Jennifer's Body AKA A Complete Waste of Time

Jennifer's Body AKA A Complete Waste of Time

by:

Media_Justice

Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 8:08:00 AM EDT

Rating:

**Spoiler Alert**

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I was going to see Jennifer’s Body simply to support one of few women of Color directors: Karyn Kusama . This weekend I went to 42^nd Street/Times Square with my homegirl Erika Lopez to see the film. We caught an evening show on Saturday night. The theater was small even though the film was showing just about every hour. However, the showing was close to sold out. Erika and I sat in the front fourth row because we like horror and enjoy being all up in the middle of the screen.

Now, the audience was most definitely 98% people of Color, 90% under 25 years old, and a mixed group of gender identity. Erika and I knew to expect that we would be the “old heads” in the crowd, but neither of us mind. I knew to expect a lot of call and response from the audience, and that’s exactly what happened.

Here’s the deal: the film is terrible. I know I wrote a nice long article about how marketing was less than exceptional, how Kusama spoke about the skewed marketing, how her comments about that made me want to see the film even more. The reality is, the script is incredibly awful and tries so hard to sound “cool” that viewing the film was painful. And not just painful in the Bianca-is-not-the-demographic-for-the-film kind of way, but in the way where Erika exhales loudly about four times, I had to adjust myself in my seat over 10 times, and when the film was over I asked Erika if she wanted me to pay her back the money she dished out to see the film (she didn’t want to go but went with me because she’s my homegirl and I convinced her a double header to see Capitalism: A Love Story was a good idea for her rainy Saturday in NYC).

The most fascinating part of the film was how the audience responded.

Not only did they not laugh at the parts of the film that screenwriter and executive producer Diablo Cody wrote, but also when they did laugh it was more of a pointing and laughing response. For example, there’s one point in the film when Megan Fox’s character Jennifer says to her friend “Needy” played by Amanda Seyfried, “You are such a player hater.” Now, the audience I was a part of laughed at this, not because it was true, but because Cody attempted to write a character who was attempting to appropriate, use, and perform the phrase that became commonly used within specific communities of which neither Cody or Fox have membership. They laughed at her performance. They laughed at her attempt to appropriate language they no longer use. They laughed at them. I laughed with the audience because of their reaction.

Now, the poor writing and lack of any horror in the film is just the beginning of where the pain begins. There are the characters, clearly racialized violence in the film, over-emphasis on disability, and “the kiss.”

Let’s begin with characters and racialized violence. The first time we see people of Color they are institutionalized in a mental health facility. Within that space, we meet the first person of Color with a speaking role, a Nutritionist played by Candus Churchill. The Nutritionist has no name, yet is a Black woman who speaks to Needy in the cafeteria. She is kicked in the face by Needy and spits out a tooth on the floor while the other patients cheer. Prior to being retrained, Needy spits on the Nutritionist who is bleeding on the floor. Great. Just 5 minutes into the film, in one of the first scenes a Black woman is being kicked in the head by a White teenage girl.

I had to tell myself to take deep breaths.

The audience was not impressed either. There were no reactions similar to those that were prompted by watching trailers of buildings blowing up and men fighting that were mixed with laughter and awe. Instead, the response was one of “oh hell no.” The audience was not happy and neither was I. Yet, it says something about those involved in creating the film that they feel confident presenting violence against women of Color. It also says something about those of us in the audience who did not appreciate the scene and made it known.

We are then taken back in time to discover how Needy became institutionalized. We are taken back to high school. There are only three people of Color at school: A Black heterosexual couple who has no speaking role and that we see only once, an Asian American student named Chastity played by Valerie Tian who was also in Juno, and Ahmet from India played by Amen Johel who was also in Juno, but Ahmet has no speaking role. Now other identities are also presented, such as people with disabilities through the character Mr. Wroblewski played by J.K. Simmons (he was also in Juno). Mr. Wroblewski is a science teacher who has a “mechanical arm” that very much looks like a hook versus the prosthetics that are now available.

Now the most complicated character is Chastity. She speaks the most, and challenges the stereotypes of Asian women being passive, docile, and quiet. She speaks her mind, gets angry, is aggressive, and has convictions. However, her convictions and anger are focused on maintaining that an all White boy band maintain their status as community heroes. She protects the White men in the film; the men, we later learn, harmed Jennifer, which resulted in her demonic ways.

