While watching the film for the second time this school year, I have come to the conclusion that I would have to disagree with what the film has to offer. Growing up as I have, and my personal views, I strongly believe that this film is very one sided. The people that were in the film such as Jane Fonda, who is a successful actress, knowing what I know about her, and what she has done to this country and our military, makes me sick. Know this is just my own personal view, and you may disagree with me. But standing on my views, I did not agree with the majority of the film. A quote that I thought stood out the most to me was "If people knew that Cuba, China, Irag, and Afganistan have more women in government then the United States of America, that would get some people upset". Ok, that might be true, but did we forget that women in Irag and Afgnistan literally have no rights. They are controlled by their man, and have to be covered from head to toe in cloth. If we think that women in the United States have no "power", try to live in places where you literally dont have any say in anything. And in China, males have the upper hand. They are the superior ones. This is were my views come into play, because people over here think that women have absolutely no say in anything. Well, i'd rather live in the USA than in the Middle East.
In class we talked about the academy awards, and the song "I saw your boobs". I understand why people might take this offensively, but keeping in mind that the host was a comedian, and this was the kind of stuff he makes fun of. He makes fun of everything, just like any female comedian such as Kathy Griffin, Chelsea Handler, or even Whitney Cummings. They all make fun of both male and females. Not just one gender. Another thing while listening to the song was that these actresses knew what they were getting themselves into when they decided to show their boobs. They knew the world would see it regardless if it was a deep movie or funny movie. Some people find the human body to be beautiful no matter what the gender is. And when people say "nipple slip", yeah the poor girl had a wardrobe malfunction. Its not a big deal.
Does the media play a big role in today's society? Sure it does, but to make your own opinion about a certain topic, then dont relay on the media. Do your own research and listen to both parties. Not just one, than decide on where you think you stand.
I love your response, I didn't bother reading every blog but I'd bet this is one of the only blogs that, for a large part, disagrees with the documentary for some relatively sound reasons. China, Cuba, and Iraq may currently have a larger percentage of female representatives in their governments, but I agree the documentary left out some crucial points, leaving it, as you put it, very "one sided"... painting the United States as the only country that still has flaws and is the worst patriarch. The situation for women could be much better in the US but pay careful attention when you hear Cuba and Iraq being put on a pedestal....
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ReplyDeleteHi Caitlin,
Curious: in which other class did you watch it? I don't know anyone who's showing it, so just wondering.
You are more than welcome to disagree, of course - and I encourage people to do so where they find doing so appropriate. I appreciate your insistence on looking beyond the surface and engaging the ideas critically.
While I think that you make a great point (that the fact that more women women are part of these countries' legislatures doesn't equal freedom or advancement for women), I would encourage you to pick this one apart a bit more: "They are controlled by their man, and have to be covered from head to toe in cloth." This isn't true (not as written) because it's a generalization that suggests this is true all of the time, for all women, in all of these countries. Try using qualifiers like "often", "many", in "some instances", etc. The wearing of head scarves and other such clothing is actually a very multi-layered issue, and doing so IS often a choice (to wear or not to) that's meant to make particular political statements.
I agree with you one level regarding the song. Yes, it was light-hearted, to be expected, performed by a comedian known for doing such things, etc. The issue I take is largely with the trivialization of scenes that included nudity that's brutal and shown either in a largely non-sexual context or one that's very loaded sexually. I think it's the few and far between who found the gang rape of Jodie Foster's character titillating or amusing, but the song glosses over that and reduces something really complex to its most base form: boobies.
That said, this is simply my take, and yours is yours, and there's certainly room for both in feminist criticism.