The above is the title of an article in yesterdays NY times written by their film critic Manohla Dargis. Her opening paragraph is self explanatory of what the article is about.
Kathryn Bigelow’s two-fisted win at the Academy Awards for best director and best film for “The Hurt Locker” didn’t just punch through the American movie industry’s seemingly shatterproof glass ceiling; it has also helped dismantle stereotypes about what types of films women can and should direct. It was historic, exhilarating, especially for women who make movies and women who watch movies, two groups that have been routinely ignored and underserved by an industry in which most films star men and are made for and by men. It’s too early to know if this moment will be transformative — but damn, it feels so good.
The article goes on to compare the Buzz around Bigelow with the 1991 film Thelma and Louise (written by a women directed by a man) which caused a good deal of controversy among film critics. Time magazine put Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis on the cover.
Some critics embraced its portrait of a powerful female friendship, while others denounced it. In U.S. News & World Report a male writer accused the film of having “an explicit fascist theme, wedded to the bleakest form of feminism.” Commentators seemed as interested in policing the women’s behavior, their hard-drinking and driving, as their criminal actions. Ms. Khouri insisted that Thelma and Louise were outlaws not feminists, though they were both.
Callie Khouri was the writer and Ridley Scott was the director. And do you remember Thelma’s (Geena Davis) one night stand? Not a bad pick up. Hint: What’s the name of an historic fort located in Pittsburgh before it was a burgh?
