Want rippling abs, heaving bodices and more sex and magic than Vegas? Here’s why you should be watching “The White Queen.”

History has been ruined by the modern age of television—and it is glorious. Sure, there’s the occasional serious historical drama with traumatizing small pox vaccinations and naked Benjamin Franklin in the bath. (Hat tip: HBO’s “John Adams.”) These productions massage our brains like an NPR-podcast, making us smarter by proxy of Laura Linney’s historically-accurate brown teeth.

Then there are other dramas that dress history in chiseled abs, heaving bodices, and more scene-chewing than a badger in a woodshop. Ladies and a few gentlemen, meet “The White Queen.”

Starz’s import from across the pond tells the story of Britain’s War of the Roses, but through the eyes of the womenfolk. A period piece set during the 30-year feud between the House of Plantagenet, there’s lots of magnificent hair, explosive acting, and impeccably-lit sex scenes where proper hygiene is never an issue.

We start off following the life of Elizabeth Woodville, a commoner who married King Edward IV in 1464. Elizabeth was a 27-year-old widow of fertile breeding who once sweet-talked the king under a tree while begging for land rights or something non-bosomy. The King, a cable TV-handsome youth who appreciated a good plea for real estate, was bewitched—possibly literally.

Elizabeth and Edward secretly married, everyone freaked, and power struggles abounded for the next two decades.

Over the ten-episode arc, we follow Elizabeth and Edward, but also Anne Neville (Faye Marsay), the daughter of the “Kingmaker” Warwick, as well Margaret Beaufort (Amanda Hale), who is the mother of the future king, Henry Tudor.

Starz, which just started airing the first episodes, crows that the “The White Queen” is told through these three “different, yet equally relentless women.” But critics haven’t exactly loved the ten-part series, which The New York Times found seriously “not-as” interesting, sharp, compelling, layered or adventurous as HBO’s wildly-successful “Game of Thrones.”

Well, yeah, if you take it seriously. But shall we compare a direwolf to a house cat? We shall not, because we’d miss out on some of the best reasons to watch “The White Queen.”

1. The hair.

Sure, “The White Queen” may not be a cinematic masterpiece to regale the senses. But check out Janet McTeer’s hair. The impeccable McTeer plays Elizabeth’s mother, Jacquetta Woodville, a character who also believes herself to be descended from a river goddess and therefore, magical.

But Jacquetta isn’t the only woman sporting elaborate braids and a bitchy attitude. “The White Queen” is ripe with characters whose lives are ones of “love and lust, seduction and deception, betrayal and murder.” Its Alexis and Krystle all over again, this time in a coronets and combs.

2. The scene chewing.

Sure, “The White Queen” boasts Oscar-nominated names like Janet McTeer and British mainstays like James Frain. McTeer in particular makes you buy what she’s selling, so much so that you feel like you’re watching a completely different production when she steps on screen.

But sans McTeer, it’s acted by lesser-knowns who would be just at home on a CW shoot or sparkling it up as a brooding vampire/wolf/elf. This means you get dialogue like “You will have to wade through blood!” uttered by gorgeous faces that are not only historically-inaccurately washed but probably steam-cleaned and pressed.

The actors are hammy, hilarious, and no one has nightmares after an unexpected red wedding or castration. Everyone wins!

3. The lads.

Beefcake, be thy muse. The White Queen and her co-horts may flash Pilates-sculpted derrieres at will, but their rugged male conspirators are the real draw. It’s like casting hung up a brooding beacon, immediately drawing in every chiseled-jaw Brit with a SAG card.

There’s Anthony Rivers (Ben Lamb), Elizabeth Woodville’s brother, keen in the ways of courtly behavior and political struggles. There’s King Edward IV (Max Irons) a “fierce solider” who follows his heart. Sprinkle in various sculpted Dukes and we have a fantastic medieval Abercrombie and Fitch catalogue.

4. The magic.

Magic. Sex. Seeing. “The White Queen” has it all. Sure, it may be considered (to be read in hushed tones) pagan, but the women of the War of the Roses know how to make life magical when necessary.

