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Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'
The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick by
13 reviews
bmpicc's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.0
... And now I need to rewatch the movie. Part life of Milicent and where she came from, part Mallory memoir, part feminist manifesto. I understand some criticism of this book (the why did Mallory insert herself into the story question), but that WAS part of the story. How Milicent affected the trajectory of her life, the parallels between their stories, and how damn hard it was to find any REAL information about the artist. I enjoyed it.
I tested the audiobook for part of this and Mallory did a fantastic job reading it. I would still get the book though. The images on these pages are stunning. I had no idea how beautiful Milicent was.
I tested the audiobook for part of this and Mallory did a fantastic job reading it. I would still get the book though. The images on these pages are stunning. I had no idea how beautiful Milicent was.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and Suicide
scrubsandbooks's review against another edition
informative
4.5
I don't normally read biographies but this was one was incredibly informative. I gave it a chance because the author is also one of my favorite podcasters and she narrated the audiobook. She did a great job at the narration, keeping my attention on Milicent Patrick's story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual assault
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
1.5
In an early chapter, O'Meara mentions angrily that some people were dubious that Milicent Patrick's life story could "fill an entire book." In setting out to disprove that, she unfortunately seems to have done the opposite, since the bulk of this book doesn't really feel like it's about Milicent Patrick at all.
Instead, we're treated to lengthy paragraphs about supporting members of Milicent's life -- do we really need that much backstory on William Randolph Hearst (whom O'Meara assumes readers won't know of aside from as the inspiration for Citizen Kane, which feels strange to me) to understand his wife's friendship with young Milicent? -- and O'Meara's own experiences, including many not related to her search for information. The former could have been heavily cut down to the relevant details, and the latter could have been interesting... as an introduction and/or afterword, rather than dispersed throughout the book. Quips and subjective interpretations overwhelm the actual facts, making it difficult to tell what can be gleaned from the records and what comes down to O'Meara's thoughts (and projection).
There's also quite a bit of repetition (so many sentences start with "Remember"), particularly regarding bigotry and abuse. Like, I guarantee you just about anyone interested in this book understands sexism is bad and was rampant in the 1950s. Any sense of intersectionality toward that, additionally, comes across as lip service; the seeming implication that a non-feminine woman would be more easily accepted into spaces dominated by cishet white men than a glamorous woman in "sparkling pumps" particularly rankled. Maybe I'm oversensitive as a butch lesbian who hates that kind of take, but your personal relationship with dressing up/makeup does not magically erase the standards of conventional femininity women (especially marginalized women) are forced to uphold.
O'Meara does note that Milicent's race, gender/sexuality, appearance (which she comments positively upon in the same breath she criticizes others for focusing on), and social status enabled her opportunities other women didn't and still don't get -- but fails to really delve into that. If the main point really was to simply describe Milicent Patrick's life and work, that would have been fine, but if there's room for everything else I've mentioned... why not add another layer of social commentary?
A Portuguese man is also described in passing as a person of color? I admittedly haven't seen The Creature from the Black Lagoon yet, so maybe his character there is Indigenous, but odd either way.
All that contributes to a sense of complete disorganization, to the level that I genuinely questioned if anyone had edited/proofed this multiple times. There is some interesting information about Milicent Patrick's life in here, but I do feel I could have learned the same from a more concise, focused article. In short, a super interesting premise and person overrun by tangents and an obnoxiously quirky narrative voice.
Instead, we're treated to lengthy paragraphs about supporting members of Milicent's life -- do we really need that much backstory on William Randolph Hearst (whom O'Meara assumes readers won't know of aside from as the inspiration for Citizen Kane, which feels strange to me) to understand his wife's friendship with young Milicent? -- and O'Meara's own experiences, including many not related to her search for information. The former could have been heavily cut down to the relevant details, and the latter could have been interesting... as an introduction and/or afterword, rather than dispersed throughout the book. Quips and subjective interpretations overwhelm the actual facts, making it difficult to tell what can be gleaned from the records and what comes down to O'Meara's thoughts (and projection).
There's also quite a bit of repetition (so many sentences start with "Remember"), particularly regarding bigotry and abuse. Like, I guarantee you just about anyone interested in this book understands sexism is bad and was rampant in the 1950s. Any sense of intersectionality toward that, additionally, comes across as lip service; the seeming implication that a non-feminine woman would be more easily accepted into spaces dominated by cishet white men than a glamorous woman in "sparkling pumps" particularly rankled. Maybe I'm oversensitive as a butch lesbian who hates that kind of take, but your personal relationship with dressing up/makeup does not magically erase the standards of conventional femininity women (especially marginalized women) are forced to uphold.
O'Meara does note that Milicent's race, gender/sexuality, appearance (which she comments positively upon in the same breath she criticizes others for focusing on), and social status enabled her opportunities other women didn't and still don't get -- but fails to really delve into that. If the main point really was to simply describe Milicent Patrick's life and work, that would have been fine, but if there's room for everything else I've mentioned... why not add another layer of social commentary?
A Portuguese man is also described in passing as a person of color? I admittedly haven't seen The Creature from the Black Lagoon yet, so maybe his character there is Indigenous, but odd either way.
All that contributes to a sense of complete disorganization, to the level that I genuinely questioned if anyone had edited/proofed this multiple times. There is some interesting information about Milicent Patrick's life in here, but I do feel I could have learned the same from a more concise, focused article. In short, a super interesting premise and person overrun by tangents and an obnoxiously quirky narrative voice.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
Moderate: Chronic illness and Sexual harassment
Minor: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Cancer, Infidelity, Racism, and Infertility
danimacuk's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Misogyny
Moderate: Suicide, Cursing, and Terminal illness
Minor: Infertility, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Death, Grief, and Cancer
jooheart's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Misogyny
Moderate: Xenophobia and Cursing
Minor: Suicide
rtaire's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Suicide, and Sexism
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Ableism, and Child abuse
Minor: Body shaming, Toxic relationship, and Terminal illness
mshiiken's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
This book was magnificent! As someone who grew up a female horror fan, I identified strongly with O'Meara's characterizations of what it's like to be so. Milicent Patrick's story is inspiring and I highly recommend this to anyone who's interested in film history at all!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny and Ableism
Minor: Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Sexism, and Mental illness
This is a description of a woman's life who lived and worked in the early 20th century, so there are a lot of gross, misogynistic quotes and behaviors described in the book to illustrate what she had to deal with.jessthanthree's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Domestic abuse
kshertz's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
This book is fascinating. What a life to lead in the 1950s. I am not a horror fan, I’ve never even seen the creature from the black lagoon, but this woman’s life was really interesting. It would be higher than a 4 but it was a really slow start. She goes into depth about her parents and it’s not really necessary to the story in terms of how much detail there is. But the research she did and what she uncovered was fascinating. I recommend for anyone who loves horror movies and learning about behind the scenes of movies way back when.
Content Warnings
Minor: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship
bradleygiselle's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Upon reread I love this even more! O'Meara is hilarious and so engaging. I devoured the whole book and instantly grabbed her next book Girly Drinks: A Women's History of Drinking even though I don't drink because she's just such a pleasure to read!
Content Warnings
Minor: Abandonment, Body shaming, Cancer, Cultural appropriation, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship