Feminist Frequency Radio

We're halfway through our season of Summer "Camp," and it was a treat to revisit Paul Verhoeven's controversial camp classic Showgirls. The full episode is a special bonus for upper-level Patreon supporters, but also available as a one-off purchase for non-subscribers. Listen to the full episode HERE.
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In the canon of "camp" cinema, there are so many examples of movies that are queer-coded, so we wanted to make sure we focused on a textually-gay example of the genre. Nothing nails it better than Jamie Babbit's 1999 satire But I'm a Cheerleader. Natasha Lyonne stars in this portrait of a conversion therapy camp that uses stylistic exaggeration to remind us that policing of heteronormativity is something we all grew up with.

Discussed in this episode:

Chasing Chasing Amy

Gay panic on Kath & Kim

The documentary This Film Is Not Yet Rated

Ivy Nelson's essay about Polly Pocket imagery in this film for Bright Wall/Dark Room

Lucas Hedges hanging out with Tommy Dorfman in those huge boots

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This season's focus on "camp" cinema had to bring us to Joel Schumacher's 1995 film Batman Forever. From Val Kilmer's rubber nipples to Jim Carrey's unsanctioned buffoonery, there's so much of an aesthetic sensibility that it's a perfect example of superhero camp. AC had never seen this movie before, and his life could have been so different if he'd grown up with it. Plus, Kat comes up with a game about all the awards that this movie lost.

What do you think? Should we do another episode so AC can watch Batman & Robin?

Discussed in this episode: Our episode from last year's "Musical Mayhem" season about Schumacher's The Phantom of the Opera (2004)

Find Kat:

NEW: katexmachina.substack.com

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twitter.com/kat_ex_machina

Find A.C.:

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One question we wanted to ask in our Summer "Camp" season was: does a remake add or remove layers of camp? Especially when it's one of John Waters' best-known films that's moved to the mainstream with a musical adaptation turned Hollywood. Does the overall cartoonishness of Tracy Turnblad's world flatten all of the story's core messages about society? We tied ourselves in knots talking about it... and of course, the casting choice of John Travolta.

Discussed in this episode: @jencapella's Hollywood Handsome Man Chart

Find Kat:

NEW: katexmachina.substack.com

letterboxd.com/katexmachina

bsky.app/profile/katexmachina.bsky.social

twitter.com/kat_ex_machina

Find A.C.:

letterboxd.com/aclamberty

instagram.com/aclamberty

Find Us:

Our Website

Subscribe to FFR on Apple Podcasts

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NEW: bsky.app/profile/femfreq.bsky.social

Welcome to our new season: Summer "Camp"! What better film to kick off these episodes with than Roger Vadim's 1968 space romp Barbarella. It's a perfect example of a movie that succeeds in its aesthetic endeavors, but isn't enough of a good sum of its parts to be considered well-made. What we can't deny is that none of it works without Jane Fonda's commitment to the optimistic naïveté of the character. We also talk about the difficulty of appreciating a film that had a troubled production, often affecting lead actresses. And A.C. poses the question: could Sydney Sweeney (potentially starring in a Barbarella remake) ever be camp?

Find Kat:

NEW: katexmachina.substack.com

letterboxd.com/katexmachina

bsky.app/profile/katexmachina.bsky.social

twitter.com/kat_ex_machina

Find A.C.:

letterboxd.com/aclamberty

instagram.com/aclamberty

Find Us:

Our Website

Subscribe to FFR on Apple Podcasts

Twitter

Instagram

Letterboxd

NEW: bsky.app/profile/femfreq.bsky.social