(1) Keanu Reeves

(2) River Phoenix

Actress (select 2 and rank order):

(1) Jada Pinkett

(2) Queen Latifah

Best Supporting Actor/Actress (select2 and rank order ):

(1)Geena Davis

(2) Meg Tilly

Best Road Film from GWSS 3007 Series: Set it Off

Why? One of my favorite movies

Best Trans-Character in Trans-Cinema Road Film:

Why? Priscilla, because it gave what appeared to be a realistic look inside the life of a Tran.

Most Complicated Character in a Road Film Narrative:

Why? Rebecca- Girl on a Motorcycle. The male gaze is overpowering and makes the character not believable.

Favorite and Most Memorable Vehicle in a Road Film: (select 2 and rank order):
Little Miss Sunshine
Thelma and Louise

Best Example of the Male Gaze in a Road Film?
Girl on a Motorcycle

Worst Road Film screened in GWSS 3307:

Why? Girl on a Motorcycle- I thought the movie was horribly written, filmed, and directed.
Your favorite cop in the road movie genre Cop in Set it Off that lets Stony Go
(Name the Movie)
Best Soundtrack in a Road Film:
Little Miss Sunshine

Best feminist film in the GWSS series:

Why? Thelma and Louise, for using the road as an opportunity to break all gender roles and do something completely unexpected for a former housewife and waitress.

Best Example of "Counter Cinema" in a Road Film Narrative:

Why? Little Miss Sunshine for showing a Caucasian family with very little white priviledge.

Your definition of "counter cinema" going against the mainstream of cinema and whats typically portrayed.

Best Filmic Study of Gender on the Road:

Why? Pow Wow Highway because it shows opposite journeys of men and women on the road.

Best Filmic Study of Race on the Road:

Why? Pow Wow Highway, because of its great contrast to road films we've watched with Caucasians.

Best Filmic Study of Class on the Road:

Why? Little Miss Sunshine, because it showed that class can trump race.

Best Filmic Study of Queer Bodies on the Road:

Why? My Own Private Idaho, because it showed a view of gay life I had never seen before.

Best Definition of a Road Film from the Readings (excerpt from the readings, give page number and author): David Laderman (Driving Visions p. 1-4)

(1) Patrick Swayze

(2) Steve Carell

Actress (select 2 and rank order):

(1) Jada Pinkett Smith

(2) Chrinstine Lahti

Best Supporting Actor/Actress (select 2 and rank order):

(1) John Leguizamo

(2) Harvey Keitel

Best Road Film from GWSS 3007 Series: TO WONG FOO THANKS FOR EVERYTHING, JULIE NEWMAN (1995)

Why? This film portrayed multiple different visions of normality.

Best Trans-Character in Trans-Cinema Road Film: Patrick Swayze

Why? He had the most convincing acting and made the audience feel what he was portraying.

Most Complicated Character in a Road Film Narrative: Terence Stamp

Why? He started out wanting one thing in the beginning and ultimately came out with a different ending.

Favorite and Most Memorable Vehicle in a Road Film: (select 2 and rank order):

(1) Pow Wow Highway

(2) PRISCILLA

Best Example of the Male Gaze in a Road Film?

(1) Easy Rider

(2) Thelma and louise

Worst Road Film screened in GWSS 3307: Girl On a Motorcycle

Why? The plot did not draw me in and made it very difficult to feel any attachment to the main character.

Your favorite cop in the road movie genre: Set It Off
(Name the Movie)
Best Soundtrack in a Road Film: Easy Rider
(Check out Youtube soundtracks for these films)

Best feminist film in the GWSS series: TO WONG FOO THANKS FOR EVERYTHING, JULIE NEWMAN

Why? This showed a growth in the characters and the people around them explaining that normality is not always the only option.

Your definition of "counter cinema": The grouping and association of films, genres & producers with similar content

Best Filmic Study of Gender on the Road: Easy Rider

Why? The men are very typically displayed

Best Filmic Study of Race on the Road: Pow Wow Highway

Why? This is the only film where nonwhite characters are the main characters and dominate the film.

Best Filmic Study of Class on the Road: Little Miss Sunshine

Why? They take an average family and put them into a lifestyle of "the rich and famous" and let them fare.

Best Filmic Study of Queer Bodies on the Road: THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT (1994)

Why? Both sides are represented. Queers and Straight people.

(1) Paul Dano/Dwyane

(2) Gary Farmer/Philbert

Actress (select 2 and rank order):

(1) Sandrine Bonnaire
(2) Queen Latifah

Best Supporting Actor/Actress (select2 and rank order ):

(1) Jack Nicholson

(2) Grandpa in little miss sunshine

Best Road Film from GWSS 3007 Series: Vagabond

Why? It is more complicated in terms of the character's development.

Best Trans-Character in Trans-Cinema Road Film: Chi Chi

Why? I like her a lot because there is a transformation in her of being a "boy in the dress" to a real drag queen.

Most Complicated Character in a Road Film Narrative: Mona

Why? Because of her gaze at other people who are also looking at her. she is not a traveler on the road but she's a drifter of freedom. She is very flexible to situations, but she also preserves her integrity.

