Books and Movies to Consume That Won’t Make You Think: “Have Any of These People Ever Met a Woman?”
2024 was…a year.
We don’t know about you, but we’re at a bit of a loss for how to talk about it. So we decided to turn to some of our favorite pieces of media this year that inspired chatter about gender and sexuality. We hope you end the year surrounded by people, places, and things you love. Seek out comforting spaces and curl up with a good book or movie—maybe even one of NWLC’s staff recommendations below!
And if you finish these and need more recommendations, take a peek at some of our favorite banned books.
Selina’s Pick: Wicked (Part 1, movie)
If you haven’t already seen Wicked, what are you waiting for? I have seen this movie not once, not twice, but three times—in 3D, 4D, and regular D—and I’ll probably see it many more times. You don’t have to be a musical theater nerd to enjoy this movie. It’s great to see a portrayal of not one but two strong female leads who have a lot of complexities that touch on beauty standards, femininity, self-love, ambition, and rage. It also touches on discrimination and the unfairness and dangers of authoritarianism and oppression. It’s also great to see a portrayal of strong female friendship which I don’t think we get enough in media. It’s not just the leads that are complex: the characters in Wicked don’t play into their stereotypical tropes and nothing is what it appears to be, which makes it an interesting story. Plus, this movie is really fun and has a great soundtrack!
Hannah’s Pick: All Fours by Miranda July (book)
I read Miranda July’s All Fours this summer because it was a book club pick. I had no intention to read it otherwise, but I’m glad I did.
The semi-autobiographical book centers on a 45-year-old woman. She’s married (not happily or unhappily). She has one kid. She’s an artist. And she’s perimenopausal. She has an important meeting in New York so she decides she’s going to make a road trip of it from her home in LA. The thing is, 30 minutes into her road trip, she gets off the freeway and never resumes the trip. She stays, 30 minutes from her home, her family, and her life, for the duration of the planned trip—never revealing to her family that her multi-state journey has barely crossed into the next county. When relieved of the routines of her everyday life, she has an awakening: she reconsiders her marriage affair, she discovers the ups and downs of menopause (and yes, there are ups), she rearranges her life (and her motel room).
I liked this book because I’m not sure I’ve ever read a book that actually discusses menopause. Like, at all. Certainly not one that showcases some of the upsides of it!
The book prompted me to ask my mom about her experiences with menopause, and it was revelatory; I’m grateful for a book and author willing to bring a phase of life that half the population goes through into the spotlight.
Hilary’s Pick: Sandwich by Catherine Newman (book)
I’d seen Sandwich pop up on summer reading lists this year—presumably because it’s a novel that takes place at the beach in the town of Sandwich on Cape Cod and it’s got juicy family drama—but I didn’t read it until this fall. And while it’s funny and entertaining, it’s also very moving and provocative. Rocky, the narrator, is in her 50s, is menopausal, and is sandwiched between her aging parents and her young adult children, both broadly and literally in a small rental house for a week’s vacation. She’s also incredibly angry—at her husband, at the indignities of aging bodies, at how hard her life is, and at the way we ask women to hold everything together, even as it’s all falling apart.
I read multiple reviews of this book calling Rocky unlikeable, and it made me as mad as she is. Why do we need our narrators to be appealing, and maybe specifically, why do we need moms and women to placate us for us to admire them? Instead I found her vacillations between love, frustration, and remorse incredibly relatable. She’s earned her anger. And by proxy, I enjoyed her giving into it, forsaking being reasonable for being real.
I found Sandwich liberating, engrossing, and relevant, especially since it covers a lot of ground in one week’s time, including abortion, sexuality, marriage, money, and parenting. Whether you like Rocky or not, I’d love for more people to read Sandwich and reckon with the very real anger, wisdom, and humor women like her hold.
Lark’s Pick: Anatomy of a Fall (movie)
While Anatomy of a Fall technically came out in 2023, I did not watch it until 2024—and it quickly became one of my top movies of the year. Aside from the real star being Messi, the dog, this movie perfectly encapsulates one of the most dangerous things today: straight men who pretend to be progressive but are the furthest thing from it. After Samuel is found dead outside the chalet he shares with his wife, Sandra, and their son, Daniel, Sandra is quickly accused of being the one to push Samuel to his death.
The film follows Sandra’s trial and the consequent inspection of her marriage. The trial exacerbates the double standard we often see in actions done by men versus women: Sandra is ridiculed, shamed, and derided on the stand for the same actions a man would be championed for. We see the pressures of Sandra and Samuel’s marriage through flashbacks during the trial that fill in the bigger picture. Samuel was jealous of Sandra and resentful that she was a more accomplished author than him. Even though he volunteered to be the main caretaker for their son who is blind, he threw it back in Sandra’s face every chance he could.
What really represents their marriage and what I think a lot of women in heterosexual relationships can relate to is this part of Sandra’s monologue: “You complain about the life that you chose! You’re not a victim! Not at all! Your generosity conceals something dirtier and meaner. You’re incapable of facing your ambitions, and you resent me for it.” Women have historically carried a disproportionate amount of emotional and household labor in relationships, often while also working outside of the home. There are men who truly want to be an equal partner but there is also a big subsect of men who say (and probably do truly believe) they want to but resent their wives for not adhering to stereotypical gender roles. Anatomy of a Fall dives into perceptions of marriage, how relationships evolve and change over time, and what we expect from women—not to mention Sandra Hüller in a slate of incredible sweaters. This foreign thriller is perfect for those cold winter nights spent contemplating the pressures women face!
