However you feel about Amy Schumer’s comedy, it’s hard to deny that she is controversial. But, her ability to use comedy to bring feminism, as well as other current issues, to the forefront is provoking discussion. And that’s a win — not just for comedy, but for the feminist movement, as well. Women in comedy…
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As the West and Japan grow more enchanted with each other, our cultural landscape is exposed to new and unique interpretations of the female. This three-part series by Marie Davis explores the characterisation of women in shonen anime and manga, and their relationship with their burgeoning Western audience. (Part One and Part Two.) My first…
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As the West and Japan grow more enchanted with each other, our cultural landscape is exposed to new and unique interpretations of the female. This three-part series by Marie Davis explores the characterisation of women in shonen anime and manga, and their relationship with their burgeoning Western audience. Read Part One here. As Japanese culture…
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As the West and Japan grow more enchanted with each other, our cultural landscape is exposed to new and unique interpretations of the female. This three-part series by Marie Davis explores the characterisation of women in shonen anime and manga, and their relationship with their burgeoning Western audience. Perhaps the most unique reimagining of the…
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Director Asif Kapadia (who brought us the acclaimed 2010 documentary Senna) has made another brutally honest documentary telling the turbulent and short life of Amy Winehouse. The story unfolds through the words of Winehouse herself through expertly edited home videos along with voiceovers and snippets from the people closest to her. I was more than…
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Directorial duo Andy and Lana Wachowski (The Matrix, Cloud Atlas) have teamed up with Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski to create a radical new Netflix Original: Sense8. Sense8 tells the story of eight strangers: Will, Riley, Capheus, Sun, Lito, Kala, Wolfgang, and Nomi. In the aftermath of the violent and tragic death of a…
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When Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie told graduates at Wellesley College to forget likeability, it made headlines. Not only because when Adichie, a prolific novelist and feminist, speaks people tend to listen, but also because this is not something young women hear often. ‘All over the world, girls are raised to be make themselves likeable, to twist…
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It wasn’t until a self-righteous contributor for the site ‘Return of Kings’, Aaron Clarey, penned a tantrum about feminist Trojan horses taking over Hollywood film that I had any interest in seeing Mad Max: Fury Road. Good action films with well developed plots and at least one complicated and compelling female character are both joys…
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Everyone knows that complex and empowering female characters are difficult to find in mainstream films. But there are some who have stood out and become the changing faces of feminism in cinema. In this regular column, Jade Bate looks at her favourite film heroines who are strong, empowering and kickass. Chinese cinema has had a…
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Will a self-conscious AI ever exist? Will we one day be surpassed by machines that are much smarter than us, machines that we made ourselves, machines that look in a mirror and recognise who they are? These are the never-ending questions that sci-fi keeps trying to answer, with novel adaptations like Blade Runner and I,…
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Clouds of Sils Maria displays the best of what French cinema can offer – the ability to tell a multi-layered story through the leanest of means. This is not a fast paced film; it is a thoughtful, complex story that shows rather than tells its takeaway messages. This film tells the story of a love…
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The 2015 Federal Budget is here. Its meaning for each population is shrouded by political jargon, complex statistics and three-word slogans like “have a go”. Following significant discourse, Joe Hockey has detailed who the Australian government determines most worthy of funding. Spoiler alert: it’s not the disadvantaged. Listening to Hockey’s speech, even without a political…
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Full of sex, criminality and queer-dom, it’s little wonder why Orange is the New Black (OITNB) has amassed a devoted following. The show launched in July 2013, and quickly shot to the leader board for Netflix’s most popular shows. Responding to pleas, producers will release the third season late this June. Inane at times, the…
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Testament of Youth brings Vera Brittain’s memoir of the same name to life on the big screen. The film opens amid a jubilant scene: Armistice Day, 1918. In the middle of it all, a young woman stumbles, overwhelmed by the crowds and removed from the joy everyone else is seemingly experiencing. The timeline then jumps…
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