Mini – rant …. I was really frustrated by the way I kept searching for films about “girls” and kept coming up with films about women. As if they were interchangeable. I tackled this life-long conundrum in college. Why are women called girls? But young men are not called boys – they are usually guys. In fact it feels like woman is a bad word. So many people use lady or girl but there are not many other alternatives. I think when you say “woman” people read “feminist”. Perhaps I should research how the two are used. When you are serious you are a woman, when you are social/casual/etc. you are a girl. I don’t know. I’m not a sociologist.

So, I’m just going to start at my beginning – films about girls of color.

As I’ve searched several on-line “lists” of films, I find very few narrative films that include girls of color (17 and under) as the main or even secondary protagonists. I know there aren’t a lot out there. But I’m going to make my own list (in no particular order).

1. Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) dir. Benh Zeitlin  Beasts of the Southern Wild trailer

2. Bend it like Beckham (2002) dir. Gurinder Chadha  Bend it Like Beckham trailer

3. Whale Rider (2002) dir. Niko Caro  Whale Rider trailer

4. Love and Basketball (2000) dir. Gina Prince-Bythewood  Love and Basketball trailer

5. Crooklyn (1994) dir. Spike Lee  Crooklyn trailer

6. Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) dir. Phillip Noyce  Rabbit-Proof Fence trailer

7. Quinceanera (2006) dir. Richard Glatzer, Wash Westmoreland  Quinceanera trailer

8. Precious (2009) dir. Lee Daniels  Precious trailer

9. Pariah (2011) dir. Dee Rees  Pariah trailer

10. Maya (2001) dir. Digvijay Singh  Maya trailer

11. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005) dir. Ken Kwapis  Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants trailer

12. Real Women Have Curves (2002) dir. Patricia Cardoso  Real Women Have Curves trailer

13. Our Song (2000) dir. Jim McKay  Our Song trailer

14. Fame (1980) dir. Alan Parker  Fame trailer

15. Flirting (1991) dir. John Duigan  Flirting Trailer

16. Akeelah and the Bee (2006) dir. Doug Atchinson  Akeelah and the Bee trailer

17. Eve’s Bayou (1997) dir. Kasi Lemmon  Eve's Bayou trailer

18. The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love (1995) dir. Maria Maggenti  Two Girls in Love trailer

19. Mosquita Y Mari (2012) dir. Aurora Guerrero  Mosquita y Mari trailer

20. Mi Vida Loca (1993) dir. Allison Anders  Mi Vida Loca trailer

21. Daughters of the Dust (1991) dir. Julie Dash  Daughters of the Dust trailer

22. Maria Full of Grace (2004) dir. Joshua Marston  Maria Full of Grace trailer

23. Just Another Girl on the IRT (1992) dir. Leslie Harris  Just Another Girl on the IRT trailer

24. The Man on the Shore (1993) dir. Raoul Peck (Sorry, I could not find a trailer...)

25. Water (2005) dir. Deepa Mehta  Water trailer

26. Wadjda (2013) dir. Haifaa al-Mansour   Wadjda trailer

27. Yelling to the Sky (2011) dir. Victoria Mahoney  Yelling to the Sky trailer

What do I want to do with this list?  I hope to add to it, surely I’ve missed some movies, surely there is more …

I’d like to see what is really available for girls of color to watch. And for boys of color. Most of the films on this list have very adult themes and language. What can little girls watch? Where can they see themselves as the protagonist, as the hero?

I’d like to see if any of this is even relevant anymore because so many young people get their media from the internet now –youtube or Netflix or Hulu. If five minute videos or 6 second vines are our future, does it mass media representation matte anymore?

Thank you HBO Signature Channel. I was cruising through the cable guide (as I occasionally do, looking for old favorites, cool stuff I missed or intriguing new movies/shows) when I saw this description, “Latina teens Yolanda and Mari enter into a romance that’s threatened by external factors as a crucial turning point in both their lives.” So I DVR’d it of course.

It is so much sweeter than it’s description. “Romance” would be exaggerating the relationship they have. It’s a slippery slope friendship where the one “good” girl has a crush, and quietly pursues a friendship with  a harder edged lonely girl who moves in across the street. This story felt so familiar to me, the writer/director Aurora Guerrero got it so “right” to me. Feelings are not really expressed, and there is only the barest of a touch towards the end of the film but all the ache of first love is there. The desire to help, to be important to the other person, to have a secret life separate from your parents. It’s a sweet story and the actresses do a great job handling the subtlety and restraint the roles call for.

I loved it. It is just a beautiful film. Just beautiful. I’m so sorry I have to delete it off my DVR…

http://www.mosquitaymari.com/the-crew/

2014 Update - Saw Frozen with my kids - you guessed it, parents were killed off early.

I’m jumping back into film study with an eye towards what has been going on in films about girls and women since I’ve gotten distracted by having children. That was about 9 years ago. Now my children are all in full-time elementary school and I feel a bit out of touch.

But I decided to begin in my comfort zone – animation, mostly Disney and Pixar (now the same thing), and I have become painfully aware of a device used to tell many, many stories. I will call it, “Killing off the Mom”.

So, I’m sitting here, near my collection of movies (don’t judge me but we had a Disney Movie membership) and here are my findings:

Bambi – mom is shot by hunter
Dumbo – mom is taken away by bad circus men
Up – wife died
Brave – overbearing mom turns into a bear (get it?), but reconcile at end
Shrek (s) – Not in first one but in sequels, Mom lives and is nice, not Shrek’s mom, but Fiona’s
Oliver and Company – about orphaned animals so no moms
Happy Feet – Mom lives and is nice!