Ink-Stained Amazons by Jennifer Stuller

Title: Ink-Stained Amazons and Cinematic Warriors: 

Superwomen in Modern Mythology

Author: Jennifer K. Stuller (American, 1975- )
Originally published: 2010
Page count: 174


Dates read: 8/15/2020-8/26/2020
2020 book goal progress: 23 out of 20
Reading category: TBR Shelf


Read my other book reviews for my 2020 goal HERE.


Description on back of book:

Women have been led to believe that superheroes and heroism are not for them and that they are little more than love interests, or sidekicks who stand by their supermen. This is a false proposition argues Jennifer K. Stuller, as she uncovers the true history of how superwomen are represented in popular culture. The book details the notable differences in how women and men are represented as heroic in modern myth. The spotlight is also turned onto men and women who have created modern myths with a strong female presence.

First sentence:
"In Sam Raimi's 2002 film, Spider-Man 2, Aunt May tells her nephew, Peter Parker, that she believes 'there's a hero in all of us.'"

Favorite quotes:
"Myths can be fantasy and they can be real, and sometimes, they are reality wrapped in a metaphor and thus used as a way of teaching values."

"Love is redemptive; it heals and inspires -  but so does the ability to forgive and be forgiven, which is made possible by compassion. Compassion is an act of selfless love often born out of empathy and an essential component of the love ethic that drives heroes to action without expectation of reward."

"Sex and gender do not and should not define us or what we do, but a combination of nature and nurture colors our lives, regardless. Who we are influences the stories we tell and the stories we want to hear."

Review:

I have mixed feelings about this book. Most of the book was great, but it got into some topics I wasn't interested in for this book and it also wasn't as expansive as I was hoping it was going to be. It is an incredible resource and I have many new movies and shows I want to watch now. I am going to start with an overview of the book, so I can list some great feminist works for you to enjoy as well. I am only going to list examples that she wrote more extensively on, though she mentioned many others in passing.

Part 1 - A history of superwomen in various media.

Chapter 1 - 40s and 50s 

-Comics - Wonder Woman

Chapter 2 - 60s and 70s

-Ms. Magazine

-Comics

     -Modesty Blaise

     -The Cat/Greer Nelson (Beware the Claws of the Cat)

-TV

     -Uhura (Star Trek)

     -Dr. Cathy Gale and Emma Peel (The Avengers)

     -Wonder Woman

     -The Bionic Woman

     -Charlie's Angels

-B Movies

     -Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

     -The Doll Squad

     -Coffy (racially controversial)

Chapter 3 - 80s

-Movies

     -Princess Leia (Star Wars Ep 4 and 5)

     -Valeria (Conan the Barbarian)

     -Ellen Ripley (Aliens)

     -Sarah Connor (Terminator 2)

Chapter 4 - 90s and 00s

-Sassy Magazine and Zines such as BUST

-TV

     -Aeon Flux (Liquid Television)

     -Xena, Warrior Princess

     -Buffy the Vampire Slayer

     -Max Guevara (Dark Angel)

Part 2 - Aspects of female heroes and their stories.

Chapter 5 - Compassion and Friendship

-TV - Buffy, Max (Dark Angel), and Xena

Chapter 6 - The (unreasonable) commonality of single fathers and male mentors.

-TV - Alias, Veronica Mars, and Dark Angel

Chapter 7 - Super mothers and the rarety of female mentors.

-Comics - Elektra/Wolverine: The Redeemer

-Movies - Elektra and Kill Bill Vol 1 and 2

-TV 

     -Alias

     -The Sarah Jane Adventures

     -Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles

Part 3 - The Mythmakers - Women Making Myth

-TV - Birds of Prey and Heroes

-Margot Kidder as Lois Lane

-Gail Simon as the writer of

     -Birds of Prey and Wonder Woman comics

- Trina Robbins as the writer and Anne Timmon as the artist of 

     -GoGirl! comics and graphic novels

-Angela Robinson as writer and director of

     -D.E.B.S. movie

I know the list takes up a lot of space, but I think it's important to have something like that around! Also, it now lets me talk more about what I liked and what didn't like about the book. What I wasn't interested in was the 'aspect' part of the book - the whole second part. Don't get me wrong, that's important, but it's a deep topic that should be its own separate book - and it wasn't what I was looking for in this particular book. 

What I wanted from this book was an extensive history of fiction superwomen in all sorts of mediums AND an extensive history of women behind the curtain creating strong female characters. The last chapter was like an afterthought and a great disappointment. I understand that the media tends to be a man's world, but surely more real women could have been mentioned. I would have liked the history of the fictional characters and the real women to be written about side by side in a historically chronological fashion

In that strain, if I had my way, chapters 5-7 would be removed and replaced with chapters on (1900s and 10s), (20s and 30s), and (2010s). You know what is SORELY missing from this book? Examples of superwomen in LITERATURE, which is a bit ironic if you ask me. So the 1900s/10s chapter would be about fictional and real women involved with books since that was the 'popular medium' of the time. (Not to mention that women in America got the right to vote in 1920, so this chapter would be ripe with the suffrage movement.) I could give several examples for you, but The Herland Trilogy by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is what comes to mind. Ellador, the main female character, is from an all-female utopia very similar to, you guessed it, Wonder Woman. (I'll also throw this nugget out there: Sultana's Dream by Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain. It's a story about what it would be like if the gender roles were reversed in the practice of purdah.)

