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Visi(bi)lity: Good-bi, Friends!

Sex and Sexuality post by carrienelson, Submitted by carrienelson on April 26, 2012 - 2:01pm; tagged bisexual, bisexual visibility, bisexuality, film, goodbyes, media, television, Visi(bi)lity.

A Bi Pride flag ripples in the breeze. There is a wide pink strip on top, a wide blue strip on the bottom, and a thin purple strip in the middle. Trees and sunlight are visible in the background.It has been a privilege and pleasure to write for Bitch for the last eight weeks. Thanks to Kelsey and Kjerstin for all of their support, and thank you to everyone who read, commented on, and shared my posts. As a long-time Bitch fan, I’ve felt honored to share this space with you and participate in much-needed conversations about the state of bisexual visibility in the media.

 

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Visi(bi)lity: How Did I Get Here? (or: What Chasing Amy Taught Me About Media and Identity)

Sex and Sexuality post by carrienelson, Submitted by carrienelson on April 25, 2012 - 11:56am; tagged bisexual, bisexual visibility, bisexuality, Chasing Amy, coming-of-age, film, Kevin Smith, movies, Visi(bi)lity.

Movie poster for “Chasing Amy.” A blonde woman faces front with her chin over her shoulder. Written over her shoulder are the names of Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams and Jason Lee. The title is in the center, below Lee’s name. In the top right corner is the tagline, “It’s not who you love. It’s how.” Below the title is illegibly small text. The coloring is blue-tinted with bright white highlights.When I was 11, I saw the trailer for Chasing Amy. I don’t remember why it caught my attention—I didn’t recognize the actors, and I don’t think I consciously knew what it was about. It certainly wasn’t targeted toward 11-year-olds, so I’m not even sure where I saw the ad. But something in my gut told me that this was a movie I needed to see. It was the first time I experienced such a strong, immediate response to a movie, let alone a trailer.

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Visi(bi)lity: Bisexuality as Rebellion: Sexualizing Women’s Friendships

Sex and Sexuality post by carrienelson, Submitted by carrienelson on March 27, 2012 - 9:53am; tagged bisexual, bisexual visibility, bisexuality, female friendship, film, Heavenly Creatures, Jennifer's Body, sexual fluidity, Visi(bi)lity.

I have noticed that often such stories use sexual fluidity among young women to signify rebellion against hegemonic institutions. In stories ostensibly about conflict between women and their families and women and male lovers, hints of bisexuality are present as indications of the larger ways in which the women in question are opposing oppression.

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Visi(bi)lity: Biphobia Bingo! A Look at Basic Instinct

Sex and Sexuality post by carrienelson, Submitted by carrienelson on March 13, 2012 - 12:18pm; tagged Basic Instinct, biphobia, bisexual, bisexual visibility, bisexuality, film, film reviews, movies, Paul Verhoeven, reviews, Visi(bi)lity.

Full disclosure: I love Paul Verhoeven’s movies. I’m a fan of RoboCop, Total Recall, Starship Troopers...and, yes, even Showgirls. (Stay tuned for more about Showgirls later in this series.) These movies may not be cinematic masterpieces, but they are entertaining, escapist fun. So when I decided to give Basic Instinct a try, I was actually looking forward to it. I expected to enjoy it, even if only in a campy sense.

Oh, how wrong I was.

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Visi(bi)lity: Bi the Way and the Realities of Bisexuality

Sex and Sexuality post by carrienelson, Submitted by carrienelson on March 7, 2012 - 1:11pm; tagged Bi the Way, bisexual, bisexual visibility, bisexuality, documentary, film, Visi(bi)lity.

A green and white highway sign featuring the title "Bi the Way" and the subheading "It's a both/and world." Below the sign is an image of Earth, and the background is black space with white stars. In 2005, Brittany Blockman and Josephine Decker took a road trip across the United States and interviewed people about bisexuality. The result of their project was a documentary film: Bi the Way. In order to understand the fictional images of bisexuality that fill our cinema and television screens, it’s important to take some time to analyze the ways in which bisexuality is depicted in nonfiction media. Bi the Way is a good starting place, since it’s a film that allows its subjects to speak honestly and freely, without an overt agenda from the filmmakers. But is that enough to make it a compelling film that advances realistic bisexual visibility?

