7 Ways to Resist This Week
| 04/20/18
I Feel Pretty
According to reviews, the execution may be flawed, but the intention was mostly good. I Feel Pretty, out now, stars Amy Schumer as Renee, a 30-something working woman who finds her appearance... underwhelming. An accident at a fitness class leads Renee to finally think of herself as irresistible, prompting all kinds of positive changes in her life (which eventually turn sour and lead to a change of heart/realization). Yeah, the whole thing is kind of ridiculous and even treacly -- while the whole premise that Schumer is ugly or fat is offensive to 95 percent of women -- but if you're a Schumer fan (or a Busy Philipps, Aidy Bryant, or Michelle Williams aficianado) then this is the movie for you.
TCM Classic Film Festival
Turner Classic Movies presents its annual film-lovers' bonanza, the TCM Film Festival, starting Thursday in Hollywood and continuing through the following Sunday. The ninth annual festival, this year's event has the theme "The Written Word: The Page Onscreen," celebrating literary adaptations, original screenplays, and depictions of writers. The films span the 1920s to the 1990s (plus one brand-new documentary. Scandal: The Trial of Mary Astor) and include classics like His Girl Friday, Strangers on a Train, Sunset Boulevard, Woman of the Year, Throne of Blood, and Leave Her to Heaven, along with guilty pleasures like Where the Boys Are. Of special interest to LGBT viewers, James Ivory, a recent Oscar-winner for his Call Me by Your Name screenplay, will be present for a screening of Maurice, the 1987 gay love story he directed, based on E.M. Forster's posthumously published novel. Separate from the screening, Ivory will also give an hour-long talk. And out actor -activist Alan Cumming, who has starred in Hamlet onstage, will be on hand to introduce Laurence Olivier's 1944 adaptation of the Shakespeare drama. Among other highlights, director Martin Scorsese, an advocate for film preservation, will receive the first Robert Osborne Award, named for TCM's beloved late host. The presenter will be one of Scorsese's frequent stars, Leonardo DiCaprio. And actress Cicely Tyson will put her handprints and footprints in the forecourt of the famous Chinese Theatre. Check here for the full schedule plus information on festival passes and tickets to individual screenings.
Westworld
Westworld has returned, and with it, its robots in a futuristic amusement park, who are perhaps gaining sentience while engaging in a bloody standoff with humanity. In addition to the moral questions swirling around artificial intelligence, the HBO series broaches timely issues about women -- or, empowered female robots, at least, portrayed in part by the fierce Evan Rachel Wood and Thandie Newton. As characters in the park Westworld, each endured daily violence and sexual assault at the hands of patriarchal players. Now, they're fighting back. In addition to the western-themed park, season 2 will visit some of the other playgrounds operated by the Delos corporation, including one that is Shogun-themed. Watch it Sunday on HBO.
Read Pulitzer Prize-Winning Writing
This year's Pulitzer Prize winners included three LGBT writers: Ronan Farrow, Frank Bidart, and Andrew Sean Greer. In celebration, revisit the writing that earned them this prestigious award. Farrow, who recently confirmed he is "part of the LGBT community," was honored for his reportage on sexual-assault allegations regarding Harvey Weinstein for The New Yorker. Greer won the Pulitzer for fiction with his novel Less, about Arthur Less, a middle-aged gay man and failed novelist who seeks to escape his problems by traveling around the world. Bidart received the prize for poetry with Half-light: Collected Poems 1965-2016. Happy reading!
The Handmaid's Tale
"Blessed be the fruit!" Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale returns for its second season literally off-book as it carries on the narrative where Margaret Atwood's novel left off. After ending its Emmy-winning freshman season with Elisabeth Moss's pregnant Offred being hauled away from her commander's home either by the authoritative "Eyes" or by the underground resistance, Season 2 reveals her fate soon enough. Meanwhile, Alexis Bledel's Emily tacitly resists in the wasteland of the colonies where Samira Wiley's Moira copes with her refugee status in "Little America" in Toronto. The season also highlights the characters' backstories shedding more light on the events that led to Gilead. The season will once again investigate women's power, resistance, and life under Trump for marginalized communities. The new season drops on April 25.
The 100
The CW's dystopian survivalist drama that features a bisexual lead character, The 100 is back for its fifth season picking up six years after the last season ended with disparate groups from Skaikru either going literally underground or into deep space to escape nuclear fallout that's killing every living thing on earth. Season five begins with Eliza Taylor's Clarke (and the child Maddie that she's bonded with like a daughter) attempting to reach Bellamy (Bob Morley) and the gang that headed back to space. Meanwhile, the warrior leader Octavia (Marie Avgeropoulos) does her level best to keep the peace among the factions in the bunker as rations and patience wear thin. The 100's fifth season premieres on April 24.
"We Are Different" by Thanks Brother
We're loving "We Are Different," this debut single from Irish duo Thanks Brother. The vocals from Roisin O and John Broe are stunning (and a bit haunting) and we appreciate the video, which features a young man finding courage and escape in the world of drag. The clip was filmed in the George, Dublin's most famous gay bar, and pays homage to the legendary "Witchy Wednesday Drag Show." Find out more about Thanks Brother here.
