From the early days of cinema, when Mae West captured attention with her bawdy double entendres, to the power players of today’s blockbusters—stars like Zendaya and Cate Blanchett—women have been a powerful presence in film. Yet despite the adoration of their fans, their rise has been riddled with sexism. Talented actresses were continually cast in the role of bombshell. Marilyn Monroe, for instance, in the 1953 movie Niagara, was called “[not] the perfect actress” by The New York Times, even as the paper noted, “she can be seductive—even when she walks.” This exhibition challenges history’s stereotypical views of screen goddesses. Archival material, photographs, and costumes shed new light on them as heroes and disruptors. —Elena Clavarino