The low-budget 2012 science fiction action thriller Looper was critically lauded upon its release – with audiences enthusiastically embracing the film for its original premise and deftly executed narrative, to the tune of $176.5 million. It is, perhaps, a little disingenuous to characterise the narrative itself as original, however, as it relies very heavily on well-worn sexist tropes.

It is written and directed by Rian Johnson, and concerns the fictional intersection between organised crime and time travel. Set, for the most part, in 2044, we meet the main character – Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) – who works for a feared crime organisation in Kansas City. We learn that the future – specifically, the year 2074 – is a time when time travel is invented, but is immediately outlawed, a...

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