Throwing Down with The Lost Sisterhood: Amazons, Academics, and Adventure

Anne Fortier's novel envisions women "who live outside of society"

1x 1.1x 1.25x 1.5x 2x 3x

:15 :15

Download

Throwing Down with The Lost Sisterhood: Amazons, Academics, and Adventure

HD Video Download

Anne Fortier's previous novel, 2010's Juliet, brilliantly retold the source legend of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet. It was a New York Times bestseller and written while the author worked at the libertarian Institute for Humane Studies.

Fortier's new novel, The Lost Sisterhood, switches back and forth between the travails of Diana Morgan, a contemporary scholar at Oxford, and Myrina, the legendary warrior who would become the first ruler of the Amazons. It's a page-turning thriller that is also packed with ideas about history, gender, self-determination, and the desire for true freedom.

"I hope to raise a lot of questions about the choices that we make by…asking, 'What if a group of women decided to live outside of society, bend the spoon, and override all rules and regulations?'" says Fortier, who was raised in Denmark, holds a doctorate in the history of ideas from Aarhus University, and co-produced the Emmy Award–winning documentary Fire and Ice: The Winter War of Finland and Russia.

Fortier recently talked with Reason TV's Nick Gillespie about the ongoing popularity of deeply researched historical fiction, the power of novels to rock people's worlds, and her creative process.

About 12 minutes. Produced by Amanda Winkler. Additional camera: Joshua Swain. 

Scroll down for downloadable versions. Subscribe to Reason TV's YouTube channel for automatic notifications when new videos go live.

Comments

[Snark Plissken]

Speaking of feminism, Belgium bans sexy speech.

[DJF]

I'm too sexy for Belgium

http://youtu.be/39YUXIKrOFk

[AlmightyJB]

I think Belgium needs to get in the kitchen and make me a waffle sandwich.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Uh, hello? That's last night's news.

http://reason.com/blog/2014/03.....nt_4394386

[Snark Plissken]

The evening Independents thread is for wastrels and layabouts.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

A wastrel is:

"archaic
a waif; a neglected child."

How can a wastrel be a layabout if you employ child labor in strenuous monocle-manufacturing work?

[Mickey Rat]

The wastrel is the child laborer and the layabout is the child employer.

[AlmightyJB]

I know what my eldest Sweden loving daughter is getting for Mothers Day. Fortier's very likable.

[AlmightyJB]

Reminded me of this Drew Carey episode:

http://www.esreality.com/files.....french.gif

[AlmightyJB]

The Belgium law reminded me of this. Nesting. How does it work.

[TheZeitgeist]

All politics is local. Propose to the Belgians a law banning insults based on Flemish or Walloon origins, all in the name of polite PC discourse.

Crickets.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

If we're doing stories I posted last night, here's a thing that's been making the rounds of the Internet:

"To keep the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) free from potentially biased, sensitive, or controversial content, the following topics are avoided on the examination:

Violence (including guns, other weapons, and graphic animal violence)

Dying, death, disease, hunger, famine

War

Natural disasters with loss of life

Drugs (including prescription drugs), alcohol, tobacco, smoking

Junk food

Abuse, poverty, running away

Divorce

Socio-economic advantages (e.g., video games, swimming pools, computers in the home, expensive vacations)

Sex

Religion

Complex discussions of sports

Slavery

Evolution, prehistoric times, age of solar system, dinosaurs

Rap music, rock concerts

Extrasensory perception, witchcraft

Halloween, religious holidays

Anything disrespectful, demeaning, moralistic, chauvinistic

Children coping with adult situations or decisions; young people challenging or questioning authority

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Mention of individuals who may be associated with drug use or with advertising of substances such as cigarettes or alcohol

Losing a job, home, or pets

Rats, roaches, lice, spiders

Dieting, other concerns with self-image

Political issues

Any topic that is likely to upset students and affect their performance on the rest of the test

It is important to note that these guidelines are applied in the context of the purpose of the test as well as the overall passage or item. For example, some topics (e.g., the socio-economic advantages) may be mentioned in a text, although an entire passage would not focus on these topics."

http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/hs.....ss.asp#Q12

[AlmightyJB]

Why not math? Math was invented by the Patriarchy to keep women down.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Already covered by "socio-economic advantages" and "likely to upset students."

/sarc

[John Galt]

Meth was invented by a male hillbilly dominated society striving to make certain there'd never again be a shortage of snarly toothless women.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

More recycled stories: Press release from Santa Barbara DA's office announces misdemeanor charges against porn prof who stole a sign from prolife demonstrators in a college free-speech zone.

http://bit.ly/1lZlXZI

[SIV]

Fox News Doc:

School administrators should suspend each and every one of them from school for two weeks and admit them back to school only with a note from a psychologist or psychiatrist or licensed social worker stating that the student has begun treatment.

Why take such seemingly dramatic steps? Because every, single teenager who sent out a photograph of himself or herself involved in sex or obviously drunk or on drugs via @LIPartyStories is emotionally disordered -- probably suffering with one or more symptoms of a brewing personality disorder (narcissistic personality disorder), very possibly depressed, likely abusing alcohol or drugs or both and very likely addicted to at least one very potent drug: the Internet.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"Welcome to young America."

Yes, every single teenager in the country takes naked photographs of themselves and posts those photos on the Internet.

[AlmightyJB]

I think once the next generation of teens starts to see naked pictures of their parents and grandparents on the web, this will be a self correcting issue.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

I couldn't find the video on YouTube, but in *Titanic,* you see Old Rose reminiscing about how Jack Dawson painted her naked: "My heart was pounding the whole time. It was the most erotic moment of my life. Up until then, at least."

