Our weekly recap highlighting the best feature stories from around the internet.
This week The Hollywood Reporter talk to Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins about the gender politics surrounding the film. Photo: Roadshow Films
The Complex Gender Politics of the 'Wonder Woman' Movie, by Tatiana Siegal, The Hollywood Reporter
‘"I can't take on the history of 50 percent of the population just because I'm a woman," says Jenkins, bristling when asked about the heavy responsibility of directing Wonder Woman, the most expensive film ever shot by a person with two XX chromosomes (its $150 million budget surpasses Kathryn Bigelow's $100 million K-19: The Widowmaker). "I'm just trying to make the greatest version of Wonder Woman that I can for the people who love the character as much as I do and hope that the movie lives up to all the pressure that's on it."’
How the Self-Esteem Craze Took Over America, by Jesse Singal, New York Magazine
“The self-esteem craze changed how countless organizations were run, how an entire generation — millenials — was educated, and how that generation went on to perceive itself (quite favorably). As it turned out, the central claim underlying the trend, that there’s a causal relationship between self-esteem and various positive outcomes, was almost certainly inaccurate. But that didn’t matter: For millions of people, this was just too good and satisfying a story to check, and that’s part of the reason the national focus on self-esteem never fully abated.”
The Secret Evangelicals at Planned Parenthood, by Laura Kasinof, Marie Claire
‘"When I walked in there, I was so embarrassed," Elizabeth says of her first reluctant visit to a Planned Parenthood clinic. "These were all people getting free services to possibly kill their child. They were a stereotype, to me. But I was out of resources." The only place Elizabeth could think to turn was the one place she'd been taught forever to avoid.”
Inside Mahana: When a Commune Turns to Rot, by Tess McClure, Vice
“Upon the news that a women and two children were hoping to move into the community, another house, sitting empty, was ripped apart by a group of residents. It's still sitting there in the bush, saturated with rain, part of the roof ripped off, the central beams hacked into pieces with a chainsaw. The floorboards have been gouged up, walls smashed in. It looks like an enraged medieval beast has ripped through.”
‘The Leftovers,’ Life, Death, Einstein and Time Travel, by Maureen Ryan, Variety
“There is no solution. The problem — the joy — is that we are alive. And so many people have stories like mine. Or worse. I am lucky, compared to many in this world. I’m healthy, aside from a janky knee. I get to do this job, and I love and I am loved, and I have money for therapy, for trips to see my family, for tea parties with my favorite five-year old. My mom was here for 75 years. Some get half as many.”
Looking For Right And Wrong In The Philippines, by Albert Samaha, Buzzfeed
“All four of these uncles loved Duterte. My mother and two of my aunties, in the living room a few steps away, loved Duterte too. I couldn’t believe it. I decided, in that moment, that it was my responsibility to shift our family back toward righteousness. I dropped statistics on the rising death count and news reports on the human rights groups calling the president a mass murderer. I cited the commandment about not killing, the parents and children of the victims, the role our bloodline had played in defending the rule of law against authoritarian excess. I raised my voice, flailed my arms, stood from my chair. My uncles met my indignation with restraint and calm.”
How Many More Women Will Suffer at the Hands of New York's Outdated Abortion Law?, by Prachi Gupta, Jezabel
“The prognosis was microcephaly and hydrocephalus—traumatic brain injuries that, according to doctors, would leave her son with severe disabilities. Moira was told her baby would be “lucky” to live beyond five years old. Doctors advised an abortion, but by law, Moira couldn’t receive one in New York. So at the 28th week of her pregnancy, Moira and her husband flew to Albuquerque, New Mexico, for the procedure. “It feels like a you’re a criminal. Like you’re doing something outside the law,” she said. The flight, rental car, hotel stay, and procedure cost the couple about $12,000. None of it was covered by insurance.”
