Product details
- ISBN 9780711290709
- Weight: 750g
- Dimensions: 160 x 210mm
- Publication Date: 29 Aug 2024
- Publisher: Quarto Publishing PLC
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
- Language: English
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A celebration of 100 of the best romantic comedies of all time – all with proper feminist credentials. From Barbie to Muriel’s Wedding and It Happened One Night to 13 Going on 30, this book will validate your love of romcoms and prove they have always had your back.
We all love romcoms. They keep us on the edge of our seats, waiting for the two leads to fall madly in love. But what you may not realize is that they often contain profound feminist messages that have the power to re-shape how we think about sexism and women’s rights.
In this fascinating guide, film journalist and Bechdel Test Fest founder Corrina Antrobus reveals how romcoms reflect feminism in the modern age. These iconic, groundbreaking movies have shone a spotlight or shifted narratives on topics from body positivity to abortion, and from faking orgasms to workplace equality.
Antrobus discusses all the best feminist moments, big and small, in romcoms through the ages, including:
When Harry Met Sally, which broke taboos around faking orgasms
10 Things I Hate About You, which embraced female rebellion
Mamma Mia!, which sang in the face of slut shaming
My Best Friend's Wedding, which showed us it’s OK to be irrational
Clueless, which proved women can be fashionable, feminine and feminist!
Bridesmaids, which brought female-powered comedy to the forefront of Hollywood
So, what are you waiting for?! Arm yourself with this stylish guide to the best feelgood movies that have taught a generation of women and girls all about love, humour and identity. Each page includes recommendations for similar movies, making it the perfect companion for anyone in love with romcoms and longing for more.
Corrina Antrobus is a film critic whose life’s work has been dedicated to championing underrepresented groups in cinema. In 2014 she founded London’s popular feminist film festival The Bechdel Test Fest - an ongoing celebration of films that pass the Bechdel Test, also known as the Wallace-Bechdel Test. The festival ran for seven years and hosted screenings, talks, created zines and produced the Who Is She podcast in 2019. Corrina has reviewed films for Empire magazine, Rolling Stone, BBC, Total Film, Huffington Post and was the resident host for Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch. In 2020 Corrina wrote and voiced a documentary on Ava DuVernay for BBC’s Inside Cinema, was nominated for a Screen Rising Star Award in 2019 and was awarded a Women in Hollywood Trailblazer award in 2017. She has worked in film marketing for Virgin Movies, film distribution for Picturehouse Entertainment and now works as a writer, Q&A host, Culture Lead for her home town of Hackney alongside recently entering the world of motherhood.
Lily O’Farrell is a feminist writer and cartoonist known as @vulgadrawings to her 300k followers. She’s been publishing funny, educational cartoons about millennial womanhood since 2018, covering topics like sexual violence, domestic labour and online misogyny. In 2021 she published Kyle Theory with The Indigo Press. Lily has collaborated on cartoons with organisations that campaign against domestic violence and online hate, like Refuge, Rape Crisis, The Centre for Countering Digital Hate and Kick It Out.