What power does the word ‘bitch’ hold? Can it be reclaimed and used in relation to some of the female roles in film and TV? What is the power of female actors who have played a character who we could call a ‘bitch’ on screen? How are these screen roles created in cinema and TV, and what is their effect on audiences?
I took part in a panel discussion on these questions hosted by Anna Smith, alongside Agnieszka Piotrowska (author of The Nasty Woman and The Neo Femme Fatale in Contemporary Cinema), film critics Pamela Hutchinson and Miriam Bale, and poet Be Manzini.
13 June 2019, BFI Southbank.
Pic credit: Joan Collins as Alexis in Dynasty (1984).
Virginie Sélavy 