Usually, this happens at conveniently-plotted expository moments, like when Elizabeth stares dramatically into a mirror, while a woman covered in blood stares back at her and she thinks it is her own blood.

Or Jacquetta, armed with ominous music, mysteriously knows that the Duchess Cecily, mother of Edward IV, is a common whore who lay with an archer and cuckolded her husband. But how does she know this?

5. The sexy sex.

Want more skin and moans? Then be sure to stay on the revolutionary side of the Atlantic, because the Starz version has a lot more bang for your buck.

As Kind Edward (Max Irons) himself told the Metro via The Daily Beast, “You get a lot more arse in the Starz version—the cameras kept rolling after the BBC stopped the scene.”

(See also: “tastefully shot but historically dubious soft-core porn.”)

“The White Queen” airs Saturdays at 9pm on Starz. You can watch the first episode free online.

Photos courtesy of Starz.

For further reading:
Women on Film: Daenerys Targaryen Shows Us Strength

Best Braid Hairstyles for Grown-Up Girls

Follow Katherine on Twitter @KathieButler 

The post 5 Sexy Reasons to Watch ‘The White Queen’ appeared first on EcoSalon.

“Breaking Bad” is the best-written show currently residing on our small screens. Don’t agree? Then let us pour a glass of Schraderbrau and talk episodes. Or rather, let’s skip right to the end, which is likely to be as epic and well-crafted as the first four-and-a-half seasons of the best-written show currently residing on our small screens.

There are just eight more episodes for meth-makers Walter, Jesse and company before we learn the inevitable and guaranteed happy ending our characters all so richly deserve. Which is, of course, as likely as Badger and Skinny Pete joining Mensa.

So how will it all really end?

We have at least one clue. We know Walter fled out of state to “live free or die.” (Thank you, New Hampshire license plates, for your eloquent foreshadowing.) But we can dare to dream that our favorite New Mexicans will all ride off into the sunset alive and happy—or at least, alive?

Probably not. So let’s pretend for a hot meth-minute that creator Vince Gilligan’s brain was briefly high-jacked by Disney and that a peaceful end was possible.

After all, everyone deserves a happy ending on “Breaking Bad.” Just ask Mike Ehrmantraut. Gus Fring. Gale Boetticher. The Salamanca family. Ted Beneke. Jane Margolis. The people of Flight 515. One brave southwestern turtle…

1. Walter White: Dead Man Walking
We know things may not end well for drug kingpin Walter, mostly because the New Hampshire license plate makes it so. On the domestic front, his wife is praying for his cancer to return. Business-wise, he has the life expectancy of a fruit fly. Odds are heavily on the “die” part of “live free or die.”

Instead, Walter escapes Hank and his toilet-reading sleuthing to flee to Atlanta. He arrives just as a zombie outbreak takes down civilization.

Naturally, Walt becomes the leader of a new world order. It’s a world where long, boring, drawn-out conversations about morality are forbidden, replaced instead by more smashy-smash of zombie skulls.

You will remember his name—and it is Governor Heisenberg.

2. Skyler Gets Sweet Revenge (And a New Name)
Poor Skyler. Yes, she’s complicit on a thousand different levels and wow, does she have a taste for boys who like to cook. (Walter, meth. Ted, books.)

But one thing Walter White’s wife does really well is tragic, misguided morality. She starts out trying to do the right thing. But before you know it, she’s flashing cleavage at an IRS agent and embarking on a career as a car wash owner-slash-embezzler of millions.

(Maybe her confusion stems from the fact that she has the name of an Arizona State sorority girl instead of a middle-aged woman. Seriously, Vince Gilligan, her name should be Sandra or Pam. Not Skyler. Now be sure to consult me next time, thanks.)

So here’s what we’d like to see for Sandra Pam at the end of “Breaking Bad.” Fed up, she takes Walter out with a turtle bomb. With baby Holly and Walt Jr. in tow, she buys a Caribbean island with her giant cube of cash and happily lives out her days. Turns out, the money—it was enough.

