Girlhood Movie Database

06. The Starling Girl

We’re tackling religious upbringing this week with Laurel Parmet’s THE STARLING GIRL (2023), a phenomenal film about a teenage girl’s coming-of-age in her Christian fundamentalist community—and we’re having necessary conversations about modesty culture (and the violence it inflicts), predatory relationships, and the work of protecting each other whilst living within systems that thrive precisely by not protecting our livelihoods. 
 
Secondary texts referenced:
Holiday Country by Inci Atrek
The Dream of a Common Language by Adrienne Rich
Interview with Laurel Parmet

05. Plan B

It’s finally time to talk about a teen comedy! Marin’s pick this week is Natalie Morales’s PLAN B (2021), which follows two South Dakotan teens as they try to obtain basic reproductive healthcare and endure lots of bullshit along the way. But the movie is also a funny and tender depiction of friendship and growing into yourself. We discuss its smart and empathetic use of humor, why its romantic subplots work, the logistics of its South Dakota geography, and the possibilities—and limitations—of art as an agent for political change. (Audio note: apologies for the muffled sound at parts—we recorded this episode while wearing masks in an attempt to avoid illness!)
 
Secondary texts referenced:
Forever… by Judy Blume
Long Live the Tribes of Fatherless Girls: A Memoir by T Kira Madden

04. The Lost Daughter

Courtesy of Maggie, we are finally talking about a movie from this decade: Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut, THE LOST DAUGHTER (2021), which is also an adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s novel. We marvel at Olivia Colman’s face acting. We use the word “boundless” a lot. We remember the ways our girlhood-selves terrorized our mothers. We have a lot to say about mothering, art-making, and terrible men who are, nevertheless, alluring. Thankfully, this movie has a lot to say, too. 
 
Secondary texts referenced:
A Life of One’s Own: Nine Women Writers Begin Again by Joanna Biggs
Women, Race, & Class by Angela Y. Davis
The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante
Transforming Girls: The Work of Nineteenth-Century Adolescence by Julie Pfeiffer
Flash Count Diary: Menopause and the Vindication of Natural Life by Darcey Steinke
Letterboxd review by @ducournau

03. Nancy Drew

NANCY DREW (2007) was one of Marin’s favorite movies as a child. Does it hold up? Not really! But Maggie hypothesizes why it makes sense that Young Marin would be smitten with this movie. We also talk about the movie’s depictions of danger, perfection, and violent /clueless/entitled men/boys—all of which leads us to wonder: are we over-thinking this PG movie?
 
Secondary texts referenced:
Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood by Ibtisam Barakat
“‘Nancy Drew’ Revisited” by Barbara S. Wertheimer and Carol Sands, Language Arts
Incorrect Logline: Warner Bros.

02. Romeo + Juliet

Early into this episode, Marin likens watching Baz Luhrmann’s ROMEO + JULIET (1997) for the first time to “seeing God,” so, yeah, we loved this. We discuss the film’s tenderness towards its characters and its refreshing portraits of girlhood and masculinity, particularly via the gaze of the camera itself. While Maggie’s prowess as a high school literature teacher is on full display, Marin connects the film to not one but TWO teen dramas. Also, we introduce a new closing segment!  
 
Secondary texts referenced:
“Elizabethan Street Fighting” by Shakespeare Unlimited podcast, ep. 24
“The Female Gaze” by Alexis Loftis, Sartorial Magazine
“Jenny Han Explains How Pop Music is Central to The Summer I Turned Pretty” by Malia Mendez, 
Los Angeles Times
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare 
The Summer I Turned Pretty, season 2, episode 2
Dawson’s Creek, season 3, episode 14

01. Ever After

Welcome to the very first episode of Girlhood Movie Database! We’re so thankful you’re here as we discuss the underrated 90s GEM of a film, EVER AFTER (1998). Maggie shares her lifelong love of Drew Barrymore (which she proves via a reading from her teenage diary), Marin laments her young self’s lack of appreciation for the film, and we talk about how this re-telling of Cinderella diverges from other versions of the fairytale to give us characters, friendships, and romance worth rooting for. 
 
Secondary texts referenced:
Wildflower by Drew Barrymore
“Cinderella” by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love by bell hooks
“Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper” by Charles Perrault
Archetypal Patterns in Women’s Fiction by Annis Pratt
Melanie Lynskey interview on Fresh Air
Incorrect Logline: Letterboxd

Introducing: Girlhood Movie Database

3/7/2025 UPDATE: We have changed the name of this show! You are now listening to Girlhood Movie Database, which kind of renders parts of this episode irrelevant. I considered removing the entire thing, but decided to add this addendum instead for any new listeners who appreciate a primer episode before diving into a new podcast.
In this short intro episode, Maggie and Marin introduce themselves, the structure of each episode, and the inspiration for the show’s title! We also touch on the supposed feuds between Millennials and Gen Z-ers on the internet. (Spoiler: Maggie is a Millennial and Marin is a Gen Z-er and neither of us understand any of this nonsense.)