Popcorn And Sexual Politics Analysis

The 1990s were arguably the best time for Romantic Comedies and the birth era of the popular “chick-flick.” The ‘90s brought us directors like Gary Marshall and Nora Ephron whose feel-good films left our hearts warm and stars like Julia Roberts with her clumsy relatability and Richard Gere with his suave demeanor. The ‘90s also brought Kathy Maio, a feminist film critic. Maio’s 1991 book Popcorn and Sexual Politics is a collection of analysis of popular ‘90s films—, especially Romantic Comedies. Popcorn and Sexual Politics aims to examine the role and portrayal of women on-screen. Maio dissects her chosen films to the bone and tries to expose meanings and cultural undertones and how they underscore or accurately portray women. Maio’s purpose

The 216-page book is organized in an unconventional manner, trading chapters for sections in which Maio includes five or six notable movies relating to the subject of each section. “A Fine Romance,” “The Lost Race of Hollywood,” “The New Woman’s Film,” “Losing Out and Getting Even,” “Motherhood in Patriarchy,” “With Friends Like These,” and “A Real Class Act.” Maio described the organization in her preface and decoded the subjects of the seven sections “The first, A Fine Romance explores the problematic aspects of current film romance…” and so on. Each section is denoted by its title on a blank page, which is a helpful element of the book's design for readers. The blank page among its densely worded neighbors is a nice change and I found it encouraged me to pause and absorb what I had just read in the previous section before moving on to the next. I also enjoyed the inclusion of pictures in many of Maio’s reviews. The pictures add more layer to what Maio is referring to and break up the page’s words into more comprehensible sections. The pictures also helped me recall the movie she was writing about. All in all, the layout and aesthetics of Popcorn and Sexual Politics certainly make it

Had Maio chosen a more formal writing style, her book would lack the personal feel that it has. Maio often opened reviews with small personal facts she to soften the blow of her harsh words in following paragraphs “It must be clear to anyone who ever knew me or read my writings that I make no pretensions of being an intellectual. So, maybe I can admit this now: I hate foreign movies…I hate foreign movies because they make me feel frustrated and inadequate” (67). By admitting small anecdotes throughout her writing, labeling herself as a non-intellectual, Maio successfully places herself on an equal playing field with her readers. A non-pretentious writer certainly works to make readers more apt to consider their points. Also, Maio is truly sarcastic in a way that a translates well to the page. At one point she calls out a sexist filmmaker she once met by writing “Bless your heart, Frank” (147). Other informal quotes throughout the book do their part to make Maios writing more approachable to