A GUY'S TAKE ON FEMINIST FILMS by Jarett Zackman

For my final project I created a blog critiquing films that I believe represent feminist themes.  The films I included in the blog either possess strong, powerful female characters who epitomize feminist beliefs as well as movies whose themes focus on compelling feminist issues.

I have been an avid film lover all my life. I have always had a deep affection for movies.  Since I was a little boy, I would watch my favorite movies repeatedly, enamored with the larger than life characters displayed on the screen.  Over the course of this class, I gained a new understanding and appreciation for the gender bias that exists in media.  The under-representation and degrading depiction of the female gender in film and media facilitates the objectification and exploitation that exist as norms in our society.   These norms promote the existence of a patriarchal hierarchy that is passed down through the generations.  It is this hierarchy that enables sexism and gender bias to thrive. 

In researching an idea for my final project I began to focus on my familiarity and passion for movies.  I wanted to focus on an area of media I knew well.   I started to think about all of the movies I have seen and loved, and tried to pick possible candidates that embody the themes we discussed in class.  I quickly realized that I was clueless when it came recognizing femininity in film.  Part of problem is the simple fact that I am a male.  As a male, feminism and gender roles are easily overlooked and in most cases taken for granted. A majority of the films today are made by an industry that consists of predominantly male run studios.  These ‘male run’ studios typically make movies that center around leading male characters and feature subject matter geared toward male audiences.   It was this realization that motivated me to create a blog where I would watch and critique movies that I felt exhibited one of two qualities; featured powerfully feminist driven female leads, and whose themes reflect important feminist issues.  

My stance was to be as neutral possible, but critique and observe from a man's perspective.   I wanted to reevaluate films that I had familiarity with in hopes to uncover previously overlooked meaning and subject matter relating to the issues covered in class.  The blog consists of films that I have seen numerous times as well as films that I have not seen.  In my research I used several feminist film websites to find potential candidates for the blog.

Lili Taylor as Valerie Solanas

The goal of this blog is to bring attention to the films that make an effort to represent females in a positive light and touch on important issues relating to the female sex.  If a film gained notoriety regarding its stance on feminist issues, I wanted to examine it and come to my own conclusion on its merit. My goal is to highlight these films, and in turn to motivate other movie lovers to watch and make their own interpretations. Throughout the class I noticed how a majority of the readings and lectures focused on the lack of equal gender representation in media.   It was this recent awareness that made me want to focus my attention on the few films that got gender representation right.

The blog I created is entitled, “A Guys Take on Feminist Films”.  You can visit the blog by clicking on the following link: 

A Guys Take On Feminist Films

The blog consists of 13 movies and include plot summaries, quotations, pictures, video clips, critiques and related links regarding relevant subject matter.  All quotations and links to relevant subject matter can be found and visited on the works cited column, running down the right side of the blog.

The blog includes posts for the following films:·      

1. ·            The Color Purple (1985)
2. ·            Ladies and Gentlemen: The Fabulous Stains (1983)
3. ·            Alien (1979)
4. ·            I Shot Andy Warhol (1996)
5. ·            A League of Their Own (1992)
6. ·            The Accused (1988)
7. ·            Hard Candy (2005)
8. ·            North Country (2005)
9. ·            Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)
10. ·            Thelma and Louise (1991)
11. ·            Erin Brokovich (2000)
12. ·            The Contender (2000)
13. ·            The Kids Are Alright (2010)

During the writing of the blog I began to come to several conclusions.  Some of the films critiqued were accurate depictions of feminist themes and positively represented gender roles fairly and some failed in their attempt to tackle critical issues related to gender roles. From what I have observed, I have drawn several conclusions.

Idgie and Ruth as friends, in 'Fried Green Tomatoes'

  Several of the films covered in the blog are based from books.  The disparity between the film and book versions found is quite glaring.  You can see major evidence of the censorship involved when a book gets adapted for film.  In observing these movies, I have come to the conclusion that certain themes, such as lesbian relationships, often results in the censorship of the final film version.  Two films in particular are “Fried Green Tomatoes” and “The Color Purple”.  Both films are based off of bestselling books.  Both books include detailed accounts of lesbian relationships that exist between the two female main characters.  The lesbian relationships are a major part of the books theme and premise.  However, when translated to film, both of the movies scantily make reference to the intimate aspects of the relationship.   In ‘Fried Green Tomatoes’, the two female characters are represented as friends, not lovers. 

