2. A is for…
Avatar!
A god or goddess in a
bodily form on Earth. The
movie shows our disregard
for human life, the Na’vi
people are being taken
over and fought by the
humans who think that
everything belongs to
them.
3. B is for…
S Barbarella
S The main character of Barbarella, a
woman, is sent to find and stop an evil
enemy. Her character is extremely
sexualized. This is the way that we expect
women to be, they are sexualized in
almost every role.
4. C is for…
Cyborg Manifesto
An essay written by Donna
Haraway that criticizes
current ideas about
feminism. She says that
we’re all like cyborgs
because of all the media
and technology.
5. D is for…
Dawn
Dawn is one of Octavia
Butler’s many novels. It
intertwines both the idea of
equal or nonexistent
genders, while still having a
superior race.
6. E is for…
S Engineering genetically
S Genetic engineering has been
used for a while now in an
effort to weed out all the bad
traits in our society. This can be
seen in several novels and
movies, One of which is Brave
New World where humans are
“graded” based on what traits
they ended up with and are
placed into jobs that they
would be best suited for.
7. F is for…
S Frankenstein!
S Shelley got the inspiration
for the monster from
stereotypical black
features. We know that
most people in the novel
were scared of the
monster, and this is
supposed to represent
Caucasian attitudes
toward all non-
Caucasians.
8. G is for…
S Gattaca
S In the past it was thought
that whites were the
superior race. In this movie,
only those that have a
perfect ancestry are able
to do whatever they’d like,
everyone is considered
lesser beings. This has
happened, in some way
several times throughout
history, one race always
thinks they are better.
9. H is for…
Harry Potter
In Harry Potter there are
three main groups of
people: Wizards, Muggles,
and Mudbloods (a mix of
the two). Mudbloods are
thought to represent all
mixed race people in our
society. In the books they
are looked down on and
treated poorly.
10. I is for…
Internet
Although the internet is not
fiction now, it was at one
time. The idea was first
brought up in a short story
in 1981, but before that the
idea of “hackers” and
“viruses” were brought up.
The fantasy of the Internet
in 1975 is what the Internet
is today.
11. J is for…
J.R.R. Tolkien
S J.R.R. Tolkien wrote The Hobbit
and Lord Of the Rings. He
wrote a mainly male society,
with the females being
indistinguishable from men in
almost every way. It is thought
that he did this to create an
equal society. This, of course, is
something that will never
happen in real life because
our society will never be
satisfied being equals.
12. K is for…
S King Kong
S King Kong, a black
beast, falls in love with
a white beauty. This
eventually leads to his
death. It is believed
that this film is
supposed to resemble
what would happen to
a black man if he were
to have relations with a
white woman in the
twentieth century.
13. L is for…
Legend!
Marie Lu’s novel, although
race is never specifically
mentioned, is a very
important part of the book. It
is implied that June is White
and Day is of some Asian
decent. In the novel, June is
superior to Day, that speaks
to how our society is set up,
with the White people
viewing themselves as
superior.
14. M is for…
Midnight Robber
Nalo Hopkinson writes
about a female lead that
takes control of her own
life. The woman has the
power in this novel, which
is something we don’t
usually see.
15. N is for…
Nalo Hopkinson
She is a Jamaican science
fiction writer that brings
Caribbean folklore into her
writing. She brings both
race and gender into her
writings.
16. OIsfor…
S Octavia Butler
S Octavia Butler is one of the most well
known African American science
fiction writers.
17. P is for…
S Planet of the Apes (the
original)
S Only one human woman is
seen and she has a few
seconds of air time before
she is killed off. It is also
clear that the Apes were
meant to represent African
Americans, and they were
often referred to as dirty or
ugly or other negative
things. It seems the only
people cast in a good light
were the white males.
18. Q is for…
Queen of Outer Space
A few men from Earth travel to
Venus and discover that it is
ruled by a gorgeous woman
that has banned all men from
that planet, despite the fat that
all the women beg her to bring
them back for love. We find out
later that the queen wears a
mask because she his horribly
disfigured because of the wars
fought by men. This is an
extreme example of the
feminists we see today.
19. R is for…
Red Planet
S The Earth and the human
race is in serious danger do
to ecological disaster. A
team of astronauts search
on Mars to save their dying
home. Is that what will
become of our planet if we
keep at it like this? Our home
is in danger, and we’re
doing nothing to save it.
20. S is for…
Star Wars!
Star Wars falls into the
category with countless of
other movies that feature a
male hero. Leia, one of the
very few female roles, has to
be rescued by a man. A
hefty majority of the cast is
male. Then Leia is kept by a
monster and forced into
wearing a bikini. She did so
much more than that, but
she is most widely known for
her gold bikini scene.
21. T is for…
S Tron (1982)
S A man is transported into
digital life where computer
programs represent their
creators. There is a
dictatorship that the man
must face once he enters this
alternate world. The way this
world is run is similar to the
dictatorships we have seen in
our world throughout history.
22. U is for…
Ultraviolet
The film portrays a female lead.
It is about female
empowerment. However, even
when a female is playing the
hero, she is still very sexualized.
There would never be a man
hero that has his stomach
showing while wearing tight
leather pants. Here again we
see how society sees women.
All they’re good for is looking
good.
23. V is for…
Vampire Slayer
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is
played by Sarah Michelle
Geller. Although she wears
impractical clothing almost
all the time, she kicks ass.
She can beat anyone in a
fight and kills vampires for a
living. This is an example of
a woman that has some
power in her role.
24. Who you gonna call…?
S Ghostbusters!
S In the film Ghostbusters,
although it is comical, it has
some gender issues that can
not be overlooked. The male
characters are surprised and
uncomfortable in the face of
female power. When
Sigourney Weaver becomes
the gatekeeper the men are
shocked and confused as to
the woman’s new found
powers.
25. X is for…
Xeogenesis
Octavia Butler wrote a
series of three books that
came to be known as
Xeogenesis. These books,
including Dawn, explored
race and gender as it
relates to science fiction.
James Cameron also
directed a short sci-fi film
titled Xeogenesis.
26. Y is for…
S Years of the Beast
S The world is a disaster. Four people are left to fend for
themselves and fight off corruption, natural disasters, thieves,
and more in this post apocalyptic world. The people they
thought were friends are now enemies, money means nothing,
and food is rare. This is what our world is on its way to if we keep
up with things the way we are now. This alternate reality won’t
be so alternate in a few years.
27. Z is for…
Zardoz
Zardoz is a film in which there is
a giant hollow head that
teaches it’s followers killing is
good, and reproduction of any
kind is bad. The head is taken
over and taken to a
community where everyone is
immortal. They are this way do
to artificial intelligence. The
need for reproduction is gone,
the men have no use. The main
leaders of this community are
women. When the need to
have children is gone, women
rise to power. Would this
happen in our society today?