Favorite and Most Memorable Vehicle in a Road Film: (select 2 and rank order):

1. The mini van in little miss sunshine.
2. Thelma and Louise's convertible.

Best Example of the Male Gaze in a Road Film?

Girl on a motocycle

Worst Road Film screened in GWSS 3307:
My own private Idaho

Why? I didn't understand the plot, my emotions weren't evoked.
Your favorite cop in the road movie genre_____cop in Set if off__________
(Name the Movie)
Best Soundtrack in a Road Film: Little miss sunshine
(Check out Youtube soundtracks for these films)

Best feminist film in the GWSS series: Vagabond

Why? Mona is a woman on the road, who is fearless, free and not passive to her situations.

Best Example of "Counter Cinema" in a Road Film Narrative: Pow Wow Highway

Why? It gives voice to American Indian culture by showing the inequalities in society.

Your definition of "counter cinema" The cinema which shows a marginalized culture against the mainstream culture.

Best Filmic Study of Gender on the Road: To Wong Foo.

Why? Because it shows transformation in every character in that film, it shows how women live in their positions but come to realize the restrictions of their roles in society. Every one, even including the cop, undertakes the questioning of the definition of gender.

Best Filmic Study of Race on the Road: Set it off

Why? It shows the reality of women with color, who struggle to live under the oppression of their race, class and gender.

Best Filmic Study of Class on the Road: Set it off

Why? It addresses multiple public issues in one film, and it exposes the inequality in a society where they are oppressed by race and education.

Best Filmic Study of Queer Bodies on the Road: My own private Idaho

Why? Although I don't understand the film, but I feel like it is an exploration to sexuality and gender, the characters are in search of their own definition of queerness.

Best Definition of a Road Film from the Readings (excerpt from the readings, give page number and author):

The song "Over the Rainbow" embodies the purity of an archetype... the human dream of leaving, a dream at least as powerful as its countervailing dream of roots... in its most potent emotional moment, this is unarguably a film about the joys of going away, of leaving the greyness and entering the color, of making a new life in the " place where there isn't any trouble"... It is a celebration of Escape, a grand paean to the Uprooted Self, a hymn - the hymn - to Elsewhere. (Rushdie: 23 in Home and Away by Pamela Robertson )

Best Actor (select 2 and rank order):

(1)Hugo Weaving

(2) River Phoenix

Actress (select 2 and rank order):

1 Susanne Sarandon

(2) Meg tilly

Best Supporting Actor/Actress (select2 and rank order ):

(1)Greena Davis

(2) Queen Latifia

Best Road Film from GWSS 3007 Series: Thelma and Louis

Why? __Because it was all about powerful women and the counter-culture that lies within their strength. It was an empowering films that kept my attention, and I was able to connect to it on a different level than the other films.________________________________________________________

Best Trans-Character in Trans-Cinema Road Film:

Why? __Guy Pierce because in the film he was not afraid to be who he was. Even when he approached the men at the biker bar wearing all drag, he held his head high and personified confidence. This would be a hard thing to do in real life, but I also believe acting it would be hard as well. I think overall Guy Pierce had the best acting has a trans-gender character in the raw emotions he was able to convey.________________________________________________________

Most Complicated Character in a Road Film Narrative:

Why? __I actually believe Cleo to be the most complicated character in the Road Film narrative. Cleo's personality was unpredictable at times. Sometimes she was loving with her girlfriend and just wanted to have fun. Then, suddenly she would hold a knifre to your head and pretend to want to kill you. Overall though, at the end of the movie we see Cleo's true colors. Deep down she was a caring, loving, and courageous character, and I think it takes a while to fully understand her.________________________________________________________

Favorite and Most Memorable Vehicle in a Road Film: (select 2 and rank order):
1. Priscilla
2. Little Miss Sunshine

Best Example of the Male Gaze in a Road Film?
Girl on a Motorcycle, bar far.

Worst Road Film screened in GWSS 3307:
I actually did not enjoy watching Easy Rider at all.

Why? I found the movie to be to bluntly rebellious. The kind of in your face rebellion that is over exaggerated in the film. I also did not appreciate the scenes with the men and women tripping on acid. I understand the importance of the drugs in the 70's, but this entire scene is overdone and too fake.__________________________________________________________
Your favorite cop in the road movie genre___Thelma and Louise______________________
(Name the Movie)
Best Soundtrack in a Road Film:
(Check out Youtube soundtracks for these films)
Set it Off

Best feminist film in the GWSS series:
Thelma and Louise

Why? __Something in that movie just struck me. I felt enriched by the new ideal that women can make a difference. I also love the witty humor both Thelma and Louise have. Their responses to men are subtly passive-aggressive and entertaining to any women viewer. ________________________________________________________