3. Jesse Finds Love
When we last saw partner-in-crime Jesse Pinkman, Walt had just left $5 million at his house, probably hoping to soothe feelings over the tragic death of an innocent child or the yet-to-be-discovered murder of Jesse’s mentor, Mike. Take your pick!

Sure, Jesse has blood on his own hands, but he always plays with an ambiguity that lets you understand his motives. Even if it takes him a while to learn his lesson, which is always dissolve a body in hydrofluoric acid in a plastic barrel and never, ever in the bathtub.

So rather than meeting his end over a barrel, Jesse could find romance. He is busted by Hank and sent to prison for life. Once there, he falls in love with the prison hair stylist, a pre-transition transsexual inmate named Sophia.

Jesse and Sophia live happily ever after, because orange is the new black and black is not the color of Jesse’s heart. Not really.

4. Hank Schrader, Poet Performance Artist
Our favorite DEA agent and brother-in-law Hank Schrader has had a helluva time of it. He’s been harassed, mocked, and discouraged for his relentless search for his white whale, Heisenberg.

Meanwhile, the meth king himself has been drinking his home-brews all along in Hank’s very own backyard. Hank has endured the temporarily loss of his legs in a shoot-out and more exploding turtle parts than is really necessary.

So what Hank really needs is a break. We already know that he achieved clarity about Walter’s identity while sitting on the toilet. But what we learn is that this life-altering moment also came with a deep sense of purpose about his own life.

So Hank decides, after reading “Leaves of Grass,” to give up his pursuit of Walter/Heisenberg. Instead, he becomes a celebrated poet. He spends his time on street corners, happy and fulfilled, shouting “Song of Myself” against the roar of the Albuquerque crowds. Breaking Bad? More like breaking mad poetry beats, yo.

5. Marie Brings Purple Love to the People
Hank’s wife and Skyler’s sister Marie seems to be finally getting her life together. She wore a yellow shirt in the mid-season finale, which means she’s either finally throwing off the purple shackles of her intense neurosis or Breaking Bad costume designer Kathleen Detoro has been replaced by Big Bird.

But when Walt is revealed as a drug kingpin and Skyler as his money man, Marie flees back to the safety of her lavender preferences.

But this time, she doesn’t mess around. Marie opens a Purple Palace Emporium of decorative spoons and baby tiaras. It becomes wildly successful overseas, and Marie builds her own storage cube of cash.

She divorces Hank, leaves New Mexico, and marries a buff Swedish masseur name Olaf who enjoys a shirtless life in, naturally, a purple sarong.

Photos courtesy of AMC

For further reading:

The Top 12 Tear-Jerker Movies

Women in Film: The Best Way to Make Your Point

‘Orange Is the New Black’—And I’m Addicted: That Happened …

The post 5 Happy Endings We’d Like to See for ‘Breaking Bad’ appeared first on EcoSalon.

Jill Clayburgh’s portrayal of a divorcee in the 1978  film An Unmarried Woman, helped redefine marriage and sexuality.

In 1978, Hollywood came up with its own answer to the shifting roles of women in a newly-feminist society. In An Unmarried Woman, Jill Clayburgh made real the newly-single woman, redefining her sexuality and identity after the end of her 16-year marriage.

Clayburgh scored several accolades for her role as Erica, including an Academy Award nomination. Her role epitomized the growing sexual revolution of the 1970s. Clayburgh’s Erica struggles after her husband leaves her for a younger woman, but eventually finds her voice in a renewed sense of emotional and sexual liberation.

An Unmarried Woman hits on what are now touchstones of divorce – the angry moments with a therapist, the nervous excitement of casual sex, the painful confrontations with the ex, and the touching commiseration with a disappointed child. But what was spectacular about Clayburgh’s performance is that it was the first of its kind. Never before had audiences seen a woman quite so modern as Clayburgh’s Erica.

If a woman divorced less than four decades ago, she was left in a precarious state. For instance, it was legal in this country for creditors and banks to deny credit to a woman. Women simply could not access credit in their own name – they had to apply through their husband or as an “appendage” of their spouse. In 1974, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act made it illegal for banks to deny credit based on gender, marital status, race, religion, age, nation of birth or prior residence. Divorce became more socially acceptable – but still a serious event with potentially devastation economic consequences for women.

