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125 items
Whale Rider
Girls aren't allowed to be Whangara chiefs. But that's not acceptable to Paikea (Keisha Castle-Hughes), the 11-year-old powerhouse who believes her destiny is to ride whales and lead her tribe. Courage, leadership, and defiance are all at play in this Kiwi drama from Niki Caro.
- Indigenous Feminism
- Political Participation
- Cultural Identity
Bend It Like Beckham
A British comedy-drama about two girls pursuing their football dreams, exploring gender expectations in South Asian immigrant families, cultural conflict, and women's participation in sports. Gurinder Chadha's groundbreaking film profoundly depicts women's struggles and growth in male-dominated sports.
- Sports Equality
- Cultural Identity
- Immigrant Identity
Legally Blonde
A groundbreaking comedy film where Reese Witherspoon's Elle Woods challenges stereotypes about blonde women. This 2001 film deeply explores female intelligence, workplace discrimination, and multiple facets of feminism through the story of a fashion-conscious girl entering Harvard Law School.
- Media Representation Critique
- Education Equality
- Female Friendship
Erin Brockovich
Based on true events, this film tells the story of single mother Erin Brockovich who, through tenacious will and relentless effort, exposed corporate environmental pollution scandals and fought for justice for victims. The film demonstrates how ordinary women can display extraordinary strength in adversity.
- Economic Empowerment
- Workplace Equality
- Legal Equality
Mulan
Disney's animated classic 'Mulan' tells the story of ancient Chinese woman Mulan who disguises herself as a man to take her father's place in the army. The film breaks from traditional Disney princess frameworks, creating a brave, independent female character who dares to challenge gender norms.
- Feminist Art
- Bodily Autonomy
- Patriarchy Critique
Set It Off
A crime action film about four African American women from Los Angeles' underclass who team up to rob banks out of desperation. This 1996 classic powerfully depicts the triple oppression of race, class, and gender, as well as the power of female friendship in desperate circumstances, becoming a milestone in Black feminist cinema.
- Black Feminism
- Female Friendship
- Economic Empowerment
The First Wives Club
A comedy film about three middle-aged women who team up for revenge after being abandoned by their husbands. This 1996 work starring Bette Midler, Diane Keaton, and Goldie Hawn humorously explores the marriage crisis, age discrimination, and self-worth reconstruction faced by middle-aged women.
- Female Friendship
- Economic Empowerment
- Family Liberation
Clueless
A "way existential" 1990s time capsule of fashion, pop culture, and Valley girl verbiage, Amy Heckerling's rom-com riff on Jane Austen's Emma celebrates female friendship and sexuality, and it puts a woman's self-fulfillment above finding a man. Even if "fulfillment" technically includes finding a man.
- Third Wave Feminism
- Female Friendship
- Identity Formation
Little Women
Feminism isn't just about women kicking ass - it's also about allowing us the freedom to be who we want. For the protagonist sisters in Gillian Armstrong's adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's novel, that means a writer, a musician, a housewife, and a free spirit.
- Identity Formation
- Economic Empowerment
- Women's Literature
The Joy Luck Club
Adapted from Amy Tan's novel, this film tells the stories of four pairs of Chinese-American mothers and daughters across two generations. Through complex mother-daughter relationships, it explores cultural inheritance, transmission of women's experiences, and identity issues in cross-cultural contexts.
- Family Liberation
- Intersectional Feminism
- Immigrant Identity
The Piano
Never one to succumb to labels, pioneering filmmaker Jane Campion delivers a love story about a mute woman whose erotic affair has life-altering repercussions. And even though Campion would probably fight us on this, one can't help but spot and appreciate what seems to be a feminist vision.
- Female Desire
- Sexual Liberation
- Anti-Sexual Violence
Orlando
Adapted from Virginia Woolf's novel, this tells the legendary life story of immortal aristocrat Orlando spanning four centuries, experiencing a gender transformation from male to female during this journey. This pioneering work explores gender fluidity, identity formation, and patriarchal oppression of women through poetic cinematic language.