[Virginian]

That's crazy. No one ever had sex or did anything erotic before the 60s. The Baby Boomers invented all that. They told me so.

[SweatingGin]

Because every, single teenager who sent out a photograph of himself or herself involved in sex or obviously drunk or on drugs via @LIPartyStories is emotionally disordered

"The profile you are trying to view has been suspended."

[Notorious G.K.C.]

So you're saying you wanted to look?

[The Late P Brooks]

Right now, on Melissa Harris Racebaiter: WAR ON WOMYNZ!

Those darn misogynist Rethuglitardians1

By the way, did they boot MHP? I don't think she appears on her show very often any more. Although incredibly annoying gay one-named-man is a pretty close substitute. So many angry black women, so few cable channels.

[The Late P Brooks]

WTF? Chrissie Matthews commercial. NO GUNS FOR CIVILIANS!

Only highly trained sworn officers of the LAWZ should be permitted to have guns. Because we trust the government. Government people are awesome. Plebs are icky.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Fortier's new novel, The Lost Sisterhood, switches back and forth between the travails of Diana Morgan, a contemporary scholar at Oxford, and Myrina, the legendary warrior who would become the first ruler of the Amazons

I liked it better when Lynda Carter was in the lead role.

[SIV]

The only role I can stand to watch Debra Winger in:

Wonder Woman's little sister: Wonder Girl

[SIV]

Edited for chloroform fetishists

[AlmightyJB]

Lynda Carter in a purple negligee. Thank you.

[AlmightyJB]

Also. John Saxon on. Great 70s bad guy charactor actor.

[The Late P Brooks]

Nobody said it was gonna be easy.

The Republicans note, correctly, that some people may qualify for an exemption if their insurance was canceled and they can't find affordable plans in the insurance marketplaces. But it's not enough for applicants to simply say they cannot find an affordable policy; getting an exemption requires them to jump through all sorts of hoops.

Besides submitting a copy of the cancellation notice, applicants must fill out a nine-page form, under penalty of perjury, that requires information for everyone in the family about income, employment and any job-related health insurance. In addition, there is no certainty that an application will be approved. That judgment will be made by the federal and state officials who run the marketplaces. We hope and expect that they will award exemptions judiciously, rejecting applicants who make willful efforts to evade the law and approving those who made good faith efforts to find affordable policies.

But don't worry, we have Top Men doing case-by-case review. What could possibly go wrong?

[JEP]

One of the things I like most about libertarianism/radical individualism is that it has a culture. People say that existentialism was the first philosophy that tried to appeal to people through literature(specifically fiction) - Sartre, Camus, etc. I think radical individualism is taking that idea and running with it.

There's Rose Ingalls Wilder, Ayn Rand, Orwell(anti-authority), Heinlein, Anne Fortier, etc. During the 2012 election, musicians were writing songs about Ron Paul. There was a video of this girl painting a gigantic Ron Paul/Constitution related mural. Even FireFly...

To contrast, there's not a common thread through literature that you can identify as being specifically "Democratic" or "Republican" - though you could possibly find books on being statist.

Come to think of it, even those statist books are generally regarded as tyrannical. Most books on politics focus on never taking a stand, being an empty shell so that the "ideas" appeal to the greatest number of people.

[JEP]

One of the things I like most about libertarianism/radical individualism is that it has a culture. People say that existentialism was the first philosophy that tried to appeal to people through literature(specifically fiction) - Sartre, Camus, etc. I think radical individualism is taking that idea and running with it.

There's Rose Ingalls Wilder, Ayn Rand, Orwell(anti-authority), Heinlein, Anne Fortier, etc. During the 2012 election, musicians were writing songs about Ron Paul. There was a video of this girl painting a gigantic Ron Paul/Constitution related mural. Even FireFly...

To contrast, there's not a common thread through literature that you can identify as being specifically "Democratic" or "Republican" - though you could possibly find books on being statist.

Come to think of it, even those statist books are generally regarded as tyrannical. Most books on politics focus on never taking a stand, being an empty shell so that the "ideas" appeal to the greatest number of people.

[MariantheLibrarian]

The answer to the author's question: 'What if a group of women decided to live outside of society, bend the spoon, and override all rules and regulations?'" is it, in my speculation, (and assuming no men or children at all) would be worse than Lord of the Flies by far. (But then I'm not a spoon bender.)
As an afterthought, and after observing that much obvious on-screen chemistry, I feel like saying "go for it Nick." Maybe then you'll get out of our hair! HA!

[Corning]

"There is still a physical inequality"

Err...

Guns kind of did away with that.

The fact that more women find guns icky then men is a cultural phenomenon not a physical one.

[Corning]

Nick turn down the heat in the office. You are melting your guests of Northern European decent!!

[TheZeitgeist]

Anne Fortier is very elegant in her demeanor and elocution, despite obvious overheating (while Gillespie, of course, is in his leather second-skin - does he shower in that thing?).

Bought the book and am reading it now, competent prose but you've got to 'commit' to get through the first hundred pages of set-up.

[David Wall]

"Anne Fortier is very elegant in her demeanor and elocution, despite obvious overheating..."

I found myself having lascivious thoughts while listening to her talk about Amazon warriors. The perspiration sheen, well, it made me think of overheating alright!

[Gorilla tactics]

she's very attractive in a believable down to earth way. Very charming.

[nancy284]

Start earning with Google. Just work for few hours and have more time with friends and family. I earn up to $500 per week. Its actually the nicest job Ive had. Linked Here http://www.Pow6.com

[Curtisls87]

I think she should have been interviewed by Tracy Oppenheimer - girl on girl...