unfridged
feminism and fantasy, science fiction and sexism
Tag Archives: JK Rowling
Weekend Reading List: Werewolf heroes, Wakandan heroes
- JK Rowling has officially apologized for the death of Remus Lupin, AS WELL SHE SHOULD. [The Mary Sue]
- “How to be a lady in the streets and a haunted clock tower in the sheets” is some relationship advice I can get behind. [Reductress]
- This year’s Met Gala theme was “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an age of technology” and there were some amazinggg outfits. [The Mary Sue]
- Lots of people want the Frozen sequel to give Elsa a girlfriend, so much so that it started a hashtag, and inspired some adorable fan art. [The Mary Sue/Buzzfeed]
- Want to see all Hollywood movies star John Cho? There’s a Twitter account for that.
- Turns out, the fact that Xena and Gabrielle were never on screen together in the opening credits was a conscious decision, as if anything could make that show less gay. [io9]
- “Bible verses where ‘the abyss’ has been replaced with ‘Arrakis’ and ‘the spirit’ has been replaced with ‘the spice.'” [The Toast]
- Hypable wants Tony, Orphan Black‘s trans clone, back, but with better costuming, and without hypersexualizing him.
- Buzzfeed made a video of people copping to their cartoon crushes, and I’m just glad I’m not the only one.
- To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of The Craft, Autostraddle put together a roundup of articles on the film, a playlist, and the fond memories from the website’s contributors.
- And to cap things off here are a couple Black Panther things: Ta-Nehisi Coates talks about the comic reboot he wrote in this Marvel video (the first issue is out now!) and you can learn a little bit more about the decision to have the character speak Xhosa in Civil War over at Entertainment Weekly.
Weekend Reading List: Ordinary women and overblown wingnuts
- The Mary Sue asks what Star Trek even means as a franchise in its current, depoliticized state, and what it would take to make the show groundbreaking again.
- The Toast on Ghostbusters 2016, science fictional diversity, and how only a certain type of women is seeing notable advances.
- I’m also really into how the Toast has been riffing on the tired “is it feminist?” question, now asking “is It! (the Living Colossus) feminist?”
- Native Appropriation’s Adrienne Keene is getting a lot of coverage for her critique of JK Rowling’s North American magic, as the CBC continues to report.
- Autostraddle just celebrated their seventh birthday (happy birthday!) and is doing it with these really great retrospective pieces. Here’s the top seven lesbian, bisexual, and queer tv shows of the last seven years, but you should go poke around the site. They’ve got lots of good stuff, like lists of all the queer women on television who have died, and who have lived happily ever after (predictably, a much shorter list).
- “Queer Indigenous rapper Dio Ganhdih shared extraterrestrial video for ‘Pussy Vortex‘” [The Fader]
- The Xena reboot will feature an openly gay warrior princess! [Out magazine]
- “The witchy feminism of modern music videos.” Beyoncé, and Azealia Banks, and FKA twigs, oh my! [Bitch]
- There’s going to be a new Feminist Frequency show! It’ll be called Ordinary Women: Daring to Defy History and it’s funding right now!
- The town of Vardø, Norway, unveiled a monument in memory of the 91 people killed for witchcraft. [The Daily Beast]
- Want to see a caricature that combines Donald Trump and Attack on Titan? You’re welcome. [Otaku USA]
- Writer Mey Rude is the one responsible for Autostraddle’s great witchy content, and here she is on Bitch‘s podcast talking about sorcery, cultural appropriation, and the best witches in pop culture.
WEEKEND READING LIST: Witches, whitewashing, International Women’s Day
- Oh look the Hollywood remake of Ghost in the Shell cast an actual Asian actor. Still whitewashed as all get out though. Still mad about it. [Angry Asian Man]
- The new all-lady Ghostbusters remake has been contentious right from the start, and while a lot of the criticism amounts to garden variety manchildren blubbering about cooties, Racialicious has some very valid concerns about Leslie Jones’s character, who is the only woman of colour, and the only Ghostbuster without a scientific background.
