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Hilary Van Hoose

Freelance Journalist

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Hilary Van Hoose

Available to write articles about topics ranging from entertainment industry issues, disability, gender, and health to travel, lifestyle, and film/TV reviews.

Recent articles published in Animation Magazine, Pipeline Artists Magazine, and The Valley Star. Older articles published in USA Today College, Uloop, UCSC Abroad, and others.

M.F.A. from USC (University of Southern California)
B.A. from UCSC (University of California Santa Cruz)

News and magazine article writer

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Published Articles

Hollywood Films Written By and About Women - Part 1

Hollywood Films Written By and About Women - Part 1

This is the first of a three-part series in which I'm going to talk about noteworthy female-led feature films that were written or co-written by women with 10 films, spanning from the Silent Era until the end of Hollywood's Golden Age in the late 1940s.

Hollywood Films Written By and About Women - Part 2

Hollywood Films Written By and About Women - Part 2

Ready for 10 more womanly wonders from cinema history? This time we're starting at the demise of the Golden Age and running clear into the 1980s.

Hollywood Films Written by and About Women - Part 3

Hollywood Films Written by and About Women - Part 3

10 films y and about women from the modern era.

With so many representation firsts from the last decade, including Doc McStuffins, Pablo, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, Spirit Rangers and Molly of Denali, animation still has a long way to go before inclusion becomes the norm rather than a novelty. If you’re one of the increasing numbers of creators seeking to uplift diverse talent and bolster authenticity in storytelling, who should you talk to? What practices are effective? Let’s ask the experts!

Inclusion in Animation: The Next Chapter

With so many representation firsts from the last decade, including Doc McStuffins, Pablo, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, Spirit Rangers and Molly of Denali, animation still has a long way to go before inclusion becomes the norm rather than a novelty. If you’re one of the increasing numbers of creators seeking to uplift diverse talent and bolster authenticity in storytelling, who should you talk to? What practices are effective? Let’s ask the experts!

A Gallup poll reports that women still take on the majority of household roles despite a recent report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showing that women comprise the majority of the American workforce.

How Deeply Are Our Views on Gender Equity Shaped by Our Fathers' Everyday Actions?

Sons and daughters seeing their fathers perform household duties might prove to be the key for each younger generation closing gender-based inequality gaps both at the office and at home — but we are not there yet.

Any screenwriter can become a research powerhouse. You just need a few basic skills and resources, and a little practice using them.

Becoming a Writing Research Powerhouse

Any screenwriter can become a research powerhouse. You just need a few basic skills and resources, and a little practice using them.

At a time when one third of Americans are living with a disability, and when those numbers are on the rise due to long-COVID, film studios and television networks continue to eschew disability representation for both employees and content.

The Most Underrepresented Type of Diversity in Media: Disability

People with disabilities are not seeing themselves on the big screen, on television, or in the rooms where the writers of mass media are employed.

A $1000 per month price tag for insulin forces millions of Americans with Diabetes to ration the medication that keeps them alive, and many die trying. (Photo by Hilary Van Hoose/Special to the Star)

Big Pharma, Insulin Prices and Elections

The 2020 presidential elections thrust insulin prices into the spotlight. Here is why 2022 voters need to track this issue.

From Aliens with Super Powers to People With Special Skills to … Vampires?

What is a Superhero?

With so many superhero shows and movies out now, what is a superhero, really? Are vampire, spy, space alien, and wizard stories all just sub-genres within the superhero genre?

Image of a blank page in a blank room.

10 End-of-Year Lists All Screenwriters Should Make

Here are 10 lists you can make to help supercharge your productivity in 2023 as a screenwriter.

Filmmakers Brad Bird and Damon Lindelof took a risk in a landscape of remakes and sequels by creating a retro-futuristic blockbuster with a heartfelt original story. Despite not being a box office success, it paid off in more important ways.

“Tomorrowland:” The most important movie you've probably never seen

If the pandemic has caused endless doom scrolling, now might be the perfect time to watch a story about relighting the spark of optimism.

Early November is when many deadlines for study abroad program applications come about, and it can be a daunting task to choose amongst hundreds or thousands of programs. Since I went through the process and am now successfully studying abroad in Paris, I’m hoping it will be helpful to walk you through the process by which I narrowed down my choices and selected my program.

Life as a Parisian Débutante: How to Choose a Study Abroad Program

It’s that time of year again. No, not the holidays. It’s study abroad application time! Here's a guide to get you started.

If your office has you feeling creatively stifled, anxious, or just kind of blah, there's actually quite a lot you can do about it.

Writer's Block? Your Workspace May Be the Cause

If your office has you feeling creatively stifled, anxious, or just kind of blah, there's actually quite a lot you can do about it.

How To Be an A+ Online Student in 10 Easy Steps

How To Be an A+ Online Student in 10 Easy Steps

Many students are likely nervous to try this unfamiliar format. Having taken nearly all of my first 2 years of GEs online, however, I’m here to tell you that online classes are just dandy if you know how to deal with them.

Learn how to get fit, without making yourself sick or injured.

Feeling the Burn, or Getting Burned

For all the chanting of “feel the burn” and “no pain no gain,” our health educators often forget that overworking a body to get results faster than is sensible can do more harm than good.

How to take some of the stress out of air travel.

Seven Tips to Make Flying a Breeze

Air travel doesn’t have to be a super-stressful experience. Most people already know to buy tickets months in advance and follow TSA regulations for liquids, gels, etc., but many still seem to be at odds with the difficulties of just getting on and off of an aircraft. Here are a few tips I always keep in mind when I fly.

It’s impossible to stay away from contagious people all the time, since one is all too often housed with a sick roommate, then stuck in a classroom between a couple sick classmates with a sick teacher facing the class. However, even a veritable plague of campus illnesses can be combated with a few simple habits.

Healthy Habits for Avoiding School Year Sickness

It’s impossible to stay away from contagious people all the time, but normal campus colds and flus can be combated with a few simple habits.

Media

Appearances

Examples of my public speaking and acting as an anchor or correspondent for a TV news program.