FanFare

A young woman trapped in an abusive relationship becomes the unwitting participant in an intervention staged by her two closest friends. [more inside]
posted by kokaku on Nov 10, 2024 - 2 comments

This engaging book by Candance Fleming advances the argument that teenage and young women were the backbone of British clandestine operations during WWII. Using pictures and first person accounts, Fleming draws the reader into an understanding of the whole picture of the operations through individuals’ experiences. The book also includes fascinating chapters on how to break codes. For readers of mystery and thrillers, this real life thriller may hit the spot.
posted by CMcG on Aug 19, 2024 - 0 comments

Moroccan filmmaker Maryam Touzani's 2019 debut is a quiet, understated exploration of the evolving relationship between 2 women in a poor neighborhood in Casablanca: the unwed, pregnant Samia, who's looking for work and a place to stay, and Abla, a widowed baker with a young daughter. Beautifully and sensually filmed, with excellent performances, a sharp sense of place and a neat thread about baking running through. Trailer. 87% at Rotten Tomatoes. [more inside]
posted by mediareport on Aug 3, 2023 - 2 comments

Four Asian-American friends (Stephanie Hsu, Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Sabrina Wu) travel through Asia in search of one of their birth mothers. Along the way, their experience becomes one of bonding, friendship, belonging and no-holds-barred debauchery. [more inside]
posted by praemunire on Jul 1, 2023 - 12 comments

A group of women in an isolated Mennonite community grapple with reconciling their reality with their faith after a string of sexual violations. [more inside]
posted by larrybob on Jan 13, 2023 - 3 comments

Hanako Haibara was born and raised in the city of Tokyo. After she gets dumped by her boyfriend, while in her late 20's, she goes on blind dates to find a man to marry. Miki Tokioka was born in a province. She studied very hard and entered a prestigious university in Tokyo. She experienced difficult financial times, but she now works at an IT company. Due to a man, Hanako Haibara and Miki Tokioka meet each other.
posted by gemutlichkeit on Jul 5, 2022 - 0 comments

After a competitor returns from phase 1 of Last Chance Kitchen, the cheftestants compete in a Quickfire in teams of two, making a dessert that pairs a salty and sweet ingredient. The elimination challenge is to make a dish inspired by one of five trailblazing Texan women, to be served to a dinner celebrating the achievements of Texan women past and present. [more inside]
posted by Superilla on Apr 9, 2022 - 5 comments

Written and directed by Nida Manzoor, this six-episode comedy series follows the all-Muslim women punk band, Lady Parts, as its members balance their faith, feminism, families, friendships, identities, careers, and dreams. [Trailer] [more inside]
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide on Jun 17, 2021 - 13 comments

Women are not small men. Stop eating and training like one. Because most nutrition products and training plans are designed for men, it’s no wonder that so many female athletes struggle to reach their full potential. ROAR is a comprehensive, physiology-based nutrition and training guide specifically designed for active women. [more inside]
posted by aniola on Jan 24, 2020 - 0 comments

Finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction “[These stories] vibrate with originality, queerness, sensuality and the strange.”―Roxane Gay “In these formally brilliant and emotionally charged tales, Machado gives literal shape to women’s memories and hunger and desire. I couldn’t put it down.”―Karen Russell In Her Body and Other Parties, Carmen Maria Machado blithely demolishes the arbitrary borders between psychological realism and science fiction, comedy and horror, fantasy and...
posted by CMcG on Dec 8, 2019 - 6 comments

On a cold spring night in 1952, a huge meteorite fell to earth and obliterated much of the east coast of the United States, including Washington D.C. The ensuing climate cataclysm will soon render the earth inhospitable for humanity, as the last such meteorite did for the dinosaurs. This looming threat calls for a radically accelerated effort to colonize space, and requires a much larger share of humanity to take part in the process. Elma York’s experience as a WASP pilot and mathematician earns her a place in the International Aerospace Coalition’s attempts to put man on the moon, as a calculator. But with so many skilled and experienced women pilots and scientists involved with the program, it doesn’t take long before Elma begins to wonder why they can’t go into space, too.
posted by dinty_moore on Jun 17, 2019 - 12 comments

Alexievich chronicles the experiences of the Soviet women who fought on the front lines, on the home front, and in the occupied territories. These women—more than a million in total—were nurses and doctors, pilots, tank drivers, machine-gunners, and snipers. They battled alongside men, and yet, after the victory, their efforts and sacrifices were forgotten. Alexievich traveled thousands of miles and visited more than a hundred towns to record these women’s stories. Together, this symphony of voices reveals a different aspect of the war—the everyday details of life in combat left out of the official histories. [more inside]
posted by mixedmetaphors on Mar 16, 2019 - 2 comments

