My Favorite Cinematic Strong Women

It should come as no surprise that, during this shelter-at-home time, I've been knitting up a storm, and that means the television has been keeping me company. One night I was channel-surfing and came across The Nun's Story, and that was it. I had to stop and watch it.

After the film was over, I thought about other favorite movies that I could watch. We all have them. As my little grey cells began to spark, the thought occurred to me that watching some of my cinematic strong women would certainly fit the bill, and that led to the desire to share them with you.

The following are six of my favorite films featuring strong women characters, ones that survived the cut from the original list of ten that immediately sprang to my mind. I'm going to list them in reverse chronological order... because there's a method to my madness.

Hidden Figures, 2016

Storyline: "As the United States raced against Russia to put a man in space, NASA found untapped talent in a group of African-American female mathematicians that served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in U.S. history. Based on the unbelievably true life stories of three of these women, known as "human computers", we follow these women as they quickly rose the ranks of NASA alongside many of history's greatest minds specifically tasked with calculating the momentous launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, and guaranteeing his safe return. Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Katherine Gobels Johnson crossed all gender, race, and professional lines while their brilliance and desire to dream big, beyond anything ever accomplished before by the human race, firmly cemented them in U.S. history as true American heroes."

Even as I cheered these women on and was awed by their sheer intelligence, I felt ashamed. Although I've had to put up with a lot of nonsense just because of my gender, I've never had to deal with what these women did simply because of the color of their skin. White privilege is quite a cocoon that most of us never realize we're protected by.

Temple Grandin, 2010

Storyline: "Biopic of Temple Grandin, an autistic woman who overcame the limitations imposed on her by her condition to become a Ph.D. and expert in the field of animal husbandry. She loves animals! She developed an interest in cattle early in life while spending time at her Aunt and Uncle's ranch. She did not speak until age four and had difficulty right through high school, mostly in dealing with people. Her mother was very supportive as were some of her teachers. She is noted for creating her "hug box", widely recognized today as a way of relieving stress in autistic children, and her humane design for the treatment of cattle in processing plants, which have been the subject of several books and won an award from PETA. Today, she is a professor at Colorado State University and well-known speaker on autism and animal handling."

I stumbled across this film and quickly found myself caught in its spell. What an extraordinary woman! And how very fortunate she was to have a support system that enabled her to share her gifts with the world!

Rabbit-Proof Fence, 2002

Storyline: "Western Australia, 1931. Government policy includes taking half-white, half-Aboriginal children from their Aboriginal mothers and sending them a thousand miles away to what amounts to indentured servitude, "to save them from themselves." Molly, Daisy, and Grace (two sisters and a cousin who are fourteen, ten, and eight) arrive at their Gulag and promptly escape, under Molly's lead. For several days they walk north, following a fence that keeps rabbits from settlements, eluding a native tracker and the regional constabulary. Their pursuers take orders from the government's "Chief Protector of Aborigines", A.O. Neville, blinded by Anglo-Christian certainty, evolutionary world view, and conventional wisdom. Can the girls survive?"

I chose this film to watch one night because it sounded like it would be a good "escape" film. It was, but it was so much more! I learned about a period of Australian history that I knew nothing about, and I learned about an extraordinary teenage girl named Molly Craig who had the strength and determination to guide herself and her two sisters one thousand miles back home. (That 1500 miles on top of the poster is wrong. They traveled 1500 kilometers.) Real footage at the end of the film made me realize that the story was true, and I also learned that Molly made this same trip more than once. What a woman!

Aliens, 1986

Storyline: "57 years after Ellen Ripley had a close encounter with the reptilian alien creature from the first movie, she is called back, this time, to help a group of highly trained colonial marines fight off against the sinister extraterrestrials. But this time, the aliens have taken over a space colony on the moon LV-426. When the colonial marines are called upon to search the deserted space colony, they later find out that they are up against more than what they bargained for. Using specially modified machine guns and enough firepower, it's either fight or die as the space marines battle against the aliens. As the Marines do their best to defend themselves, Ripley must attempt to protect a young girl who is the sole survivor of the decimated space colony."

