RIP Dede Allen, innovative film editor

When you watch action, comedy, romance, foreign, well, pretty much any type of film, you owe the pace of the film and the cuts from shot to shot to one woman - Dede Allen. She virtually changed the way movies are edited together, including shock cutting and overlapping audio (playing the beginning audio over the last second of the prior scene).

One of her greatest film accomplishments was Bonnie and Clyde (1967). The editing subtly contributed to the themes of the movie, infusing the film with an overtone of sexuality through it's cuts. Additionally, the final shoot-out that kills Bonnie and Clyde is fast-paced with 50 cuts in less than 60 seconds. It was the first film where an editor received solo billing in the credits.

"The skills of a great film editor are almost always invisible, and when Allen's work on Bonnie and Clyde is discussed, the focus tends to be on her split-second cross-cutting in the shoot-out that ends the movie or the breakneck robbery getaway scenes. But Allen's contribution was far more nuanced than the creation of a couple of showpiece sequences. Allen, who has called herself a 'gut editor - intellect and taste count, but I cut with my feelings' - was almost peerless in her ability to focus on 'character, character, character'...

Allen knew just how long she could hold a shot of Beatty to reveal the insecurity beneath Clyde's preening; she seemed to grasp instinctively that sudden cuts to Dunaway in motion would underscore the jagged, jumpy spirit of Bonnie Parker and that slow shots of Michael J. Pollard's C.W. Moss would mimic his two-steps-behind mental processes. And Allen cut Bonnie and Clyde with an eye and ear for the accelerating pace of the story, making the building of its panicky momentum her priority."

Mark Harris, Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood, pgs 286-287

Besides Bonnie and Clyde, Allen edited The Hustler, Reds, Dog Day Afternoon, The Breakfast Club, The Addams Family, Wonder Boys, John Q and more.

Dede Allen, groundbreaking film editor, died this weekend. Thank you for all of your work in revolutionizing film editing. Rest in peace.

Sweet Valley High movie by Diablo Cody(!)

I loved Sweet Valley High almost as much as The Babysitters Club, so I'm pretty psyched to see that Diablo Cody is going to pen a movie adaptation of the series. Elizabeth was always my favorite... so brainy.

Any thoughts on the series or Cody's new project?

Hot Tub Time Machine trailer! (God, I love that name)

Ok, so I've been making fun of Hot Tub Time Machine for months (pretty much ever since I heard its name), but this trailer actually makes it look funny:



Let's hope it's not filled with the same misogynist humor in Judd Apatow's movies. Thankfully he's nowhere to be seen on the IMD page for HTTM. I have low hopes for it passing the Bechdel Test... but the world is far from perfect.

Thoughts?

Bechdel Test Roundup

In writing this post, I found myself drawing a blank when it came to naming movies with a strong female lead. I had to scan my DVD collection and Netflix history to come up with good movies with a strong female lead.

Now I'm a big fan of the Bechdel Test for movies:

1. There at least two named female characters who
2. talk to each other
3. about something besides a man.

It's simple, it's quick, and it's utterly insulting to see how many movies don't have an actual, concrete, non-male-centered conversation between two women. However, instead of talking about how many movies fail, let's talk about how many movies have evidence that their female characters are, indeed, human.

I was going to start a collection of movies that pass the test, but a little Googling revealed there are plenty of sites that do this already, and do it well. So I'm just going to make a collection of links and let you at them.

The Bechdel Test: Movie List (complete with details on movies that don't pass, or only pass a few of the requirements)
Why film schools teach screenwriters not to pass the Bechdel Test from The Hathor Legacy
Is there a Bechdel Test for race? from Racialicious
Kissing In The Rain Is Not Acceptable (an ongoing review of films passing the test)
The 'Bechdel Rule,' Defining Pop-Culture Character from NPR and All Things Considered with followup suggestions on the NPR blog on race from Eric Deggans and Natalie Morales

Netflix Fail

Netflix, using its magical rating system to suggest movies for me, had a real winner today. In case you can't read the text, here's what it says:

Romantic Movies Featuring a Strong Female Lead

(based on watching Revolutionary Road and Itty Bitty Titty Committee*)

The Edge of Love, Twilight, The Nanny Diaries and 27 Dresses

Really, Netflix? Now I haven't seen The Edge of Love so I can't speak for that - but Twilight? Seriously? Based on my absolute adoration of Revolutionary Road, they suggest a movie with stalking and abstinence overtones**? And The Nanny Diaries and 27 Dresses? You call those strong female leads?

