Advertise on podcast: Feminist Frequency Radio

It was tough to pick which Baz Luhrmann movie to include in our Summer "Camp" season, but ultimately went back to the beginning, with his 1992 filmmaking debut. And right out the gate, his style is already so well-defined. Throwing sequined spaghetti at the walls, he combines classic sports movie tropes with mockumentary and melodrama to make something that lets you completely in on the joke and still wins you over at the end. Discussed in this episode: Baz waylaid by a TikToker, the comedic figure skating docuseries I Have Nothing, "Tan with You" from RPDR S7, Baz DJing Find Kat: katexmachina.substack.comletterboxd.com/katexmachinaFind A.C.: letterboxd.com/aclambertyinstagram.com/aclambertyFind Us: Our WebsiteSubscribe to FFR on Apple PodcastsTwitterInstagramLetterboxdbsky.app/profile/femfreq.bsky.social

In which Kat mistakenly says "Joan Collins" a bunch of times, instead of Joan Crawford. We knew that our Summer "Camp" series needed to include a hagsploitation film. So we revisited this famously-fraught 1962 psychological thriller starring Crawford and Bette Davis. It's campy, but it's also a darkly serious horror movie, and the play between those tones is super effective. Discussed in this episode: The RuPaul's Drag Race shequel "Wha' Ha' Happened to Baby JJ?"FFR's 2019 episode on this film—Anita, Ebony, and Carolyn discussing child stardom onscreenFind Kat: NEW: katexmachina.substack.comletterboxd.com/katexmachinaFind A.C.: letterboxd.com/aclambertyinstagram.com/aclambertyFind Us: Our WebsiteSubscribe to FFR on Apple PodcastsTwitterInstagramLetterboxdbsky.app/profile/femfreq.bsky.social

We're halfway through our season of Summer "Camp," and it was a treat to revisit Paul Verhoeven's controversial camp classic Showgirls. The full episode is a special bonus for upper-level Patreon supporters, but also available as a one-off purchase for non-subscribers. Listen to the full episode HERE. Find Kat: NEW: katexmachina.substack.comletterboxd.com/katexmachinabsky.app/profile/katexmachina.bsky.socialtwitter.com/kat_ex_machinaFind A.C.: letterboxd.com/aclambertyinstagram.com/aclambertyFind Us: Our WebsiteSubscribe to FFR on Apple PodcastsTwitterInstagramLetterboxdbsky.app/profile/femfreq.bsky.social

In the canon of "camp" cinema, there are so many examples of movies that are queer-coded, so we wanted to make sure we focused on a textually-gay example of the genre. Nothing nails it better than Jamie Babbit's 1999 satire But I'm a Cheerleader. Natasha Lyonne stars in this portrait of a conversion therapy camp that uses stylistic exaggeration to remind us that policing of heteronormativity is something we all grew up with. Discussed in this episode: Chasing Chasing Amy Gay panic on Kath & Kim The documentary This Film Is Not Yet Rated Ivy Nelson's essay about Polly Pocket imagery in this film for Bright Wall/Dark Room Lucas Hedges hanging out with Tommy Dorfman in those huge boots Find Kat: katexmachina.substack.com letterboxd.com/katexmachina bsky.app/profile/katexmachina.bsky.social twitter.com/kat_ex_machina Find A.C.: letterboxd.com/aclamberty instagram.com/aclamberty Find Us: Our Website Subscribe to FFR on Apple Podcasts Twitter Instagram Letterboxd NEW: bsky.app/profile/femfreq.bsky.social

This season's focus on "camp" cinema had to bring us to Joel Schumacher's 1995 film Batman Forever. From Val Kilmer's rubber nipples to Jim Carrey's unsanctioned buffoonery, there's so much of an aesthetic sensibility that it's a perfect example of superhero camp. AC had never seen this movie before, and his life could have been so different if he'd grown up with it. Plus, Kat comes up with a game about all the awards that this movie lost. What do you think? Should we do another episode so AC can watch Batman & Robin? Discussed in this episode: Our episode from last year's "Musical Mayhem" season about Schumacher's The Phantom of the Opera (2004) Find Kat: NEW: katexmachina.substack.com letterboxd.com/katexmachina bsky.app/profile/katexmachina.bsky.social twitter.com/kat_ex_machina Find A.C.: letterboxd.com/aclamberty instagram.com/aclamberty Find Us: Our Website Subscribe to FFR on Apple Podcasts Twitter Instagram Letterboxd NEW: bsky.app/profile/femfreq.bsky.social