- A musical ode to the clitoris that you didn’t know you wanted, but now must see. [Refinery29]
- The New York Public Library, an institution that clearly knows what the people want, has a companion reading and resource list for the film The Witch.
- “Witch, queen, mom: fairytale lessons for surviving borderline parents.” [The Establishment]
- Bitch has a great roundup of magical girl zines, and I’m not just saying that because I stumbled across the first one on the list, Queer Sailor Moon Fan Fiction Saved My Life, while in a doctor’s office waiting room (but also I kind of am).
- Nola and the Clones is an independent Irish film about a young homeless sex worker. All the men Nola encounters bear a striking resemblance, and it’s that sort of magic realism that lends itself well to a movie that looks truly unique (and is available in its entirety online).
- Janelle Monáe will be co-starring in a movie about the women behind the American space program! Omg omg omg! [io9]
- “International Women’s Day: why women can thrive in sci-fi.” [BBC]
- I really wanted to give JK Rowling the benefit of the doubt when it came to her interpretation of North American magic, but as Adrienne Keene of Native Appropriations lays out thoroughly, she really missed the mark. The Mary Sue, quoting Keene, is similarly unimpressed.
Weekend Reading List: Magic Schools, Magic Girls, Magic Love
Hey cuties, happy Valentine’s day!
- The Eagle Huntress is a documentary that did very well at Sundance, and is all about a teenaged Mongolian girl who hunts on horseback with a golden eagle, flying in the face of 2000 years of tradition. And because I am a hip young person on the internet: #squadgoals. [NPR]
- Here are the Myers-Briggs personality types for 202 literary characters. It has confirmed that I am basically Galadriel so you can all feel free to bow down whenever. [BookRiot]
- Artist Toby Allen has imagined a whole slew of mental illnesses as monsters, and the art is stupendously pretty (not to mention informative). [zestydoesthings.com]
- A whole bunch of witch stuff!
- Cute webcomic called Balderdash! all about magic and witches and baking! I should probably do a whole Hitchhiker’s Guide post about witch-themed webcomics, there are certainly enough of them.
- If you’re in New York you should definitely head over to the Brooklyn Academy of Music. They’re hosting a witch-themed film festival from February 16 to 29.
- As it turns out, the site of most of the executions during the Salem witch trials is now a Walgreen’s parking lot. [Atlas Obscura]
- “Reasons I would not have been burned as a witch in the early modern era no matter what I would like to believe about myself and would have in fact been among the witch-burners” [The Toast]
- 100 years of zombie design in pop culture!
- Richard Dawkins said some dumb things about feminism and online harassment (again) and personal goddess Lindy West very ably called him out on it. [We Hunted the Mammoth]
- Brian Kesinger puts some very cute Force Awakens/Calvin and Hobbes art on his instagram.
- Hollywood is really bad at portraying pregnant women, even great movies like Fury Road. [Longreads]
- Jughead from the Archie comics is canonically asexual, and I just realized that I had always assumed that anyway. [Vulture]
- “Rat Queens and the power of female friendship.” [Bitch]
- “The struggle and triumphs of black cosplay.” <– there are some great pictures with this one. [Kotaku]
- Steven Universe fan artist Zamii has been the target of a whole bunch of harassment, ostensibly as a defence of body positivity. People seem to think that she slimmed down some of the characters too much in her illustrations, and it’s super disappointing that this kind of bullying happens, especially under the guise of inclusivity, especially in a fandom like Steven Universe‘s. [Fusion]
- “What magical girls taught me about being queer.” [The Mary Sue]
- Cameroon-based Kiro’o Games is central Africa’s first video game studio, producing games that focus on African folklore. [Good Black News]
- And to wrap things up, JK Rowling published a bunch of new writing on Pottermore. Of special interest is information about various magical schools around the world, including Uganda, Japan, and Brazil. Originally, however, Rowling didn’t specify that Uagadou was Ugandan, which earned her some criticism (she later updated the post). The Washington Post defended the decision, stating that unlike Europe, pre-colonial Africa didn’t have clearly-defined and highly-contested state lines, and that a wizarding school would likely be pan-African. But Swarthmore College history professor Timothy Burke pokes some enormous holes in that line of reasoning, both by giving some excellent information on the political history of sub-Saharan Africa, including the fact that there was quite a lot of competition over land and resources, and by pointing out the complete lack of acknowledgement of European colonization and slave trade, and the effects it could have had on magical education.