When it comes to cinematic strong women, Ellen Ripley has a special place in my heart. Probably because-- for once-- here's a woman who's not a petite and frilly female who screams at the drop of a hat. You know... she's definitely not the usual feminine stereotype. Why is that important to me? Because I've never been petite or frilly or a screamer. Ripley also endears herself to me because she defines my type of true courage: being scared spitless and still doing what has to be done.

The Nun's Story, 1959

Storyline: "After leaving a wealthy Belgian family to become a nun, Sister Luke struggles with her devotion to her vows during crisis, disappointment, and World War II. "

I never paid attention to any Audrey Hepburn movie until I saw this one. Before that, I viewed her as an attractive but skinny clotheshorse. As Sister Luke, she showed me that she was so much more. It is very wrong to live in a society in which the only way you have a chance to do what you were born to do (in this case, practice tropical medicine) is to become something that you definitely are not suited for. I found the story of Sister Luke to be profound and powerful: Never. Ever. Give. Up. (And I also developed an appreciation for Audrey Hepburn.)

The Heiress, 1949

Storyline: "A young naive woman falls for a handsome young man who her emotionally abusive father suspects is a fortune hunter. "

The Heiress is one of my favorite movies of all time for the simple fact that I've grown into it and can better understand its subtleties. Beginning as a teenager, the first several times that I saw it, I think I paid way too much attention to the gorgeous Montgomery Clift (Morris Townsend) and his soft voice. The romantic in me wanted Catherine Sloper (Olivia de Havilland) and Morris Townsend to get together and be happy, especially if it meant Catherine would get away from that horrid father of hers (played to perfection by Sir Ralph Richardson).

But as I matured, what I saw in the film began to change, and the open-ended conclusion aided me in this. The film never really comes right out and says that Catherine will never change her mind; the viewer gets to "have a voice" in what happens when the movie is over. Now I watch The Heiress and smile. Catherine Sloper is no longer the Lady of Shalott. She finally knows her own worth. She's finally found her strength. Now she's the mistress of her own life, and for someone who's always been so timid, that is Victory indeed.

Well... what do you think? Do you agree with some of my choices? Which ones? And--more importantly-- which of your personal favorites did I leave out? Inquiring minds certainly want to know because I'm always on the lookout for things to watch while I'm knitting!

My Top Ten(ish) Movies

One of the things that make compiling top ten lists so difficult for me is the fact that the finalists can change from day to day (or hour to hour) depending on my mood. Making choices like this tend to be extremely subjective because I'm not looking at each choice from an expert's point of view. I'm not looking at cinematography, screenplays, choice of actors, et al. with anything that even remotely smacks of expert knowledge. I'm looking at how all the parts of a movie affect my emotions and my mind. 

That said, here is my most recent list of top ten favorite movies according to their release dates. Hopefully, you'll find one or two of yours here as well. Click on the name of the movie in each caption, and you'll be taken to more information about that film.

1943--Shadow of a Doubt   1954--Rear Window

Okay...so I had a little trouble choosing one favorite Hitchcock movie!

1949--The Heiress

My interpretation of the ending of The Heiress has changed over time as my life experience has changed. I like that.

1957--The Incredible Shrinking Man

1962--The Manchurian Candidate

1963--The Haunting

1972--Jeremiah Johnson

1991--The Silence of the Lambs

2002--Rabbit-Proof Fence

2003--Finding Nemo

2009--Avatar

Do we agree on any of these films? Did I surprise you with any of my choices? Which ones? Inquiring minds would love to know!

My Favorite Movies about Teachers

This week my top ten list stays closer to the original subject of this blog because many of the movies on it are based on books.

I've found movies about teachers to be inspiring for many years, ever since I was a child in fact. I think I harbored an idea of becoming a teacher once, and for a period of a few years, I was sent from coast to coast to train people for the company that employed me. But the idea I had involved being something like a history teacher, where I could use many of the bizarre facts I've learned over years of reading to spark the imaginations of my students. But I don't really have the emotional fortitude it takes to be a teacher, and my path led me elsewhere.

