Is Perfidia Beverly Hills a Jezebel?
In this episode of What Was She Thinking by She Could, we analyze Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another (2025) and examine the portrayal of Perfidia Beverly Hills, played by Teyana Taylor. We explore whether the film critiques or reinforces the Jezebel trope, and what this depiction says about race, sexuality, power, and representation in modern cinema. Topics include: The Jezebel trope in film & history Perfidia’s portrayal and hypersexualization Intent vs. impact in storytelling What audiences are (and aren’t) noticing Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 03:00 Discussion of intro of film, Act 1 and Perfidia 22:00 Jungle Pussy analysis 28:00 Capture of Perfidia and Lockjaw - he “saves” her 34:00 Perfidia leaves Charlotte/Willa - Postpartum 45:00 Act 2 - 16 years later/Willa is a teen/parent teacher conference 48:00 Intro of Sensei/Escape plan/Decline of Bob 53:00 Comparison of Bob, Sensei and Lockjaw 55:00 Christmas Adventurers Club analysis and Lockjaw 1:13:00 Decline of French 75 1:18:00 Director/Writers personal connection to story (Married to Rudolph)/Discussion of Jezebel character 1:28:00 Historical relationships between black women and white men/Perfidia and power 1:30:00 Perfidia duality - power or shame? 1:40:46 What Was She Thinking takeaways
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