vol. 4, issue 2: LOL! Archives - cléo

vol. 4, issue 2: LOL!

cléo journal — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 16:19:11 +0000

“She dreamed by day of never again putting on tight shoes, of never having to laugh and listen and admire, of never more being a good sport. Never.” ― Dorothy Parker, Complete Stories In a 2007 essay for Vanity Fair, Christopher Hitchens famously made the case that women are not genetically predisposed to being funny […]

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Editor’s Note: LOL!

kiva reardon — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 12:14:41 +0000

In 2005, like a dutiful teen with a disposable income, I saw Mr. & Mrs. Smith in theatres. What I remember most—more than the chemistry between a pre-Brangelina Brad and Angie and any specific plot points—was a stranger who advised me after my reaction to one particularly goofy scene, “You need to learn how to laugh.” I’m […]

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Not the Butt of the Joke: A Conversation with Tallie Medel

deragh campbell — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 12:13:06 +0000

By: Deragh Campbell Tallie Medel is a New York-based actor and comedian, performing with the comedic dance troupe Cocoon Central Dance Team, appearing in TV shows such as Inside Amy Schumer and starring in such films as Joy Kevin (Caleb Johnson, 2014), Stinking Heaven (Nathan Silver, 2015) and The Arbalest (Adam Pinney, 2016). We sat […]

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The Sassy Slapstick of Raven-Symoné in That’s So Raven

fanta sylla — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 12:12:39 +0000

Viewed through a patriarchal lens, (young) women’s bodies are habitually seen as too fragile, too precious, to slip on a banana peel or fall down a flight of stairs. — Alex Clayton, The Body In Hollywood Slapstick * Raven Baxter, the extravagant psychic heroine of Disney’s That’s So Raven (2003-2007)[i], hates being ignored. When she’s […]

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Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: compulsion and comedy in Serial Mom

jovana jankovic — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 12:12:02 +0000

Opening on a sunlit suburban breakfast table surrounded by a stereotypical white middle-class family, John Waters’ Serial Mom (1994) proceeds to unrelentingly and hilariously skewer small-town community “values” through the story of Beverly Sutphin (Kathleen Turner), a smiling, stoic, and devoted wife and mother who dabbles in serial murder on the side. Beverly runs over […]

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A Love Letter to Jennifer Coolidge

erica peplin — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 12:11:31 +0000

From which perfect cloud of pink convertibles, lip gloss and acrylic nails did you fall? You’ve been a staple in the film industry for over two decades. You have graced us with your presence in so many films that my finger gets tired scrolling through your IMDb page. In the war of the Jennifers—Lawrence, Aniston, […]

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Flipping the script: Nadine Labaki’s Where Do We Go Now?

sarah lennon galavan — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 12:11:05 +0000

In her 2011 film Where Do We Go Now?, director Nadine Labaki explores the complex and taboo subjects of sectarian violence, religion, and patriarchal oppression in contemporary Lebanon—through humour expressed almost entirely by women. It’s a move that flips the script on conventional Western depictions of Middle Eastern women. In doing this, Labaki’s story of […]

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Christian Mingle: an investigation

sarah hagi — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 12:10:09 +0000

It ain’t easy for young straight women in their early thirties to find a man who’s husband material. Naturally, then, after exhausting every dating website option you could think of, that desperate gang of gals might turn to, say, religion-catfishing on a site like Christian Mingle. But—then—the twist! What if you fall in love with […]

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Unbearable Lightness: Melanie Laurent’s Breathe

veronica fitzpatrick — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 12:09:45 +0000

“When you’re passionate, are you more free or less free?” A high school teacher poses this question to his class, and studious protagonist Charlie (Joséphine Japy) cites Nietzsche to answer: “It’s easier to renounce passion than control it. Meaning, we become so preoccupied by it that we lose a kind of freedom.” The excerpted lesson concludes […]

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Roundtable: Queering Comedy

cléo journal — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 12:08:43 +0000

What does “queer” comedy look like? More importantly, what do we want it to look like? From 90s sitcoms to indie comedies to romcoms, comedians Brittani Nichols and Jess Beaulieu join submissions editor Mallory Andrews to discuss one-dimensional queer characters, elusive bisexuals, heteronormative tropes and moving beyond queer stories that focus on sexual identity. – […]

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