Femme On

Tonya speaks with literary agent La Sheera Lee about one of her favorite books, the importance of reading aloud, how she was awarded this year’s AAMBC Award for Literary Activist, and how her grandmother's spiritual presence still inspires her.

La Sheera's links:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/readyoulater
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lasheera.lee
Twitter: https://twitter.com/readyoulater

You can follow Tonya on Twitter or Instagram @mstonyatodd or on her website www.mstonyatodd.com.

This episode was first published on Comics in Motion in November 2021.

Welcome to Femme on Film where host Ria Carrogan and a guest chat about films made for women, about women, by women… just awesome lady (and those who identify as awesome lady folk) content that has often been unfairly maligned, misunderstood by critics, and are often way ahead of their time and need a revisit. This is a place to discuss all of this, and more!

Join Ria and guest Tonya Todd to discuss Grease 2, exploring whether Michelle Pfeiffer's Stephanie Zinone is a feminist icon, how the messages of Grease 2 are way better than Grease, female friendship and the importance of not being anyone's trophy. 

A huge thank you to the Comics in Motion network who has given space to create this podcast. If you would like to come and chat about a film for Femme on Film, drop a message via Twitter.

You can find out more about Tonya on Twitter @mstonyatodd and http://www.mstonyatodd.com/. You can read Tonya's blog on Grease 2 here  http://www.mstonyatodd.com/why-i-prefer-grease-2-to-the-original/

Find Ria on Instagram @riacarrogan and get in touch if there’s a film you would like to talk about!

Intro and outro music: Say You Will by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Fine Cut with Krista Schafer

Alyson and Krista Schafer (Founding Artistic Director of Open Book Theatre Company) discuss the opening scene of the theater workplace comedy, Slings and Arrows. In it, the main character, Geoffrey Tennant (Paul Gross) plunges the toilet in the small theater bathroom while his stage manager details all the unpaid bills. Krista first watched this scene before founding Open Book and didn’t realize then how important bathrooms really are! The scene works on a metaphorical and literal level and Krista and Alyson talk about both. What do each of us do–i.e. what kind of metaphorical shit do we wade through to work and create? It’s a lively discussion. Join us!

Open Book Theatre Company Website

Alyson’s Twitter and Instagram: @byalysonshelton 

Alyson’s Website

In this episode, Jess speaks with essayist, author and teacher Natalie Serber about Ellen Gilchrist’s book of short stories, Victory Over Japan. This is a conversation about finding freedom and courage as a young woman, about the importance of playfulness in writing and the joy of being a mistake-maker. Natalie also talks about the impact Gilchrist had for her own work as an author, specifically her book of short stories titled Shout Her Lovely Name and her essay, Mirrors. 

Read Mirrors: https://open.substack.com/pub/memoirland/p/mirrors?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web 

Buy a copy of Shout Her Lovely Name: https://www.natalieserber.com/book/shout-her-lovely-name/ 

You can find out more about Natalie’s work on her website: https://www.natalieserber.com/

You can also sign up to receive Natalie’s newsletter Read, Write, Eat via Substack: https://readwriteeat.substack.com/ 

And follow Natalie on Instagram! @natalieserber 

Our host Jess is also on Instagram: @jess_bdavies

And sometimes she writes: www.sixhundredwordsonlife.com 

It’s a very special Halloween edition of Femme on Creatives with Dr. Fox Henry Frazier (poet, essayist and owner of the indie publisher, Agape Editions). Fox and Alyson talk about the appeal and power of horror stories and Fox reads from her vampire novel in progress, A Terrible Beauty is Born (inspired by a line from William Butler Yeats’s poem Easter, 1916). She talks about her motivation for writing this book and the story behind it and it’s truly compelling. Come engage with the beautifully spooky right now with Alyson and Fox, you won’t regret it. 

All Things Fox and Beyond: Agape Editions

Alyson’s Twitter and Instagram: @byalysonshelton 

Alyson’s Website

This episode was first published on Comics in Motion on 10 July 2022.

Welcome to this special episode of Femme on Film focusing on sex in the movies. Hearts and Vaginas will be an ongoing discussion about sex in popular culture, exploring the male/female gaze and depictions of sex in the media we consume – the good, bad and the average.

This episode, join Ria, Alyson and Tonya as they get together to discuss six unique sex scenes from films and why they have chosen them.

The films they discuss are:

• Call Me By Your Name
• Dirty Dancing
• Gone Girl
• Always Be My Maybe
• Unfaithful
• Crimson Peak

Follow Alyson:

Website: https://www.alysonshelton.com/

Alyson's comic, Reburn: https://www.reburncomic.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/byalysonshelton/

Follow Tonya:

Twitter: @mstonyatodd

Website: http://www.mstonyatodd.com/

Get in touch if there’s a film you would like to talk about! Femme on Film is a place to talk about films made for women, about women, by women… just awesome lady folk (and those who identify as awesome lady folk) content that has often been unfairly maligned, misunderstood by critics, and are often way ahead of their time and need a revisit. Ria and a guest discuss all of this and much more!

A huge thank you to the Comics in Motion network who has given space to create this podcast.

Intro and outro music: Say You Will by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Who doesn’t love rainbows? Rainbows are the best. The Collective discusses rainbows and what magical thing people used to think they were. Come join in the conversation.

Alyson sits down with the “And I Thought Ladies” Wilnona and Jade to talk about how they started writing, at age seven! And what keeps them going. The simple answer is: each other. Their partnership is a powerful testament to friendship and how essential it is to have support and community in a creative life. They also talk about Wilnona and Jade’s newest book, a murder mystery written in poetry. It’s a fun and inspiring conversation. Join us!

Learn more:

Wilnona and Jade’s Website

Author Reality Show

Alyson’s Twitter and Instagram: @byalysonshelton 

Alyson’s Website

Download cunt poems here: https://www.wisdombodycollective.com/chapbook-library

Learn and Fight Back:

www.pen.org/Fight-back-against-book-bans-tell-congress

www.amnestyusa.org/campaigns/banned-books/bbw2023 

Sign-up for the Pop Culture Collective Newsletter: https://pccnewsletter.com/about

Ada's Website: www.aamccartney.com

Join Ria and returning guest, Tony Farina for a very confused and conflicted conversation about Assassination Nation. The discuss the intentions of the male director, the male and female gaze, and whether Assassination Nation's messaging is feminist or misses the mark.

Neither Ria or Tony can decide whether the film is good or bad but they enjoyed talking about it and figuring out their complicated feelings without any concrete conclusion.

Assassination Nation is a 2018 American satirical black comedy written and directed by Sam Levinson, starring Odessa Young, Suki Waterhouse, Hari Nef, and Abra. The film takes place in the fictional town of Salem, which devolves into chaos and violence after a computer hacker discovers and leaks personal secrets about many of its residents.