On this week's Feminist Frequency Radio, we follow Viola Davis wherever she wants to lead us in director Steve McQueen's new film, Widows. On the surface, Widows looks like a heist flick, though notably one with women comprising the crew at its center. But while Widows certainly has many elements of a heist film, it's not exactly a traditional, straightforward example of the genre. It's a film deeply concerned with racism, political corruption, financial desperation, the narrow roles women are often expected to fill, and the systems that perpetually maintain power for some while denying it to others. Our conversation covers the unexpected ways that Widows breaks from the genre mold, our differing opinions on how successfully (or unsuccessfully) it handles all its plot threads and political concerns, and some of the remarkable newcomers in the cast. And don't worry, our conversation is spoiler-free!
On this week's Feminist Frequency Radio, we follow Viola Davis wherever she wants to lead us in director Steve McQueen's new film, Widows. On the surface, Widows looks like a heist flick, though notably one with women comprising the crew at its center. But while Widows certainly has many elements of a heist film, it's not exactly a traditional, straightforward example of the genre. It's a film deeply concerned with racism, political corruption, financial desperation, the narrow roles women are often expected to fill, and the systems that perpetually maintain power for some while denying it to others. Our conversation covers the unexpected ways that Widows breaks from the genre mold, our differing opinions on how successfully (or unsuccessfully) it handles all its plot threads and political concerns, and some of the remarkable newcomers in the cast. And don't worry, our conversation is spoiler-free!
Segment Timestamps:
1:45 Entertainment News (No Sony presence at E3 2019, Bill Maher's blog post on the passing of Stan Lee)
11:10 Widows (no spoilers)
43:30 What's Your FREQ-Out?
NOTE: During the discussion of Widows, Ebony refers to “Albert Fox” and the “Angola 9,” but this was the result of speaking faster than her brain was working. She was obviously talking about Albert Woodfox and the Angola 3.