Best Example of "Counter Cinema" in a Road Film Narrative:Priscilla

Why? __Priscilla was an all out counter cinema film. Nothing within the movie sought to be familiar to "normal cinema culture." There were trans-gender and homosexual men, on a road trip performing drag Queen shows. This in itself is not so counter-cinema. But when the child gets involved and goes on tour with the men, hanging out in the bars, and doing the stage lighting, the movie takes on an entire different notion of how to raise children. This notion is unique to the movie itself. ________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

Your definition of "counter cinema" ____Counter Cinema is anything that is not a typical movie. For example, most movies are based on humor, romance, or action. This movies focus more on the race, gender, and sexuality aspects, making them counter cinema. ______________________________

_______________________________________________________________

Best Filmic Study of Gender on the Road:Thelma and Louise

Why? _I think this would have to be Thelma and Louise because they are constantly doubted as women and always prove to come out on top._________________________________________________________

Best Filmic Study of Race on the Road: Set it Off

Why? _Set it off is the prime example of race on the road. All of these African American women are constantly struggling to get somewhere, when their road just keeps disappearing. _________________________________________________________

Best Filmic Study of Class on the Road:

Why? _My own Private Idaho because you can see the difference between the two men at the end of the movie when Keanu Reeves is an inherited, wealthy man with a normal wife and family, looking down and pretending not even to notice his old friend, his old life. _________________________________________________________

Best Filmic Study of Queer Bodies on the Road:My own Private Idaho

Why? This movie was full of sexual relations between men which allowed the audience to follow the bodies of the men. __________________________________________________________

Best Definition of a Road Film from the Readings (excerpt from the readings, give page number and author):
Ron Eyerman and Orvar Löfgren "Romancing the Road: Road Movies and Images of Mobility"
Pg 60
"Where the road the journey (most often in an automobile, but sometimes with other means of transport as well) have a central function, either in the form of a moral discourse, a tale of personal development, or as a reflection of society itself"

Best Actress:1. Meg Tilly
2. Vivica A. Fox

Best Supporting Actress/Actor: 1. Harvey Keitel
2. Jack Nickolson

Best Road Film from GWSS 3007: Leaving Normal.
Why? Because it created believable characters that have a history which drives the plot of the movie and allows the viewer to become emotionally invested in not just the characters but also the relationship between them.

Best Trans Character in Trans Cinema Road Film: Vida
Vida represented elegance and confidence, without losing any femininity. It's funny how she would describe Julie Newmar as Statuesque, while she was the most statuesque to all the women of that town and her fellow trans-gender characters.

Most Complicated Character in Road Film Narrative: Mona
Mona would never consider herself complicated, but that's why she's the most puzzling character of them all. She's independent of society, but she isn't. She depends on others, yet claims to be doing thing all by herself. She'll tell you she wants something and then contradict it and move on like it was never and idea. I can't put my finger on this character at all, she's simply all over the place.

Favorite and Most Memorable Vehicle in a Road Film: 1. Captain America's Motorcyle
2. The Yellow VW Bus (lil mss S)

Best Example of Male Gaze:
The entire movie Girl on a Motorcycle. She's an object that you want, on an object on you want, going on a journey that you want.

Worst Road Film Screened: My Own Private Idaho
Dismal acting with a disjointed plot. Character development is limited to two, and it seemed at times they were trying to do too much to develop an "intriguing" back story when they should have worked harder to build a scene/surrounding that would allow the character to develop more organically instead of just flashes of a plot piece that we're supposed to build upon these characters with. And for a character driven story it's lack of solid supporting characters disappoints the most, because if we're supposed to become emotional invested in two characters we need to see how they relate/interact to other characters. Not to mention, Keanu Reeves isn't a believable actor in any situation. horrible casting choice.

Favorite Cop: Harvey Keitel, He plays a classic movie detective/cop with a twist. He shows emotion and compassion for two strangers instead of this "let's gettem" attitude.

Best Soundtrack: Priscilla NO DOUBT!

Best Feminist Film: Thelma and Louise. This movie is a staple for all feminist film because it has the right balance of strong femininity to counter a world of masculinity!

Counter Cinema.. NOt sure. oops

Best Film with Gender on the Road: To Wong Foo: because it did a great job of breaking down the barrier of not seeing them as men dressed as women, or a woman trapped in a males body, they were viewed as people, and that is an inspiring message to take away, and it says a lot about how gender sculpts the way we view people and it no longer needs to be that way.

Best film with Race: Set It Off. I chose set it off, because it says a lot about how stratified power and wealth is, and how race has a lot to do with that. It was inspiring to see the journey of young black females trying to break free from this oppressive way of live, but they were always being set back.

Best Film with Class: Set It Off. Like I said above, stratified wealth and power, and these women were trying their hardest to break free, and kept being drawn back in because of set backs that had to do with class and other situation like that.

Best Film with Queer Bodies: Priscilla. Great use of sexuality to drive the plot and develop the characters.

Best definition of the Road: A place where a character/person can develop, discover and escape, while moving across time and space. It represents a new found freedom, and it can also rear it's ugly head and show a side of fear and hatred. It's a place where the weak get stronger, and where the guarded can let their guard down. It is always leading to greener pastures, but it's never an easy path. It's a path that is earned by bravery and independence, and those who travel the road are often rewarded, by discovering themselves.

