Finds->Shares

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Trailer for the new HBO show Westworld.

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First footage released from new Justice League movie at San Diego Comic Con. Are those jokes?! Oh my gosh guys, I think there might be jokes in this movie!

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New Wonder Woman trailer premieres at San Diego Comic Con!

This trailer has so many amazing scenes! Get ready for a storm of amazing Wonder Woman gifs about to hit the internet.

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Peggy Carter’s Avengers

There are so many reasons to be upset about the loss of Marvel’s Agent Carter. Maybe you really liked the way the show handled its characters’ post-war trauma and wanted to see where that would go. Maybe you were captivated by the budding romance between Peggy and that-guy-who-isn’t-Captain-America. Or maybe you appreciated the lessons on finding self-worth, while being underestimated by your peers. For me, cancelling the show means never getting to see Peggy’s own Avengers team fully assembled.

Over at DC Comics, Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman, and their pals form the Justice League. Much like Marvel’s Avengers, the Justice League brings together heroes with different abilities, strengths, and personalities to create a superhero team. Unlike the Avengers, though, the Justice League has a predecessor, The Justice Society of America. There are a few different versions and backstories for this team (because comic books) but after 1985’s Crisis on Infinite Earths series, the JSA was established as a World War II–era precursor to the Justice League. The modern day JL had Barry Allen as the Flash, while the JSA had Jay Garrick. The JL had Hal Jordan as the Green Lantern, while the JSA had Alan Scott.

In Agent Carter, we got to see Peggy start to form her own early World War II–era version of The Avengers. That’s right, the woman who helped found SHIELD also unwittingly laid the groundwork for The Avengers Initiative—Nick Fury’s original plan to bring together a group of remarkable people to see if they could become something more. Let’s take a look at the characters that make up Peggy’s Avengers and see how they compare.

Peggy Carter / Captain America

Ok, let’s get the obvious one out of the way first. Peggy’s connection to Captain America (a.k.a. Steve Rogers) is evident from their sadly short amount of screen time together in Captain America: The First Avenger and Captain America: The Winter Solider. Steve and Peggy manage to equally inspire each other to trust their gut and fight for what they believe to be right. They are both the moral centre of their teams and lead with confidence and a personal compass needle that always points north.

Dottie Underwood / Black Widow

Dottie Underwood and Natasha Romanoff have the same Black Widow training (and same kickass leg strangle move) but they’re at different points in their stories. When we are first introduced to Natasha in the…

Keep reading at ThePopCultureReference.com

[bear1na]

Captain Marvel #2 variant cover by Phil Jimenez, colours by Marte Garcia *

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Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

Dir. Zack Snyder

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All my notifications are Superman getting a pie to the face I never asked for this

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The 8 Best Angry Solo Dances of the Last 30 Years

“You’re an angry dancer. I’m the same way.” Fred Astaire reportedly said those words to Michael Jackson in 1983 after he premiered his signature move, the moonwalk, at Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever. Dancing has long been used to convey emotion in television and film—love, sadness, that feeling when the dry cleaner gets the mustard out—but in the early ‘80s we were treated to a new kind of dance, the Angry Solo Dance. Spotting an ASD is easy enough. Watch for the intensity and speed of Michael Jackson mixed with the lyrical movements and technical skill of Fred Astaire. Throw in a dash of father-based angst and you’ve got a scene that gets to the bottom of a character’s true feelings, without all that boring soliloquizing.

Here now are the best Angry Solo Dances of the past 30 years…

Read more at ThePopCultureReference.com

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The Changing Role of the Male Mentor on Television

Television shows with a male mentor holding a clear position of power over a female character are nothing new. This specific relationship has existed almost as long as TV itself. Often this dynamic was even portrayed between married couples. Programs like I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, and I Love Lucy showed that even though the star of the show wasn’t a man, the character with the power in the relationship was. In fact, in I Dream of Jeannie, the titular character referred to the male lead, Tony Nelson, as her literal, capital-m Master and only had to cross her arms and blink to make his wishes come true.

Fast-forward about half a century and this trope hasn’t disappeared but it’s certainly changed. Contemporary television shows are now portraying this type of relationship from a feminist perspective. By using such an overtly patriarchal character dynamic, these TV creators and writers are free to play around with the ways we expect men and women to interact with each other, especially when there’s a power differential between the two.

Read more at ThePopCultureReference.com

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Don't worry. He knows I love him. (at Storm Crow Alehouse)

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Words journalists get wrong about diversity

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Lego Parks and Recreation

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Friday Link Roundup – International Women’s Day Edition

Ok look. I think it’s silly that it even has to be pointed out that there is some great work being done by women in film and television. Of course there is. If you’re the sort of person that needs to be given a list in order to believe it than you’re probably not the sort of person who would be checking out this site anyway.

But it’s Friday and International Women’s Day was this week so below is just such a list. I’d love it if instead of thinking of it as proof, you instead take it as an opportunity to discover, support, and enjoy work by and about women that perhaps you may have missed.

Broad City returned for its third season last month and the friendship between main characters Abbi and Ilana is one of our favourite things on TV right now. Megan Garber wrote a fantastic article on The Atlantic titled “Broad City and the Triumph of the Platonic Rom-Com.” The article is about the growing number of female friendships that are at the centre of shows like Broad City.

New Yorker columnist Emily Nussbaum also wrote about Broad City recently and focused more on the specific style of humour the show uses. Her piece includes the amazing line: “as Oprah is to Liz Lemon, Nicki Minaj is to Ilana.”

Last month Vanity Fair ran a profile on Kathleen Kennedy, a woman they dub “The Most Powerful Woman in Hollywood.” That sounds hyperbolic but one look at Ms. Kennedy’s IMDb page is enough to think that maybe it’s actually an understatement. Her first producer credit is for a little movie called E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (perhaps you’ve heard of it) and since then has worked on projects like the Indiana Jones series, Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, and Schindler’s List. She’s now the head of Lucasfilm and has producer credits on all of the upcoming Star Wars films. I happen to believe the galaxy far, far away is safe in her hands.

And if a woman running the creative direction for a universe full of characters is your thing (and I so hope it is), check out Vox’s profile on Sana Amanat, the Director of Content and Character Development at Marvel Comics. Sana has been instrumental in some of Marvel’s best books in the last few years and has pushed the company to be more diverse and reflective of the comic-reading community. (If you want to read some of Ms. Amanat’s editorial work we heartily recommend Ms. Marvel, Hawkeye, and Captain Marvel.)

Jen Chaney of Cosmo recently interviewed a female agent from a top American talent agency to discuss the female wage gap for actors.

Paul Feig (who, admittedly is a man) sat down with Empire magazine to discuss the trailer for his new Ghostbusters. The new trailer includes a slower, somber version of Ray Parker Jr.’s original theme song but I’ve got my fingers crossed for an official Beyoncé cover dropping soon.

If you happen to be in the market for bold ladies directing you to amazing content (and who isn’t?), may we suggest two of our favourites: Two Bossy Dames and the Unfriendly Black Hotties.

This week the second Wachowski sibling came out as transgender. Lilly Wachowski posted a statement in the Windy City Times announcing her transition. Hitfix has a great article pointing out that with projects like The Matrix, Cloud Atlas, and Sense8, the Wachowski’s “have been telling us for years that we are more than these skin suits we wear.”

Read more at ThePopCultureReference.com