I'm utterly amazed at how Netflix seems to confuse just any lead female character with a strong lead female character. Do they think we're all stupid and will be excited that there's someone with a vagina on screen? They must, otherwise there'd be real suggestions for movies with strong female leads like Maude in Harold and Maude, the Boatswright sisters from The Secret Life of Bees, or Ana from Real Women Have Curves.


*I liked Itty Bitty Titty Committee but (spoiler) I'd have liked to see Anna end up with someone else besides Sadie. She's just flaky, in my opinion.
**The only good thing that came out of seeing Twilight was the jokes about having sex with a cold, sparkly person.

Simply, human

There's an article up at Cinematical on movies with well-rounded female characters written by men - their examples include Alyssa from Chasing Amy and Lianna from John Sayle's Lianna. I'd also suggest almost anything by Joss Wheaton, as well. Monika Bartyzel, the author of the article, suggests this:

The best rationale I can offer is that men who can successfully write women are those who don't try to write as women. What I mean is -- they write naturally and rationally rather than with specific and often stereotypical tropes in mind. There might be classically "feminine" elements to the story, but the path and thought behind them is, simply, human.

And, of course, I'm not saying that we should let things lie status quo. Some men can write truly beautiful female characters, but the world still needs more screen words written by a women's pen.

Spot on. I think this is inextricably linked to the idea that women are an Other, that we are indeed Bugs Bunny in drag - women are men dressed up in eyelashes and lipstick.

This notion has come up a lot in the Sotomayor nomination, that because she is a woman, a Latina, she can't be a blank slate (ie white, male). Women aren't human, we're something different all together. And to some screenwriters, this idea is just dominates any dialogue, which results in massive, dominating, suffocating stereotypes.

I was watching The Garage last night and turned it off after 30 minutes because the female romantic lead was just ridiculous. Matt, the main character, had some level of nuance, but Bonnie Jean was basically a cardboard cutout that moved. The main scenes I saw her in included her walking up to Matt's car (all legs and breasts, thanks cinematography) where he asked her out after just learning her name, and then their date which included classy shots of her clothes choices, them driving around and then making out. The character had no substance; she wasn't human. She was a teenage boy's fantasy in flesh - a beautiful girl just wanders up to a boy, says yes to a date, and then makes out with him. Very few (if any) girls exist like that in real life.

Once screenwriters, directors, cinematographers, and movie industry folk start thinking of women as human, we'll actually see more realistic female characters - you know, as fellow humans.

Hollywood and Pay Discrimination

Check out this brilliant breakdown of pay discrimination for Hollywood actresses by Stephanie at Bitch Flicks.

She looks at the top 15 actors and actresses, Oscar nominations and wins, box office grosses and Rotten Tomato rankings and finds that across the board, films with the top 15 actresses have higher critic ratings while grossing $735 million to the men's $746 million. Additionally, the actresses garnered more Oscar nominations and wins than the men, yet were paid collectively less than half of what the men made.

The top earning woman was Angelina Jolie (27 million) and the bottom earning woman was Kate Winslet (2 million). In comparison, the top earning man was Harrison Ford (65 million) and the bottom earning man was Vince Vaughan (14 million).

Stephanie writes, "Will someone please explain to me how this isn't blatant gender-based discrimination?"

While these are some of the highest paid women in the world, they are still victims of the pay discrimination that influences women everywhere. From the waitress working the third shift to Kate Winslet to Lilly Ledbetter, women experience pay discrimination, even the women American media idolizes. Every woman is at risk.

Let this list remind us of how sexism and the notion that women are somehow less than pervades our culture, seeps through its pores and infects everything we touch, even - especially - our paychecks.

The real failure behind the Transformers movie

My friend Will, in forestry school for urban forestry, had this to say about the new Transformers movie:

"It's metal fighting metal. And no one's recycling. Tell me who recycles all that metal--no one. That's the real tragedy."



Hehe. Has anyone actually seen it and want to share on the nature of recycling? I bet Optimus Prime recycles. At least, the Optimus Prime of my youth.

Old School Sexism

According to Disney, I will never have a beau because...



I don't walk feminine, talk feminine...
I don't act shy or sigh feminine...
I'm not delicate or demure...
And I never hide the real me.

Damn.

A friend of mine told me this song ("Femininity" from the movie Summer Magic) made her think of me in an ironic sort of way. I haven't seen this movie. Have you? What do you think of this song?