(1) Gary Farmer

(2) Greg Kinnear

Actress (select 2 and rank order):

(1) Geena Davis

(2) Queen Latifah

Best Supporting Actor/Actress (select2 and rank order ):

(1) Jack Nicholson

(2) Steve Carell

Best Road Film from GWSS 3007 Series: Set it Off

Why? This one actually made me emotional.

Best Trans-Character in Trans-Cinema Road Film: To Wong Foo

Why? The message is really strong.

Most Complicated Character in a Road Film Narrative: Mike from My Own Private Idaho

Why? His life is really complicated because of his lifestyle and his disorder.

Favorite and Most Memorable Vehicle in a Road Film: (select 2 and rank order):
1. The Van from Little Miss Sunshine
2. Priscilla

Best Example of the Male Gaze in a Road Film?
The man in the bar (Hal?) in Thelma and Louise

Worst Road Film screened in GWSS 3307: The Girl on a Motorcycle

Why? The acting was horrible!

Your favorite cop in the road movie genre: Set it Off
(Name the Movie)
Best Soundtrack in a Road Film: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

Best feminist film in the GWSS series: Thelma and Louise

Why? It shows women taking control.

Best Example of "Counter Cinema" in a Road Film Narrative: To Wong Foo

Why? This movie shows drag queens as they truly are and sets them against a near-mainstream backdrop.

Your definition of "counter cinema": Film that goes against the mainstream

Best Filmic Study of Gender on the Road: Easy Rider

Why? The movie greatly depicted the easier road for the male, heteronormative group.

Best Filmic Study of Race on the Road: Pow Wow Highway

Why? This brought to light a race issue that I had not thought a lot about.

Best Filmic Study of Class on the Road: Set it Off

Why? It shows how these women from lower standing coped with life.

Best Filmic Study of Queer Bodies on the Road: The Adventures of Priscilla

Why? There was a lot of content in the film that showed how queer bodies are affected by normates.

Best Definition of a Road Film from the Readings (excerpt from the readings, give page number and author):
"...films where the road and the journey (most often in an automobile, but sometimes with other means of transport as well) have a central funtion, either in the form of a moral discourse, a tale of personal development, or as a reflection of society itself" (Eyerman and Loefgren 60).

Best Actor (select 2 and rank order):

(1) Patrick Swayze

(2) Terence Stamp

Actress (select 2 and rank order):

(1) Jada Pinkett Smith

(2) Geena Davis

Best Supporting Actor/Actress (select2 and rank order ):

(1) Queen Latifa

(2) John Leguizamo

Best Road Film from GWSS 3007 Series:

Why? __________________________________________________________

Best Trans-Character in Trans-Cinema Road Film: Mitzie/Tick "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert"

Why? He is stuck in between having a normal life and being a father to his son and being true to himself and being a drag queen.

Most Complicated Character in a Road Film Narrative: Louise from "Thelma and Loiuse"

Why? There is so much about her past that shaped who she is. Also, she contrasts so starkly against the transparent Thelma. This is a close tie with Stoney from "Set It Off".

Favorite and Most Memorable Vehicle in a Road Film: (select 2 and rank order):
Priscilla from "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert"
Philbert's war pony named Protector from "Powwow Highway"

Best Example of the Male Gaze in a Road Film?
"Girl on a Motorcycle"

Worst Road Film screened in GWSS 3307: "My Own Private Idaho"

Why? I felt that I never fully understood this movie. For me, the characters are underdeveloped and the plot was hard to follow.

Your favorite cop in the road movie genre____"To Wong Foo_________
(Name the Movie)
Best Soundtrack in a Road Film: "Easy Rider"
(Check out Youtube soundtracks for these films)

Best feminist film in the GWSS series: "Thelma and Louise"

Why? It has a great plot, the characters are well developed, and it is a perfect portrayal of girl power.

Best Example of "Counter Cinema" in a Road Film Narrative: "To Wong Foo"

Why? At the end of the film, everything doesn't have some sort of normalcy to it. The drag queens continue to be drag queens and instead it is the town that changes.

Your definition of "counter cinema" Movies that go against the grain of what is considered normal.

_______________________________________________________________

Best Filmic Study of Gender on the Road: "To Wong Foo"

Why? The drag queens present themselves as women and the town sees them as such.

Best Filmic Study of Race on the Road: "Set It Off"

Why? The lead characters are African American.

Best Filmic Study of Class on the Road: "Set It Off"

Why? The contrast between being African American and being in the upper class than in the lower class is evident in the characters of Stoney and Keith.

Best Filmic Study of Queer Bodies on the Road: "My Own Private Idaho"

Why? This is the only movie that had lead characters that were queer.