One question we wanted to ask in our Summer "Camp" season was: does a remake add or remove layers of camp? Especially when it's one of John Waters' best-known films that's moved to the mainstream with a musical adaptation turned Hollywood. Does the overall cartoonishness of Tracy Turnblad's world flatten all of the story's core messages about society? We tied ourselves in knots talking about it... and of course, the casting choice of John Travolta. Discussed in this episode: @jencapella's Hollywood Handsome Man Chart Find Kat: NEW: katexmachina.substack.com letterboxd.com/katexmachina bsky.app/profile/katexmachina.bsky.social twitter.com/kat_ex_machina Find A.C.: letterboxd.com/aclamberty instagram.com/aclamberty Find Us: Our Website Subscribe to FFR on Apple Podcasts Twitter Instagram Letterboxd NEW: bsky.app/profile/femfreq.bsky.social

Welcome to our new season: Summer "Camp"! What better film to kick off these episodes with than Roger Vadim's 1968 space romp Barbarella. It's a perfect example of a movie that succeeds in its aesthetic endeavors, but isn't enough of a good sum of its parts to be considered well-made. What we can't deny is that none of it works without Jane Fonda's commitment to the optimistic naïveté of the character. We also talk about the difficulty of appreciating a film that had a troubled production, often affecting lead actresses. And A.C. poses the question: could Sydney Sweeney (potentially starring in a Barbarella remake) ever be camp? Find Kat: NEW: katexmachina.substack.com letterboxd.com/katexmachina bsky.app/profile/katexmachina.bsky.social twitter.com/kat_ex_machina Find A.C.: letterboxd.com/aclamberty instagram.com/aclamberty Find Us: Our Website Subscribe to FFR on Apple Podcasts Twitter Instagram Letterboxd NEW: bsky.app/profile/femfreq.bsky.social

Before we dive into our brand new season all about camp cinema classics, we had to reacquaint ourselves with the aesthetic sensibility at the heart of the style. So, we re-read and discussed Susan Sontag's 1964 essay Notes on "Camp." Of course, we digressed into the 2019 Met Gala, Kat's personal history with James Charles (yikes), and the economics of film production. Do we totally nail our understanding of what fits the definition? Time will tell as the season unfolds... Discussed in this episode: That time a man-on-the-street interviewer encountered Baz Luhrmann Lars von Trier and Jørgen Leth's The Five Obstructions Find Kat: NEW: katexmachina.substack.com letterboxd.com/katexmachina bsky.app/profile/katexmachina.bsky.social twitter.com/kat_ex_machina Find A.C.: letterboxd.com/aclamberty instagram.com/aclamberty Find Us: Our Website Subscribe to FFR on Apple Podcasts Twitter Instagram Letterboxd NEW: bsky.app/profile/femfreq.bsky.social

A.C. and Kat experienced Andrew Ahn's remake of The Wedding Banquet across somewhat of a generational divide. He finds it relies on a millennial aesthetic portrayal of queer identity, with inauthentic politics. She (who watched it with Gen X family members) thought it was sweeter and more satisfying than he did. But, having also seen Ang Lee's 1993 original, Kat thinks the movies might be trying to accomplish two different things. Overall, we both wanted higher stakes and a lot more of the incredible maternal characters played by Youn Yuh-jung and Joan Chen. Discussed in this episode: Plugged In's review This meme that made A.C. think of the shack two of this movie's characters live in Our 2024 episode about Pedro Almodóvar's short film Strange Way of Life starring Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke The "Driver's Ed" sketch from I Think You Should Leave, featuring Patti Harrison Kat's essay about Twin Peaks Justinian Huang's novel Lucky Seed Find Kat: NEW: katexmachina.substack.com letterboxd.com/katexmachina bsky.app/profile/katexmachina.bsky.social twitter.com/kat_ex_machina Find A.C.: letterboxd.com/aclamberty instagram.com/aclamberty Find Us: Our Website Subscribe to FFR on Apple Podcasts Twitter Instagram Letterboxd bsky.app/profile/femfreq.bsky.social

It was an absolute joy to spend time in the world of Spike Lee's 1994 bildungsroman Crooklyn. Co-written by Lee and his siblings Joie and Cinqué, the film follows nine-year-old Troy navigating herself, her neighborhood, and her extended family in 1973. We're refreshed to see Lee's rich visual language as the backdrop for a young girl as the hero of the story of growing up. Especially when so many other auteur's attempts at this have left us feeling unimpressed. It's a messy movie, sure, but beautifully shot by Arthur Jafa (Daughters of the Dust) with knockout performances from the kids to the parents—played by Alfre Woodard and Delroy Lindo. Discussed in this episode: Common Sense Media's Crooklyn review, RuPaul's Starrbooty Find Kat: NEW: katexmachina.substack.com letterboxd.com/katexmachina bsky.app/profile/katexmachina.bsky.social twitter.com/kat_ex_machina Find A.C.: letterboxd.com/aclamberty instagram.com/aclamberty Find Us: Our Website Subscribe to FFR on Apple Podcasts Twitter Instagram Letterboxd bsky.app/profile/femfreq.bsky.social

