The Mankini Revolution - Stamp of Approval

Movies

The Runaways (2010)

This movie is based on the true story of the ground-breaking all-girl band, The Runaways.

"The Runaways" tells the story of the band's formation, rise to fame, and the manipulation of the teenage bandmates by their manager Kim Fowley. (Each of the girls was under 16 upon the rock group's formation.) The Runaways ultimately succeeded on their own merits and became the first all-girl rock-band to make hits and fill the seats of major venues. The Runaways opened up the door to women in rock, forever changing the rules of rock and roll.

Changeling (2008)

Changeling is an outstanding movie directed by Clint Eastwood, and starring Angelina Jolie. Changeling is based on a true story set in Los Angeles, in 1928. Jolie plays a single mother, Christine Collins, who returns from work one day to find her nine-year-old son missing. Months later, the LAPD unites Collins with a boy they claim is her son. Collens insists the boy is not her son, but without listening to Collins' story, the cops dismiss her as just another hysterical women and lock her in a psych ward. Collins fights back.

This story exposes the sexism and abuse of the LAPD in the 1920's and 30's, and tells of story of one courageous women who refuses to tolerate it.

Raising Cain-- Exploring the Inner Lives of America's Boys (Documentary)

Child psychologist, Michael Thompson, PhD., explores the emotional development of boys in America. Along the way, Thompson dispels some of the common misconceptions about gender and reveals the results of recent psychological studies on gender. You'll learn that adults only think that they can distinguish between little boys and girls based on their behavior. Where the gender of a group of youngsters is unknown, people are unable to determine the sex of a child. You'll also learn that when the gender of a child is known, adults are quick to label any aggressive behavior from a boy as behavior related to his gender, while neglecting to notice that little girls engage in the same amount of aggressive behaviors.

	This Film Is Not Yet Rated (Documentary)
	The film discusses disparities the filmmaker sees in MPAA ratings and feedback: between Hollywood and independent films, between homosexual and heterosexual sexual situations, between male and female sexual depictions, and between violence and sexual content.

Fly Girls (Documentary)

"Fly Girls" is a documentary about the Women's Air Force Service Pilots (WASPs) of World War II, featuring interviews with surviving WASPs and archive footage. The WASPs were formed to free men for combat roles. They functioned as ferry aircraft, tow targets and instructors, and flew every aircraft in the military inventory. The WASPs faced sexism and great danger. Because of their gender, the WASPs were not recognized as military members nor given vetern status until 1977.

Sex and the City Movies I (2008) and II (In theatres May 28, 2010)

The Sex and the City characters are four girlfriends who sought out and acheived meaningful and fulfilling relationships and balanced lives. The show revolves around female friendship, even more so then the characters relationships with men. The Sex and the City series has played a role in diminishing the stud/slut double standard, popularizing the cougar, increasing female comfort with frank discussion of sexuality, and increasing female interest in the sight of the male body.

Coming Soon (2000)

This movie is not the most highly-rated, nor is it easy to find (you can find it on Amazon.com using the movies title, along with the director's name Colette Burson). This movie is, however, important and worthy of your attention. Writer and director, Colette Burson, tells a realistic story of the common, yet rarely discussed, experience of a teenage girl as she becomes sexually active: inability to have an orgasm, discomfort addressing the problem, uncertainty regarding what an orgasm feels like (Did I have an orgasm?), and dishonesty about the experience of sex due to desire to fit in. Despite its racy cover, this movie was not as crude or offensive as one might expect, especially in comparison to American Pie, Porky's, and other coming of age films about the sexual experience of teenage boys. Even so, this movie was highly controversial. The producers found that the sexual double standard was powerful and had a hard time gaining support in its production or sale. The MPAA refused to give this movie an R- rating, even though it lacked nudity, and although frank, was not exploitative or titillating. Instead it was rated NC-17. Director Colette Burson said her MPAA representative admitted the board has a double standard when it comes to depicting female sexual desire.

	An Education (2009)
	An award-winning drama about a teenage girl who learns the true value of an education after falling in love with an older man and giving up on her goal of college at Oxford.

Amelia (2009)

This movie is based on the true story of Amelia Earhart, a girl who discovered the thrill of flying at age 23, and won the Distinguished Flying Cross for being the first woman to pilot a plane solo across the Atlantic Ocean. At age 39 Earhart set out on an unsuccessful attempt to fly around the globe. This movie was underrated in our opinion. If you are interested in learning more about the amazing story of Amelia Earhart, see this movie.

	Coco Before Chanel (2009)
	A French film about the life of the famed French fashion designer Coco Chanel, who started out as an orphan, and against all odds she started her own business and changed the history of women’s fashion.

It's Complicated (2009)

Directed by Nancy Myers (director to What Women Want and Something's Gotta Give). This is a great romantic comedy. It was funny, light-hearted, highly entertaining, and had some great actors, including Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin, and one of my favorites, Meryl Streep. I’m not always a huge fan of the “chic flick”. A lot of them just aren’t that unique, or interesting to me. The thing I really tend to dislike about chic flicks is the annoyingly stereotypical gender roles of the characters, where the women are pathetically needy and desperate to get married, while the man is a confident player, enjoying life. I do like some romantic comedies though, most recently I’ve enjoyed both Up in the Air and It’s Complicated.

In It’s Complicated, Meryl Streep plays a successful, likable woman who’s divorced from the father of her children, Alec Baldwin. Alec Baldwin had cheated on her and ended up marrying a much younger women, who he doesn’t have much in common with. Baldwin and Strep find themselves spending an evening out together, alone, drink too much, have a fantastic time, and end up in bed together. Baldwin isn’t happy in his marriage, and finds he is still in love with Streep and wants her back, so they carry on an affair. Steve Martin’s character is falling for Streep at the same time, and Streep isn’t sure which way to go.

	Juno (2007)
	If you haven't seen this movie yet, we strongly recommend it. This is a comedy/drama about an incredibly witty and upbeat girl, who deals with teenage pregnancy.

“500” Days of Summer (2009)

This film is a complete reversal of stereotypical gender roles. The guy is head over heals in love with the girl, and the girl wants to keep things casual and just isn’t that into him. Despite it’s effect, the director said he intended only to portray the ups and downs of a relationship, from a male prospective, not to make a statement about gender roles. This movie is smart, hilarious, and very well done. It was interesting to learn that the script was rejected by every single major studio, because it didn’t fit neatly into the romantic comedy category and wasn’t expected to be so well received. Also interesting, the movie went over better with guys and then girls during testing phase. It is refreshing to see a romantic comedy-type movie that shows us how confusing and far off gender stereotypes can be and to see the girl’s role as something other then the vulnerable, naïve one who gets hurt.