Lady Gaga + Christina Aguilera = Solidarity for Women in the Media

What I LOVE about this performance is that the song, "Do What U Want" is really about the media's portrayal/scrutiny on bodies (especially females). Whether it's 'she's too fat' or 'she's too thin' and that both Gaga and Christina (any public persona) have faced this and they stand together defying society's judgements on their bodies.

They also fight how the media portrays women: we can never be friends or stand together in solidarity but are constantly pitted against each other in cat fats or jealousy. 

Christina and Gaga have both been in the news for 'feuding' and what do they do? HOLD HANDS and show that women can work out their differences, SING their hearts out and have fun! WOO!

Frozen - A Triumph in Film

Wow! I just saw Disney's latest, "Frozen", and am blown away. This is one of the best films I've seen this year and it's animated!

Starring two sisters, Anna (Kristen Bell) and Elsa (Idina Menzel), Princesses of Arendelle embark on an epic journey to discover themselves and each other. Elsa was born with powers of snow and ice, the sisters are loving and close with each other until an accident scares Elsa of her powers. She shuts Anna out and the years go by, the sisters becoming strangers to each other.

On the day of Elsa's coronation she and Anna fight, Elsa then loses control of her powers, throwing Arendelle into an eternal winter. She runs off and in an amazing song sequence (above) she isolates herself.  Anna pairs with Kristoff, his reindeer Sven and a magical snowman, Olaf. The three journey to the North Mountain to save Arendelle from the snow.

Anna and Elsa.

Sounds like a conventional fairy tale by Disney, doesn't it?  But wait - "Frozen" will surprise you with it's twists, turns and witty writing. The film is full of laughs and heartfelt moments.

Why am I praising this movie so much? I've never left a theatre feeling so uplifted! Frozen has it all, romance, tricks, laughs, tears, family and friendship...

Anna and Elsa are the greatest female protagonists to happen to the genre. I want my little sister to grow up looking up to these fearless females! Anna, an eternal optimist, is a full character who is quirky, brave and shows compassion for those around her. Elsa, is complicated and burdened with the guilt and responsibility of her power. She withdraws from everyone and is so scared of herself that she cuts off from human contact.

The rest of the cast are fantastic and hilarious. Olaf, the magical snowman, will make you laugh so hard it's unbelievable. Kristoff and Sven are a pair that really complete the cast. And I will say that the Prince, Hans, was well crafted.

The perfect cast!

"Frozen" is a story that really impressed me. These aren't your regular princesses who need to be saved by their prince or are waiting for a kiss; they are two sisters who discover what they're capable of and rediscover their family bond.

This is a triumph in film, not just with the visuals and writing but for women. Jennifer Lee wrote and directed, she is the first female director of an animated Disney film! The protagonists are a big step in showing multifaceted women who aren't sexualized or require men to save them.

THANK YOU Disney and Jennifer Lee for making such a beautiful film! I couldn't help but cry because this film truly touched me.

*I say this wins the Oscar for best animated feature, if it doesn't they will be ROBBED!

Manipulated by the Media

We live in a world where media pushes us to be empowered by our sexuality and image, what about being empowered when we are GREAT at something we love?

This is something that has haunted me my whole life and will continue to be prevalent until there is change. What I'm talking about is the media manipulation that happens and how it is not regulated and just getting worse. Hollywood sells us images, music videos, and TV shows that tell us who we are and what to buy. The message is basically you are not worthy.

When I see big budget movies/music videos and how the media portrays females, how can I want to be an actress? Roles are limited for women: What viable career is there for you when you're over 30? Or if your body isn't bikini-perfect?

This may be a reason why I will be focusing more on filmmaking and writing, I want to write what is REALLY out there in world. No more archetypes but females that are smart, have dreams and passions; women who's lives don't revolve around a man or finding love.

PLEASE, I urge everyone, male or female, to watch "MISS REPRESENTATION", a wonderful documentary that really shows how we are being manipulated by the media to believe we aren't worthy.




This has far reaching consequences as we are more connected than ever and we are being bombarded by the media more than ever. I want to address what exactly the media does and the two people it affects, which makes up 100% of the population: Women and Men.