Censorship

It can be deciphered  that censorship plays a huge role in deciding what is shown on film and what is left on the cutting room floor.  The simple fact that such important aspects of the books version regarding lesbian relations are deliberately left out of the film’s version highlight the studio’s presence in deciding what they feel is appropriate for audiences.  It should be noted that both of these two films were made by studios predominantly run by males.  They also featured male directors.  All too often, female themed movies are made by men, losing the authenticity of the subject matter.  It is virtually impossible for a man to accurately and fairly represent a lesbian relationship in film due to their inability to relate personally to that lifestyle.

Hollywood's typical depiction of gay/lesbian characters

Sex in film is a predominate ingredient and has been since the first movies were made.  “Sex Sells” is a mantra in Hollywood.  However, when it comes to gay sex, there is a sense of taboo that exists throughout the industry.  Male audiences are comfortable seeing men and women engage in sexual acts on screen.  You would be hard pressed to go to an R rated movie these days and not see sex in the film.  However when it comes to a woman and a woman, or a man and man, the comfort level drops and the under-representation of these sexual relationships is evident.  Gay and lesbian characters are typically grossly mis-represented by hetero-sexual screen writers and directors, commonly depicting them as hyper-sexualized individuals. The Movie studios purpose is to sensationalize this lifestyle in an effort to 'cash in' at the box office.  Rarely is there an effort to simply 'get it right'.  This is not the case for all depictions of Gay/Lesbian films.  A few examples of positive and accurate depictions include, "Milk", "If These Walls Can Talk" and "Desert Hearts".

Julia Roberts as Erin Brokovich

Another conclusion I have made is the similarity that exist between several celebrated movies who all involve female characters who represent the fight against oppression.  Oppression of women in society is a major theme in American history and the films I have seen and critiqued often reflect a female’s fight against the constraints placed them.  Films such as, “Thelma and Louise’, “Erin Brokovich”,  “The Contender” and “Ladies and Gentlemen: The Fabulous Stains” all posses’ tenacious female characters who fight against any attempt to suppress there strive for equality.  These memorable female characters are all similar in their unyielding resistance against any form of suppression that is placed on them.

I hope you will take a few minutes to go to my blog and provide feedback on my posts.  All comments are welcome! This project has been eye opening for me and I hope it affects you similarly. 

Works Cited

1. "The Best Feminist Movies." Ranker. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.
2. Cones, John W. Patterns of Bias in Hollywood Movies. New York: Algora Pub., 2012. Print.
3. "Exercise to Illustrate Victim Blaming in Rape Cases." Center For Relationship Abuse Awareness. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.
4. "Feminism: Not a Naughty Word." : Film vs. Novel: Fried Green Tomatoes. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.
5. "The Final Girl: A Few Thoughts on Feminism and Horror." – Offscreen. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.
6. "Fried Green Tomatoes and Hollywood Female-Female Relationships in the South." : Media and Difference in Southern and Jewish Films. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.
7. Horn, John. "'The Kids Are All Right' Is an Appropriate Opener for the Los Angeles Film Festival." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2010. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.
8. Horzepa, Hayley Rose. "Victim Blaming: An All-Too-Common Response to Sexual Assault." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 22 Apr. 2011. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.
9. "Just Plain Something: Sex, Gender and Hard Candy." Just Plain Something: Sex, Gender and Hard Candy. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.
10. "The Kids Are All Right: Bisexual Film Review." Examiner.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.
11. "LGBTQI Week: The Kids Are All Right." Bitch Flicks. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.
12. "Movie Review: I Shot Andy Warhol | EW.com." EW.com. N.p., 03 May 1996. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.
13. "National." CWLU Chronology: A Timeline for Second Wave Feminism. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2014.
14. "Reassessing Alien: Sexuality and the Anxieties of Men." Reel 3. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.
15. "The Scum Manifesto." Valerie Solanas' SCUM Manifesto. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.
16. "The Shock Value of the SCUM Manifesto." RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.
17. Snow, W. F. "The Direction of Flight of Mosquitoes (Diptera, Culicidae) near the Ground in West African Savanna in Relation to Wind Direction, in the Presence and Absence of Bait." Bulletin of Entomological Research 65.04 (1976): 555. Web.
18. "Steven Spielberg Says He Softened Lesbian Sex in The Color Purple." Advocate.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.
19. "The Successful Failure of." Network Awesome. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.
20. "'Thelma & Louise' Lets Women Rebel | Roger Ebert's Journal | Roger Ebert." All Content. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.
21. "The Three Waves of Feminism." Pacific University. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.
22. "Women's Media Center." Women's Media Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.
23. "The Accused." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.
24. "50 Essential Feminist Films." Flavorwire. Web. 12 Dec. 2014