Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020)

Barbie has been the subject of much speculation, hatred, and heartfelt appreciation during the weeks that followed its release. The Internet seems to be still talking about it just as much as it was a month ago. It tells the story of how Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie) starts experiencing human feelings and bodily flaws. Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon) surmises that this is possibly due to the human playing with her doll in the real world having complicated and sad thoughts. So Stereotypical Barbie goes to the real world in order to help the child who’s playing with her so that she might go back to being plastic and perfect. Ken (Ryan Gosling) accompanies her and this has dire consequences when he returns to Barbieland before Barbie.  While Ken discovers patriarchy and goes back home, Barbie is appalled by it and meets her kid, Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt), with hopes of finding some answers. 

Barbies of Barbieland imagine their feminist history actually solved the issue of gender politics in the Real World. Sasha tells her about Barbie’s complicated past with body images and Capitalism but rather harshly. Sad and lost, Barbie goes to Mattel in order to complain and there she meets Sasha’s mother Gloria (America Ferrera). Turns out, it’s Gloria’s thoughts that have been haunting Barbie, and not Sasha’s. To provide them comfort, Barbie takes them with her to Barbieland, only to discover that Ken has taken over the land and established a patriarchy. The journey of taking back Barbieland from the Kens has been lauded by many for its take on feminism and femininity and how it celebrates womanhood and sisterhood. But it has been subject to its fair share of criticism as well. Some of it is from disgruntled men like Ben Shapiro who aren’t happy a film with a powerful, albeit confused, feminist message is so popular, but some of it definitely has merit.

“Anti-Men”

By far the most ridiculous criticism of the film claims that it openly despises men. This was primarily men taking to social media in the first few days of the release of Barbie. It was a reactionary stance to take, a response to the women flocking to social media to laud the film for making them feel seen and heard. Piers Morgan (see below) was, not unexpectedly, a spokesperson for this group of men, and there are multiple discrepancies in his criticism of the film. Then there was Ben Shapiro who bought and accessorized Barbie dolls before posing them in their car and doing a photoshoot, which he followed up by burning them. This kind of pettiness doesn’t deserve a space in serious film criticism, but it’s an interesting aspect to study. The film’s ending, although a little complicated and oversimplified at the same time, tries to make a point about toxic masculinity and how having to put up a performance of strength makes the patriarchy detrimental for men as well. So it’s effectively anti-patriarchy and not anti-men, but the aforementioned men and their fans are blissfully blind to this message. Is it because the messaging is too subtle or because a female-led film being so successful challenges their already fragile sense of masculinity and their ego?

We have chosen our favorite soundtrack songs from the modern music period (2010+). We hope you enjoy the diverse soundtrack music represented here by artists spanning different genres, countries, and continents.

*Warning, some songs are sexually suggestive, viewer discretion is advised.

Before I start, I feel the need to clarify that by bisexual, I’m talking about sexuality directed towards members of more than one gender identities. I’ll admit that the clarification will seem pointless since the films I’m about to mention barely involve characters who aren’t either male or female. However, that is due to the lack of gender-queer representation in media and not how I personally perceive bisexuality.

Now, bi-erasure, for those who might not know, simply identifies the often common phenomenon of bisexuality not being acknowledged. This can be in cinema, music, art, novels, or even in real life. This has happened to every community that falls under the umbrella term 'queer', you might be thinking. However, bisexuality has a more prominent history of being subjected to this. Bisexual coming-out scenes are extremely scarce, and most bisexual stories acknowledge only homosexual tendencies or otherwise just portray bisexuality as a phase or an experimental experience. It sometimes manifests from the urge to steer narratives away from heteronormativity. In an attempt to portray heteronormativity negatively, homosexual experiences are highlighted to the point where bisexuality doesn’t get acknowledged. So is it really queer-positive if it comes at the cost of bi-erasure?

A very common form of bi-erasure is when a character who’s only had heterosexual experiences, starts experiencing homosexual tendencies and is then shown to realize that they were homosexual all along and pretended to be heterosexual. This is bi-erasure because quite often, the character might just be bisexual, and by saying they finally realized they’re gay, the narrative is essentially erasing the possibility of the character being bi. If only a few stories were of this kind, it wouldn’t be an issue, but this is extremely rampant (Brokeback Mountain, Call Me By Your Name, and Teorema to name a few, are all considered to be gay films).

One of the most classic examples of bi-erasure from Hollywood in the 21

Century is Jennifer’s Body. Starring Megan Fox as the titular Jennifer, the film was marketed as an overly sexual horror film that specifically caters to the male gaze of heterosexual adolescents. However, its cinematography is abundant in the female gaze, which usually includes focusing on hands, lips, and eyes, sensuously but emotionally perceiving the characters on screen. The male gaze, on the other hand, tends to focus on the body itself, with a certain lust in its framing of female characters specifically. Plus, Jennifer Check actually says the words “I go both ways” in reference to her sexual preference. Still, being perceived as a heterosexual narrative is blatant bi-erasure. However, I have good news for you. The film is being re-evaluated and reclaimed as an important work in queer horror.