Transgender people and passing in Iran: Be Like Others and Offside

I just wanted to pass on these two clips from Be Like Others, a documentary on transgender individuals in Iran.





Trent Gilliss from Speaking of Faith writes,

What’s surprising to me in these clips is the nature of the conversation. Even though there are discussions about operations and genetic tests confirming a biological male identity, the root of these conversations is love and caring and community. Despite her objections about his transformation, the mother in the second clips spends as much energy lecturing her son on wearing less makeup and donning the hijab properly when going out; in the first clip, a member of the transgender community reprimands a peer for going out in public with hair hanging out the back of her hijab and talks of bringing respect to their community.

Although these individuals are pursuing lifestyles that are outside the cultural norm, it doesn’t mean that they abandon their upbringing and the values instilled in them. They continue to live within the larger culture, defying some strictures while observing others. Obviously, they face predicaments I can’t imagine, but, it’s also heartening to see that their families remain in dialogue with them in tense circumstances. I find that heartening and am anxious to view the documentary.

I'm looking forward to seeing the documentary as well. While on the topic of passing genders, I want to mention Offside, a movie about women in Iran trying to pass as men in order to see a World Cup match. While what the women in the movie are doing is vastly different from the people in Be Like Others, it's an interesting fictional take on something similar. The girls in the movie end up being caught by the police and put in a holding pen until their relatives can pick them up, but in the end the celebration of winning the match overcomes all gender restrictions. The gender-bending and quietly powerful subversiveness is enough for me to recommend this movie. While what's actual said in the film is thought-provoking in its own right, what's left unsaid is just as interesting.

Sarah Haskins writing movie script about ... boyfriends??

I love me some Sarah Haskins as much as the next woman, but something about this doesn't sit right with me:

She might be Internet famous, but now Haskins is hoping to branch out. She recently sold a screenplay with her writing partner, a friend from college. It’s called Book Smart, and chronicles the two overachieving girls who realize in the middle of their senior year of high school that they don’t have boyfriends and haven’t had enough fun. They decide to put their minds to getting boyfriends by prom and “hilarity ensues,” says Haskins, adding that it just might be inspired by real life. “I'm not going to spoil the ending but you can see it in 2017.”

Really? Really? Come on, Haskins. Boyfriends are not instant equations to fun. Let's hope the script ends up as witty and self-reliant as Haskins' Target Women segments.

Star Trek, Uhura and Structures of Authority

I'll admit it up front - I'm not a huge fan of the TV Star Trek, but I've watched enough when I was younger and recently to know what's up in that series. I've never seen an episode of the original 60's Star Trek, but I know enough from being familiar with pop culture to know the main characters. With this disclaimer, I'll continue. If you haven't seen the film yet, I'm going to discuss plot points and spoilers so be warned.

I was really excited to see Star Trek and I can't quite put my finger on why, but when I saw the movie, I wasn't disappointed. As someone with little knowledge of the series before this, I enjoyed the plot, the introduction of characters, the action, and frankly, I'm finding it harder to turn down shows with my new favorite Zachary Quinto.

However, as is too common, I felt the women characters were lacking in some way.

The main female character in the film is Uhura, played by Zoe Saldana. She's a communications specialist on the bridge on the ship. She is clearly characterized as the brightest in her field, smart, talented and not afraid to speak her mind. Jha'Meia at Rebellious Jezebel Blogging comments that she displays a different kind of power, one not tied up in physical strength but in intellectual, emotional and social strength (see: her first scene in the bar). Additionally, as typical with the main female character, Uhura gets romantically paired with someone. Different from usual action films where the lead man persuades the lead female (note: usually not a lead character but the woman with the most screen time - there's a difference, if subtle), Star Trek pairs Uhura with Spock as opposed to Kirk. I found that move particularly interesting, especially since I personally admire intellectual skills over others.

People have said that Uhura has a lot more to do in the reboot than she did in the TV show, but honestly, she didn't do that much. True, one could argue that this is because of her peripheral role in the plot, perhaps on the same level as Chekov or Sulu. However, that just explains away her lack of action as opposed to addressing the fundamental flaw that women aren't in lead roles in the supposedly egalitarian society of the Enterprise. It critiques the symptoms as opposed to the core problem, a problem that remains rooted in the gender politics of 1960 due to the nature of the film as a reboot.

There's also a lot going on in the movie with women as motivation for a lot of the men's actions - Kirk's father saving his mother and the rest of the ship, Nero driven by his wife's death, Spock by his mother's death. I'm not quite sure what to do with that yet, but other people have addressed it to some extent.

