My panel assignment for Archon next weekend is “(Media) Are There Any Real SF Chick Flicks?” I’m not a typical “chick”. I was rolling dice and reading LOTR when other girls where polishing their nails. I still can’t style my hair in a perky “up-do”, and I’ll pick a Jerry Bruckheimer blow-em-up over a sappy romance any day.
So, frankly, I’m stuck. The only films I can list are sappy chick flicks with ham-handed SF/F veneers — none of which I paid to see, and probably won’t watch a second time even if I’m trapped in a blizzard with no other entertainment.
I can make a case for some SF films appealing to chicks because of strong female characters, hunky stars, or compelling plot. But “chick flick”? Not a clue. This is a genre where the Amazon “browse by theme” ranges from “After the Apocalypse” to “Technology Run Amok.” So, dear readers, can you help me?
1) What exactly IS a chick flick?
2) What SF films ARE chick flicks?
3) What SF films can you make a case for calling a chick flick, even if it wasn’t intended as such?
4) Am I’m really the only female who actually LIKES Dune?!?
nkcmike
September 25, 2005 at 2:37amIn the “for what it’s worth” realm, here’s a link that MIGHT help. Not entirely sure.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chick_flick
It very briefly addresses your #1, then has a long list of films that meet those criteria. Just skimming the list doesn’t yield many SF/F hits. Maybe Kate & Leopold with it’s time travel element. You might try to build a case for any “period” piece (e.g. Shakespeare in Love) as it’s alternative history. Ghost?
Good luck, and have fun in St. Louie.
skyflame
September 25, 2005 at 3:42pm“Pirates of the Caribbean” is certainly fantasy, and it has Johnny Depp, so.
You might also be able to pass off “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” as a chick flick… I know lots and lots of women who loved that movie.
You could stretch it a little more and maybe consider “Armageddon” SF, as it also has some chick flick elements. Same with “Space Cowboys.”
Me, personally, for the right chick, I’d count “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” đŸ™‚
kalimeg
September 28, 2005 at 1:17amOne could make a lame argument for putting “Peggy Sue Got Married” into that category — but it would be Very Lame.