Saturday, September 26, 2009 at 5:17:00 PM EDT
The are a sad few years in my past where I only went to movies a few times for only those huge movie events that absolutely could not be missed, i.e. Harry Potter. But I'm not writing this in search of your pity. Rather, I'm celebrating because the draught is over!
I have a really fabulous crew of folks that I've been going to the movies with regularly over the last couple of months. The group of people is always a little different, but the scenario is pretty much the same: we (1) pick a movie to go to, (2) watch it in theaters, and (3) talk about it until every angle has been excellently analyzed (or until the next screening starts and we decide we should leave the theater).
This is all to say that my love for and commitment to going to the movies has been renewed. And that the same old tired scenarios of stereotypical gender roles still goes unchallenged on the big screen. The following two examples come from my last two Friday night adventures (**spoiler warning**).
On Rosh Hashanah, I went with two fabulous friends to see Inglorious Bastards. In spite of our thorough processing of the experience, I’m still not entirely sure of my overall feelings towards the movie, but there are a few things I want to mention.
First, we all got a good laugh out of the moment when Bridget von Hammersmark, German movie star and undercover anti-Nazi agent (played by Diane Kruger) says in exasperation, “Do you Americans even speak any language other than English?” The strange thing was, no one else in the audience seemed to catch this ironic humor.
Another thing that particularly got to us was the treatment of female characters. There were basically two that had major roles and they were both fierce, unapologetic warriors against the genocide that was being committed. They were both killed – and the only two killed in an intensely intimate way. Bridget von Hammersmark is found out by Nazi Col. Hans Landa (actor Chirstoph Waltz) to be an agent for the allies, and he immediately strangles her to death. She is the only direct victim of his violence (although he is responsible for the deaths of many others in the film). Shosanna Dreyfus (actress Melanie Laurent) survives the killing of her entire family, passes as a non-Jewish Frenchwoman, and is actively courted by a Nazi private who comes into sudden celebrityhood. When his relentless (and ill-received) advances threaten Shosanna’s plans for destroying the Nazi army, she shoots him. And in the only moment where a hint of remorse or compassion is exhibited by a character (and a female character at that), she walks over to see if he is still alive and meets her end.
What are the lessons here? All women are expendable? Even if they are responsible for bringing on (or facilitating the end of) war, they are still not strong enough to survive? Since women are objects for men’s desires and entertainment, they need to be killed in appropriately sexualizing and/or objectifying ways?
Which brings me to Fame. The performances were incredible even if the characters were a little flat. [As a side note, I would just like to say that I went to a performing arts high school and we queers were definitely not that invisible.]
But what really left me on edge was the hetero-relationship development. Here’s the script, in a nut shell: Sweet, unassuming and talented boy (Marco) wins over uptight girl (Jenny) and brings her out of her shell. He later demands that she never see older, successful, and notorious womanizer boy. She agrees, but then goes to see him because he has promised to introduce her to a casting director. He sexually assaults her. Jenny tells Marco at which point he blames her and doesn’t want to continue their relationship until she begs for his forgiveness.
What are the lessons here? Controlling, manipulative relationships are A-OK? Women are to be blamed when they are assaulted? Lean on your man cause he’s always right?
The moral of these stories are: gender stereotypes are alive and well. We are still being told that abusive relationships are the norm and women are indispensable. And I’ll probably be at the theater next Friday night – care to join me?
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| 9/26/09 08:11 PM
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