The Cult of Ignorance
Happy Friday folks. This week, we're getting academic with it.
Women Are Not Capable of Understanding Goodfellas
Last week, Nat and I watched Goodfellas (1990). This was a begrudging agree on my behalf, but I ended up liking it. Watching this inevitably prompted a look at the 'Women Are Not Capable of Understanding GoodFellas' article from 2015. If you haven't read it, absolutely worth a minute of your time.
This prompted a conversation between Nat and I if there is an female equivalent to majority male, character driven movies like Goodfellas or The Wolf of Wall Street. Not necessarily is there a 1 to 1 gangster movie but all women, but kind of is there a majority female, character driven drama that highlights intricacies of feminine relationships.
Initially, my answer was a flat no. I thought about Hustlers (2019) and Ocean's 8 (2018) which I think try to be analogues for the all male 'guys being guys' type movies. I think they fail in this way because women simply don't act like that? Like when you dump a bunch of these stereotypical male qualities onto female characters and give actors dialogue that's just not realistic for the situation, it doesn't hold water.
I think another facet to this is that women have other means with which to make connections, while men can only gather under specific circumstances usually with an objective. I think this is why straight guys love movies like Goodfellas so much is that they get to see buddies hanging out with each other and getting into hijinks and wish they had that friendship. I don't think I'm really making any new points here, I'm sure there's a Judith Butler article that encapsulates this idea much more succinctly but, anyway...
After pondering for a few days, here is my list of movies I think meet this criteria:
I, Tonya (2017). I think this is actually the closest to something like Goodfellas without being like 'gangsters but what if they're girls???'. Tonally and aesthetically - very similar. Tonya Harding is obviously a real person in the same way that Henry Hill is. Both films make them out to be antiheroes and try to convey that their lives are nothing to aspire to, but you end up hoping it works out for them. Or at least you hope it works out for her, I don't know if people are rooting for Henry Hill in the end.
Little Women (2019). The obvious choice. Men are not capable of understanding Louisa May Alcott's seminal work, specifically Greta Gerwig's interpretation. If we're talking women centered movies that get to the heart of complex female relationships, I don't think there's a better option.
Aquamarine (2006). This movie went triple platinum in my tv room growing up. For those unfamiliar with this masterpiece of American cinema, it follows the story of a mermaid named Aquamarine who washes up in a Florida pool after escaping her father who is forcing his teen daughter into an arranged mer-marriage. Aquamarine enlists the help of Jojo and Emma Roberts to help her fall in love so she can prove to her dad that true love does exist. Over the next few days, the girls discover that they don't need boys to love them when they have each other. It's a perfect movie and I think exemplifies everything I'm talking about above. If you have not watched, or maybe have not re-watched in a while, let this be a sign.
Separate, but kind of related. I had a conversation with some new coworkers about what we're watching, she told me she only watches reality tv, I said that I don't really watch tv but I do love a movie. She responded that movies were too intellectual for her and she doesn't like feeling like she didn't 'get it' and like she has to then read a bunch of reviews about what the ending meant. Now normally, I would say that I don't like this opinion but understand where you might be coming from. However, she will be a full licensed mental health counselor when she graduates in about a month. You don't like thinking about ambiguous endings to fictional stories??
Due to this, everyone who is reading this is required to watch a film and submit a gender based critique to me by next Friday.
Pop Quiz
In the vein of intellectualism, I read several textbook chapters for one of my classes this week about the importance of increasing a child's vocabulary for cognitive development. Studies show that introducing children to new words increases their academic abilities significantly. Who am I if I can't provide the good readers of this newsletter with some opportunities for brain growth?
Here are some choice vocab words I've encountered and had to look up in some of my readings from this semester:
Quixotic/adjective
- derived from 'Don Quixote'. exceedingly idealistic; unrealistic and impractical.
- "The appeal of Michael Imperioli's quixotic character in 'Goodfellas' was that he believed he was part of the group until the end."
Purblind/adjective
- lacking insight, vision, or perception.
- "even with scientific proof, purblind politicians have refused to accept that global warming exists."
Polemical/adjective
- expressing a strongly critical attack on or controversial opinion about someone or something. critical, hostile, bitter.
- "Instagram reels about how to integrate beef tallow into my skincare routine are short, topical, and often polemical with their take on normal moisturizer."
Simulacrum/noun
- an unsatisfactory imitation or substitute.
- "contemporary stadium country music is a bland simulacrum of American musical tradition."
Axiomatic/adjective
- self-evident, unquestionable.
- "Justin Bieber harmonizing with a youtube video of himself was the axiomatic choice for his headliner performance at Coachella."
Neologism/noun
- newly coined word or expression.
- "the works of Andy Weir are noted for displaying an unusual view of the world, poetic expression, foreign words, science terms and neologisms, creating a interesting, futuristic society."
The Littlest Man That's Ever Lived
Too much reading. Not enough pictures of Paddy.
In this fine month of April, The Boy turns 18. We'd take him to buy a lottery ticket, but he's in so much gambling debt it's not even funny. He also doesn't believe in democracy as a viable government system, so taking him to the polls isn't in the cards either.
Everyone say happy birthday 🔫😠
TTYL
rec-o-roos
a song i'm loving:
- Kill Me - Hayley Williams
a movie i watched:
- The Drama (2026) - This got 3.5 stars from me. Was it the best movie I had ever seen? No. But I was very entertained. I also have come around to the Robert Pattinson hype - I see the vision.
a book i'm reading:
- Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman
