jmtorres: Faith tortures Wesley. Text; Pretty when you bleed. (victim)
jmtorres ([personal profile] jmtorres) wrote2009-06-23 12:54 am

Seriously

I am not sure if it is merely symptomatic of film in America or society in general or if my professor's selections of movies to analyze for gender are skewed a particular way but jesus christ I would like to be able to write an essay about film without talking about rape.

Like, not even rape culture. Just specific incidences of rape or sexual assault.

What the fuck.
klia: (flowers)

[personal profile] klia 2009-06-23 05:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Hmm... well, it kind of does, at least for me. I think it was unusual, especially 11 years ago, to have a woman in the cop role. I should add that I'm a huge Soderbergh fan, though, so I'm definitely biased.
niqaeli: Obama in Aretha's hat w/ text overlay that says "progress" (progress)

[personal profile] niqaeli 2009-06-23 06:40 pm (UTC)(link)
It may be a good movie: I cannot comment having not watched it myself. But as described to me, the movie has the male criminal anti-hero (George Clooney) chased by a female cop (Jennifer Lopez)? That is not defying gender conventions. It's about the man who is so fascinating/important/central that the woman's life and purpose is focused around him.

Which, uh, that's pretty much the standard gender convention.
klia: (flowers)

[personal profile] klia 2009-06-23 09:12 pm (UTC)(link)
Sadly, in the crime genre, there isn't much else; that there are female cops at all is why those films stand out. Even though there are a good number of female characters currently on crime TV shows, most are still written pretty stereotypically. There's just no getting away from it. Even female writers tend to write female characters that make me want to scream.
klia: (flowers)

[personal profile] klia 2009-06-24 12:48 am (UTC)(link)
I do vote with my money and eyeballs. But look at the show Fox renewed (Dollhouse, which I found incredibly misogynistic and offensive, not to mention squick-inducing, especially the way they used Eliza Dushku's body to sell it) vs. the one they cancelled (T:TSCC, which actually had believable, non-stereotypical female characters who didn't rely on showing their boobs or seducing men to get things done). Titillation wins out because it draws (slightly) more of the network's coveted male audience.

Yes, I'm bitter. I'm the target demographic for soap operas, chick flicks (neither of which I particularly like), and little else.

OTOH, if I didn't still have hope, I'd never watch anything new. *shrug*
klia: (flowers)

[personal profile] klia 2009-06-24 02:13 am (UTC)(link)
Yes, I knew it wasn't a Fox-produced show. I guess, then, viewers shouldn't get emotionally invested in any show that's not produced by the network that airs it? And I should consider myself incredibly lucky that Burn Notice, a show I absolutely love, is doing well, despite being a Fox-produced show airing on USA, which is owned by NBC/Universal?

I know it's a business, but, as a viewer, I keep hoping these ingrained patterns will change, somehow.