Best Definition of a Road Film from the Readings (excerpt from the readings, give page number and author):
"Ideogram of human desire and last ditch search for self where the journey's the thing. (14)" Laderman (41)

Best Actor (select 2 and rank order):

(1) Patrick Swayze

(2) Gary Farmer

Actress (select 2 and rank order):

(1) Sandrine Bonnaire

(2) Geena Davis

Best Supporting Actor/Actress (select2 and rank order ):

(1) Toni Collette

(2) Wesley Snipes

Best Road Film from GWSS 3007 Series: LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE

Why? Unlike other road films, I can feel the bond of family which is not a common theme of road films. Moreover, I really like the overall setting of the film and how it goes on until the end.

Best Trans-Character in Trans-Cinema Road Film: TO WONG FOO THANKS FOR EVERYTHING, JULIE NEWMAN

Why? The characters fit the movie very well and the overall setting of the movie went out perfectly. The movie is not all about fun. It has serious intention of political and social criticism.

Most Complicated Character in a Road Film Narrative: Sandrine Bonnaire

Why? ___she didn't talk much so it is kind of hard to understand her feeling or thoughts. _________________________________

Favorite and Most Memorable Vehicle in a Road Film: (select 2 and rank order):
Favorite: LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Most memorable: THELMA AND LOUISE

Best Example of the Male Gaze in a Road Film? Alain Delon

Worst Road Film screened in GWSS 3307: THE GIRL ON A MOTORCYCLE

Why? ___it does not have smooth plot but the plot is somewhat too rough. Overall, it is not interesting film and the conclusion of the film is disgusting. _______________________________________________________
Your favorite cop in the road movie genre____ TO WONG FOO THANKS FOR EVERYTHING, JULIE NEWMAN _____________________
(Name the Movie)
Best Soundtrack in a Road Film: EASY RIDER
(Check out Youtube soundtracks for these films)

Best feminist film in the GWSS series: THELMA AND LOUISE

Why? _Their explicit political theme also represents feminist characteristics very well. _________________________________________________________

Best Example of "Counter Cinema" in a Road Film Narrative: MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO

Why? __The film is like the two guys' personal recording of their journey. It does not broadly stress out their cinematic characteristics. _______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

Your definition of "counter cinema" __that challenges generalized notions of cinema. ________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

Best Filmic Study of Gender on the Road: THELMA AND LOUISE

Why? _This film clearly manifests its intention on feminist study of gender on the road with compelling and persuasive scenes. ______________________________________________________

Best Filmic Study of Race on the Road: POW WOW HIGHWAY

Why? _Their resistance with white males explicitly shows the racial tensions and hardship in the movie. _________________________________________________________

Best Filmic Study of Class on the Road: VAGABOND

Why? The disparity between the rich and the poor is very clear in the movie. __________________________________________________________

Best Filmic Study of Queer Bodies on the Road: TO WONG FOO THANKS FOR EVERYTHING, JULIE NEWMAN

Why? _this film shows the queer bodies most explicitly and clearly by contrasting them with suburban people. ________________________________________________________

Best Definition of a Road Film from the Readings (excerpt from the readings, give page number and author):

The road movie is like the musical or the Western, a Hollywood genre that catches peculiarly American dreams, tensions, and anxieties, even when imported by the motion picture industries of other nations. (Cohan and Hark, p.2)

Best Actor (select 2 and rank order):

(1)Patrick Swayze

(2) River Phoenix

Actress (select 2 and rank order):

(1)Toni Collette

(2) Jada Pinkett Smith

Best Supporting Actor/Actress (select2 and rank order ):

(1)Queen Latifah

(2) Abigail Breslin

Best Road Film from GWSS 3007 Series: Set It Off.

Why? I loved all the challenges represented in this film. (Socioeconomic, oppression of women, gender roles, women of color, hope and despair)

Best Trans-Character in Trans-Cinema Road Film: Terence Stramp as Bernadette
Why? She was the most soulful character.

Most Complicated Character in a Road Film Narrative: Mike in My Own Private Idaho

Why? His character seemed to be mobile, but with a very limited idea of how to get anywhere and with what to do while getting there. He sold himself for money and relied on Scott, for the most part, to help him with means, safety and direction.

Favorite and Most Memorable Vehicle in a Road Film: (select 2 and rank order):
1) Pricilla
2) Convertible in Thelma and Louise

Best Example of the Male Gaze in a Road Film?
The Girl on a Motorcycle had several. Rebecca putting on her leather jumpsuit is done with excruciating slowness and up-close shots of her naked body slipping into it.

Worst Road Film screened in GWSS 3307: The Girl on a Motorcycle

Why? The acting was terrible, demoralizing women was painful to watch, men objectifying her at every turn was ridiculous, the plot was simplistic. It was flat out bad.

Your favorite cop in the road movie genre. Thelma and Louise (Hal)

Best Soundtrack in a Road Film: Little Miss Sunshine

Best feminist film in the GWSS series: Thelma and Louise

Why? It showed strong women characters that broke the boundary of only men portraying violence.

Best Example of "Counter Cinema" in a Road Film Narrative: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

Why? The film has rich characters that have lives that are not typically focused on in normative type films. (men learning, coping and accepting non typical gender roles)

Your definition of "counter cinema": Counter cinema, to me, is a film or a group of films that have themes or genres that are not of the typical "Hollywood" formula.