All in all, it could have been a lot worse women-wise. I wasn't a big fan of the mini-skirt uniform. However, in the second-string role Uhura plays, her character does a great job. It's just that by rebooting the original, the film reinforces the structures holding her in that position and not advancing women to other roles of authority.

For more discussion of the women of Star Trek, look to Shakesville, the Hathor Legacy and Racialicious.

EDIT: In looking for pictures for this post, I found this gem from CNN:

Compared to the original on a CBS Consumer site:

Now there's a not-so-subtle way of erasing women and women's experiences. Thanks, CNN.

Bride Wars - Because every woman desires marriage so she can free her inner crazy beotch

Just saw the trailer for the movie Bride Wars, and here are some reasons I will not be seeing it.

1) Seemed to make a huge deal out of marriage. Marriage, apparently, is totally worth trying to make your best friend miserable over. Sounds like a pretty special deal, even though many people in this country either choose not to marry or legally cannot marry.

2) The "Bride-zilla" stereotype. Where brides-to-be can't help but be super-bitchy because it's their day to be given away to their husband, damn it, and it has to be exactly the way they want it! How can my BFF have her wedding on the same day as mine!? Ah!

3) The just plain catty woman stereotype. Could someone please explain to me the appeal of watching a movie full of two friends trying to coerce each other into changing their wedding dates through humiliation?

4) "Your wedding will be huge. Just like your ass at prom." Yep. Because all women can relate to (and find hiiiilarious) low-blows about a female's body. Nice touch.

Okay, so I guess I'm judging the film only be a two minute trailer, but I am firm in my resolve to not see this movie.

I know films have always been a form of escape from everyday life, and for the most part they cater to the wants of those who pay to see them. For me, the worrisome question becomes this: Why do people seem to want to watch women be cruel to each other or be objectified and needlessly sexualized in movies?

Family relations in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight

Note: There are spoilers in this post. If you don't want The Dark Knight ruined for you, don't read this. But you should have seen the movie by now, it's that good. Stop reading and go to the movie theater right now.

In Christopher Nolan's Batman series (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight), family is incredibly important; the death of his parents is a driving motivation for Bruce Wayne to create Batman. However, Nolan constructs the father-son relationships as pinnacle, placing them as paramount to both Bruce Wayne and Jim Gordan.

Thomas Wayne-Bruce Wayne

In Batman Begins, there's a huge emphasis on the relationship between Thomas and Bruce Wayne. It is his father who rescues him from the cave, Thomas' business that Bruce inherits, and his father who he turns to in fear at the opera.


Martha Wayne is practically non-existent in the film; except for the scenes necessary to build up to her death (train to the opera, opera, in the alley), she's absent. I'm not even sure if they say her first name anywhere in the movie, but you can bet Thomas is mentioned by name.

Throughout the film, Bruce collapses "parents" with "father." Sure, Joe Chill killed both his parents, but the movie only establishes a relationship between Bruce and Thomas. Thomas and Bruce have conversations, while Martha's only line in the film is to scream when her husband is shot.


Indicatively, when someone wants to knowingly antagonize Bruce, they bring up his father. When Bruce confronts Carmine Falcone as a young man, Falcone intentionally demeans Thomas Wayne. Falcone says:

"Yeah, you got spirit, kid. I'll give you that. More than your old man, anyway. In the joint, Chill told me about the night he killed your parents. He said your father begged for mercy. Begged. Like a dog."

Ra's al Ghul follows a similiar pattern, using Thomas Wayne as an access point to Bruce Wayne's anger. During a training exercise, Ra's says:

Your parent's deaths were not your fault. It was your father's. (Bruce attacks Ra's) Anger does not change the fact that your father failed to act.

There's more references to Thomas thoughout the film (i.e. Rachel says Thomas would be disappointed in Bruce, or that Wayne Enterprises is going in a different direction than Thomas would have chosen, etc), but it's notable that while the death of both of Bruce's parents are used as character motivation, it is his father who recieves most of the attention in both Bruce's inner angst and external references.

Jim Gordon - James Gordon (son)

Here's another example of a father-son relationship highlighted while other familial relationships go ignored. In The Dark Knight, whenever we have a scene at Gordon's home, it involves him and his son. After Gordon comes out of hiding, his wife welcomes him home, however, he has a more moving scene with James.