And so, Erica became a role model for liberation. After Clayburgh died of cancer in 2010, ABC News went as far as to dubbing this the “Clayburgh Effect.” In other words, women on screen are still redefining what it means to be on their own, as evidenced by Meryl Streep in It’s Complicated or Diane Keaton in Something’s Gotta Give. To be over 35 years old and newly single is not a social death sentence, but a rich possibility for an ambitious start in middle life.

While it is more common today to see richer portrayals of mature female sexuality, woman are still defined by their age and, at times, marital status. Cultural roles continue to shift for women – which is why it’s important to remember where we came from. Waving our credit cards in our own names, we can see just how far we’ve come and how far we can still journey.

For more Jill Clayburgh, click here.

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The post Women on Film: The Scandalous Life of An Unmarried Woman appeared first on EcoSalon.

An ode to Tina Fey, the funniest among women.

There is a goddess amongst female comedy writers, and her name is Tina. I speak with some authority on the matter, as I have worked in comedy as a writer who carries estrogen as a predominant hormone. Being a female comedy writer can mean that you find yourself in interesting scenarios – scenarios in which you are completely, unwittingly leading with your breasts, which you thought were stashed safely under poncho.

This could mean that you are on what you think is a professional pitch meeting with an executive famed for his children’s programming, only to be invited to continue the discussion at the Playboy mansion over drinks.

Or it might mean that your agent will be told that the reason you didn’t get a job was because “you’re too pretty for the room” and would be a distraction to the “process.”

It definitely might mean that you’re typing away at the darkest hours of night, determined to “make it in this town if it kills you,” which it might, considering the two-buck Chuck your body can now process as handily as plasma.

But there is a beacon of hope on the horizon of hilarity. The 2000s saw the rise of a Greek goddess among men, a funny woman stashing Emmys under her cardigan as a recycler might pluck soda cans from the street. Tina Fey is a comedy master, advancing the art of feminine self-deprecation further than any uterus-carrying comedian before her. Here we see her as her alter-ego, Liz Lemon, on NBC’s 30 Rock.

Fey has been a game-changer for woman comedy writers. Sure, there’s always been the wit of Dorothy Parker, the perkiness of Mary Tyler Moore, the pratfalls of Carol Burnett, all worthy foremothers of comedy.

But Fey has realized the dream of many an awkward teen who had to grow into her mouth. She’s taken her sense of humor and parlayed it into a celebrated career spanning the earliest Baby Boomer to the fledgling Millennial. With her great success as the creator of 30 Rock to her best-selling memoir, Bossypants, she reminds us all that it’s okay to be funny based on a shared love of twee-desserts. Or a painful childhood spent sobbing in an appropriately-sized colonial lady outfit.

But what does Fey think about a world in comedy where invitations to soft-porn mansions are peddled about as easily as studio drive-ons? She has made an art of not leading with her looks, but is quick to avoid criticism of women who are perceived to do such that.

As she told NPR, “It’s just such a tangled-up issue, the way women present themselves – whether or not they choose to put their thumbs in their panties on the cover of Maxim and judge each other back and forth on it. It’s a complicated issue, and we didn’t go much further on saying anything other than to say, ‘Yeah, it’s a complicated issue and we’re all kind of figuring it out as we go.’”

She went on to speak about Olivia Munn, actress and “Daily Show” correspondent, who is criticized for exactly being “too pretty for the room.” As Fey spoke of Munn, “because she’s very beautiful, people are like, ‘You’re using that.’ It’s a mess. We can’t figure it out.’”

While Fey professes to lack any real answers to solve the comedy conundrum for female writers, she still leads by example. By making herself the butt of the joke, unafraid of being perceived as ugly, fat, or anything-but-comfortable in a food-stained cardigan, she’s taking comedy beyond the beauty borders for women. She’s brought first-world female foibles into the spotlight and reminded us that it’s okay to laugh at ourselves.