- Gender Identity
- Queer Theory
- Trans Feminism
A League of Their Own
The late Penny Marshall directed this gem about the very first female professional baseball league. Geena Davis stars as the World War II - era catcher fighting the patriarchy, and Tom Hanks plays the cranky team manager with a heart of gold. As inspirational as it is just plain entertaining, the film encourages female viewers young and old to embrace the champion stifled inside each one of us.
- Sports Equality
- Historical Context
- Workplace Equality
Thelma & Louise
Two ordinary women - housewife Thelma and diner waitress Louise - embark on a weekend trip that turns into a fugitive journey after killing in self-defense. During their cross-country road trip, they experience a transformation from fear to liberation, ultimately choosing freedom over surrender.
- Radical Feminism
- Anti-Sexual Violence
- Bodily Autonomy
The Handmaid's Tale
Based on Margaret Atwood's novel of the same name, the film tells the story of a future dystopian society where women are reduced to breeding tools. It profoundly depicts women's oppression under patriarchy and the power and price of resistance.
- Radical Feminism
- Bodily Autonomy
- Reproductive Autonomy
I've Heard the Mermaids Singing
Canadian avant-garde cinema mostly seen and analyzed by college students, Patricia Rozema's fairy-tale whimsy, about an artist on her journey to self-discovery, is one you should seek out - particularly because it's made by a fantastic team of women.
- Queer Theory
- Feminist Art
- Intersectional Feminism
The Color Purple
Whoopi Goldberg brings Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize - winning novel to life as Celie, a Southern Black woman who has suffered abuse for decades. A project brought to a hesitant Steven Spielberg by producer Quincy Jones, the film was the director's first with a female lead.
- Black Feminism
- Anti-Sexual Violence
- Female Friendship
Desperately Seeking Susan
A bored housewife becomes fascinated by the free-spirited lifestyle of mysterious Susan and embarks on an adventure of mistaken identity. This 1980s film by a female director uses humor and wit to explore themes of female identity, self-discovery, and breaking free from social constraints.
- Family Liberation
- Cultural Critique
- Pop Culture Feminism
9 to 5
A classic workplace revenge comedy featuring three female employees who unite against their sexist boss, starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Dolly Parton. This groundbreaking film profoundly reveals gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and pay inequality issues in the 1980s workplace.
- Workplace Equality
- Anti-Sexual Violence
- Equal Pay
Alien
A classic science fiction horror film where Sigourney Weaver's Ripley becomes one of the most influential female characters in sci-fi cinema history. The film not only redefines the 'final girl' archetype but also deeply explores workplace gender discrimination and the dismissal of female leadership through its space horror packaging.
- Feminist Art
- Media Representation Critique
- Workplace Equality
Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles
There's no rioting, protesting, or marching for civil rights here. Jeanne Dielman, single mother and sometime sex worker, has a simple life: laundry, dinner, the occasional john. The mundanity of being a housewife is on achingly tedious display for three-plus hours in Chantal Akerman's experimental film. And that's why it's brilliant.
- Avant-garde Cinema
- Domestic Labor
- Body Politics
Foxy Brown
If you don't yet worship at the altar of Pam Grier, then good lord, what are you waiting for? An action legend who has been shattering glass ceilings for decades, the woman has made a film or television show nearly every single year since 1970. And one of her best is Foxy Brown, a crime classic that has a feminist streak piercing through all its revenge-glory chaos.
- Black Feminism
- Economic Empowerment
- Anti-Sexual Violence
Daisies
SedmikráskyVěra Chytilová’s surrealist Czech New Wave masterpiece follows two teenage girls, both named Marie, who embark on a series of anarchic pranks and destructive games in a world going 'bad.' Through avant-garde experimentation and radical humor, the film critiques patriarchy, consumerism, and political stagnation.
- Anarchist Feminism
- Radical Humor
- Political Critique
The Trouble with Angels
A romp through a Catholic girls' school courtesy of a pair of mischievous teens, this Hayley Mills classic is all about sisterhood. But the real feminism is happening behind the lens: Ida Lupino, the sole working female director of the '50s, was blazing a trail for the women who would follow.
- Female Friendship
- Political Participation
- Identity Formation