Top image from Balderdash!
Weekend Reading List: Jedis, jump scares, and JK Rowling’s approval
Happy New Year!
- Here’s a fifteen second teaser for the new season of Orphan Black. Ah!
- Rolling Stone put together a list of the ten best horror movies of 2015.
- “Unnecessary digs at servants in classic vampire novels.” [The Toast]
- “No, Jessica Jones isn’t sexist toward men; Let’s talk about why.” [The Mary Sue]
- I’m all for finding creative solutions to video game problems, and this guy nearly broke Fallout 4 by not killing a single person. [Kotaku]
- The Guardian reports that an adult Hermione will be black in the upcoming play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and that JK Rowling is extremely pleased with the casting. Bustle has a lovely first person piece on the importance of the decision, but the Mary Sue is less enthusiastic given the casting in the movies, particularly of Lavender Brown.
- Okay so now let’s talk about Star Wars:
- The Mary Sue has a review from someone who wasn’t excited about the new film, and it’s called “this Star Wars is MINE” which is pretty much how I ended up feeling about things.
- Also from the Mary Sue is a piece about the importance of Rey, which is worth a look.
- Entertainment Weekly also loved talking about “instant icon” Rey.
- The always funny Mallory Ortberg talked about her ~*~Star Wars feelings~*~ [The Toast]
- Hahaha here is Janelle Monáe talking to C-3PO and R2-D2 goodbye I am dead now.
- Physicists have decided that the Ewoks are probably dead from Death Star fallout. [The Mary Sue]
- This Emo Kylo Ren twitter account is magical.
- People are really, really upset that Carrie Fisher had the temerity to get older and put on weight. Some New York Times scumbag in particular was not okay with it, and it’s bullshit. [RunwayRiot]
- “Princess Leia’s feminist agenda: yeah, she had one.” [Ms. magazine]
Image by Tara H. [doodlesbytara.tumblr.com]
Weekend Reading List: Happy halloween!
- Everybody’s talking about horror films! I feel like a started a trend, yaknow?
- Autostraddle has a list of imaginary lesbian horror films.
- And here’s a pretty comprehensive guide to Canadian horror cinema! Woo Ginger Snaps! [Exclaim]
- Bitch has a great piece on home invasion movies and their relationship to domestic violence, and talks about Unfridged favourite Wait Until Dark.
- Turning to decidedly less frightening cinema, here’s a beautiful short documentary on the films of Hayao Miyazaki and what it is that makes them so special. [Nerdist]
- And here are recipes for the delicious food in Miyazaki movies! [Buzzfeed]
- The Mary Sue revisits Back to the Future II, and discusses the terrible treatment of the character of Jennifer.
- An interview with Steven Universe‘s Rebecca Sugar! She talks about music, kind humour, and her brother Steven. [The Mary Sue]
- Palestinian Harry Potter fan Mia Oudeh wrote an open letter to JK Rowling about the author’s recent support of Israel, where she expresses her disappointment and compares Palestinian struggle to the battle of Hogwarts.
- Every Halloween this needs to be said: Don’t wear racist ass costumes. Look, CollegeHumor even has a handy flowchart for you.
- Hey Kotaku reviewed Sex Criminals! I’ll admit to not reading the whole thing (spoilers), but I’m on board with anyone talking about Sex Criminals.
