Frozen is a film that not only shows women taking control of their own happiness, but it also shows them acting on love instead of receiving it. Throughout the film, Anna experiences several types of love, but the most significant form is that which Anna chooses at the very end. Her sacrifice for Elsa redefines… Continue reading Reflections in the Ice Part Three: Redefining True Love
Author: Taylor Ramage
Reflections in the Ice Part Two: Anna’s Agency in Frozen
One of the best things about Frozen is that it’s primarily a story about two sisters repairing their relationship, not one about finding love with a man. While romance is part of the story, it is not either of the main characters’ primary problem. Even Anna’s doe-eyed infatuation with Hans takes a back seat when… Continue reading Reflections in the Ice Part Two: Anna’s Agency in Frozen
Reflections in the Ice Part One: Elsa’s Queerness in Frozen
I’ve finally had the absolute pleasure of watching Frozen, this year’s Oscar winning animated feature that the Internet has been freaking out about since its theatrical release. I expected the movie to be good, but what I didn’t expect was for it to impress me on a level that would inspire an entire blog post… Continue reading Reflections in the Ice Part One: Elsa’s Queerness in Frozen
Lessons from Gravity: How to Fail the Bechdel Test (in a good way)
This Oscars 2014 post series didn’t go quite as planned, but even though I only managed to write about one Best Picture nom before Ellen DeGeneres ordered pizza for everyone, I’m still making my way through each of the films because they really are always worth seeing. As I noted in my post about… Continue reading Lessons from Gravity: How to Fail the Bechdel Test (in a good way)
Lessons from The Hunger Games: The Limits of First-Person Present Tense
By now, everyone has talked The Hunger Games to death. Though it largely deserves the hype, it seems that the conversation stops at praising what it does well. Certainly, The Hunger Games is a compelling book series that isn’t shy about its critique of contemporary society, but it falters enough to provide some… Continue reading Lessons from The Hunger Games: The Limits of First-Person Present Tense
Lessons from Women of the Silk: Weaving in Strong Messages
Gail Tsukiyama’s Women of the Silk is, for me, one of those random treasures I picked up during a used book sale in college. Half the fun of these kinds of books is that sometimes they’re terrible, but sometimes they have everything you could possibly ask for in a story and you weren’t even intentionally… Continue reading Lessons from Women of the Silk: Weaving in Strong Messages
Is Yuri Anime Decent Representation?
Anime is one of the few mediums where you can really say that there’s something for everyone. Or at least, that’s the idea. Recent anime has scarcely provided anything interesting, but at least this season has something slightly different: Sakura Trick. Representation of anyone other than straight people is rare in media, and anime is… Continue reading Is Yuri Anime Decent Representation?
Writing God in Genre Fiction
If I had a fancy suit for every time I’ve heard about the struggle of writing God in fantasy and science fiction stories, I would have a walk-in closet full of fancy suits. I’ve read many a blog post and forum thread hashing out this subject because some young writer is desperate to figure it… Continue reading Writing God in Genre Fiction
Why Not Both? Femininity and Masculinity in Tenou Haruka
Only 90s kids remember this cute commercial from a couple years ago because only 90s kids remember anything. 90s kids especially remember Sailor Moon and all of the awkward things DiC did to hide the gays, but no amount of “cousinly affection” can hide the fact that Tenou Haruka, AKA Sailor Uranus embraces both masculinity… Continue reading Why Not Both? Femininity and Masculinity in Tenou Haruka
Lessons from Her: Sidestepping the Creepy Clichés
Oscar season is upon us and that means that deserving favorites won’t likely win in their categories. It also means that there’s a set list of movies from the past year that are definitely worth watching. I’ve never been bored with a Best Picture nom. As the awards ceremony approaches, I’m ticking off the nominated… Continue reading Lessons from Her: Sidestepping the Creepy Clichés