Part of Jennifer’s demonic conversion is to feed off of humans to gain energy. Her first victim is Ahemet, who we are believed to be a foreign exchange student. Ahmet from India is called that by everyone in school as if those three words make up his entire name. Even Mr. Wroblewski calls him “Ahmet from India.” Ahmet becomes Jennifer’s first victim who she murders and feeds on after realizing that nobody knows he’s alive and that she can kill him and make it seem he died in a fire they both survived. Take home message: Ahmet is so disposable he can be murdered and nobody cares about him enough to miss him.

When it comes to presenting the small city of Devil’s Kettle as having some diversity, including communities of Color is not the only attempt. There is too much emphasis on Mr. Wroblewski’s disability. Each time he is on the screen there is an attempt to show his arm. The second time he is on the screen he is introduced by focusing on his arm that is holding papers and walking toward his desk. Was that really necessary? It gave me the impression that I was supposed to laugh during that shot. What a great way to continue the socialization of staring at people who are different versus examining how difference is a strength not a weakness.

The entire time I was watching I wondered: how could Cody not know this would be DOA? She boo-hooed to Entertainment Weekly about the bombing of the film the first week in theaters yet refuses to recognize why this could be. One thing I’ve learned is that young people are more clever and astute than people give them credit for. I wasn’t surprised to witness the failure of this film. I wasn’t surprised it was not well received. But I was surprised with what occurred when “the kiss” was shown.

By the time the scene with “the kiss” between Jennifer and Needy arrives, we are halfway through the film. The clips that were shared to prove to be a teaser were just that, a tease . The kiss was more than just a few seconds. Not only did the kiss begin with the women standing up, but also it ended with the women laying down. Now, call me old fashion, or call me honest, but for me kissing standing up is totally different than kissing lying down. We watched Jennifer and Needy kiss for almost two minutes. That’s a pretty long time for a film that we are led to believe is heterosexist (and it is) based on the marketing to men.

During “the kiss,” young men in the audience began to verbalize their excitement and the twitching of their body parts. One young man sitting on the right hand side of the theater yelled out “lesbian!” A handful of other young people laughed when he said this, but it was the reaction of one young woman that made me smile. In a crowded movie theater a young woman sitting on the left hand side of the theater said: “Hey, there are lesbians in here too.” Now don’t get this twisted, she was not saying it in a “we can do that too” kind of way, but in a defiant, you better respect us kind of way. To the young woman in the theater that day, high-5!

And high-5 to everybody in the theater who didn’t find the “Thai food” line as funny as Cody hoped. Nobody in the theater had anything to say when this line was spoken. I want to think we all simultaneously rolled our eyes. A collective eye roll.

A few other things that came up for us while watching was the representation of women and how we build and sustain relationships and friendships with one another. At one point during the film when Jennifer is being sacrificed to Satan by a boy band, Erika looked over to me and asked: “This is supposed to be feminist?” To which I simply responded with a “humph.” Then I thought about her question for a moment, leaned over toward her and said: “perhaps they validate the feminism because Jennifer ‘rises from the ashes’.” Is this really where feminism(s) is/are going? If it is, what does it teach us?

I thought about this on the subway ride back home. What does this film tell us about the abusive relationships girls and women have with one another? Are we expected to maintain friendships with women even when they are filled with pain and violence? The relationship between Needy and Jennifer was established in childhood and for that reason we are to believe it should and will sustain them into adulthood. How does this film push stereotypes of heterosexual women constantly arguing over men in their lives and fighting for the men versus for one another? My hope is that just as the weak attempts at creating and introducing new language and terms to the audience didn’t work, the messages about women constantly being in competition with one another won’t work either.

So, what was “right” with the film? I really can’t say. There were times when I tried really hard to focus on the cinematography because that is why I went to see the film. But it was difficult to get beyond the horrendous script. Erika and I both agreed there were moments where Kusama did shine, such as in the focus of the movement of Needy’s dress towards the end of the film, her close up of characters faces, and the movement of spanning across a room. If you do decide to see the film wait until the credits roll when you will see scenes that, in my opinion, are the best of the film.

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[Add New Comment]

Ouch. That sounds painful. How sad. Pulling on masks, dancing other people's dances. To tell whose story? You skewered it and very intelligently. Thank you for that.

