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One for the Boys - The Scar Crow #ffw09
Last night, as part of the FFW, there was a screening of a film called The Scar Crow, and a Q&A session with cast and crew afterwards. The film had great effects and was beautifully and creatively shot, especially given the tiny budget and shooting timescale, but it just REEKED of misogyny. I can't give specifics without spoilers, but I had many, many problems with the film. Now, you can say this about a lot of films, including many that I really love. But the classic Hammer/Amicus/etc. films get something of a pass due to being made 30, 40, 50 years ago. This film was made last year. The ONLY named female characters were "evil", apart from the "sympathetic character" - i.e. the one who deserves a Well Done For Not Being A Rapist Cookie - 's girlfriend, who was merely peripheral AND stupid. There's an incestuous "lesbian" kiss, which the director stated in the Q&A he had put in because his 12 year old son had asked for
And you know what?
Even as I type this I can feel the internet's reaction to me criticising the film for these reasons.
etc. etc. et fucking cetera.
It's not just systemic in horror (and yes, I DID have an audible intake of breath when the director claimed to have been subverting expectations by shooting a gore flick with evil women and hot lesbo action in it). It's not just systemic in films. It's not just endemic in entertainment. It's endemic in life.
Are we all ready for the chorus of
And do you know what? Even with all that said, I wouldn't want to ban films like this. I'd just like to live in a world where I can make this sort of criticism without having to pre-emptively defend myself against accusations of being a strident whinging harpie. I'd settle for that, but it'd be even nicer if I could go and see a gore flick where it's the men who are relentlessly objectified, and the women who are held forth as praiseworthy for not being rapists... Not because I think reverse discrimination is in any way the way forward, but just because it would be SUCH a fucking novelty.
Using the icon I have is a defensive action too. It's saying
Yeah, I'm in a really good mood today.
Thanks to![[personal profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
puddingcat for pointing me at most of the articles I link to.
This blog is proudly sponsored by
some hot lesbo action.
And you know what?
Even as I type this I can feel the internet's reaction to me criticising the film for these reasons.
It's just one film - it's not systemic. Not all films are like that!- just like
not all men are like that.
Well, YOU might have been offended, but I wasn't, and therefore it's not a problem.
So you're saying we ought to ban films with hot lesbo action/films with female bad guys/etc. I thought you were a liberal?
etc. etc. et fucking cetera.
It's not just systemic in horror (and yes, I DID have an audible intake of breath when the director claimed to have been subverting expectations by shooting a gore flick with evil women and hot lesbo action in it). It's not just systemic in films. It's not just endemic in entertainment. It's endemic in life.
Are we all ready for the chorus of
Oh, you're exaggerating! I don't know anyone who finds this a problem, girls? Boys, I hate to break this to you, but perhaps nobody has told you they find this sort of shit a problem because they know what your reaction will be. Do you ever find yourself thinking
well harrassment/sexual assault/rape can't be that much of a problem because I don't know anyone who has been harrassed/assaulted/raped? I bet you a tenner that you do. For starters, if you know me, you do.
And do you know what? Even with all that said, I wouldn't want to ban films like this. I'd just like to live in a world where I can make this sort of criticism without having to pre-emptively defend myself against accusations of being a strident whinging harpie. I'd settle for that, but it'd be even nicer if I could go and see a gore flick where it's the men who are relentlessly objectified, and the women who are held forth as praiseworthy for not being rapists... Not because I think reverse discrimination is in any way the way forward, but just because it would be SUCH a fucking novelty.
Using the icon I have is a defensive action too. It's saying
I know that women are objectified on the basis of their bodies, and I know it happens to me, and I can cope with it. It's saying
I realise that I am part of the problem here. It's saying
look, even though I have been raped, I have a sense of humour about stuff like this.
Yeah, I'm in a really good mood today.
Thanks to
puddingcat for pointing me at most of the articles I link to.This blog is proudly sponsored by
no subject
I appreciate that "It's bad art" is less of a serious criticism than "it's arrogant, thoughtless and explicitly intended to appeal to the stupidest age of any man, the 12-yr old". It is, however, a significant point if we're going to get 'em to change. I've been reading a variety of things of late which discussed William Goldman's aphorism about Hollywood studios: "no-one really knows anything". They're always shocked when something they didn't think would sell goes well. And ime, half the time that's because it had some real women in it. Make better movies, and you'll do better with them. Arts reflects life, and life has real women in; when will Hollywood figure that out?