Can We Still Consider J. K. Rowling a Feminist?

Integrity, loyalty, empathy, compassion. These are some of the moral components of lessons learned throughout Harry Potter. The novels have taught their readers lessons in being good people, in standing up for what they believe in, for fighting for what is right and raising your voice to do so. That is why when J.K. Rowling did not raise her own voice in light of the casting within the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them films, something seemed off.

J.K. Rowling is a fantastic writer and has been a triumphant voice against hatred, in favor of feminism and equality. However, her support of Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald makes her commitment to those beliefs questionable.

Trigger Warning: Discussion of abuse

The Curious Case of Percival Graves

I started this post with the simple intention of speculating about Percival Graves. I wouldn’t care too much normally, but when you’ve got Colin Farrell playing a character, I will become invested. At this point, spoilers for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them should be obvious.

I mean, who wouldn’t. (Photo: Warner Bros.)

Welcome to Harry Potter Week 2017!

Hello Daily Geekette Readers! Today we wish Harry Potter, and his creator J. K. Rowling, a very happy birthday! As we do every year, The Daily Geekette will celebrate by taking a look at the world that Rowling has created and trying to see it through new lenses.

Image source: nytimes.com

The Harry Potter canon expanded this year to include the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, as well as the play The Cursed Child. We’ve got some really great articles for you this year based on the new canon, as well as on the books we have continued to love for the past 20 years.

Stay tuned for some awesome new articles and have a happy Harry Potter Week!

 

Check out some of our previous Harry Potter articles here!

 

 

Top 5 Superheroines That Need More Screentime

The Amazons of Wonder Woman

Judging by the internet, I’m not alone in saying that Wonder Woman has restored my faith in DC. As a fan of their animated features, especially the earlier version of the film made in 2009, I was pleasantly surprised by Gal Gadot’s portrayal of the Princess of the Amazons.

But with the film doing as well as it is, I couldn’t help but mull over how many other superheroines deserve more screentime. Too often are such characters left less fleshed out, pushed to the side, or tokenized in lieu of their male counterparts. While full-length movies and spinoffs aren’t for everyone, the following five characters definitely deserve more love. I did my best to pick a variety of girls and women who are beloved in their own right – if only a bit underused.

“Waves of Change” – “Everything, Everything” Movie Review

With the vaguest of titles, Everything, Everything doesn’t offer a lot of promise by name alone. But is there ever going to be one that can explain the story of a teenager with an immune disorder, falling for the boy next door? Not really, but this very distant Little Prince reference will have to do. And with its mix of basic posters yet heavy load of trailers, this YA adaptation has quite the hill to climb – especially since its lead character can’t even go outside. But does all of that mean this film is a failure from the start? Well no, the case is quite the most lovely (though flawed) of opposites.

“The Prophecy” – “King Arthur” Movie Review

Guy Ritchie is a man with a particular set of filmmaking skills. With his smart dialogue, high energy action and distinct visuals, he’s one of those directors that stands out.  You know a Guy Ritchie movie when you see it. Sometimes this unique perspective works, while more recently it has resulted in some interesting flops. But do Ritchie’s sensibilities mix well with Camelot’s greatest hero? This is the question many a viewer will ponder while watching King Arthur: Legend of the Sword,  as it seems neither Guy Ritchie nor his fellow producers have such an answer.

“Fox On The Run” – “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” Movie Review

The first Guardians of the Galaxy was a surprise that no one saw coming. A franchise built upon the shoulders of a talking raccoon, a giant tree alien, and other outer space ragamuffins wasn’t exactly the typical Marvel package at the time. But in the summer of 2014, the world was introduced to this crew, and audiences grew to love them, making the obvious sequel one of the most anticipated of Marvel’s quite action-packed release schedule. So does Vol. 2 of Star-Lord and company’s adventures hold up to Vol. 1? Well, if we’re talking mix tapes, this definitely seems like the kind made by a mature college student than a high schooler.

Gender Neutral MTV Awards

1980: I WANT MY MTV !                      2017: I WANT MY MTV…GENDER-NEUTRAL!

Wow, turns out somebody was actually listening! In an interview with CNN, MTV’s president Chris McCarthy announced some changes to their annual Movie & TV Awards. Some new categories include “Best American Story” and “Best Fight Against the System”, but best of all, the show is doing away with gender-based categories, like “Best Actress”.

“[Today’s audience doesn’t] see those lines in the way that generations in the past have,” McCarthy said. “So we wanted to take those down. They felt really antiquated.”

And he’s right. Just recently, Billions star Asia Kate Dillon wrote to the Television Academy about such category names. Dillon articulately pointed out that if such categories mean ‘best performance by someone who identifies as this gender or that one’, then where is the room for nonbinary performers? How is someone like Dillon supposed to submit their work for Emmy consideration?

The Television Academy responded with surprising open-mindedness, saying “anyone can submit under either category for any reason.” Dillon opted for Best Actor, as the term historically refers to a performer regardless of gender. The MTV Awards is following suit:  they will use ‘actor’ to refer to all candidates in a category.

MTV Awards joins The Grammys and Britain’s National Television Awards by opting for non-gendered categories. But will this be the start of a larger conversation for Hollywood?

Catch MTV’s Movie and TV Awards on Sunday, May 7th.

“Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi” Teaser Trailer Drops

Yes, fellow Jedi and Sith. The trailer we’ve been waiting two years for has finally arrived, and of course—like most Star Wars things—it is glorious. But for those of you who haven’t been stalking the internet, the teaser trailer for Star Wars Episode VIII : The Last Jedi debuted at the annual Star Wars Celebration convention. What did the trailer and the panel show? Does Rian Johnson have what it takes to direct a Star Wars movie? What will Luke’s first words be? Watch the trailer below to find out….

“They Stole It” – “Ghost in the Shell” (2017) Movie Review

As a kid of 90’s origin, I’ve grown up with Japanese animation for quite some time. From the typical Toonami programming my childish brain lived on, to the cultural evolution it took when going into Miyazaki’s more mature titles, anime shaped me into one heck of a person. Though other titles were more influential to my personal story than others, part of that growth involved a title called Ghost in the Shell.