The post Women on Film: Tina Fey Makes the Screams Go Away appeared first on EcoSalon.

Nichelle Nichols’ Lt. Uhura was an inspiration in a time of racial strife.

Before Halle Barry, before Beyonce, and before Zoe Saldana – there was Nichelle Nichols, who boldly went where no African-American woman had gone before. Nichols played Lt. Uhura on the original Star Trek, contributing to Gene Roddenberry’s utopist view of a multicultural future in space. Nichols’ Uhura was an breath of fresh air on the lily-white television screens of America in 1966.

But 1966 was also a year marking increasing racial tensions in America. To many, Uhura was more than just a TV character—she was an icon of inspiration, setting a standard of multicultural womanhood on television. Nichols was no housekeeper or “mammy,” but an intelligent space traveler working in a world of equality. Her fans include the first African-American astronaut in space Mae Jemison, who cites Nichols as her inspiration to go into space.

Nichols was born in 1932, in a small town near Chicago. Discovered by Duke Ellington as a teenager, the singer and dancer toured with Ellington and Lionel Hampton. She was cast on Star Trek after appearing in creator Gene Roddenberry’s initial foray into television, The Lieutenant.

During the first year of the series, Nichols considered leaving the show to perform on Broadway. However, Martin Luther King, Jr. himself convinced the actress to stay on as Lt. Uhura. She met the iconic Civil Rights leader at a NAACP event in 1966. As Nichols recalls the meeting, “He was telling me why I could not [resign],” she told the Daily News. “He said I had the first nonstereotypical role, I had a role with honor, dignity and intelligence. He said, ‘You simply cannot abdicate, this is an important role. This is why we are marching. We never thought we’d see this on TV.’”

Nichols decided to stay on the show and continued making milestones, including kissing William Shatner on the original Star Trek. This was by most accounts the first interracial kiss between a black woman and a white male on television. Here you can see Nichols discussing the kiss.

After Star Trek’s cancellation in 1969, Nichols went on to appear in all six film follow-ups. She has since served as recruiter for NASA to encourage women and minorities to join the program. Nichols has appeared on several boards and organizations to promote space travel and was present for the final liftoff of Atlantis, the last shuttle to fly into space. Today, she continues to be honored for her work both in television and advocacy.

The post Women on Film: Nichelle Nichols of Star Trek Broke Barriers appeared first on EcoSalon.

Here at EcoSalon, there’s no Team Edward or Jacob. There is only Team Katniss.

Picture this: the end of modern civilization is upon us. The Mayans have gotten it right and the shifting Earth’s axis has thrown us all into space. Or Yellowstone’s super volcano has erupted, coating us with ash and inspiring cannibalism. Or, Rick Santorum has been elected President. Who do you want at your side – the wily, survival skills of Katniss Everdeen, huntress, tribute, and all-around hero? Or an emo teenager pining for her hybrid werewolf-vampire boyfriend while all the good action happens around her?

Here at EcoSalon, there’s no Team Edward or Jacob. There is only Team Katniss.

Now, gather around young ones, this feminist writer has something to confess. I’m turning 40 years old in mere days. I think this finally means that when I talk about the “good old days,” they actually are the good old days. When I was a young feminist, things like birth control and health care access for all women were not up for debate – they were something established and hard won, rights that we took for granted.

Sure, we revered the stalwarts like Gloria Steinem and Naomi Wolf, and we were grateful for their feminist revolution. But we thought we had earned our independence, our rights to an equally fulfilling life in or out of the home. We were the third wave feminists, enjoying the spoils of the sexual revolution.

So color us shocked some two decades later. Young women who use birth control are now called sluts. Abortion bills excluding rape and incest are being debated all over the country. Women’s rights are not only under constant assault at all times – they seem destined to be erased completely.

So when we see a young character like Katniss Everdeen of The Hunger Games up on the screen, it’s impossible not to be deeply inspired and, frankly, relieved to see this next generation of strong women.

