What Is Thelma & Alice?
Thelma and Alice is a newsletter for people who want to watch more movies made by women. It began as a blog that I started in late 2017, after the Harvey Weinstein allegations broke. It was a wake-up moment for me when I realized that the vast majority of movies and TV shows I watched were written or directed by men. I wanted to correct my vision and make an effort to seek out more movies created by women. Maybe you do, too.
The name Thelma & Alice is a nod to the feminist classic, Thelma & Louise. Thelma refers to Thelma Schoonmaker, Martin Scorsese’s legendary and indispensable film editor; Alice refers to Alice Guy-Blaché, a pioneering director who made some of the first narrative films. You can watch one of her earliest efforts, filmed in 1900, “The Cabbage Fairy” on Youtube. It’s about a minute long and it’s delightful.
I’ve been watching movies written and directed by women for nearly seven years and I have come to believe that directing your attention toward women’s artwork is still, unfortunately, a radical act, one that takes a little extra time and effort. I hope my writing about film will help you discover movies you might not have found on your own, and to see old favorites in a new light.
About Me
I write fiction and criticism, but mostly fiction. Novels are my first love, with movies a close second. My second novel, We Were Pretending, published in August, is about mushrooms, talking trees, Instagram gurus, A.I. therapy, and how we all need to tune back into nature and listen to plants. My first novel, Home Field, is about a family recovering after a suicide, set in the 1990s in Western Maryland. Here’s a link to my author website, where you can learn more about my novels. (And if you’re really feeling enthusiastic, subscribe to my other newsletter, which is more like a traditional mailing list with occasional updates about my books and associated events.)
I also write short stories—they’re either very realistic, or kind of surreal . . .
I review movies for The Common and for many years I was a staff writer at The Millions, where I wrote about books and culture.
I’d love to hear from you. You can email me at hgersenauthor@gmail.com or by replying to posts. You can also find me at letterboxd at ThelmaAndAlice.