Let's start with a little Hollywood blockbuster known as Thor: The Dark World, starring superstars such as Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman and Anthony Hopkins. This movie was extremely entertaining and visually stunning, that's where my praise ends. I can complain about poor dialogue, story structure and archetypes that need to be broken but let's go with the sociological view.

"Thor" is everything that is wrong with Hollywood today and it is a formula that is constantly repeated.



Let's start the far reaching effects of this film, what is everything solved by? Violence. Take away a face of an entire race/gender/species of people and it's alright to commit genocide. Yes, I get it, they are 'evil' and this is a Marvel movie but if you look closely, these films glamorize war and make the enemy 'aliens' or faceless entities that are cannon fodder. What can we directly correlate this into in the real world/politics? War.

It's ok for troops to be deployed and bomb villages full of cities because they are the 'enemy'. We are so used to seeing violence on screen that we are desensitized to the real world violence that happens. As long as it's a terrorist, Al Qaeda, blahlbahlbah .... see what happens? They all blur into the same line and we think it's acceptable because they are faceless. Just like the movies you watch today.

What a lot of responses will be to this is that people can tell the difference between reality and fantasy but when it bombards you everyday you begin to relate the two. Especially when they are both given to you be the same source: the internet, cable television, movies, the news. And what about children watching? They grow up desensitized to the violence and without education or awareness they can reach teenaged or adult aged and still think it's OK for rampant war/murder/rape/killings etc.

Now, it may seem I'm shitting on Thor and I really don't mean to. I loved the first one... well it was directed by Kenneth Branagh who has a way better understanding of storytelling - look, I'm on a tangent.

Let's get back to Thor. Ok, so we've covered violence and desensitization. Let's take a look at one of my favorite topics: portrayal of women in film and media.

Thor is a great example because it's not your usual 'tits-and-ass' hypersexualized objectification of women. Thor hides it's gender bias underneath a glean of having four leading females and no gratuitious sexuality/nudity (I'm looking at you Star Trek: Into Darkness).



I'll make this short and sweet to try and illuminate the subtle and not-so-subtle degradation of women roles that appear in film:

• Jane Foster, someone has three master degrees and is an actual astrophysicist. So watch the above scene and tell me if you see an astrophysicist or a scene from The Hills?
• Janes' dialogue throughout the film is atrocious
• the other female role is the Norse goddess Sif and of course she and Jane are pitted against each other in rivalry over Thor
• The women in this film need a man and play secondary roles, ex. why couldn't the intern be another young woman who offers great advice?
• Jane has a powerful universe-destroying mythical ether inside of her and all she really cares about is kissing Thor 

It's just so frustrating to see big budget movies like this not create anything NEW or exciting. MANY females go to see big budget theatre films and life reflects art, art reflects life. So how are women supposed to feel empowered and good about themselves if all we are shown is ads telling us we aren't thin enough, boobs aren't big enough, face isn't flawless enough etc.

And this leads into how media manipulates men, young and old, into thinking sexism is ok. Men are consistently told to be "more masculine", to excel into positions of power and to "own" nice things... and those things? They can be women. Look at some of these ads and tell me what you see.

Along with that are the expectations the media perpetuates. Women are told they are only useful for their hot bodies and pretty faces. Men are told they must 'get bitches, get money'. They are burdened with being emotionally cut-off and told that being sensitive is a bad thing. I know many men who would love and prefer to stay at home with their children but they are expected to bring in the dough. If we look at the animal kingdom, the lioness goes and gets food while the lion stays and guards the territory.

With young boys and girls growing up looking at ads like this how can we not be worried about the future? My sister just turned ten years old and she wanted to join cheer because she was 'getting fat'. My little brother wanted to look at some of my makeup but then said 'no, it's for girls!' and ran away.

The media manipulates us into thinking we fit into these boxes; it dehumanizes us regardless of gender. Men are dehumanized into being working, insensitive and 'macho'; women are dehumanized into sex slaves.

Let's start a movement and change what we see reflected back at us, let's be the change we want to see.

Movie Review: How I Live Now

I was first introduced to "How I Live Now" when I worked at the library back in middle school. The YA novel by Meg Rosoff was a fresh new perspective on young love in a time when Twilight was booming.

The film, starring one of my favourite actresses, Saoirse Ronan, and directed Kevin Macdonald ("The Last King of Scotland") follows the same plot line.

