Ms. Wonderful Film Club Podcast

Films like The Godfather and Joker have become iconic, but what do they say about masculinity? What does healthy masculinity look like? Who are our heroes? What can we re-envision for a cleaner world. This post explores how we see, what we choose to see, and what we can create with clear sight.

The 1983 film Flashdance uses an interplay of masculine and feminine energy to create a story of not only romance, but someone able to seek out and accomplish her goals and her dreams. Why does this work, and what can this film teach us about the interplay of masculine and feminine? Listen to the article and some questions we can consider on this episode of the Ms. Wonderful Film Club podcast.

The film Bruiser, starring Trevante Rhodes and Jalyn Hall, came out in 2022 and explores what fatherhood is, and how challenging it can be for a teenage boy to learn about healthy masculinity. Are fathers domineering, hard-working, focused, or free-spirited and easily forgiven? How do we teach young men healthy lessons about adulthood--and do we sometimes make adulthood come too soon? Learn more a...

Barbie (2023, directed by Greta Gerwig) was one of the highest-grossing films of all time, and it is full of pink femininity. What is it about this character that appeals to our sensibilities--regardless of age? I suspect it is our desire to get lost in other worlds, and our desire for play. Listen to this posting from 2023 about the power of play and femininity to help us overcome the struggles o...

From the archives, this post is about the power of acting and the way that director Richard Linklater uses sun and lighting to create a story for his main character Jesse (played by Ethan Hawke) in Before Sunset . This is the second film in Richard Linklater's Before trilogy. The trilogy grapples with a man trying to understand his place as an artist, a father, a husband, and the changing percepti...

Yannick Jamey is a filmmaker based in London, UK who finds unique people living unconventional lives for the subjects of his films. His film "The Big Wait," about two people living in a very remote airport in Australia, was recently featured on the film site, Short of the Week. This podcast episode discusses what it means to be free, the role of silence and music in films, and how a film can come...

The film Moonlight won best picture in 2016 and establishes a new lens for looking at black men, love, generosity, and mentorship. Directed by Barry Jenkins and starring Trevante Rhodes and Mahershala Ali, this film pairs truth and beauty in a way you will never forget. Now streaming on Hulu and for rental elsewhere.

For Season Two of the Ms. Wonderful Podcast, Ms. W is reading posts from the archives that were never shared on the podcast. These posts were published beginning in May 2023 and they intuit and reveal ways of seeing that can be helpful for forward progress. Footloose (1984) is about a young man who inspires a town through dancing. Some people think dancing is silly, but what can it accomplish that...

Ms. Wonderful and Ms. Cool explore the 1996 film Walking and Talking to round out the films of writer and director Nicole Holofcener. They discuss romance, literary parallels for women's literature, the special bond of friendship women share. As always, the end of the podcast presents a short original script imagining what happens after the credits.

Discussing the Nicole Holofcener film You Hurt My Feelings, art and life, and if we can be honest with the people we love about their work. Learn more on the blog mswonderful.substack.com . Find out why film blends with healing work on www.janamarierose.com

Enough Said (2013) explores dating mishaps in mid-life, after two people are divorced and ready to see their kids go off to college. Julia Louis-Dreyfuss and James Gandolfini star in a quirky romance where a woman hears way too much information about her new boyfriend from his ex-wife. The film is written and directed by Nicole Holofcener and this month is Holoftember on the Ms. Wonderful Film Clu...

We are calling September 2024 Holoftember and celebrating films by writer and director Nicole Holofcener. This film Please Give from 2010 has a focus on experiencing the guilt and shame of financial wealth and health in a world where many people struggle. It also highlights the challenges of marriage, parenting, and being a good neighbor. Enjoy this conversation from Ms. Wonderful and Ms. Cool (Ja...

Difficult women of faith and audacity...hmm! Host Jana Rose & Katie McGraw, best friends and literature majors, discuss the short stories and style of Flannery O'Connor and the depiction of her in the new film Wildcat, starring Maya Hawke and directed by Ethan Hawke. This podcast ends with a short original script as a spinoff of the film, as all Ms. Wonderful podcast episodes do.... Learn...

Ms. Wonderful discusses the 1998 film Great Expectations, directed by Alfonso Cuaron, with fellow Philadelphia actor and friend, Gene Foschini. The cast of this film includes Robert DeNiro, Anne Bancroft, Ethan Hawke, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Chris Cooper. Subscribe to mswonderful.substack.com to follow along with the film club and events. Visual clips of the podcast on YouTube: @rosewoodstv

This summer of 2024 we are watching films by actor Ethan Hawke and examining masculinity. Hamlet (2000) directed by Michael Almereyda depicts a modern Hamlet set across a backdrop of New York City, and he feels like a Joker character. McGraw and Rose discuss and read a short script of who Hamlet meets in the afterlife. Listen and follow along and subscribe to the film blog, Mswonderful.substack.co...

In a conversation that is way too long, Rose and McGraw discuss why we chose Ethan Hawke as an actor to showcase for the summer of 2024. (It's HAWKE SUMMER! Did you know?) We explore poetry, teachers who inspired us in literature classes, how Transcendentalist American poets might react to our society's obsession with technology, a deep-dive into parenting, social status, adolescent suicid...

Rose and McGraw "man-up" and decide to "keep it real" from the Mid-Atlantic as they examine masculinity, terror, and storytelling from the 1999 film Fight Club, starring Helena Bonham Carter, Brad Pitt, and Edward Norton. They even read a new, short original script with a different spin. Find more information about the Ms. Wonderful Film Club on mswonderful.substack.com . Insta...

Ms. Wonderful talks about the popularity of Batman, who is her favorite, and why America loves men in tights so much.