shape of water – The Tempest

Best of The Tempest 2018: 9 Stories from Pop Culture

It’s been a peculiar year in the realm of entertainment. We’ve had such big, progressive victories and such big setbacks and anachronisms in terms of representation, transparency, and inclusivity. Many LGBTQ+ artists thrived, and 2018 was dubbed 20GAYTEEN by singer Hayley Kiyoko. It was the year of Black Panther and Crazy Rich Asians, and yet big name studios are still out there producing films that are imbued with racism, sexism, homophobia, and fatphobia as well as often promoting rape and hate.

We’re still light years away from consuming the egalitarian entertainment we deserve. I knew that very well when I became Pop Culture Editor at The Tempest. I understood that I would have to look closely at many media products that would make me mad, which I would rather ignore and avoid at all costs, but I gladly accepted the challenge. I believe our mission is to shed light on everything that is going on, and that includes denouncing the many injustices that occur in the entertainment industry. We can’t possibly stay silent about the things we deem wrong, because silence is complicity.

But we also don’t like to only see the glass half empty, and we love to admit that there are many things to praise and to celebrate. Without further ado, I present to you 9 of my favorite Pop Culture stories we published in 2018, a mix of the good and the bad.

1. Why are blockbuster films pretending that lesbians and bisexuals don’t exist?

Why are blockbuster films pretending that lesbians and bisexuals don’t exist?

Despite the good representation that television and the music industry gifted us with this year, blockbusters are still actively promoting the erasure of female queerness as well as employing queer bait. This is a trend that needs to stay in 2018.

2. What time is it, Hollywood?

What time is it, Hollywood?

What about what happens behind the camera? This article explores some trends of the entertainment industry from the inside out, because actresses are not the only people we need to protect. Let’s say #TimesUp to all kinds of discrimination.

3. Dislikeable female characters aren’t inherently feminist – but that’s okay

Dislikeable female characters aren’t inherently feminist – but that’s okay

There is a big misconception in fiction and in critique: that a female character who dares be different and dislikable is automatically a great feminist heroine. She’s not, and that’s okay.

4. Why I’m boycotting J.K. Rowling and her “Fantastic Beasts”

Why I’m boycotting J.K. Rowling and her “Fantastic Beasts”

We are tired of people giving J.K. Rowling a free pass for everything just because she wrote a beautiful book series 20 years ago. For a while now, she has been twisting things to appear “woke” instead of honestly admitting that as the times progressed, she also wants to be more inclusive. There is no need to say that she was planning plot twists all along when in reality the implications of that make her way more problematic. Read why in this piece!

5. Bollywood item numbers are more dangerous than we think

Bollywood item numbers are more dangerous than we think

If you don’t know what an item number is, you need to read this piece. If you do know, you need to read this piece. It’s eye-opening and I will never look at a Bollywood film the same way again.

6. This director’s approach to diverse female characters completely changed my movie-watching experience

This director’s approach to diverse female characters completely changed my movie-watching experience

Contrary to what some haters will have you believe about feminists, we do celebrate the accomplishments and achievements of men, when they deserve it. This article is a clap on the back of an Oscar-winning director for an amazing film that contributed to making 2018 better.

7. Yes, The Bold Type is unrealistic… just not for the reasons you think

Yes, The Bold Type is unrealistic… just not for the reasons you think

You may or may not know this show, which was a true revelation for its honest representation of working (and woke!) millennial women. However, the show has been accused of portraying a utopistic world of equality (but it really doesn’t, the protagonists deal with misogyny, racism and homophobia every day). This article cleverly responds to that claim, contextualizing it particularly within the journalism world (where the main characters spend most of their time) that we know too well.

8. Karma has finally come for Chris Brown, and we can thank women for that

Karma has finally come for Chris Brown, and we can thank women for that

Abusers deserve to be held accountable for their actions. After the tidal wave that was the #MeToo movement, it’s good to see that celebrities are still being taken down after abusive behavior.

9. My mind tells me to read, but my body is overwhelmed and overworked

My mind tells me to read, but my body is overwhelmed and overworked

A constant struggle in the transition to adulthood is that we are burdened with too many responsibilities and we have too little time to do the things we actually want to do out of sheer pleasure, like reading. It does not help that books have gained a very strong competitor for our time and attention, the “monster” that are streaming services.