The film establishes the father-son relationship as most important in a more explicit manner, though. When Harvey Dent kidnaps Gordon's family, he threatens to kill the person Gordon loves most, right in front of his eyes. As Dent moves his gun from Gordon's wife to daughter to son, Gordon yells out when Dent points the gun at James, causing Dent to assume Gordon loves his son more than his wife or daughter. Although James is eventually saved, his role at the end of the film re-establishes the prominence of father-son relationships to the Batman franchise.

What about mother-son, mother-daugther, or father-daughter relationships? Well frankly, there aren't very many to choose from.

There isn't much interaction between Martha and Bruce Wayne or Barbara and James Gordon. Until Gordon's whole family is held hostage by Harvey Dent, we don't see Gordon's daughter so there's virtually no father-daughter relationships at all. There are a few examples of mother-daughter relationships, however, they're very minimal and not generally as positive as the father-son connection.

In Batman Begins, Rachel's mother works at Wayne Manor and is present when Bruce falls in the bat cave and breaks his arm. As Thomas carries Bruce inside, she apologizes for any role her daughter may have played in the accident.

As for The Dark Knight, the only mother-daughter relationship exists between Det. Anna Ramirez and her hospitalized mother. In order to pay for hospital bills, Ramirez turns over police information to the mob. It's problematic enough to have one of the only WOC characters be corrupt, but it also casts a shadow over mother-daughter relationships in general because there's no evidence or examples of positive mother-daughter relationships.

So what does this mean? Well, it tells us that this Batman franchise is about men's relationships with other men. Not only are most of the characters in both films men, The Dark Knight is entirely about the trinity of Batman, Gordon and Harvey Dent. Rachel Dawes is an important character, but mostly because of the tensions that arise between her and Bruce and her and Dent. She is essential, but only because her death sent Dent on his crazy killing spree. The father-son relationships act to highlight this theme, underscoring the ways the films characterize masculinity. We are told/shown how to be a man, but not how to be a woman.

It'll be interesting to see how man-to-man relationships will be used in future Batman films, but also how woman-to-woman or woman-to-man relationships are missing, lacking, or purely sexualized.

Well, you ARE such a feminist. Get over it.

I heard this in my French class yesterday:

Girl: (mumble mumble mumble) 'Cause I'm such a feminist, right? Haha!

To be fair, I didn't hear the context in which the comment was said, or know much about the girl's personal history. However, as a lover of sarcasm and verbal ironies, I can tell when someone says something they don't mean. Tone of voice is everything here, and the word "feminist" was just dripping with disdain.

We had just finished small group discussions about the movie Apres-Vous about a man who saves the life of someone trying to commit suicide and while trying to set him back up with his girlfriend (who dumped the suicidal man), falls for her himself. It's not a particularly remarkable film in itself - the women are simplistically one-dimensional and the film doesn't even pass the "two women talking" aspect of the Bechdel Test. The main female character complains that she doesn't like being alone aka not dating anyone.

There is a scene where the two men each climb up to the woman's balcony and look in, wanting to go in and woo her, hands poised on the door handle. It's set up humorously, but I'm not sure what's so damn funny about stalking someone. Not to mention the multiple references to the woman's ex-boyfriend (after the suicidal man) encouraging the woman to drink so she'll be easier to get into bed, after she dumps him for cheating on her. The whole plot revolves around the main character trying to get the suicidal man and the woman back together, even though the woman calls the man overly-emotional and someone she doesn't want to date. The woman's desires and thoughts have no bearing in the plot of the film; she has no agency - it just matters to get her hooked up with one of the men.

All in all, a run-of-the-mill bad comedy with misogynist overtones; at least I know now the French can make just as shitty movies as we can here in America.

So when the girl said, "'Cause I'm such a feminist, right? Haha!" I'm guessing it wasn't because she was pissed about the balcony stalking or drugged rape or all-around negative female portrayal, but that someone said the word "feminism" and she jumped to the bra-burning angry dyke stereotype.

Here's what I have to say to that: Do you like being able to go to school? Are you for equal pay for equal work, regardless of gender? How about your best friend from Mexico (someone she mentions in class), do you want her to make 53 cents to every dollar a white man makes? Are you comfortable with handing your bodily sovereignty over to a politician who cares more about making sure you have no say over the activities of your uterus than about you? Do you like being able to afford birth control of any kind? How about having access to birth control in general? Will you concede all decisions about sexual activity to a future spouse? Do you like having the choice to get married at all?

