There were a lot of good things about this movie. James McAvoy is one of my favorite actors and he was decidedly fun to watch as Charles Xavier. And the guy who played Hank McCoy was decidedly adorable (but that's just because I have a thing for nerdy guys).
But I had some supreme issues with the way women were portrayed in the movie, and this overshadowed everything else I liked about it. For one thing, there are like 20 speaking roles for men, including various bit parts, but only four female characters in the movie. And not one of them keep their clothes on for the duration of the film. Even Moira McTaggart, CIA agent, shows up wearing lingerie in her first appearance - her "undercover disguise." (Was it really necessary for that scene to take place in a brothel?)
What kind of messages does this send about women and their place in our world? Certainly, if there are fewer female characters than male characters, it says that somehow women are "less," wouldn't you agree? And if the only women in the movie are willowy and sexy, doesn't that also send the message that women who do not fit into this mold do not exist? Because according to Hollywood, they don't.
I am surprised that there hasn't been more of a feminist outcry over this. The film has gotten overwhelmingly positive reviews, but I haven't read one mention of upset about the female roles in this movie. In this world we live in of political correctness and gender equality, why did the filmmakers choose to include these degrading statements about women? In this film in particular, there exist male roles of all kinds - old guys, fat guys, guys with funny-looking feet - just like in real life. The males are not necessarily sexual, they are just people. In real life, we have old women, women with crooked teeth and Lebanese noses, women who wear a size 18. Why do these kinds of people not exist in film? I think that as a culture, we have to take a good long look at these messages we are sending to the world. This film tells women they are not valued unless they look and act a certain way. This film tells men that they don't have to value women unless they comply.
In one of the last scenes of the movie, the female CIA agent sits in a room full of men, confessing that she doesn't remember anything that occurred over the last weekend. She says, "I remember some things - trees, the sunlight, a kiss." One of her superiors scoffs and says, "This is why the CIA is no place for a woman."
This statement left me feeling cynical. Apparently, the director of this movie doesn't believe the film industry is an appropriate place for a woman, either - unless she is a stripper.
Three Books About Brigham Young, Plus One
47 minutes ago
Thank goodness the Bible and other scriptures have so many women figures in them. And, like, female goddess figures, too.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen the movie, but based on what you've said I would agree that it seems sexist and lopsided.
ReplyDeleteThat was the problem with a lot of tv growing up. Looney Toons, Disney cartoons, etc. most of them were male roles. Even Winnie the Pooh only had Kanga, right? I remember feeling very left out when I was little. I think I expect it now since X-Men was a comic first, right? And most comics were male. It stinks, but it's not a new thing in my mind. Still, very valid points.
ReplyDeleteTrue to some degree, but for this particular movie I expect the women in it to fit the comic book mold, so I'm not bothered by it. They have plenty of other movies with women of all shapes and sizes, although it is true that a more recent trend is to a particular look of woman, I seem to recall more older movies being less biased about the women in them. I just think Hollywood is always going to feel they are exempt and allowed to do whatever they want without any backlash
ReplyDeleteIt's great!
ReplyDeleteWomen have been reduced to objects in our society, and most totally believe they are less subjugated or less male-dominated than ever before!
And they're completely convinced that it was through their own efforts that raised them to such a high status!
Well, I gotta say, it's great time to be a self-indulgent, hedonistic male...
/snark
Sexism and objectifying are wrong. Still, you have to acknowledge that today women, at least in this country, can vote, hold office, hold property, choose whom to marry, divorce a spouse, go to school, be a CEO, be an astronaut, and wear pants. I think it's understandable that, in spite of things being worse today, a woman may not think it is.
ReplyDelete