In the not-so-distant future, Ronan plays Daisy, a complex American teenager. She is sent to the UK to stay with her cousins in the country side. Her cousin, Isaac (Tom Holland), a precocious fourteen year old picks her up at the airport and she is incredulous that he's driving her. Beneath this humour there is political tension, world powers are on the brink of war. Daisy arrives at the country house and is at first reluctant to enjoy the beauty and freedom that is available. Her aunt leaves the children as she must go to Geneva, they are then free to roam and enjoy the summer. Daisy quickly falls in love with the place... and her older cousin, Eddie (George MacKay).

Yes, I said cousin. Moving on.

They are quickly ripped apart when London experiences a nuclear attack. The UK is declared a military state and the girls are put into a foster home where they ration water tablets by night and work in farm labour camps by day.  The boys, sixteen and fourteen, are conscripted to fighting the unknown enemy. From here they promise to meet back at home, Daisy plans her escape, following dreams of Eddie and knowing she must return to meet him.

Watch out for this talented young cast!

Ignoring the incestuous undertones, the film really is beautiful. The young actors have so much depth and really do the story justice. Raw cinematography and strong performances move the film along. Saoirse Ronan is the perfect balance of annoying angsty-in-love teen caught in the middle of war with a cast of other talents. The writing could have been a bit better with dialogue or the use of voice overs but over all the film succeeds in telling a broken love story.

"How I Live Now" is a lesson in subtlety, Macdonald unfolds the story by what we don't see.

A masterful example of this is the scene where the nuclear bomb goes off, you don't see anything. You are just there enjoying a summer day with the children in the countryside when all of a sudden the dogs go off barking, a gust of wind comes from nowhere, the sound of something BIG goes off and then ash begins to fall.  The youngest cousin, Piper (Harley Bird), begins to dance - "It's snowing!"

How haunting and eerie.

7/10 Stars

Inspiration - "Existential Bummer"

Wow! Filmmaker Jason Silva has really captured the beauty and sadness of life in this short video. The passion with which he speaks is inspiring, he uses many of my favourite words and quotes to capture the human condition - how we continue to live and be inspired even though we know it will all end.

The Fine Art of Horror - Five Lessons from The Descent

Horror is a genre of film that can sell, it's the highest grossing genre worldwide and easy to make on a low budget. The thing with horror is that as bad as it can be people will still watch it because it's great entertainment and audiences enjoy being scared.

There is an art to making a good horror film though. It is easy to step over the line of gore or cheap thrills. I recently watched a horror film this weekend that inspired me to write this blog post.

Now, I cannot watch horror because I have a wild imagination and get scared out of my mind! I usually have to spoil the plot for myself then I can stand to watch it because I know what's coming. This film I let myself go on the ride and really enjoyed it, as scared as I was.

This blog post will study the film and be a plan for any aspiring horror writer, *warning spoilers*.

Key point of horror films/scripts: most scripts will have your ups and downs, triumphs and tragedies, the main thing in horror is that your script must always get worse for the characters.

"The Descent" (2005) is an older horror film by English Director/Writer Neil Marshall, and I think it is a fine specimen of horror that also breaks convention.

The first thing about this film is that it weaves a finer subplot into the relationships of the women that are being terrorized. We open with a close group of thrillseekers finishing a trip of white water rafting. Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) is our protagonist and we are shocked right away with a tragic freak accident where she loses her husband and young daughter.

One year later, she is reunited with her group of girlfriends, all strong women. Another bonus point for Marshall's script is that he went with an all female cast. This creates an interesting dynamic and a fresh perspective for horror films.

Sarah's best friend is Juno, played by Natalie Mendoza. Another bonus for Marshall is casting a woman of colour in one of the lead roles.

These women aren't your archetypes that you find in horror films, they are strong, smart and gutsy. Their reunion is an attempt to reconcile their friendship after the accident.

Lesson One: Strong, interesting characters with relationships - open the film with something shocking.


Cue the part where a group of friends drive out to a remote location to indulge in an adrenaline filled adventure, gone wrong. This is the plot for most horror films and as a writer or director it is up to you to twist the tale as much as you can.

In "The Descent" the women enter an unexplored cave system, their only entrance falls in on them. The film is scary already without any fantastic plots as the claustrophobia, darkness and hopelessness of being trapped in a cave system is so real it's frightening.

