Feminist Frequency Radio is coming for your media. Each week, Kat Spada invites you to listen in on entertaining and stimulating conversations about films, games, and TV... from the latest blockbusters to classic hidden gems, and more. With special guests bringing their distinctly different feminist perspectives to the mix as they celebrate and critique it all—including media critics, entertainers, academics, and everyone in between—Feminist Frequency Radio is there to help you dig deeper into the things you love. Warning: Feminist Frequency Radio may significantly enhance your media experience. Created by Anita Sarkeesian, Feminist Frequency ran as an organization from 2009–2023, providing video commentaries exploring gender representations, myths, and messages in popular culture media. Now, host Kat Spada continues Feminist Frequency Radio's legacy as an independent podcast, with fun new conversations about entertainment that asks you to be critical of the media you love.
http://www.feministfrequency.com
episode 55: FFR 55: Green Book
This week on FFR, Ebony and Carolyn take a road trip with Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali in Green Book. The film initially had a good deal of Oscar buzz, and in fact it was just chosen as the best film of 2018 by the National Board of Review. However, not everyone thinks the praise is deserved. In our conversation, we examine the film's reliance on stereotypes about what defines "real" blackness and the way it centers a white character in what should be a black man's story, while also praising the exceptional performance by Mahershala Ali, a performance that deserved a better film.
Also, we discuss the media's handling of George H. W. Bush's passing, and Carolyn issues an apology for certain statements made during last week's discussion of Sabrina.
SEGMENT TIMESTAMPS:
2:25 Carolyn's apology
6:30 Pop culture news (Daredevil is cancelled, responses to the death of George H.W. Bush, the issue of "blackfishing" on Instagram)
19:10 Green Book
44:55 What's Your FREQ-Out? (Ebony on rewatching The West Wing, Carolyn on Red Dead Redemption 2)
RELEVANT LINKS:
‘Green Book’ Somehow Manages to Make a Uniquely Black Story All About the White Guy And the Results Are Ridiculous -- Candice Frederick for Slashfilm: https://www.slashfilm.com/green-book-whitewashing/
The Women “Blackfishing” on Instagram Aren’t Exactly Trying to Be Black -- Lauren Michele Jackson for Slate: https://slate.com/culture/2018/11/blackfishing-instagram-models-emma-hallberg-appropriation.html