Best Filmic Study of Gender on the Road: Vagabond
Why? Mona is the character that strays the farthest from normative gender roles as a drifter looking to take what she can from whom ever she can.

Best Filmic Study of Race on the Road: Pow Wow Highway

Why? The plight of Indians being taken advantage of in the plot was enhanced by the landscape of the reservation and the vehicles they drove.

Best Filmic Study of Class on the Road: Set It Off.

Why? Set It Off did a good job showing the struggles of African American poor families and individuals trying to make their way in a middle class white world.

Best Filmic Study of Queer Bodies on the Road: My Own Private Idaho

Why? While Mike and Scott were not overtly queer, visually speaking, the film the explored the lives and relationships of gay men from a sexual way.

Best Definition of a Road Film from the Readings (excerpts from the readings give page number and author): "..road travel... as an instrument of social critique and rebellion."(page 45, David Laderman, What a Trip: The Road Film and American Culture)

Best Actor (select 2 and rank order):

(1)John Leguizamo
(2) Patrick Swayze

Actress (select 2 and rank order):

(1)Susan Sarandon
(2) Queen Latifah

Best Supporting Actor/Actress (select2 and rank order ):

(1)Geena Davis
(2) Jack Nicholson

Best Road Film from GWSS 3007 Series: Thelma and Louise
Why? This movie was my favorite road film because of how they transformed and started standing up for themselves and refused to turn themselves in once they realized the law would not understand their situation. Their friendship and the ending are also reasons.

Best Trans-Character in Trans-Cinema Road Film: Chi Chi
Why? I enjoyed seeing how Chi Chi interacted with the rural town folks, and how she wasn't afraid to connect with strangers or be judged.

Most Complicated Character in a Road Film Narrative: Sandrine Bonnaire
Why? Her motivations for living on the road are really interesting and complex. Her character actually had depth and I enjoyed the interactions she had with other people.

Favorite and Most Memorable Vehicle in a Road Film: (select 2 and rank order):
1- VW van from Little Miss Sunshine
2-Pow Wow Highway car

Best Example of the Male Gaze in a Road Film?
The shot in Girl on a Motorcycle when they show her zipping up her leather suit. Or just every single shot in Girl on a Motorcycle.

Worst Road Film screened in GWSS 3307: Girl on a Motorcylce
Why? It was just a pathetic movie and I hated how every single thought was about one of her two guys.

Your favorite cop in the road movie genre- Set it off- I didn't like him, but at least at the end he didn't stop the bus Stony was on to arrest her
Best Soundtrack in a Road Film: Easy Rider

Best feminist film in the GWSS series: Vagabond
Why? She was the one who moved the plot along, the camera angles and everything that happened showed her as just another character instead of a sexy woman that should be stared at and drooled over.

Best Example of "Counter Cinema" in a Road Film Narrative: Adventure of Priscilla, queen of the desert
Why? It was really interesting to see the three characters in their drag outfits in settings like a small town bar, or in the middle of the desert. But it was also cool to see them in situations we don't often think of drag queens in, like being married and having a child.

Your definition of "counter cinema" -Movies that bring a perspective to light that isn't the normative white hetero masculinist view. Women/people of color/ gay/trans as the lead characters.

Best Filmic Study of Gender on the Road: To Wong Foo
Why? This movie really shed light on the norms society puts on gender. It had a lot of stereotyped people in the small town but the three lead characters undid a lot of those gender norms.

Best Filmic Study of Race on the Road: Set It Off
Why? The fact that the main characters aren't able to just hop in a car and go somewhere is a really intersting examination of race on the road. The circumstances in which Stony eventually gets to Mexico are not at a typical of a road movie.

Best Filmic Study of Class on the Road: Vagabond
Why? This film really showed how homeless people are viewed and treated in society. The commentary from all the people Mona crossed paths with gave really good insight into how different classes experience the road.

Best Filmic Study of Queer Bodies on the Road: Priscilla
Why? The different interactions between the characters and the people they met showed a lot about how queer bodies are perceived and judged on the road.

Best Definition of a Road Film from the Readings (excerpt from the readings, give page number and author):"Rebellion against conservative social norms" (Laderman 1)

(1) Patrick Swayze

(2) Gary Farmer

Actress (select 2 and rank order):

(1) Queen Latifah

(2) Susan Surandon

Best Supporting Actor/Actress (select2 and rank order ):

(1) Jada Pinkett

(2) Abigail Breslin

Best Road Film from GWSS 3007 Series:

Why? "Set It Off" because it portrayed a range of journey between each of the characters and even how some were able to overcome and some could not.

Best Trans-Character in Trans-Cinema Road Film:

Why? Chi-Chi in "To Wong Foo" because I could relate with her along her journey to understanding and accepting her lifestyle.

Most Complicated Character in a Road Film Narrative:

Why? Marianne Faithful in "Girl on a Motorcycle." I don't think she even knew what was going on...