We’re ready to kiss 2018 goodbye. In the hope that 2019 will be a more satisfying year for women, people of color, and all oppressed minorities, happy new year from the staff of The Tempest!

Director Guillermo del Toro’s latest film The Shape of Water, recently took home the Oscar award for Best Picture. Written by del Toro and Vanessa Taylor, the film boasted an impressive 13 Academy Awards nominations. We see Sally Hawkins as Elisa, a mute cleaning lady working at a top-secret facility, where she falls in love with a human amphibian and tries to rescue him from the government. Elisa is one of the rare female lead characters with a disability.

Many scriptwriters, especially male writers seem to think that all women want a ‘strong female lead’. We don’t. All we want are normal characters we can relate to or fantasize about. “Normal” includes women who work, women who are housewives, Black women, Muslim women, women who cry easily, women who talk too much. We want the same treatment given to male characters. We don’t want to be just the girlfriend or wife, we want to make mistakes and we definitely don’t want rape or abuse to make us stronger. We just want normal and del Toro is one of the few male writers that gives us a wide range of normal female characters.

[bctt tweet=”All we want is normal characters we can relate to or fantasize about. ” username=”wearethetempest”]

With Elisa, we have a brave woman who hasn’t been accepted by society risking her life for love. We see her in her most intimate moments, whether it’s her masturbating or her lovemaking. Unfortunately, its uncommon for women with disabilities to be sexually active on the big screen. Disabled characters are only remembered for their disabilities in film. The Shape of Water changes this. However, there is one major criticism of the film that I fully support: the production company’s decision to hire a non-disabled actress for the role. Representation on screen is important, but it’s also important for it to be genuine. It’s not fair wanting to write and use disabled characters but not want to work with disabled people. This defeats the purpose of representation and actually excludes the people affected.

Although film critics and many audiences loved the film, some from the disabled community have talked about the ableism in the film. Disabled writer Elsa Sjunneson-Henry explains one of the problems in the film: “The first time in years that I have seen a disabled woman sexually desired, and indeed, sexually active, and loved in a film is by a monster. Monsterhood and disability are inextricably linked in our genre”. On the other hand however, writer Kristen Lopez, who has a physical disability wrote: “As a film writer with a physical disability, I find it hard not to feel personally offended by movies that reiterate that disabled people aren’t sexual. But watching The Shape of Water gives me hope that maybe barriers can be broken down regarding sex and disability.”

[bctt tweet=”Representation on screen is important, but it’s also important for it to be genuine.” username=”wearethetempest”]

One of del Toro’s greatest accomplishments is casting Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi as a protagonist opposite Charlie Hunnam in Pacific Rim (2013). The film had a budget of $190 million and although Kikuchi is the first Japanese actress to be nominated for an Oscar in 50 years, she was relatively unknown and a newcomer to big franchises in Hollywood. Nevertheless, this did not stop del Toro from casting a WOC as the lead role in his film. The film takes place in the future where humans are fighting sea monsters called Kaiju who are attacking Earth. To fight these creatures, countries have come together and created massive robots called Jaegers to fight them. The Jaegers have to be piloted by two or more people and we watch as Raleigh Becket (Hunnam) and Mako Mori (Kikuchi) try to work together as pilots.

In an interview, del Toro explains Mori: “One of the other things I decided was that I wanted a female lead who has the equal force as the male lead. She’s not going to be a sex kitten, she’s not going to come out in cut off shorts and a tank top and it’s going to be a real earnestly drawn character”.

I think this explains del Toro’s approach to female characters. Of course, we still want sexy women on screen, but we have been portrayed like this far too much for the male gaze for far too long. Now, we want diverse female characters and, in my opinion, del Toro delivers every single time.

Like Shonda Rhimes warns: “Entertainment industry, time to stop using the phrases ‘smart, strong women’ and ‘strong female leads’. There are no Dumb Weak Women. A smart strong woman is just a WOMAN”. And del Toro is one of the rare writers who understands and caters to this.

[bctt tweet=”Now, we want diverse female characters and, in my opinion, del Toro delivers every single time.” username=”wearethetempest”]