I’m not particularly sure how the archaic term “goddess” translates to our modern world, but I’m almost certain that getting fired by Jeff Bezos for expressing the fact (through the transitive property) that he hasn’t earned his unconscionable fraction of the world’s wealth constitutes “goddess energy.” It’s hard to say for sure whether Seattle’s Who Is She? were already in their goddess era when they were relieved of their duties as the house band for Bezo’s Climate Pledge Arena due to misremembering Le Tigre lyrics, since the project comprised of Lisa Prank’s Robin Edwards, Chastity Belt’s Julia Shapiro, and Tacocat’s Bree McKenna and Emily Nokes hadn’t released any new material since their 2017 debut—which was too dedicated to reuniting ill-fated ’90s celebrity couples to concern itself with ascending the throne of pop-punk royalty.
But in the aftermath of Jeff-Bezo’s-Climate-Pledge-Arena-gate, the group was quick to accept the call with their newfound fame. Goddess Energy, their new sophomore record, may still be full of People-Mag concerns such as the way people treat certain stars of Barbara Koppel’s 2005 hood film Havoc, only this time around they’re waxing pop-cultural in between mouthfuls of grapes dangled regally above their mouths. Elsewhere, the lyrics focus on how even the least legal-tender contents of our wallets have made us feel like goddesses on tracks such as the surprisingly controversial ode to Seattle’s transit system or a wistful recollection of the too-good-to-be-true era of MoviePass (look it up if you’re too young to remember it—I don’t think you’d believe me if I told you anyway).
With movies on the mind, Edwards, Shapiro, McKenna, and Nokes all took the time to help define “goddess energy” for us by sharing some of their favorite movies they believe exude this quality—and, in most cases, even identifying the actresses most responsible for it. Check out their selections below, and stream Goddess Energy—out now via Father/Daughter—here.
BREE MCKENNA
Moonstruck
A perfect fairy tale! And also probably no one has ever had more goddess energy falling out of their hair than Cher does when she meets Nicolas Cage outside the opera house.
The Craft
A perfectly gothy tale of young witches that is teeming with both goddess energy and goddess fashion, in my opinion. Also, Emily had this huge Craft poster up in her apartment where the press quote at the top said “Carrie Meets Clueless,” and I’ve always been obsessed with that—what a line.
Oceans 8
Rihanna plays the only hacker role that emits pure goddess. And robbing the Met Gala for diamonds! That’s pure goddess intentions. My only complaint is that Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett don’t end up together in it. Bonus: Our girl Anne Hathaway probably in her most accurate role!
Run Lola Run
Franka Potente running through the streets of Berlin to non-stop techno to save her loser boyfriend! Bank robberies! Red Manic Panic hair dye! Sliding Doors time-travel scenarios! This one was made for the goddess of excitement.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains
This delightfully weird movie about an ’80s rock band believes that “every citizen should be given an electric guitar for her 16th birthday.” Plus, Laura Dern is amazing as the bass player!
JULIA SHAPIRO
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar
Maybe I was smoking some reefer while watching this, but I found it very funny! A lighthearted tale of two old hags on vacation in Vista Del Mar, where an evil wench plots to take down the entire town. Kristen Wiig is great in it.
Book Club
A bunch of old-ass goddesses serving cunt while reading 50 Shades of Grey!
Grizzly Man
How does Grizzly Man exude goddess energy, you ask? Well, the whole film is encompassed by the greatest goddess of all: mother nature! Don’t you dare mess with her, or you’ll get eaten by a bear.
ROBIN EDWARDS
Ever After
I’m a sucker for a Cinderella retelling, and I’ve loved this movie for so long. It makes me cry! Drew Barrymore, the evil stepsisters, Anjelica Houston as the evil stepmother, and Leonardo Da Vinci all exude goddess energy.
Mamma Mia!
This movie has it all: a wedding, a question of paternity, and goddesses singing ABBA songs in Greece. I would include the second Mamma Mia!, but there’s simply not enough Cher in it.
EMILY NOKES
Daisies
A wild 1966 film directed by Věra Chytilová (Czech New Wave’s only female director) that has everything: hijinx, banquet food fighting, female friendship, partying, great outfits, silliness in excess. It was super defiant and political for its time, but also surreal and absurd. Two young women running around having fun terrorizing everyone is très goddess-approved.
The Love Witch
The set! The costumes! Her makeup! Her jewelry! The string of dead lovers! I can’t get enough of this extremely glamorous technicolor blend of camp/horror/beauty; I wish I could replicate this entire aesthetic for my everyday life. Goddess energy, but make it a lil’ eerie.
Dune
I’ll take any excuse to talk about Dune, the book or the movie(s), so let me Dune-splain the Bene Gesserit to you: They’re a matriarchal sisterhood who use extreme physical and mental training to gain so much power they can basically guide humanity over millennia. They are loyal only to themselves. They also use “the Voice” to control people by lowering their voices to this freaky tone. I could go on and on, but trust me—it’s big goddess energy.
