Ms. writer Michele Meek recently spoke with author Jenni Hendriks about how Unpregnant tackles abortion—an issue that had largely gone missing from teen comedies for over two decades.
Author: Michele Meek
Michele Meek, Ph.D. is a writer, filmmaker and associate professor of communication studies at Bridgewater State University. She published the books Consent Culture and Teen Films: Adolescent Sexuality in US Movies and Independent Female Filmmakers: A Chronicle Through Interviews, Profiles, and Manifestos, and she presented the TEDx talk “Why We’re Confused About Consent—Rewriting Our Stories of Seduction." For more information about her and her work, visit her website at www.michelemeek.com.
An Abortion Teen Comedy? “Unpregnant” Goes There.
Based on the book by Jenni Hendriks, Unpregnant tells the story of Ivy League-bound Veronica who realizes she’s pregnant and wants an abortion. So, Veronica and her former best friend Bailey embark on a road trip to the closest clinic where she can consent to her own abortion—over 1,400 miles away.
The Sex Talk—With a Little Help from Classic Teen Comedies
Here are five teen films with female protagonists from the 1980s and 1990s (in date order) to get your “sex talk” started. Maybe in their imperfection, you can find moments that will spark dialogue and reflection.
Time’s (Still) Up: Rewriting Our Film History
The conversation around film history today still revolves around predominantly male and white producers, directors and more. Even in 2020, the American Film Institute’s list of 100 Greatest American Films of All Time has not one female director.
In order to widen the conversation in the future, we must amend how we look at the past. The time is up—and for many of us, it has been up for quite a while.