Jennifer Lawrence, who at 21 is the quintessential Millennial, brings a wonderful level of quiet dignity to Katniss. Lawrence says she was drawn to Katniss because of her strength as one of the first women to challenge the oligarchical Capitol. As she spoke of the role, “Katniss is so special to me because she’s so strong and willful, and stands up for what’s right.”

And this is exactly what makes Katniss a character you’re proud to show your daughter, niece, or young friend. She’s a cornerstone of strength in a society trying to place individual rights behind the “good” of government decrees.

We hold up three fingers in salute to Katniss and most especially, to Lawrence.

The post Women on Film: Katniss Everdeen as Feminist Role Model appeared first on EcoSalon.

Marjane Satrapi’s “Persepolis” shows us how to stay true to our beliefs under great adversity.

In the day-to-day of living life, many of us are constantly assailed by the “at leasts.”

“God, I’m annoyed with traffic, but at least I have my health,” one might sigh staring down five miles-per-hour on the highway.

“I have the worst headache, but at least it’s nothing serious,” another might ponder while squinting up at a children’s hospital, framed by the sun. Then we go on with our days, briefly annoyed but secure in the knowledge that lattes can be made organic, Mad Men has returned for a new season, and that cupcakes can now be retrieved via vending machines.

Or we could “at least” be Marjane Satrapi, who lived through the Islamic Revolution, enduring a tyrannical, repressive girlhood. Satrapi’s experience is captured in the 2007 animated film Persepolis.

Persepolis, which won the 2007 Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, is a French-American animated film based on the graphic novels of the same name. Co-directed with Vincent Paronnaud, Persepolis depicts Satrapi’s childhood, thrown into turmoil when Khomeini overthrew the Shah in the 1979 revolution and ushered in an age of Islamic Fundamentalism and the Iran-Iraq War. Satrapi was raised in a middle-class family of activists, but her outspokenness and confidence cause her parents to fear for her safety. She was sent to the French Lycee in Vienna in 1983, only to eventually find herself homeless, isolated, and extremely ill with pneumonia.

Satrapi recovered, returning to Iran in 1987. However, she continued to rebel under the intense scrutiny of the regime. Inevitably, Satrapi was forced to decide between freedom and her love of her beloved country, torn apart by war and intolerance.

“I believe that an entire nation should not be judged by the wrongdoings of a few extremists,” Satrapi says on the film’s website. “I also don’t want those Iranians who lost their lives in prisons defending freedom, who died in the war against Iraq, who suffered under various oppressive regimes, or who were forced to leave their families and flee their homeland to be forgotten.”

These are strong words from a courageous woman, emboldened by her beliefs in unimaginably dark circumstances. Our “at leasts” were her reality.

For more Persepolis, click here.

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The post Women on Film: How to Rebel appeared first on EcoSalon.

Daenerys Targaryen of Game of Thrones shows us how to lead (through fire).

Life is difficult on most levels and tedious on others. Joy and sorrow waltz about as our close companions on this planet, tricking out each moment with happiness, sadness, or simple ambivalence. We are generally left vacillating between emotions to experience to more emotions. And in the meantime, we can be left feeling a bit spent inside.

Enter cinema and an epic scene which can fill you with inspiration all over again. Here is such a moment from HBO’s Game of Thrones, based on the novels by George R.R. Martin. (Warning: NSFW.)

Watching Emilia Clarke’s turn as Daenerys Targaryen in the epic historical fantasy is a bolt of lightning out of the blue. When we first meet Daenerys, she’s timid, persecuted, and unsure of her place in a world of exile. By the end, she’s an incredibly powerful dragon princess. And vengeful – for all those unfamiliar with the series, the woman Daenerys binds to her husband’s funeral pyre is responsible for his death.

Daenerys comes from the world of George R.R. Martin, who wrote several epic volumes of the A Song of Ice and Fire series, including the first, Game of Thrones. In the seven kingdoms of Westeros, the Lannister and Stark families battle for power. It’s a world of magic, menace and a myriad of character plots. Our dragon princess is but one of many faces in Westeros – but to many fans, she’s the favorite. As Clarke spoke of her character, “She’s an incredibly strong and powerful woman who doesn’t come into her own until much later on.”

