#225: Career Women, Pt. 1 — Working Girl

The Next Picture Show

Filmspotting

Tv & Film, Film History, Film Reviews

4.6 • 858 Ratings

🗓️ 5 May 2020

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Mike Nichols’ 1988 hit workplace comedy WORKING GIRL is set in a very different era than Kitty Green’s new, more somber THE ASSISTANT, but taken in tandem, the two films reveal how certain gendered power dynamics haven’t changed much in the 32 years separating them. This week we look at WORKING GIRL in the context of a string of 1980s workplace-empowerment movies and Nichols’ career alike, and try to parse its broader points about women in the workplace, and how they function within what is in many ways a traditional Cinderella story. Plus, we respond to some recent criticism regarding “protagonist bias” in our episode on BAD EDUCATION. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WORKING GIRL, THE ASSISTANT, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro Music: Carly Simon, “Let the River Run” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, Next Picture Show listeners.
0:01.8	Here's a friendly reminder that if you enjoy the Next Picture Show, you'll really enjoy getting more Next Picture Show by subscribing to our Patreon.
0:08.7	You can get our weekly newsletter for $3 a month and unlock bonus episodes for $5 a month.
0:14.5	We're currently working on a bonus episode about Pixar's Onward, and we recorded a special movie game where I could not name a single film
0:22.0	starring Michael Kane. To subscribe to our Patreon, please visit patreon.com slash next picture show.
0:29.8	It's very difficult to keep the line between the past and the present.
0:33.5	You believe that someone out of the past can enter and take possession of a living being?
0:40.3	We may be true with the past, but the past is not through with us.
0:48.2	Welcome to the next picture show, a movie the week podcast devoted to a classic film
0:52.1	and how it's shaped our thoughts on a recent release.
0:54.4	I'm Scott Tobias here with... Genevieve Kosky, Keith Thubes, and Tasha Robinson.
0:58.9	With American movie theaters largely closed, we're continuing to focus on quarantinement,
1:04.1	pairing films you can find on VOD, cable television, or streaming services.
1:08.4	This week, we'll be looking at two films about women in the workplace and all the
1:12.3	exciting opportunities that await them.
1:14.4	With just a cup of ambition and a tablespoon of moxie, you have a surefire recipe for success.
1:20.1	What?
1:21.2	Scott, did you even watch the movies we're talking about this week?
1:24.0	I skim them.
1:25.0	How do you skim a movie?
1:26.8	Were you fast forwarding? No, I meant I skim
1:29.3	the IMDB plot summary. Those were like three sentences long. Well, I think I got the gist of it.
	...

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