Favorite and Most Memorable Vehicle in a Road Film: (select 2 and rank order):
1. The motorcycle in "Girl on a Motorcycle"
2. The VW van in "Little Miss Sunshine"

Best Example of the Male Gaze in a Road Film?
"Girl on a Motorcycle" Any man at the pub or at the checkpoints

Worst Road Film screened in GWSS 3307:
"Vegabond"

Why? Because I did not find her journey insightful or a true journey to find herself
Your favorite cop in the road movie genre The cop in "To Wong Foo"

Best Soundtrack in a Road Film:
"Little Miss Sunshine" It comes up on my Pandora station all the time and I love it.

Best feminist film in the GWSS series:

Why? "Set It Off." It had a wide range of topics like single mothers, lesbianism, women in a position in power, ethnicity, as well as the woman's role to succeed in a man's world.

Best Example of "Counter Cinema" in a Road Film Narrative:

Why? "Little Miss Sunshine" because it portrayed the true light of the American Nuclear family, without sugar coating it or trying to disguise the fact that families can be screwed up and showing all is what we need to do.

Your definition of "counter cinema" It is a cinema that goes against the mainstream cinema, portraying the realism of the people on the screen. It was also independently made, and made you think while still being entertained.

Best Filmic Study of Gender on the Road:

Why? "To Wong Foo" because it displayed men, women and how both men and women are portrayed.

Best Filmic Study of Race on the Road:

Why? "Pow Wow Highway" because you got to see the internal and the external conflicts that a race must face everyday because of the color of their skin.

Best Filmic Study of Class on the Road:

Why? "Easy Rider" because it portrayed white, heteronorm males, acting out against what they were bred to do, and showing the counter groups against them.

Best Filmic Study of Queer Bodies on the Road:

Why? "My Own Private Idaho" because it showed people using their bodies, even men, to get money and it wasn't just about the attraction to the opposite or same sex. It didn't matter and tried to give a straight answer when it came to it.

Best Definition of a Road Film from the Readings (excerpt from the readings, give page number and author):
Best Definition of a Road Film from the Readings (excerpt from the readings, give page number and author): "Rebellion against conservative social norms" page 1, Driving Visions.

Best Actor (select 2 and rank order):

(1) John Leguizamo

(2) Hugo Weaving

Actress (select 2 and rank order):

(1) Jada Pinkett Smith

(2) Geena Davis

Best Supporting Actor/Actress (select2 and rank order ):

(1) Terence Stamp

(2) Queen Latifah

Best Road Film from GWSS 3007 Series: To Wong Foo

Why? What I really liked about this movies is that it deal with gender issues in a way that is inviting to the audience, thus bringing people into the discussion that might otherwise be deterred by the complexity of high theory.

Best Trans-Character in Trans-Cinema Road Film:

Why? Bernadette Basinger portrayed by Terrance Stamp because this character, being an older character, show a study oft overlooked: that gender is ageless. We rarely examine the older transgendered individual. It is often view through the prism of more youthful, sexually charged, normative youth. I enjoyed the quite introspective nature of this character.

Most Complicated Character in a Road Film Narrative:

Why? Marianne Johnson from Leaving Normal, because here is a character who really brings the idea of the normate/normative lifestyle into question. When juxtaposed with the title of the movie, we really question what normal is, as the life she ends up with is actually more "normal" in a lot of ways that the life she is leaving behind.

Favorite and Most Memorable Vehicle in a Road Film:

The Volkswagen Van
The Beater Car from Pow Wow Highway

Best Example of the Male Gaze in a Road Film?

Girl on a Motorcycle. Pretty much every scene.

Worst Road Film screened in GWSS 3307: Girl on a Motorcycle

Why? This movie, even by the standards set by the general public, has no realy plot, or character development, and in the vein of something being viewed academically, it has no substance.

Your favorite cop in the road movie genre: The officer from To Wong Foo

Best Soundtrack in a Road Film:

Set it Off

Best feminist film in the GWSS series:

Why? Vagabond. More than any other movie, this is the movie that in every scene - from camera movement all the way to the introspective yet forcefully abrasive nature of the main character - suggests a different way to show women on the camera, and how to give them agency without any need of negotiation with the male gender.

Best Example of "Counter Cinema" in a Road Film Narrative:

Why? Vagabond. Unfortunately I already gave the reason for this in the previous answer.

Your definition of "counter cinema"

Cinema moving in the opposite direction of what the general theme of cinema is. Quite literally, the road might move in a different direction. Character negotiations may happen in a different way. Different groups have agency. The prevailing message is counter mainstream.

Best Filmic Study of Gender on the Road:

Why? My Own Private Idaho. Here we have two characters facing the road in sexualized bodies, more so than gendered bodies. I say this because their negotiation with gender is never a choice. It is always something forced onto them, and this film leave me wondering just how gender comes into question. In addition, the way the road becomes something spatial when homosexual men are introduced to it without the veils of transgender makes me wonder if not the road is made inherently feminine in road movies.

Best Filmic Study of Race on the Road:

Why? Set if Off. Because it raises the question "where is the road for minorities?" Just to reach the road, there is a road all on its own.