But I can still love watching movies about teachers, and this is my list of my top ten movies featuring them. They inspired me when I first watched, and they inspire me still. This time, I've listed my choices according to the years they were released. If you click on the portion of the caption after the release date, you'll be able to find out more about the movie. Let's take a look---

1939. Looking back over a long career.

1955. English teacher in a violent, inner-city school.

1958. Clark Gable goes back to school.

1962. As pupil or teacher, Patty Duke owned Gibson's screenplay.

1967. Idealistic teacher in an inner-city school.

1967. Young female English teacher in an inner-city school.

1969. The incomparable Maggie Smith.

1988. Calculus as a way to success.

1989. O Captain! My Captain!

2007. Young teacher learns about herself and her students.

If you like movies about teachers, did I leave out any of your favorites? Which ones? (You knew I was going to ask!)

Perhaps my caption below The Miracle Worker needs a bit of explanation. I watched the film when I was young. Both Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke won Academy Awards. Although I wanted to be loyal to Bancroft, my attention was commandeered by Patty Duke as Helen Keller. I just marked it down to the girl having the "showier" role. (The movie poster makes the film resemble The Exorcist!) But in 1979, The Miracle Worker was made again, this time with Duke in the role of Annie Sullivan. Once again Duke was absolutely riveting. It didn't matter which role she had, both Helen and Annie were hers. It's as though no one could possibly understand those parts the way she did. They were in her soul.

Hmm... I feel a trip to Netflix coming up shortly! How about you?

Movie Memories: Out of Africa

One of the things I try not to do is to fall down the internet rabbit hole. I failed when I started thinking about various movie memories I've had over the years which were connected with a previous post. Once I became hopelessly lost on YouTube, I decided that I would change focus for a series of new blog posts. Instead of remembering incidences that had occurred during some of my favorite films, I would share some of my favorite actual scenes.

This time around, I thought I would share a scene that's probably #1 on my list. I fell in love with "Out of Africa" when it opened in theaters, and I went back faithfully once a week until it was no longer being shown. I don't know about you, but for me to fall in love with a movie, it has to be with the total package: the story, the actors, the cinematography, and the music. If all of those factors combine in just the right way, it's magic.

"Out of Africa" had that perfect package for me. The story: a slice of history done up by Hollywood about a writer-- a strong, adventurous woman in Africa; her life there and her love affair with a British hunter/adventurer. I already knew Meryl Streep was phenomenal. I also knew that Robert Redford was being panned for portraying an accentless upper-class Englishman. Guess what? His lack of an accent didn't bother me at all. Spiritually he was right for the part. And be completely, totally honest with yourself. If you were in a movie sharing almost all of your scenes with Accent Master Meryl Streep, how do you think you'd come off in the resulting duel? I don't know about you, but I'd be a dud. Redford knew he would be, too. He also knew that he was in a no-win predicament.

But to get back on track, my favorite scene in this movie is when Denys Finch Hatton takes Karen Blixen up in that black and yellow bi-plane for-- as she describes it-- "a glimpse of the world through God's eye."

This scene gives me goosebumps. It gives me chills. My eyes fill with tears. It is an absolutely perfect blend of music and cinematography. It is an example of The Perfect Gift. When all Streep can do to acknowledge how profound this gift is is to reach back to hold Redford's hand, I understand. There could not possibly be words that came close to describing her depth of feeling.

Here's the scene: 



     

I don't think I've ever told you before, but I once had a large collection of movie soundtracks. John Barry, the composer of the music for "Out of Africa," is one of my favorites, and his lush, romantic music is the perfect accompaniment to David Watkin's cinematography.

 

This scene (and the entire movie) also led me to read many books on that time period in Africa. It is a fascinating era filled with some larger-than-life people, including Beryl Markham who was a championship trainer of race horses, the first woman to fly solo west across the Atlantic, and the writer of one of my favorite books, West With the Night. (Hollywood may not always get it right, but that doesn't mean we can't do our own research, does it?)

 

I think one of the things that struck me hardest about the scene above is knowing how wonderful it would be to have another human being know me well enough to give me a gift like that. I never thought it would happen.

 

But it did. 

