Toxic Takeaways—What Sex and the City Got Wrong
“In Sex and the City’s version of New York City, one of the most multicultural cities in the world, people of color are mostly absent or treated as set dressing. Most problematic is the number of people of color who are only shown in roles of servitude to the white characters. The history of TV has taught us you can only get away with presenting a whitewashed New York City for so long. Shows like Friends and Girls eventually tried to counteract their whiteness through love interests played by people of color. The final season of Sex and the City likewise brought in Blair Underwood as Dr. Robert Leeds, a love interest for Miranda who was pretty much perfect—kind, handsome, successful and good with Miranda’s baby. In the end, though, Robert is really just there to help Miranda realize she wants to get back with her far less impressive, white boyfriend Steve.”
Reasons You Should Know Phoebe Waller-Bridge
““Fleabag” may be over, but fans still have something they can get excited about. Before “Fleabag” was a TV show, it was actually a one-woman play starring Waller-Bridge that she created out of a stand-up comedy set. She performed it at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2013 and it won the Fringe First Award. In November of 2019, a filmed version of her performing it on London’s West End will be hitting movie theatres for a limited stint.“
The Best Book to Movie Adaptations of the Century (So Far)
“André Aciman’s 2007 novel “Call Me By Your Name” took ten years before it was adapted into a movie, but it was certainly worth the wait. The story in the book is told solely from Elio’s perspective and largely takes place inside his head, so the producers had their work cut out for them when it came to translating that very intimate experience for the screen. But they managed to bring the novel’s lush setting and thoroughly developed characters to life (with the help of stellar acting by Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet) and created a work that stands on its own.”
The Evolution of Coming of Age Movies
““Moonlight” also addresses the struggles faced by queer youth, which is another issue that has been addressed in more recent iterations of films from this genre. The following year, we saw the release of “Call Me by Your Name”, which told the story of a young Jewish boy discovering his sexuality while living in Italy in the early ‘80s and developing feelings for an older scholar staying with his family. Though it was a critical hit and made waves during award season, it was a film released in 2018 that became the first movie released by a major Hollywood studio to feature a gay teen love story at its center. “Love, Simon” brought stories of queer adolescents one step further into the mainstream.”
How 2019 Has Been a Good Year for Female Characters
“In the aftermath of #MeToo and the cultural reckoning we have experienced when it comes to the poor treatment of women both in the workplace and in everyday life, there has been a palpable shift in how women are portrayed in the media. We now understand the importance of believing women, and what comes along with that is to accommodate a female perspective in fiction as well as in real life. Though this trend has been building for several years, in 2019 we saw more compelling female characters than ever before. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re going to break down How 2019 Has Been a Good Year for Female Characters.”
Things Hulu’s “The Great” Got Factually Right and Wrong
“Another way “The Great” takes significant liberties with fact is in the Russian royal family’s lineage. On the show, Peter III (Catherine’s husband and the current Emperor) is said to be the son of Peter the Great, a legacy that he has a hard time living up to. In reality though, Peter the Great was Peter III’s grandfather, not his father. There’s also much talk on the show about Peter’s relationship with his mother, who we hear was cold and borderline abusive to him. But in real life Peter’s mother, Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna, died just weeks after his birth - so the two had no significant relationship and she didn’t have time to traumatize him.”
Times AOC Was a Badass
“After being verbally attacked and cursed at by Representative Ted Yoho outside of their workplace, Ocasio-Cortez took to Congress to give a speech about the dehumanization of such name-calling. She embarked on an epic tear down of the Congressman while remaining calm and measured throughout, never stooping to his level. She talked about what truly makes a good man, and how she was not raised to put up with this kind of abuse from men in power. The video went viral for good reason: because every woman who watched it was surely able to relate and hopefully feel empowered by Ocasio-Cortez’s words.”
Important LGBTQ+ Moments in History
“The road to the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States was a long and challenging one. In 2004, Massachusetts became the first state to allow marriage between same sex partners and many states followed in the proceeding years. In 2013, The Defense of Marriage Act, which legally defines marriage as being between a man and a woman, was struck down by the Supreme Court. Nonetheless, there continued to be challenges, even in states that recognized these unions. As of June 26th, 2015 however, the Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional for individual states to forbid marriage between same-sex couples.”