Well then, let me break the bad news: YOU'RE A FEMINIST.

I know, it's kinda shocking, but it's true. Don't worry, your leg hair and armpit hair aren't going to grow out instantly and you'll still be attracted to whoever you want to be. But it's ok. You can call yourself a feminist and we won't think any less of you. Seriously. It's ok to be a feminist. Some might even say it's good to be one. You'll have better sex and relationships.

So... yeah. You ARE such a feminist. Congratulations!

Interview with Maggie Gyllenhaal

Maggie Gyllenhaal on her role as Rachel Dawes in The Dark Knight:

The A.V. Club: You've said you did everything you could to decline this part, and you've expressed disinterest in action films in the past. Why the change of heart?

... Also, I did say to Chris, "I really want her to be smart." And he'd say "Okay." "And I really want her to be a great woman, and actually have a point of view about things." "Great, yes, that's what I want too." Every turn, he was like, "Yes, help me. Let's make her better."

AVC: In every role you choose, you say you need something to think about and work through. What did you have to work through for this role?

MG: Well, you know, the process of working on this movie was very tied up with having a baby. My daughter was 7 months old when we started shooting, and 14 months old when we finished. I was really just beginning to step out and think about what it meant to be an actress and what it meant to be a woman, which is in some ways a question you always have to ask yourself if you're going to do a movie like this. What does it mean to be the woman in this movie, in this big Hollywood action movie? And is there a way to do it that's cool, that's awesome? Is there a way to do it that you actually believe that these incredible guys actually like her this much? Is there a way to do it where she actually also has a point of view about the state of the world, the moral state of the universe, like these guys do? I tried to make that true; it's not up to me to say whether it worked. But that definitely was what I tried and wanted to do. And those were all things that I was thinking about.

AVC: Aaron Eckhart joked that if the script called for you to be in peril, you had a problem with it. Are there any types of roles you wouldn't take outright?

MG: No, I mean, he was just kidding. The truth is, what I didn't want to be was just the sort of empty lady who gets thrown around by different guys and doesn't have anything to do but look scared. I just wanted her to be a real person. There are times when she's scared and she's in peril for sure, but it's true, I would always sort of try to figure out another way to play it. [Laughs.] But it's important that that happens to her—and that happens to us women. We do get scared sometimes and feel vulnerable and all sorts of things. I just wanted her to be a real person. I don't want to play the happy hooker, you know? [Laughs.] There are some things I don't want to do. Then again, if you're going to play a hooker in a movie, the movie has to have the perspective, of course, that it isn't such a great thing. Probably the only way to really play a hooker well is to believe you're doing something that's good. But at the same time, the movie can't have that point of view, so… [Laughs.] There are lots of things I wouldn't do.

AVC: Like what, besides the happy hooker?

MG: Well, I don't think there are that many I could say unequivocally "I would not play that," but there's lots of parts I read and I think, "I don't really want to do that. I don't really think that's how women act."

AVC: Is the lack of believability the common denominator?

MG: Well, sometimes I'll read things and think, "That's not how humans behave," or "I don't understand how to do that and make it seem like I'm not some kind of strange alien or on a sitcom." I don't get it, and when I feel that way, I have to listen to my instinct. There was one time recently, of course I can't say what the movie is, but I had a lot of problems with it. I thought it wasn't the way humans really behave. I had a meeting with the director, who then decided he didn't want me anymore. [Laughs.] And after that, I thought, "You know what? I think I didn't give that a fair chance. I think maybe I was too quick to judge that." But often my initial instinct does lead me in a direction that I can trust.

From the A.V. Club.

I'm super excited for The Dark Knight - tomorrow!

Wanted: Snuff porn and women-hatin' in a two hour package

Note: this post contains plot spoilers. Entirely predictable spoilers, but nonetheless be warned.

You know, I really regret not walking out of Wanted and asking for my money back. I also really regret not expressing how much I hated this movie to the male friends I saw it with.

Wanted was about as close as you can get to snuff porn without actually watching something illegal. The movie's only redeemable quality is that the script decided to throw in some existential fate plot themes at the end, just to break up the monotony of violent garbage.

The camera angles made me nauseous. Fight scenes, which were the entirety of the movie, were shot in such a shaky manner that I felt like I had eaten twenty pounds of nachos and then rode state fair rides for three hours straight. Then they were slowed down, randomly, so that the audience could get a good look at the blood and bruises. Know what is the only thing more exciting than two hours of violence? Two hours of slow-motion violence. Oh yeah!