Best Filmic Study of Class on the Road:

Why? Set if Off. For much the same reason. The road is a privilege, afforded by some amount of money. Without money, being from the lowest of classes, just reaching the road requires a journey all its own.

Best Filmic Study of Queer Bodies on the Road:

Why? Priscilla. These three men are a great example of queering the road. OF all the male characters I think that these three are the most masculine of everyone, even though they masquerade as women. I feel they bring a brevity to their fixtures in thei worl that makes them more a man than man others.

Best Definition of a Road Film from the Readings (excerpt from the readings, give page number and author):

Road films are generally movies that valorize the road and treats travel as the ultimate symbol of materialism and decadence. (Laderman, Driving Visions pg. 255)

Best Actor (select 2 and rank order):

(1) John Leguizamo

(2) Wesley Snipes

Actress (select 2 and rank order):

(1) Queen Latifa

(2) Abigail Breslin

Best Supporting Actor/Actress (select2 and rank order ):in order

(1) Steve Carell/ Jack Nicholson

(2) Macha Meril/Vivivca A Fox

Best Road Film from GWSS 3007 Series: Set it Off

Why? Because the representations of black feminity are complicated, and the consequences for being a black outlaw are real but the film is not too heavy handed in delivering it's message.

Best Trans-Character in Trans-Cinema Road Film: Chi Chi

Why? She is hilarious, and sweet and totally overacted which I think is appropriate for a comedian playing a drag queen. Drag itself is a flattering mockery, so I really like the way Chi Chi is potrayed.

Most Complicated Character in a Road Film Narrative: Mona

Why? Her disjointed story is never fully told or understood within the narrative, and there seems not to be a direct message that her story is trying to preach, and yet every one she meet along her journey seemed either greatly affected or intrigued by her.

Favorite and Most Memorable Vehicle in a Road Film: (select 2 and rank order):
1 Pricilla
2 The broken down VW van from Little Miss Sunshine

Best Example of the Male Gaze in a Road Film? Easy Rider

Worst Road Film screened in GWSS 3307: Girl on a Motorcycle

Why? It was hard to watch, and the female lead was embarrassingly motivated by the approval of men, and her dialog was often ridiculous.

Your favorite cop in the road movie genre___Thelma & Louise ____________
(Name the Movie)
Best Soundtrack in a Road Film:
Set it Off

Best feminist film in the GWSS series: Vagabond

Why? Mona's inversions of the gaze were powerful, and like we discussed in class I read the film as a queer film around the notion of celebration of abjection.

Best Example of "Counter Cinema" in a Road Film Narrative: Vagabond

Why? Because most of the films we watched were produced in Hollywood, many with major box office success, but Vegabond went by a completely different formula. The was it was filmed, often panning the camera counterintuitively from right to left gave the audience a much more active role in participation with the film unlike the major Hollywood films which are meant to be absorbed passively as entertainment only.

Your definition of "counter cinema" Counter cinema challenges tropes of mainstream movies both in script content, and in the manner in which they are filmed, produced, and marketed.

Best Filmic Study of Gender on the Road: Priscilla

Why? While other films interrogated gender well, there were many representations of feminity in this film and more gender representations were presented in this film which is important when interrogating gender

Best Filmic Study of Race on the Road: Set it Off

Why? There were many representations of black feminity in this film that attempted to be less stereotypical than in a lot of films about black women and how they deal with unjust legal and social oppression, and there were a lot of black male characters in the film that were interesting to analyze too. Black women on both sides of the law, sometimes the same women at different points of the movie, I think made for a really compelling place to start a discussion about race and punishment based on identity categories.

Best Filmic Study of Class on the Road: tie between Vagabond and Set It Off& My Own Private Idaho

Why? Vagabond because as a homeless drifter Mona show how resourceful poor people must be, and she represents the excluded class.
Set it Off because the film discusses the social context for race and poverty
My Own Private Idaho because of the comparison between Mike and Scott

Best Filmic Study of Queer Bodies on the Road: The Adventures of Priscilla

Why? Because there is a fairly realistic representation of how queer bodies are received when they travel to certain places, and the film shows them being rather les-phobic to a dyke character in a bar, which I think is really interesting. The idea presented in a film like Too Wong Foo, that drag queens are happy fairy godmotherly types is ridiculous, in fact queer people are complicated imperfect, and sometime homophobic themselves.

Best Definition of a Road Film from the Readings (excerpt from the readings, give page number and author):

In the discussion about Natural Born Killers, a film we didn't watch our text book says "The film becomes exactly what it protests." (Laderman). They were talking about how that film in particular critiques gratuitous violence, but then show lots of it and is based on that showing in a lot of ways, but I think this idea applies to a lot of road films. In the way that the road film narrative is supposed to be about outlaws and breaking free from normative sedentary social obligations, the subtext of most of the films reifies normative family and social structures, just in transit or in new places. The way that Thelma and Louise is supposed to subvert sexist tropes of the road film, it heavily engages the male gaze and portrays the punishment women for seeking freedom from domestication, and abuse.

I will add the page # to this after class