The 20s and 30s have many great literature examples too. In the 20s-50s, there could also be radio show examples. Skuller mentioned radio shows in passing, but never actually listed any specific ones. The 2010s would probably focus on the multitude of superhero movies that came out at that time. I cried at the wonderful representation of women in the last 2 Avengers movies. Cried. My husband rolled his eyes, but the representation of strong women standing up for each other and working together? Men take that for granted... but that's still a relatively new concept in regards to women in media. And that's something worth crying over.

I would have loved to get more literature examples all throughout the history of superwomen. Skuller mentions several times the significance of manga in showing that females like to read comics, but she never lists any good feminist examples, which is a disappointment. Graphic novels, for the most part, are lacking in representation too. OK, I'm going to end my rant, even though there is so much more I want to say. 

I do want to say that I loved hearing about Joss Whedon and Buffy in particular. I happen to be watching the show for the first time and I'm greatly enjoying it. You know what else I'm watching that I'm disappointed was not mentioned in the book? Avatar: The Last Airbender - how could that NOT be in this book? (14 Reasons Why "Avatar: The Last Airbender" Is Actually Super Feminist And Progressive - You're welcome.)

  

OK, I'm really going to wrap this up now. Overall, it is a great resource with a wonderful list of new media for me to consume - it just tried to do too much (by including the aspects in part 2) and, at the same time, wasn't expansive enough (started the history too soon, didn't include enough female artists, and didn't include enough variety of media).

Now I'm off to read another book... but since a review should be more about the author of the book than about the writer of the blog, I will let Jennifer K. Stuller have the last words:

"Xena and Gabrielle will be feminist role models for some viewers, while others will feel that their skimpy outfits force them to conform to standards of feminity. Some will champion them as lesbian icons, while others will believe that the refusal to admit outright that the two women are in a homosexual relationship is a disappointing cop-out. Regardless, they are both characters that have made an impact on personal politics and the cultural landscape by providing courage to those who saw them as role models and internalized their values. Furthermore, we as the audience don't need to take an either/or approach to superwomen. We can look critically at the social implications of the over-emphasis on sexuality as well as thrill at watching displays of confidence and power. Because an individual audience can engage with a representation as entertainment or as message, the relationship will never be static."

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Title: Treasure Island

Author: Robert Louis Stevenson (Scottish, 1850-1894)
Originally published: 1883
Page count: 194

Dates read: 8/10/2020-8/14/2020
2020 book goal progress: 22 out of 20
Month category: August - Summer (Travel / Sun) 
Back to the Classics category: Classic Adaptation


Read my other book reviews for my 2020 goal HERE.

Description on back of book:
For sheer storytelling delight and our adventure, Treasure Island has never been surpassed. From young Jim Hawking's first encounter with the sinister blind man Pew to the climactic battle with the most memorable villain in literature, Long John Silver, this novel has fired readers' imaginations for generations. A rousing tale of treachery, greed, and daring, Treasure Island continues to enthrall readers of all ages.

First sentence:
"Squire Trelawney, Dr. Livesey, and the rest of these gentlemen having asked me to write down the whole particulars about Treasure Island, from the beginning to the end, keeping nothing back but the bearings of the island, and that only because there is still treasure not yet lifted, I take up my pen in the year of grace 17-- and go back to the time when my father kept the Admiral Benbow inn and the brown old seaman with the sabre cut first took up his lodging under our roof."

CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 7.6 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Characters      - 8
Atmosphere   - 8
Writing Style - 7
Plot                - 7
Intrigue          - 8
Logic             - 6
Enjoyment     - 9
What is a CAWPILE Rating?

Review:

I have never read this before and I was excited to compare it to the movie adaptation Treasure Planet. I liked the intro to the book; it basically said that this story is where a lot of general pirate lore originated from - which is really neat to me! The book was a lot of fun and I enjoyed many of the characters. My favorite character in both mediums was definitely Ben Gunn/B.E.N. I also hate that I loved Long John Silver so much, even though he was even darker in the book than the movie. 

The book was by far better than the movie, which was a bit of a disappointment to me - I've always enjoyed the movie. The movie is a very quick summary of the book and you lose a lot of the details and tension from the story. There also are characters in the book completely missing in the movie (such as the squire) and several characters from the book in the movie are drastically changed from who they are in the story (such as the doctor). Even the name of the ship they go out treasure hunting in is changed from Hispaniola to RLS Legacy (as a nod to author Robert Louis Stevenson). Oh, and, other than Jim's mom (who doesn't go on the trip in either medium), there are no females in the story - and no romance.