Kat and A.C. go through the films that will be fêted at this Sunday's Academy Awards. We feel a big shift in our relationship to Oscar movies, and aren't sure how much of that is the disintegration of the entertainment industry, and how much is just growing up. Plus, we play a new game all about The Relentless Diane Warren's 17 Oscar-Nominated Songs. (Don't laugh: her career trajectory has been a real cultural bellwether!) Discussed in this episode: Timothée Chalamet receiving a voguing performance The Focus on the Family reviews of all the Best Picture nominees: Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, Sinners, Train Dreams Find Kat: NEW: katexmachina.substack.com letterboxd.com/katexmachina bsky.app/profile/katexmachina.bsky.social twitter.com/kat_ex_machina Find A.C.: letterboxd.com/aclamberty instagram.com/aclamberty Find Us: Our Website Subscribe to FFR on Apple Podcasts Twitter Instagram Letterboxd bsky.app/profile/femfreq.bsky.social

Our "Focus on the Family" season is back after an unexpected hiatus! [Once again: sorry for the interruption; a member of our team had an ongoing family medical situation, but we're happy to be with you again.] It was a big nostalgia kick for Kat to revisit Patricia Cardoso's 2002 Sundance darling Real Women Have Curves, but this was a first-time watch for A.C. We talk about how America Ferrera's body has been perceived by Hollywood over the years, from this and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants to Barbie. It's a hyper-realistic and occasionally difficult to watch portrayal of a fraught mother-daughter dynamic, and well worth its place as a modern classic preserved by the National Film Registry. Discussed in this episode: Ugly Betty rewatch podcast "Viva Betty" FFR's conversation about An Unmarried Woman Find Kat: NEW: katexmachina.substack.com letterboxd.com/katexmachina bsky.app/profile/katexmachina.bsky.social twitter.com/kat_ex_machina Find A.C.: letterboxd.com/aclamberty instagram.com/aclamberty Find Us: Our Website Subscribe to FFR on Apple Podcasts Twitter Instagram Letterboxd bsky.app/profile/femfreq.bsky.social

For the first episode of our "Focus on the Family" season, we're taking it back to 2010—a time before Prop 8 when a Sundance movie could really make a big impact on the widespread film landscape. Lisa Cholodenko's The Kids Are All Right is a great example of a specific early 21st-century portrayal of queer families with a "coastal elite" filter, and how it straddled the line between caricature and accuracy. Discussed in this episode: Patti Harrison's Annette Bening impersonationFocus on the Family's "Plugged In" reviewFind Kat: letterboxd.com/katexmachinabsky.app/profile/katexmachina.bsky.socialtwitter.com/kat_ex_machinaFind A.C.: letterboxd.com/aclambertyinstagram.com/aclambertyFind Us: Join our PatreonOur WebsiteSubscribe to FFR on Apple PodcastsTwitterInstagramLetterboxdNEW: bsky.app/profile/femfreq.bsky.social

FFR is going to be back soon with a new season focusing on the family... just in time for the holidays! Listen to our mini preview ep where we'll explain the theme in more detail, and give a little teaser of the special bonus segment each episode will include. From festival favorites to reality TV, we're looking ahead to discussing onscreen portrayals of all different kinds of families, and what Hollywood thinks it's saying about any of it. Discussed in this episode: Focus on the Family's "Plugged In" review of The Fast and the FuriousFind Kat: letterboxd.com/katexmachinabsky.app/profile/katexmachina.bsky.socialtwitter.com/kat_ex_machinaFind A.C.: letterboxd.com/aclambertyinstagram.com/aclambertyFind Us: Join Our Patreon for Bonus ContentOur WebsiteSubscribe to FFR on Apple PodcastsTwitterInstagramLetterboxdNEW: bsky.app/profile/femfreq.bsky.social

"Bingo." As the epic conclusion to our season of Musical Mayhem, we watched Jacques Audiard's 2024 extravaganza Emilia Pérez. Did we hate it? Kinda! Did we love it? Kinda! We also have a teaser of next season on Feminist Frequency Radio, coming soon. This full episode is a special bonus for upper-level Patreon supporters, but also available as a one-off purchase for non-subscribers. >> Listen to the full episode HERE Discussed in this episode: Focus on the Family's "Plugged In" reviewProtest parody film Johanne SacrebleuFind Kat: letterboxd.com/katexmachinabsky.app/profile/katexmachina.bsky.socialtwitter.com/kat_ex_machinaFind A.C.: letterboxd.com/aclambertyinstagram.com/aclambertyFind Us: Join Our PatreonOur WebsiteSubscribe to FFR on Apple PodcastsTwitterInstagramLetterboxdNEW: bsky.app/profile/femfreq.bsky.social