Not only did the movie glorify violence, the protagonist's goal of using such violence is to "be the man". Several times in the story, the protagonist fervently wishes for someone to utter the exact words, "you are the man!" When someone does, it is only in recognition of his violent ways and hot love interest. In case you did not catch that, violence is exciting! Killing people on command, emotionlessly, is the definition of manhood! Where's the moral of the story? When I could find one, it was that the purpose of life is to be as much of a badass violent jerk as possible. Because that's exciting, whereas being a normal citizen is pathetic.

So besides the glorification of violence, what else did Wanted have to offer? The million dollar question, my dear readers, is the hatred of women.

Although there are a slew of men in the film (duh, it's an action film), there are only three women. Let's go over their roles.

1. Janice the fat boss - Janice was the bitchy boss that everyone in the audience should love to hate. Her shrill relentless tone and overly made-up face is supposed to be as comical as her girth. Women in power are fat and annoying, or so the writers of Wanted think. Our protagonist gets his comeuppance by telling her to stop being a bitch (seriously, that's the exact word he uses) and expresses some sort of vague pity for her grotesque fatness, which is apparently the reason why she could be such a horrible person to him.

2. Cathy the ex-girlfriend - Cathy is skinny, but she's also a whore. She sleeps with his best-friend, because that's what women do, you know. Them women always take advantage of teh menz. The only interaction she seems to have with the protagonist is to nag and complain. Then the movie switches to a completely unnecessary sex scene where the audience gets their fill. Because Cathy is skinny, she gets to be fucked. But she's still portrayed as a bitch, and a whore.

3. Fox the assassin - Jolie could have potentially played an empowered female role. Little to my surprise, nothing is further than the truth. I should have known as soon as her code name was revealed as "Fox". Jolie's only purpose in this film is to teach Wesley how to be bad ass, inspire him to magically curve a bullet with his awesome chauvinist powers to avoid hitting her, be the victim of a violent crime as a child to inspire her to kill people, show her bare ass for no apparent reason, make out with him in front of his ex to show that bitch how manly Wesley is, and then kill herself in the process of saving him.

What have I learned from Wanted? Well, I learned that if you're fat and a woman, you're a horrible bitch. I learned that if you are skinny and a woman, you're a horrible nag and a whore. I learned that if you are skinny, powerful, and a woman, you're a pornorific plot device who gets to play second fiddle to someone with less experience than you, have the honor of having sex (or at least appearing to) with the male protagonist, and then kill yourself for him.

I also learned that gratuitous violence is really really awesome if it is accompanied by horrible camera techniques, pointless slow-motion, and a complete void of morality.

Wanted looks and feels like a teenage porn addict and gun enthusiast's wet dream. If I did not know better, I would have thought that it was satire. Of course, the only thing more pathetic than someone thought that this could possibly be a good movie is that seemingly everyone thinks it was a good movie.

(Cross-posted)

Feminists have Teeth - the movie

Now on DVD, Teeth is a movie about a high school girl who finds out she has vagina dentata - teeth in her vag. The synopsis on the website says:

High school student Dawn works hard at suppressing her budding sexuality by being the local chastity group's most active participant. Her task is made even more difficult by her bad boy stepbrother Brad's increasingly provocative behavior at home. A stranger to her own body, innocent Dawn discovers she has a toothed vagina when she becomes the object of violence. As she struggles to comprehend her anatomical uniqueness, Dawn experiences both the pitfalls and the power of being a living example of the vagina dentata myth.

This movie is so fascinating because it exposes a cultural, rarely spoken but widely known, fear of vaginas and subverts that to give power to vaginas and women, as possessors of vaginas. Toothed vaginas are sometimes "subtly" hidden in films (Pirates of the Caribbean 2, anybody? That Kraken is a huuuuge toothed vagina), but this might be the first time anyone's addressed vagina dentata directly in a film.

I'm going to talk about different aspects of the plot now, so if you plan on seeing it and don't want it to be ruined, stop reading.

The film makes it clear that Dawn has never explored her own sexuality, much less seen what her own vag looks like. As a vocal member of her local chastity group, she rails against sex before marriage and wears a promise ring for her future husband. When she fantasizes about the boy she likes, it's in wedding gear - don't worry, no masturbation for her, though.

