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Feminine roles in cinema vary as there are different types of female empowerment displayed on the big screen. The same can be said for the showcasing the vulnerability of women in the movies as well. From motherhood to savvy businesswomen women have been either represented with integrity or misrepresented with exploitative intent.

One of the most explosive roles for women in motion pictures have been in the titillating realm of prostitution. Whether considered controversial, inspirational or observational the concept of women selling sex and demonstrating sensuality poses may ethical questions in cinema. Are movies that stress moral dilemmas with femininity and flesh-pedaling philosophies a challenging venture or easy pickings for sensational themes in films?

Whatever the case the prospect of fast females in film presents somewhat of a sociological/psychological experimentation. May it be through the lens of declaration, discovery or despair She Works Hard for the Money: The Top...

Who says that movie-making talent cannot run within the same family? In the film industry when one reaches the pinnacle of success in achieving the ultimate reward in the motion picture business–winning an Academy Award–it is considered an individual milestone for any actor’s big screen career. However, when one’s gene pool produces the capacity to draw Oscar’s attention their way in keeping the golden statuette “in the family” it is living proof that the thespian’s apple does not fall from the street.

Whether through the relationship of blood relatives or marital unions “Relative”-ly Speaking: The Top 10 Oscar-winning Family Combinations looks at ten famous family member combos that won an Oscar through the methods of acting or directing. Let’s take a look at the top ten familial tandem that pulled off such an achievement in winning the coveted Oscar as it stands proudly on the family mantle.

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There are countless tales in television and film of women who sell their love for money–and for some reason we can’t stop falling in love with them! Julia Roberts was already a rising star when she played Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman, but it’s her performance as a Hollywood hooker that made her the biggest movie star of her generation. Nicole Kidman dazzled us as the doomed Satine in the romantic and over-the-top Moulin Rouge and Rachel Brosnahan is the latest to steal our heart with her conflicted but beautiful portrayal of Rachel Posner on the hit Netflix series, House of Cards.

Like another one of our favorite fictional hookers, Klute‘s Bree Daniels, Posner gets mixed up in the deadly world of Washington politics leading to shocking twist in season 2. The moment leaves us unsure about how good or how bad her character is.

Jane Fonda Makes Her Peace

By Alex Simon

Over her more than fifty years on the screen and in the public eye, Jane Fonda has worn more hats than any performer of her generation: daughter of Hollywood royalty (Henry Fonda), Oscar-winning actress, polarizing activist, fitness guru, best-selling author, Broadway star, mother, grandmother and wife, to three of their respective generation’s most influential men (director Roger Vadim, activist/politician Tom Hayden, media titan Ted Turner). Now in her 74th year (she turns 75 in December), Jane Fonda graces the screen again in director Bruce Beresford’s “Peace, Love and Misunderstanding,” a generation gap comedy-drama about an uptight career woman (Catherine Keener) who, after leaving her husband, brings her two kids (Elizabeth Olsen and Nat Wolff) to Woodstock, New York where her estranged mother (Fonda), a former and current hippie, lives on a sprawling farm. Truth, reconciliations and laughter soon follow. The IFC Films release,...

During Summer 2011  -- winding down at last! -- we've been asking Tfe readers to choose the most memorable Best Actress nominated film characters. Which film characters have you taken into your hearts and headspace most fully? Who is always popping into mind unbidden? Below are the latest voting results for August's polls covering the 1960s & 1970s (previous results: 1980s and 1991-2010). We used five year intervals for voting and asked readers to choose the 5 most memorable characters from each group of 25 Oscar nominees.

If you're looking for these polls to provide a "face" of an era it looks like Julie Andrews wins the early 60s -- she was thoroughly modern back then! -- and Faye Dunaway takes over from there for a long run at the top (1966-1980) [* indicates that it was an Oscar winning role.]

1961-1965

Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) Breakfast at Tiffany's Mary Poppins* (Julie Andrews) Mary Poppins [tie] Maria Von Trapp (Julie Andrews) The Sound of Music...

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Here is an extract from an enlightening interview with Ann Roth, costume designer of Working Girl (1988), The Talented Mr Ripley (1999) and now 1930s set TV drama Mildred Pierce starring Kate Winslet. Read the full interview over at Harper’s Bazaar to learn why costume design is definitely Not fashion design.

Interestingly, Ann Roth touches upon a similar point made by The Tudors’ costume designer Joan Bergin in our exclusive interview. Bergin explains that, like Roth, she creates for characters, not catwalk. This is a common misconception of the costume designer’s role. Sometimes there is overlap, intentional or not, but costumes are intended to serve the narrative; any allusion to contemporary fashion is either intentional (if it is part of the plot, say with The Devil Wears Prada) or inferred by the audience.