- Buzzfeed is withdrawing from the South by Southwest Interactive festival due to the decision to cancel to panels on harassment in gaming, giving the following statement:“We will feel compelled to withdraw … if the conference can’t find a way to do what those other targets of harassment do every day — to carry on important conversations in the face of harassment.” [New York Magazine]
Weekend Reading List: Ghosts, ghouls, and gays
- I hadn’t visited Adrienne Keene’s Native Appropriations in a while, so I was really pleased to stumble upon her letter to JK Rowling, where she expresses concern about the upcoming American wizarding school and the inclusion of indigenous magics.
- 13 homoerotic horror films! [Out]
- Bitch also delves into the queerness of horror films, going over some of the heavy hitters like Rebecca and The Haunting, and also the long, long list of lesbian-tinged vampire flicks.
- “The feminist power of female ghosts.” [Bitch]
- Jezebel’s Kitchenette section does these great illustrated cocktail recipes, and the two most recent are the Dark Incantation and the Graveyard Tryst.
- Over at Quirk, I put together some book recommendations for Jem and her Holograms, you know, to read while they’re on their outrageous tour.
- “Learning the controls: how Nintendo helped me live with Asperger’s Syndrome.” [The Toast]
- Also from the Toast, a wonderful piece on Star Trek, academic sexual harassment, the Hugo Awards, entitlement, and space babes.
- Relevant to your interests: 11 witch costumes that skip the pointy hat. [Autostraddle]
Weekend Reading List: Villainess love, video game love
- Pottermore’s gotten a sleek new redesign, and to celebrate JK Rowling wrote a history of the Potter family.
- Amazing writer Ta-Nehisi Coates just got hired to write new Black Panther comics! [The New York Times]
- This is Autostraddle’s weekly television roundup, but scroll down to the section on Steven Universe. They’ve got a great review of the recent episode “Sadie’s Song.”
- Cursed is a shot animated silent film about a villainess and a hero and it is delightful. [io9]
- “If Disney movies were way more feminist” is everything. [Buzzfeed]
- “Erotica written by an alien pretending not to be horrified by the human body,” parts one, two and three. [The Toast]
- I really loved this piece on how women unlearn their love of video games, not only because it breaks things down very clearly, but also for how it mirrored my experience of being left behind by games after childhood. [Boing Boing]
Image from Cursed.
Weekend Reading List: stormtroopers and double standards
- JK Rowling will be writing a thing about Draco December 12th! Ah! [The Guardian]
- In light of the internet collectively losing its mind over the new Star Wars trailer, Al Jazeera tackles the disturbing racist stereotypes present in the franchise thus far.
- Some (racist) people are also not happy about the new movie’s inclusion of John Boyega. Because of course they’re not. His reply is pretty great, though. [The Dissolve]
- Best dressed villains! [Tor]
- I don’t think it’s possible to read the Redwall series and not salivate over those feast scenes—The nut-studded cheeses! The roasted fish! The elderberry everthings!—and the Toast has got you covered with your very own Redwall diet.
- Also from the Toast, memories of mermaids and a genderqueer childhood.
- Anita Sarkeesian’s Feminist Frequency channel just released a new video: “25 invisible benefits of gaming while male,” based on an older Polygon article.
- You should know about the webcomic Robot Hugs, but also you should see this great “gender rolls” comic. (It’s a joke, but I just played a one-shot game using it to generate characters, and it was really fun).
- A Bitch contributor read 50 books by people of colour this year, and has, as a result, some great recommendations. Of particular interest are the science fiction/fantasy titles.
- Hey remember when DC wouldn’t let Batwoman get married? They’re apparently fine with her getting raped instead, and both the Mary Sue and Autostraddle weigh in.
- GameLoading: Rise of the Indies is a documentary that will be coming out in the new year, but for now here’s a sneak peak about harassment in the game industry.
Top image by Grace Kraft.
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