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The Kitchen

Name: The Kitchen
Director: Andrea Berloff
Released: 2019
Duration: 103 min

Representation Score

5.2/10

Fair

2019

Director

Andrea Berloff

Runtime

103 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

The film successfully challenges traditional gender roles by empowering female characters within a typically masculine crime genre. The shift from domestic life to organized crime highlights the strength and leadership of women. However, the movie is constrained by its narrow ethnic focus and a lack of diverse representation. By concentrating solely on the Irish mafia in a specific historical context, it misses opportunities for broader inclusion. The narrative emphasizes personal empowerment over systemic critique, creating a sense of cultural insulation despite its strong gender subversion.

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Category Breakdown

Does The Kitchen have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film focuses on traditional heterosexual relationships and lacks any representation of LGBTQ+ identities or narratives that question these norms.

How does The Kitchen portray gender?

Good

The movie transforms housewives into powerful criminal leaders, showing women taking control and demonstrating superior tactical skills compared to men.

How racially and ethnically diverse is The Kitchen?

Limited

Set in 1978 Hell's Kitchen, the story revolves around an Irish-American community with little diversity in the cast, sticking to the ethnic norms of the time.

How does The Kitchen represent religion and culture?

Fair

The film examines moral relativism through personal survival without critiquing broader systems. It uses luxurious urban settings that align with traditional capitalist structures.

Does The Kitchen include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no significant portrayal of visible or invisible disabilities, nor does the narrative explore themes related to neurodivergence or physical disabilities.

Present on Screen

Challenges traditional gender roles by elevating women to powerful criminal leaders.
Highlights the tactical competence and leadership of women in a male-dominated underworld.
Repositions nurturing roles through character transformation.

Limited or Absent

Needs more diverse representation, particularly in racial and ethnic backgrounds.
Lacks representation of LGBTQ+ identities and non-traditional gender narratives.
Does not address themes of disability or neurodivergence in character development.

Official Synopsis

The mobster husbands of three 1978 Hell's Kitchen housewives are sent to prison by the FBI. Left with little but a sharp ax to grind, the ladies take the Irish mafia's matters into their own hands — proving unexpectedly adept at everything from running the rackets to taking out the competition… literally.

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