In our world, where life can tear at you like a pack of dire wolves, she’s an inspiration.

HBO’s Game of Thrones: Season Two premieres April 1, 2012. In the meantime, you can learn more about Daenerys here.

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Women on Film: Ginger Rogers Shows Us Practice Makes Perfect

Women on Film: Ike, Tina and the Realities of Domestic Violence

Women on Film: The Beauty of an Emotional Silence

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Women on Film: How Not To Care Like Melissa McCarthy

Women on Film: Body Snark as Universal Women Speak

The post Women on Film: Daenerys Targaryen Shows Us Strength appeared first on EcoSalon.

Ginger Rogers did everything backwards and in high heels – and shined.

Ginger Rogers, who was said to have danced before she could walk, was born Virginia Katherine McMath in 1911. In 1926, she began working as a dancer on the Vaudeville circuit after winning a Charleston contest. After performing on Broadway, Rogers worked on screen with Paramount and RKO through the 1930s. By the mid-1930s, she was appearing with Fred Astaire in such smash-hit musicals as Top Hat, Swing Time, and Shall We Dance? She danced, acted, and sang throughout the rest of her life, dying in 1995.

Here we see Fred and Ginger in the 1935 musical Roberta, dancing to the iconic Smoke Gets in Your Eyes. (Also, points to Rogers for the best acceptance of a marriage proposal ever.)

The constant of Roger’s career with Astaire was that she made effortlessness look easy. Watching Fred and Ginger move across the screen, most of us are inspired to leap up, grab our partners, and start tripping the light fantastic across the kitchen floor. Except most of us will literally be tripping over ourselves. Because appearing to move with simplicity and ease is quite difficult and takes practice. Now imagine doing it backwards.

Rogers shows us how to glide through the moments of life gracefully, skillfully masking the effort it takes to navigate life’s ups and downs – or high hicks and jumps. As illustrator Bob Thaves spoke of Rogers, “Sure, [Fred Astaire] was great, but don’t forget that Ginger Rogers did everything he did, but backwards and in high heels.”

So the next time we’re frustrated, palming our own foreheads at the complete lack of regard for women by some in the country, we can remember that not only will we persevere over ignorance, we’ll dance backwards right over it.

The post Women on Film: Ginger Rogers Shows Us Practice Makes Perfect appeared first on EcoSalon.

It is physically impossible to stay angry in the face of kittens. Violence is not the solution to life’s problem. A calm, zen-like approach is best for extremely frustrating moments. Good thing we have kittens.

Now all that being said, sometimes you still just want to scream, punch, and kick your problems away. So for anyone looking to exorcise her aggressions within the confines of a safe, lawsuit-proof arena, may we present Uma Thurman and Daryl Hannah in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Vol. 2. Check out these two adversaries of equal skill and strength working off some serious vengeance issues.

Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and Kill Bill: Vol. 2 are an homage to the spaghetti western. But Tarantino does not intend his epic to be read as a manifesto of feminine violence. “This movie does not take place in the universe that we live in,” said Tarantino of the films. “In this world women are not the weaker sex. They have exactly the same predatory hunting instincts as the men, the same drive to kill or be killed.” No word on how much predatory hunting the Los Angeles director does in his day-to-day life, nor is it clear how he can speak towards the inner drives of women.

Rather, this fight between Thurman and Hannah is as appealing as any cinematic clash would be, male or female. Modern femininity isn’t defined by how many diapers you can change in a day, or how closely your lipstick shade matches your nails. It’s defined by women handling themselves as they see fit.

In this case, Thurman’s Beatrix Kiddo is avenging the death of her fiancé, friends, and (she thinks) unborn child. Yes, it involves an unfortunate use of a spittoon. Yes, it’s not practical or well-thought-out to run around attacking your enemies with a Hanzo sword. And yes, this kind of fighting can only be tolerated between equally-proficient partners. But it’s satisfying to see two women handling themselves. Even if they exist in a universe not intended for our own.

The post Women on Film: Uma Thurman Shows Us How to Fight Like a Girl appeared first on EcoSalon.