All female cast

Lesson Two: Your audience can be scared simply by grounding the film in reality and using basic human fears - darkness, closed spaces, no chance of rescue

The women band together to get out of the cave system. My favourite part of Marshall's script is when the characters are all panicking about being stuck and Juno speaks up - "If we stay here we die." I loved that line as it just showed truth, there's no point in dallying around and freaking out. She is a smart character with strong will.

Now, they begin to explore the cave and come across a chasm. This is a great scene that audiences cannot take their eyes off of. We watch as the women light a flare and see the width they have to pass, we tense up as they drop a rock and await the sound of rock hitting bottom - and it's a long way down.

Lesson Three: Create suspense by putting your characters into a situation that they have to solve, make the audience watch on the edge of their seats and unravel the story through this scene.

One of the women starts to climb across the cavern, inserting anchor plates into the cavern and roping across so that everyone can get through. This is a masterful scene in teaching us suspense, each anchor plate inserted tenses us up - we know something has to go wrong, what Marshall does is makes us wait and wait for it. He also reveals plot when she finds an old anchor plate in the cavern ceiling and uses it - someone's been here before.

I would say we are a third way through act two and this is where it gets good. Marshall builds tension by creating realistic circumstances - the women start to panic, one runs off and breaks her leg! The situation has just gotten worse, now what do they do?

Along with this obstacle, Sarah has seen something. The audience is with her when she shines her flashlight in the cavern, a single light searching for the source of sound... where is it? She shines her light, we watch in anticipation - and then, it's revealed! A creepy humanoid figure (humorously reminiscent of Gollum in LOTR). Then it's gone.

Lesson Four: Use darkness to your advantage, use the audience's imagination to play.

The women are now faced with a mysterious clan of cannibalistic humanoids (known as Crawlers). They are attacked in the dark, throats ripped out. It is a bloodbath, everyone runs off, scattered.

My favourite scene in this movie is when the Crawlers attack the women: one of them is down on the ground about to be devoured and Juno steps in, they fight over her friend, a bloody tug-of-war. She takes out her pickaxe and kicks it's ass, stabbing it - and then more crawlers come.

Natalie Mendoza as Juno.

This scene is amazing simply because the actress is faced with such an incredible circumstance and she does not give in. Her animal instinct comes out and she fights for her life.

Lesson Five: Give your audience a character to root for,  a champion that the audience can't help but admire in the situation - but give them flaws.

From here the film gets incredibly bloody and intense. A fight scene using a night-vision camera is admirable.

I don't want to spoil the rest of the film because it is an excellent study in horror, so I will leave the post at Five Lessons plus the Golden Lesson:

GOLDEN LESSON: This film really sticks out because of the emotional depth the characters are given: a love affair, betrayal, loyalty, friendship. All things that every film should have, regardless of genre!

The Descent is available on Netflix Canada.

12 Years A Slave

I treated myself to a quiet Saturday night and walked over to the Fifth Avenue Cinemas to catch a late showing of Steve McQueen's "12 Years A Slave".

Lupita Nyong'o and Chiwetel Ejiofor

My first Writer + Director project - "Forget Me"

  Forget Me from Janet Lee Rose on Vimeo.

Film Poster

 Inspiration comes from anything: it can be the way the light dances on the water or someone on the bus whispering to their friend. Life inspires me, from these little snapshots a voice will pop up in my head, What's their story? Who's story can I tell? And then it all unravels from there, an idea sprouts and grows and changes.

With 'Forget Me' I wanted to create fond memories, a summer that is long gone but often revisited in the mind. I wanted an epic love story, something tragic. I also wanted it to be unconventional, in the narration, the characters, the plot. I was blessed to have Jazmine as my lead actress, she trusted me and allowed me to create this.

 I will cite Terrence Malick's "To The Wonder" as one my stylistic inspirations. I know it's not for everyone but the film truly moved me with it's images and narration. I wanted to create something just as eye catching and honest.  


The film transformed from a voice over to narration to a silent film with captions. I love the way it turned out and was inspired by it's theme of death, love and remembrance. From this I chose to dedicate it to my Uncle Hai who passed away this year.

Forget Me is a dedication to relationships, to how love and people can change us and to anyone who has ever lost someone.