(Trigger warning for themes of sexual harassment and assault.)

Tuca and Bertie (2019) is an animated series centering around best friends of the same name as they traverse the challenges of their thirties. 

If you enjoyed Bojack Horseman, there's a good chance you'll find yourself liking Tuca and Bertie as well! A producer on Bojack, Lisa Hanawalt, now has a series entirely of her own making. While a lot less serious than the previous project(although trust me, it has its moments!), a way in which Tuca and Bertie differs from Bojack is how it's specifically from a woman’s perspective. Of course, issues like sexual harassment and being easily dismissed aren’t problems that women exclusively deal with. Even so, it’s undeniable that there is a much higher concentration of such struggles in that demographic. Some have voiced opinions that sexism is all but eradicated in our modern time, and that simply isn’t true. Yes, it’s lessened (in western countries at least) from the past few decades. That alone doesn’t stop sexism from existing. Like racism, it's much too broad to have a definitive end all cease. The way to combat such toxicities is through education and holding conversations on the matter. This is why I applaud Tuca and Bertie for bringing to light common instances of sexism.  The series tackles a range of topics from sexual harassment in the workforce, sexual power dynamics between workers and bosses, sexual assault, and more. What sets this portrayal aside from other adult animations is how into detail the show goes. The themes of misogyny are core aspects of the narrative in total and are vitally interwoven with the plot instead of a glossed-over saga. It also displays parts of misogyny that aren’t as openly discussed, for example, it highlights how women too can play a part in it. We see this in season 1 episode 2, ‘The Promotion’. After being sexually harassed by her coworker, Dirk (John Early), Bertie (Ali Wong, also in Always Be My Maybe, and Birds of Prey) goes to her company HR department to file a complaint. When Bertie tells the office it was Dirk who sexually harassed her, in response, the woman working there calls Bertie “lucky” because “he’s cute”. Alternatively, the series portrays supportive men that listen to and respect the female characters. Speckle (Steven Yuen), Bertie’s boyfriend, is consistently portrayed as being unwaveringly supportive and sharing a realistic, healthy relationship. There’s somewhat of a spectrum of where people fall on how much they contribute to sexism. No matter what the gender identity, some may find themselves knowingly or not playing into such bigotry while others actively combat it. The series mirrors that realistically.

 Outside of combating patriarchal oppression, topics that are also significant are covered. For instance, Tuca (Tiffany Haddish, known for Night School, Girls Trip, Like a Boss, and more) struggling with maintaining sobriety, dealing with shifting dynamics while aging,  and coping with trauma is given screen time devoted to speaking on those themes. Even so, darker subjects can be discussed all the while still being an upbeat story overall. I also appreciated how sex-positive the atmosphere is, showing female characters having healthy sex lives with partners and themselves. Displaying this is meaningful as slut-shaming and humor born of it is still unfortunately all too common. Narrative aside, another thing to acknowledge is the art direction, which is wonderfully colorful and stylized. While Bojack was a lot more grounded in reality the laws of physics in Tuca and Bertie are practically nonexistent, and it all the more adds to the comedic aspects and vibe. In this way, it has a sort of 90’s feel to it, reminiscent of Rocko’s Modern Life or Spongebob Squarepants (Albeit more serialized and contemplative). It's very surreal but yet still tangible, and all the more impressive is that it works with intense scenes without being jarring.

Finally, one of the show’s biggest selling points is the friendship between Tuca and Bertie. The chemistry Ali Wong and Tiffany Haddish bring to the table is undeniable! They play off of each other so complimentary even while being dramatically different personality-wise. Chemistry can be tricky to do well, as it's a combination of dialogue and the actor's performances. With Tuca and Bertie, both work in tandem to create flawless compatibility. While they do have their hiccups as any relationship does, Overall theirs is one of the healthiest female friendships I’ve seen in adult animation. Their interactions feel so genuine, and when problems do arise they talk it out reasonably until peace is made. The interactions between the two could almost be a template of what to look for in healthy friendships!

While film and TV still have a long way to go when it comes to LGBT representation, there are so many more opportunities for LGBT people to see themselves onscreen than there were even a few years ago. Best of all, some of the best LGBT films and shows are available online for free or on popular streaming services that you might already be subscribed to. Here are some of my top picks for films and TV shows with positive LGBT representation, sorted by where you can find them. (Note: This list is accurate as of June 2021, but streaming libraries change frequently.)

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