 

And when the hot air balloon took me high over the early morning desert, I heard John Barry's music. When I saw critters out and about to find something for breakfast (and completely unaware of the humans in the silent balloon above them), I thought to myself, "This is even better, Karen. You should've tried a hot air balloon."

 

When the balloon came gently to earth and we all clambered out of the basket, all I could do was wrap my very own Denis in a hug, bury my face in the side of his neck, and try not to cry. So... does this movie scene mean anything to me at all?  Naaaaaaaaaaaah!

 

Do any of you have favorite scenes in movies that affect you in much the same way? Please share!

 

 

 

Some Favorite Movie Moments

My grandfather would often check in with my mother to see how I was spending my money. I saved most of it for college, but what I didn't stash in my savings account went on the Big Three: Books, Movies, and Music. it was while watching a favorite old movie the other evening that I realized I have several memories that involve a movie in one way or another, and I thought I would share some of them with you. After all, I know I'm not the only movie fan here!

I got my love of movies from my mother. She would go through periodic bouts of insomnia, and I remember being very small, tucked up in bed, and feeling safe and warm with the low murmur of voices and the grayish flickering light of the television in the living room of our tiny rental house.

On weekends I was sometimes allowed to stay up to watch the Late, Late Show, and I loved it when my favorite scary movie would be shown. To this day there are certain scenes in 1953's House of Wax starring Vincent Price that can have the hair standing on the back of my neck.

I had to be about ten years old, and it just so happened that House of Wax was going to be on the Late, Late Show. I wanted to watch it sooo badly, but Mom had put in a marathon day cleaning the house and doing the laundry and yardwork. She was exhausted, and all she wanted to do was go to bed. I probably got whiny in my insistence in watching a movie we'd both seen countless times. Even when Mom told me how tired she was and that all she'd do was go to sleep, I didn't care. I wanted her with me while I watched House of Wax. Loving parent that she was, we both took baths, got into our pajamas, and curled up together on the couch. 

Mom went to sleep almost immediately, but that was okay by me. As long as I could have some part of me touching her, Vincent Price wouldn't be able to get me! I loved being scared and feeling safe all at the same time.

A favorite way for us to see movies back then was to go to any of the several drive-ins in the area. When I was a child, the drive-ins were still doing "Buck Nights"-- a carload of people could get in for a dollar (per car, not per person) If you popped your own popcorn and brought your own sodas, Buck Nights were really economical evenings of entertainment-- especially since they always showed two movies every night. If you had romance in mind, all you had to do was park in the very back rows where it was darker, or if you wanted to socialize, you could meet friends around the concession stand.

I have many, many fond memories of times spent at drive-ins. Most of them would be meaningless to you because you would have to know the people concerned. But others translate well. Like the time Mom and a friend and I went to see Steve McQueen in Nevada Smith. The movie had barely begun when fog rolled in. The fog got worse. And worse. And worse. Until we could hear the dialogue just fine but couldn't see a thing on the screen. We couldn't even see the cars parked on either side of us. Everyone got rainchecks, and I remember seeing many of the same people the very next night when we went back to see the movie. (Fog free.)

Or how about the time the drive-in had a special showing of Ben-Hur? Ben-Hur was about three-and-a-half hours long, so there was an intermission in the middle. Someone in the concession stand got on the loudspeaker to announce that we all had "ten minutes to hit the restroom!" (His emphasis, not mine.) The three of us ran but still got stuck in long lines. Nevertheless we made it back without missing a frame of the movie (barely)-- and we cracked up laughing the rest of the evening (and for many more evenings to come) about hitting the restroom! (Why do I keep seeing hammers?)

One of my favorite movie memories (probably because it's one of my favorite movies) concerns The Dirty Dozen. It's a World War II movie with a marvelous ensemble cast. We were in a friend's car that night, so I had to sit in the back seat, but I was used to it. Mom and I didn't have a car, so if we weren't borrowing one of my grandparents', we went to the drive-in with a friend.

Mom and I were lapping up every second of the movie. The Dirty Dozen has an explosive, bullet-riddled ending, and characters were getting killed off right and left. Mom and I were completely engrossed in finding out who was going to make it out alive... when our friend started up the car and left. 