# Posted By nezua | 10/8/09 08:13 PM | Report | Reply

You are totally telling the truth. Not only do I think this movie was markated for hetero-men, but I also think that Karyn Kusama couldn't really control were the studio and the writing staff went with this film. My boyfriend wanted to see it but I felt that it was way to sexual and represive to actually be any good. Not to like insult Karyn but she did the best she could with a script like that.

# Posted By

smartmexboy | 10/8/09 10:50 PM | Report | Reply

I still have not seen this movie but I feel this was a very informative review. I would probably have been annoyed it seems if I had watched it.

# Posted By

vanessaaishacoleman | 10/9/09 03:35 PM | Report | Reply

   To be honest, I think you are being a little TOO harsh on the movie. Also, and most importantly, I think that you missed out on the intentions of this movie; you are taking it way too seriously. Jennifer's Body, in my opinion, is somewhat a spoof of horror/action movies. If you have watched Zombieland then you know what I am talking about.

   The script is not as bad as you are making it seem, it is not great... Ok; but come one, it aint that bad. It is sarcastic, and written to be ineterpreted as such. Also, I think you really need to lay off the race card. Not everything is about skin color and race symbolism. For example, the fact that the nurse is black and that Neddy is white doesn't mean anything! I mean would you have rather have Needy be black and the nurse white? Does that work better for you? I just think that at this point in history we ought to see pass the skin color. One could argue that the nurse, being an educated and professional woman, is in fact ahead of the white, rude, and crazy WHITE girl trapped in some mental-help institution. But you don't see that, all you see is ''Oh look a white girl just kicked a black woman in the face".

   I am assuming you are black, and hey I am with you. I am hispanic and it always amazes me how the hispanic character always dies first or close to first in horror/action/mystery movies. So I can understand why you could get somewhat upset at some of the racial stuff in this movie regarding skin color. But I don't agree with some of the stuff you say. Like the nurse example, or with the feminism issues.

   But if I agree with something, is the fact that this movie is CLEARLY aimed for the hetero folk. I am gay, and I went to watch this movie with my boyfriend and some friends (some of them hetero) and it was pretty entertanining to watch the different reactions the same scene had on my friends who were (gay)guys/(straight)girls and my straight friends. Starting with, of course, THE KISS. Come on, that was so out of the blue to begin with! Oh yeah lets just kiss... I mean give me a break! Desperation for a higher audience shall we say? Also, the fact that Megan Fox (recently named the sexiest woman alive) has the leading role says a lot.

   Now, when it comes to the end of the film. Totally agree! Best scenes in the film. Have a good one =)

# Posted By HeCtOr91 | 10/15/09 02:11 PM | Report | Reply

@heCtOr91

thanks for your comments. have you read my other commentary on this topic in my column here? if not i invite you to read them.

Jennifer's Body is not a spoof according to screenwriting Cody (see my last article about this w/an interview of her speaking on why she created this script/characters etc. It's not about a spoof). you are welcome to that being your opinion, just know it is not one that was intentional by those who had a hand in creating the film.

My impression of your comment for me " I think you really need to lay off the race card. Not everything is about skin color and race symbolism." speaks to your embraced ideology of race neutrality. I don't agree with this approach because I see it as a form of racism within itself to not recognize our differences/diversity is our strength. The history of racial formation in this country is very clear and institutional discrimination and racism still exists and I don't think we are in any position to ignore it, even within film and media. Race is a social reality for many of us even if you believe it is not for you.

Interesting that you only focus on the Black nurse and not the character "Ahment from India" or "Chasity." What are your opinions about them?

You wrote: "I am assuming you are black, and hey I am with you. I am hispanic and it always amazes me how the hispanic character always dies first or close to first in horror/action/mystery movies. So I can understand why you could get somewhat upset at some of the racial stuff in this movie regarding skin color."

This statement demonstrates you have not read my other columns or my biography (which is above). I identify as LatiNegra, are you still with me? So you have one perspective which I also share from a Latino standpoint, but I also have a racialized perspective because of my racial formation in this country.

You said you dont agree w/some of my comments on feminism but don't say why, do you want to elaborate?

I provided an intersectional analysis of this film. If you are not familiar with intersectionality please read more about it here. Your only concern is with my commentary on the Black character, but nothing about the disability that is presented? The racist script that is being promoted?

Do you want to share what city you saw the film in and what the audience reaction was with us?

# Posted By

Media_Justice | 10/24/09 03:02 PM | Report | Reply

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