The cultural fear of vaginas is so widespread and intrenched that none of the high school health textbooks show vaginas - they just have big stickers over those pages, while the male reproductive system is clearly displayed. Students question it and try tearing the stickers off (hoorah!), but this scene points to a larger issue of women not knowing fundamental facts about their bodies - a point Cara neatly touched on recently over at The Curvature.

When Dawn is sexually assaulted, it's by a fellow member of the chastity group who "fell" once before. His reasoning for raping her? "I haven't jerked off since Easter!" and "You're still pure!" However, his lame excuses for rape are no match for her vagina teeth, and we get a nice genital shot - post attack. Not for those who don't like gore, I must say.

The vagina dentata doesn't attack anything that enters her vagina, only non-consensual and harmful entry - it, at first, is a knee-jerk reflex, although she does seem to be able to attack at will later on in the movie. The mythology presented in the movie says that a hero must do battle with the woman to break her power. After the rape and gyno visit (both which end in bloodshed), Dawn goes to Ryan's house (a boy who likes her) because she has no idea where to go. She is obviously shaken and unnerved, and he takes her presences as an opportunity for sex. Dawn takes a bath and when she comes out, he has candles lit and music playing. At some point, he gives her some sort of pill and wine and she ends up passing out. When she comes to, Ryan's playing with her breast and they end up having sex. Here's a bit of their conversation:

Dawn: You can't.
Ryan: Do you want me to stop?
Dawn: No.
Ryan: Good. (whatthefuck?)
Dawn: But they'll get you.
Ryan: Who?
Dawn: The teeth.
Ryan: Come on.
Dawn: Seriously.
Ryan: No, no, look. I'm conquering them. See? Yeah, I'm the hero. (bullshit, bullshit bullshit!)

Can we point out the issues here? First off, since he drugged her, it's sexual assault. Second, there was no positive affirmation of consent, however, she does say she doesn't want him to stop. However, since she's been drugged, she can't legally give her consent. Third, can we stroke his male ego just a little more? Conquering? Hero? I just threw up in my mouth a little.

The conquering hero does meet the teeth, however. The next morning, they're having sex again (completely consensual this time!) and Ryan answers his phone during sex. He brags about sleeping with Dawn while he's inside of her - bad move on his part. Ryan loses his "conquering hero" status and his junk when Dawn's teeth take offense to the mid-sex phone call and bragging.

Here, the film subverts the myth and the need for a hero to conquer the vagina, because even the hero falls victim to the teeth. It's not that the vagina needs a hero to conquer it, it's that all sex needs to be consensual. Get that? CONSENSUAL. It's the literal actualization of my dad's favorite phrase for high school boyfriends - abuse it and you lose it. I'm glad the film blows apart the concept of a vag-conquering hero, since frankly, I don't need one and I doubt anyone else does either.

I won't ruin the whole movie for everyone, but let's just say that Dawn is baaaaadass and by the end of the film, she comes to fully embrace her vagina dentata and its abilities.

By the way, does anyone else feel like this movie poster is too "teen-sex comedy" and less "get my consent or I'll chomp off whatever's inside me"?

Seriously, I wish I had teeth in my vagina. Soooo bad. Now I'm just waiting for a movie about menstruation saving the world.

The Longshots

I saw this trailer while taking my nieces to Kung-Fu Panda this weekend.  The Longshots is about Jasmine Plummer, the first girl to play in a Pop Warner football tournament.  It looks interesting and I'm wondering how closely the movie sticks to real life.  The trailer makes it look like it doesn't conform to gender stereotypes too heavily and deals with just more than "girl plays sports and everyone gets pissed." The characterization of her and her family seems to be just as important to the plot as the football aspect.

My only (minor) complaint is about a comment the football coach makes after Jasmine threw the ball into an opposing team's player's crotch.  He say, "I guess she's not the only girl on the field," which reduces what it means to be male to simply genitalia.  It implies that damage to a man's penis makes him less than a man and equates masculinity to a penis, which as implies sexual ability.

Anyway, I'm interested to hear everyone's thoughts on the film/trailer.  And is anyone else surprised to see Fred Durst directed it?  WTF?

The Women

Apparently The Women is getting some marketing legs after Sex and the City's badass blowout this weekend. Are studio execs finally getting the hint that women likes movies too?

Only flaw I can see is that the plotline hinges on a man's infidelity. Otherwise, hilarious. I loved this trailer and I hope the film doesn't disappoint me. Plus, I f'ing love Candice Bergen. Whenever I see her on screen, a little part of me inside gets really, really excited and giddy.

It should be out in early September.

h/t to Women & Hollywood.