion Narratives in 'Dirty Dancing’ and ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High' (by Tessa Racked)
'The Fog': 5 Women, an Environmental Crisis, and No Forecast of Friendship (by ThoughtPusher)
Ripley, Sexism, and Classism in 'Aliens' (by Adam "T4nky" Sherman)
Sheila E.’s Agency as an Artist in 'Krush Groove' and Beyond (by Tara Betts)
'The Stepfather,' Toppling Patriarchy, and Love of 80s Horror Ladies (by Eva Phillips)
How 'Big Business' Made Big Business Thanks to Two Women Big in the Business (by Kyle Sanders)
'Pretty in Pink': The Only Team to Be on Is Team Andie (by Isabella Garcia)
Revisiting 'Desert Hearts' and Its Lesbian Romance (by Angela Beauchamp)
The Vietnam War Through a Teen Girl’s Eyes in 'In Country' (by Caroline Madden)
'Crossing Delancey': Isabelle Needs a New Perspective on Life and Love (by Susan Cosby Ronnenberg)
'Working Girl' and the Female Gaze (by Allyson Johnson)
10 of the Best Feminist Comedies of the 1980s (by Jessica Quiroli)
All the articles listed under the theme's tag.

Of interest: the original call for writers for the event.

A sample quote, taken from "Historical vs. Modern Abortion Narratives in ‘Dirty Dancing’ and ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’" (linked above):

"The political and cultural landscape of the United States in the 1980s was widely characterized by conservativism, reflected in cinema by the popularity of glossy action films like Top Gun and Lethal Weapon that glorify violent masculinity and the institutions that enable it. This trend was partly influenced by a backlash against the 1970s, including the rise of feminism in popular consciousness. Given this climate, it is somewhat surprising that two mainstream Hollywood films, Dirty Dancing and Fast Times at Ridgemont High, would take progressive approaches to a topic like reproductive justice. While Dirty Dancing remembers the realities of abortion pre-Roe v. Wade and illustrates the role that class plays in access to abortion, Fast Times at Ridgemont High shows a main character who exercises her right to choose without trauma or punishment, while managing to keep a relatively light tone. (If there’s another film that accomplishes the latter feat in the 32 years between Fast Times and Obvious Child, please mention it in the comments section because I certainly couldn’t think of one.)"

posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome (7 comments total)

Remembering how much I loved Big Business and it's making me happy to go see the new Ghostbusters soon. Soapdish is technically a 90s movie but I would put it in this same genre, and it is so good.

And speaking of Lily Tomlin, The Incredible Shrinking Woman made a big impression on me as a youngster. As did the (omg so problematic) Overboard and (much less upsetting) Protocol with Goldie Hawn.

Come to think of it, almost all of the movies from the 80s that I can still watch are comedies.
posted by emjaybee at 6:31 PM on July 11, 2016

Oh, I can tell this is a site I am going t go back to, a lot. Thank you!
posted by happyroach at 8:46 PM on July 11, 2016

Ok so this rocks and I may not emerge until end of summer.
posted by chapps at 9:06 PM on July 11, 2016 [1 favorite]

Ohhhh my, how have I never read this website before?! Thank you for this!!
posted by skycrashesdown at 9:11 PM on July 11, 2016

I rewatched Broadcast News recently and was glad to see it in the "10 best comedies article". Holly Hunter's character and performance meant a lot to me back in the 80s.

In a way she's like the female character Aaron Sorkin has been failing to write all these years. No that's not it.. It's more like, in Aaron Sorkin's nightmares, he is castrated by Holly Hunter's character from Broadcast News every night, and in revenge he writes pathetic mockeries of her into his shitty scripts.
posted by nom de poop at 9:28 PM on July 11, 2016 [3 favorites]

Absolutely love the Pretty in Pink "Team Andi" essay. Sums up my feelings pretty well.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 6:40 AM on July 12, 2016

Broadcast News... sheer perfection.

Thanks for this!
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 7:43 AM on July 12, 2016