Films for my gender and sexuality class
Dear reader,
I was going to send you another intense newsletter but I am stuck, so I thought I’d send you a list of films that I have been watching as I prepare to teach my first week-long course on gender and sexuality at a design school in India.
Some of these films have been recommended by folks on the internet. I will go with the ones I have already watched and some I’ve started watching.
1. The Great Indian Kitchen: The Malayalam film that explores gender roles in marriages. I’m going to watch in another time so we can use it in class.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime
2. Naanu Ladies:
Shailaja Padindala’s says, “Naanu Ladies’ is a film attempting to identify cis-het culture [as it] weaves itself into the queerness of everyday life. The film attempts to re-understand uses of reproductive sciences for a queer lifestyle.”
Where to watch: https://tubitv.com/movies/725357/naanu-ladies
3: Mumbai Police: This is very mainstream Malayalam film and a thriller that touches upon talks the lengths to which society can make someone hide their sexuality and be hyper masculine.
Where to watch: Disney Hotstar
(I watched it on Asianet’s movie channel on YouTube but it doesn’t have subtitles.)
4: Joychild:
A young child reveals a secret to their mother: "I'm not a girl." Their mother not only accepts this but embraces it.
5. Ammayi: A short Telugu film insisted by Jamaica Kincaid’s short story - Girl
6. Babai is an 81 year old handcart puller in Pune, who transports a variety of material, weighing up to 250-300 kg. The film documents Babai’s stressful working day and also talks about her take on life.
When women unite:
(I have just begun this) The film narrates the incredibly moving story of the anti-arrack (state-supplied distilled liquor) movement that led to the eventual ban of arrack sales in Andhra Pradesh in 1995.Sultana’s Dream: This Pakistani animated film based on Begum Rokeya’s feminist utopian story from 1905 which was originally published in The Indian Ladies’ Magazine in English.
Sultana’s dream: Another version but this time from Bangladesh
Killing us softly 4: I am yet to watch Killing us softly 4 because I haven’t found it yet but I consuemd all snippets about it and even this 2 hour documentation of her work including the panel and it has been brilliant. Jean Kilbourne scrutinizes the sheer power of advertising and how it constantly objectifies the female body, turning it into "things".
11: Ways of seeing: This John Berger’s second film in the series that discusses the female nude.
”You painted a naked woman because you enjoyed looking at her, put a mirror in her hand and you called the painting “Vanity,” thus morally condemning the woman whose nakedness you had depicted for you own pleasure.”
I am also rewatching Disclosure and Big mouth on Netflix. This is easily the first time when I have consumed so much audio visual media, if you have recommendations of films, animated series for me to watch that touch upon the gender and sexuality, please email me.
Have a good weekend.
<3
Indu