Frannie was the type of person who didn't like to get caught in the long, slow-moving line of traffic trying to leave the drive-in, so she'd take off before the movie ended. Since Mom and I were in Frannie's car, we couldn't say a word. But-- I still remember hanging out the car window trying to see the screen so I could see which characters survived. And Mom asking me, "Who made it? Who made it? Can you see who made it?"

Mom borrowed my grandfather's truck, and we went back to the drive-in to see The Dirty Dozen the very next night... and we didn't leave until the movie was completely over, credits and all!


By the time I was a senior in high school, Mom began taking night classes in a local community college. If I wasn't working and didn't have a ton of homework, I'd go to the city with her and shop, go to the library, and see a movie. Sometimes a friend or two would come along.

My best friend and I took Maria, a foreign exchange student from Colombia, to see The Godfather. When Maria arrived, she barely spoke any English at all, and she loved coming with me to see movies. It really helped her with English. On this particular night, I sat between Maria and Carol, and when that horse head in the bed scene came up, they both tried to jump in my lap at the same time! 

Jaws came out the summer I was back home for a couple of weeks from college. My best friend Carol was married, her husband was gone for the weekend on National Guard business, and she had the whole thing planned. I was coming over to spend the night. First, we were going to see Jaws. We'd wind up the evening by watching Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster on the Late, Late Show.

The theater was packed for Jaws. Packed. Ill-behaved children were running up and down the aisles, but once the movie started, they stopped. I think they were too scared to move. I know most of the adults were. To this day, if you want to make me nervous, all you have to do is play that movie's theme music. I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it! I actually remembered to look over at Carol once or twice, and she looked as stiff as a board. I think if I'd reached over to touch her, she would've shrieked and shattered into a million pieces. I do know that when we went to bed that night, she had nightmares. How do I know this? Because I woke up twice with her arms around my neck strangling me in her sleep! 

When I moved to Phoenix, I got a job in a large shopping mall within walking distance of where I lived. It had two movie theaters, and it was the rare week when I didn't see at least one film. I remember more than one day off when I would go inside the mall, buy a ticket, go up the escalator, watch the movie, go down the escalator, buy a ticket for a different movie, go up the escalator.... But that was only on weeks when a lot of good movies had been released all at the same time.

One week I walked over on my day off to see Mel Gibson in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. It was the first showing of the day... around 11 AM or so, and there was hardly anyone in the theater. I like it when this happens. It's like having my own private showing. Well... this time, some strange guy decided to sit right next to me when there were dozens of empty seats. I thought the group in the row in front of me had run out of seats and that he belonged with them, so I didn't think much of it. He minded his own business, so I minded mine even though it was weird having a complete stranger sitting next to me. 

The movie started, and I got wrapped up in another Hollywood fairy tale. I completely forgot about the guy sitting next to me... until this ice cold hand suddenly made contact with the upper part of my bare thigh. (I don't wear skirts much anymore.) This yanked me out of the movie so abruptly that without thinking I exclaimed, "What the hell?!?" I didn't even realize that the ice cold appendage belonged to that guy until he immediately got up and moved to a different part of the theater!

I'm going to bring an end to this long trip down my celluloid Memory Lane with my-- hands down, no doubt about it, absolute--  favorite movie memory. 

When The Way We Were came out, I was living in Utah, not far from Robert Redford's Sundance Ski Resort. I'd seen that beautiful man in the flesh....

Okay, Cathy, focus! Focus! 

Redford was already my favorite actor. I had most of the dialogue of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid memorized. You'd better believe I was standing in line for the very first showing of The Way We Were!

Once again the theater was packed. I had to sit farther back than I care to, but nothing was going to keep me from seeing Redford. Nothing.

What I will never forget is what happened during the break-up scene. Redford: "You push too hard! You expect too much!" And Streisand stands there, looking at that gorgeous man, and says, "Oh, but look what I've got...."

Every female in that crowded theater drew a deep breath and sighed at the exact same time. I've never seen or heard anything like it before or since, and it is my most cherished movie memory.


I hope you've enjoyed this journey, and I hope that I've reminded you of some of your own movie memories. They're special, aren't they?