Historian Louis Hyman on the surprising origins of the "gig economy." Hyman is joined in conversation by Data & Society's Labor Engagement Lead Aiha Nguyen and Researcher Alex Rosenblat. Hyman's latest book "Temp: How American Work, American Business, and the American Dream Became Temporary" tracks the transformation of an ethos that favored long-term investment in work (and workers) to one promoting short-term returns. A series of deliberate decisions preceded the digital revolution, setting off the collapse of the postwar institutions that insulated us from volatility including big unions, big corporations, and powerful regulators. Through the experiences of those on the inside–consultants and executives, temps and office workers, line workers and migrant laborers–Temp shows how the American Dream was unmade.
posted by CMcG on Jan 5, 2019 - 0 comments

An anthology of four short horror films that are directed and written by women: "The Box," by Jovanka Vuckovic (former editor of Rue Morgue magazine); "Her Only Living Son" by Karyn Kusama (The Invitation, the upcoming Destroyer); "The Birthday Cake" by St. Vincent (aka rock musician Annie Clark); "Don't Fall" by Roxanne Benjamin (Southbound). [more inside]
posted by DirtyOldTown on Oct 25, 2018 - 3 comments

Season 2 of the Netflix hit about the Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling will "deviate" from the real-life G.L.O.W., particularly in that critics actually like this version.
posted by Etrigan on Jun 29, 2018 - 58 comments

The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (also known as GLOW) was a women's professional wrestling "league" formed in 1985. This new Netflix fictionalized version of its inception is fun, thoughtful, and religious in its 80s authenticity. Jenji Kohan is one of the producers. [more inside]
posted by Stanczyk on Jun 28, 2017 - 54 comments

I am watching Claws and am really enjoying it. Is anyone else watching it? The second episode was on Sunday. It's starring Niecy Nash and I love that the main characters are mostly women. [more inside]
posted by apricot on Jun 20, 2017 - 3 comments

Battle for Sevastopol is a Russian/Ukranian co-production based on the WWII experiences of Lyudmila Pavilchenko, a young Ukranian student who becomes one of the war's deadliest snipers. With 309 confirmed kills in just over a year, Pavilchenko is brought to the White House to meet President Franklin D Roosevelt, the first Soviet ever to receive such an invitation. Pavilchenko meets and is befriended by Eleanor Roosevelt, who invites her on a promotional tour of the United States to rally support for the Soviet "Second Front" war effort despite her PTSD. [more inside]
posted by under_petticoat_rule on Apr 29, 2017 - 1 comment

The widely praised debut from Turkish-French director Deniz Gamze Ergüven, from her original screenplay, traces the sexual and emotional coming of age of five orphaned sisters as they confront the joys and limitations of growing up in a conservative town in rural Turkey, searching for their own power in a series of dark and comedic events. Trailer for the film, which was France's submission for Best Foreign Language Film at this year's Oscars. "Mustang is at once feisty, poetic, hilarious, and gut-wrenching. It’s like a feminist 400 Blows, or if the punk teens from We Are the Best! were cast in a remake of The Great Escape."
posted by mediareport on Jun 30, 2016 - 4 comments

This week: Greece gets a loan reprieve. Cease fire violated in Ukraine, Egypt butchers the Russian national anthem. The UK's Labour Party tries to appeal to women by means of a pink bus (YT 4m). Last Week Tonight imagines what would happen if Labour did damage control in a video segment, Pretty Princess Ponies. Main story: The many problems with electing state judges in the US (YT 13m). And Now: CNN Weatherman Chad Myers Hates His Job, His Life and Everyone Around Him. China celebrates the beginning of the Year of the Sheep. Or is it Goat?
posted by JHarris on Feb 23, 2015 - 13 comments

This week, our friends Tanya Ballard Brown and Gene Demby join us to talk about Fox's hit show Empire and to follow up on a recent public discussion of the need for diverse radio voices. [more inside]
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome on Feb 6, 2015 - 16 comments

Richard is distracted while trying to finish his demonstration; Jared worries that Monica is trying to replace him; Dinesh develops a crush; Erlich's past threatens the company's chances.
posted by mathowie on May 19, 2014 - 19 comments