Hell, my dears! Can you believe that it’s almost Thanksgiving for us Americans? Lots of Clytie’s favorite things this week-from leather to Mickey Rourke….

On the 16th, Mary Beth McAndrews looked at the use of leather in several films, on Film School Rejects:
“With leather’s history in mind, it may seem silly to group The Matrix, Blade, and Underworld together, particularly as narratives that speak to queer and kink communities. They are all borderline-ridiculous films that have all gained cult followings. But, they also all utilize leather — paired with a character’s gender, race, sexuality, beliefs, or a combination of the four — to make their central protagonists into images of revolutionary power. “

Over at 25 Years Later, Don Shanahan talked about one of my all-time favorite movies, Safety Not Guaranteed, on the 18th:
“It can be argued that we are always in control of our actions and that all of our choices are our decisions. You could play the ‘no one’s forcing you to jump off the bridge’ analogy. However, our characters in Safety Not Guaranteed have experienced a few times where their actions felt forced, driven by a need, or as a reaction to something not in their control. With this possible step into time travel and changing their fate and past, the importance of doing something or going into something by independent choice becomes all the more important.”

Also on the 18th, Brian Brems of Bright Wall/Dark Room, used another Clytie favorite, Angel Heart to analyze the career of Mickey Rourke, one of my absolute favorite actors:
“Mickey Rourke has been trying to change both for a long time. During the 1980s, it would be difficult to name a more celebrated, important young actor. Of the Brat Pack generation—many of whom spent 1983 starring in Coppola’s The Outsiders and/or Rumble Fish—Rourke was obviously the most dynamic, an heir to the throne of sensitive, thoughtful men like the trio who dominated the cinematic image of the 1950s: Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, and James Dean. Rourke’s effortless cool led him to internalize, filling every moment in his performances with emotional vulnerability that belied the exterior charm.”

On the 19th, Dave McNary discussed diversity in TV directors, for Variety:
“The DGA’s episodic television director inclusion report noted that the overall percentage of women and people of color had increased from last year’s prior high of 42.5%, and from 21% five years ago. The percentage of episodes directed by women grew to a record 31%, more than doubling in the past five years. The percentage of episodes helmed by directors of color rose to a new high of 27%, increasing more than 40% in the past five years.”

Jake Rossen gave us facts about Hallmark movies, on the 20th, on Mental Floss:
“In an era of cord-cutting and streaming apps, more and more people are turning away from cable television, preferring to queue up programming when they want it. But viewers of Hallmark Channel’s holiday offerings often tune in as the movie is airing. In 2016, 4 million viewers watched the line-up ‘live.’ One reason might be the communal nature of the films. People tend to watch holiday-oriented programming in groups, tuning in as they air. The result? For the fourth quarter of 2018, the Hallmark Channel was the most-watched cable network among women 18 to 49 and 25 to 54, even outpacing broadcast network programming on Saturday nights.”

Finally, on the 21st, Sheila O’Malley of Film Comment, revisited 1970s “tomboy” movies:
“One of the unique aspects of the 1970s tomboy is how the formerly subversive went mainstream. Tomboyishness was the dominant model for little-girlhood for a brief glorious season. Promoted by Disney, no less! “Tomboy” as a term is not really in use anymore, and is now looped into things like gender fluidity and non-binary identities (Céline Sciamma’s first three films—Water Lilies, Tomboy, and Girlhood—examine gender identity at different stages of a girl’s life: childhood, pre-adolescence, and adolescence.) As long as the culture insists on telling girls whom they should aspire to be, tomboys—or whatever you want to call them—will be necessary.”

Enjoy!