Overall, it was a great book - especially when you remember it's a children's book. Unfortunately, a film I had greatly enjoyed as a kid has dimmed in my eyes since reading the book - oh, well. If you didn't have to read this one for school (like I didn't), I highly suggest you give this book a read,

Now I'm off to read another book... but since a review should be more about the author of the book than about the writer of the blog, I will let Robert Louis Stevenson have the last words:

     "'Is this Ben Gunn a man?'

     'I don't know, sir,' said I. 'I am not very sure whether he's sane.'

     'If there's any doubt about the matter, he is,' returned the doctor. 'A man who has been three years biting his nails on a desert island, Jim, can't expect to appear as sane as you or me. It doesn't lie in human nature. Was it cheese you said he had a fancy for?'

     'Yes, sir, cheese,' I answered.

     'Well, Jim,' says he, 'just see the good that comes of being dainty in your food. You've seen my snuff-box, haven't you? And you never saw me take snuff, the reason being that in my snuff-box I carry a piece of Parmesan cheese - a cheese made in Italy, very nutritious. Well, that's for Ben Gunn!'"

A Singular Life by Elizabeth SP Ward

Title: A Singular Life

Author: Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward 

(American, 1844-1911)
Originally published: 1895
Page count: 426


Dates read: 8/1/2020-8/8/2020
2020 book goal progress: 21 out of 20
Reading category: TBR Shelf


Read my other book reviews for my 2020 goal HERE.

Description on back of book:
The book was published in a period when Americans were exploring how the teachings of Jesus Christ could be applied to daily life. Several books considering the question were published in the1890s. A Singular Life, in this vein, features a protagonist named Emanuel Bayard who pursues Jesus-inspired humanitarianism by forsaking ties to his orthodox church.

First sentence:
"There were seven of them at the table that day, and they were talking about heredity."

Favorite quotes:
"The side of the street on which a man is born may determine his character and fate beyond repeal. The observation, if true, is tenfold truer of a woman, to whom a house is a shell, a prison, or a chrysalis."

"It is manifestly unfair to judge of a place by its March as to judge a man's disposition by the hour before dinner."

"That ecclesiastical system which brought me where I am can't be helped by one man's rebellion. It's going to take a generation of us. But there is enough that I can help. It's the can-be's, not the can't-be's,  that are the business of men like me."

"It has never been tried, that I know of, but it is worth trying - most modern ideas are - if practicable."

CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 8.7 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Characters      - 9
Atmosphere   - 9
Writing Style - 9
Plot                - 9
Intrigue          - 8
Logic             - 7
Enjoyment     - 10
What is a CAWPILE Rating?

Review:

This was an incredible book. It was the best novel I've read in a long time. From the little I knew of the author, I expected (and hoped) it to be an early feminist novel - but I was wrong. (Nonetheless, the women, in general, stood up for themselves and made their own decisions, despite the men viewing them as soft and needing protection - but that wasn't the focus of the story.) This novel was a beautiful, modern retelling of the life of Jesus. Well... modern for when it was written 125 years ago!

The book is truly a beautiful example of Christ's love. The main character, Emanuel Bayard, is a young minister who is kicked out of the church by religious leaders because his theology, supposedly, isn't "sound."  He then sets up his own church in the worst part of the fishing town in order to help and minister to the drunkards and prostitutes there. There's even a point where there's a shipwreck, he ties himself to a rope and, literally, goes "fishing for men" lost at sea. Many people also have biblical names such as Job, Haggai, and Magdelena - even Emanuel's parents are Mary and Joseph. It really is a great and clever book.

Spoiler alert (except not really if you know anything about Easter) - he dies in the end. The story focuses on his practical humanitarian work and he never performs any miracles - not in the Biblical/Jesus sense anyway. So, I was wondering if the book would leave off at his death and not show his resurrection because something spectacular like that just wouldn't fit in with the rest of the realism of the story. She ended the book with a less than half page 'epilogue' that I took as an allusion to Luke 24:13-21, though she never identified the stranger as Emanuel Bayard.

Since the story is set in Boston and the Cape, which I've lived near my whole life, it almost gave the whole story a nostalgic feel for me. I needed to read this story; It really touched me. I highly suggest anyone giving this a read, regardless if they come from a Christian background or not.

Now I'm off to read another book... but since a review should be more about the author of the book than about the writer of the blog, I will let Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward have the last words:

[Fenton, a minister of an old, upstanding church, speaks to Bayard, a minister of a new, controversial church. Captain Hap, an old fisherman who is a convert from the new church, is with them.]

"'I hear your audience has outgrown your mission-room. That must be a great encouragement; you must consider it a divine leading,' added Fenton, with the touch of professional slang and jealousy not unnatural to men better than he. 'But you must remember that we, too, are following the Master in our way; it's a pretty old and useful way.'

Then up spoke Captain Hap, who stood at Bayard's elbow. 'It's jest about here, Mr. Fenton. You folks set out to foller Him; but our minister, he lives like Him. There's an almighty difference.'"