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Visi(bi)lity: Deconstructing Images of Bisexuality in the Media

Sex and Sexuality post by carrienelson, Submitted by carrienelson on March 6, 2012 - 12:22pm; tagged bisexual, bisexual visibility, bisexuality, film, media, music, television, Visi(bi)lity.

Over the next eight weeks, I will explore both progressive and problematic depictions of bisexuality in order to see how far we’ve come and how much progress still needs to be made. Together, we will look at examples in film, television, music, celebrity culture, and new media. And, with any luck, we will be able to start a discussion about what the media could be doing to increase realistic and positive depictions of bisexual identities and, by extension, advance bisexual acceptance.

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Political Fictions Kicks Off!

Science and Politics post by EvMaroon, Submitted by EvMaroon on March 5, 2012 - 11:21am; tagged female politicians, film, politics, television.

Barbara Mikulski, Senator from MarylandAnyone who's spent time on a social networking site, watched cable news, or opened their email inbox in the last two months has probably heard about the "GOP's war on women." From placing humiliating barriers between women and their reproductive health to erasing domestic violence laws out of the criminal code and denouncing any woman in the workplace or on birth control, the attacks have been constant this primary campaign cycle. I'm happy to return to Bitch's blog to discuss politics and feminism in the popular cultural sphere, but this go-round I'll be looking specifically at fictional politicians and policy makers. I'll be asking about what kinds of stories we find in these narrative portrayals and looking for connections to the continuing commentary about women from elected officials and those seeking office.

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Double Rainbow: Mozart and the Whale

Movies post by Caroline Narby, Submitted by Caroline Narby on February 23, 2012 - 12:52pm; tagged Asperger syndrome, autism, film, mental health.

I originally intended for this to be a companion piece to my previous post about the 2009 film Adam. Mozart and the Whale is a 2006 romantic "dramedy" about a man and a woman with Asperger syndrome and, in many ways, it makes a very neat thematic companion to the other film. In Adam, the protagonists' relationship ultimately fails because the title character's autism prevents him from fulfulling an appropriate "masculine" role. In Mozart and the Whale, the relationship succeeds because both characters are autistic; neither of them can successfully maintain a relationship with a "normal" person but, as the tagline says, "They don't fit in. Except together." The troubling implication is that if autistic people are going to pursue romantic relationships, it's best if we stick with "our own kind."

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Dark of the Matinée: I Hope You're Happy // Melancholia

Movies post by Sara Reihani, Submitted by Sara Reihani on November 18, 2011 - 1:54pm; tagged dark of the matinee, film, Lars Von Trier, Melancholia, movies.
Still from the movie Melancholia. Kirsten Dunst, a young blonde white woman, in a white wedding dress and veil, holding a bouquet of white flowers, floating down a river on her back, surrounded by green reeds and lily pads.
Since I saw Melancholia at Fantastic Fest 2011, I haven't been sure how to respond when people ask me if it's good. It feels inappropriate to summarize it in those terms: the single best word to describe it isn't "good" or "bad" but "uncomfortable." It's a full two hours but feels longer, full of headache-inducing hand-held shots and constantly shifting focus, but the most unsettling thing about it is how blatantly nihilistic it is.
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Isn't He Lovely: Hollywood Adores a Handsome Blind Man

Social Commentary post by CristenConger, Submitted by CristenConger on October 7, 2011 - 10:49am; tagged blindness, disability, disability in film, film, Hollywood, isn't he lovely, men in film.

film post for scent of a woman with a close up of al pacino's face with downcast eyes and a screen shot of pacino and chris o'donnell arm in arm in the foregroundIf Hollywood gravitates toward a "sexy" disability for male characters, it would have to be blindness. I was recently mulling over how the big screen portrays men of color and with disabilities and realized that blind male characters in movies often aren’t dehumanized or marginalized. They’re downright hot.

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