misogyny Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Discuss: Is Hollywood Misogynistic?
Filed under: Action », Comedy », Casting », New Releases », Executive shifts », Celebrities and Controversy », Box Office », Fandom », Exhibition », Politics », Images »
In these supposedly progressive times, gender equality is one of those touchy issues relegated to the last paragraph of a trend piece nobody reads. When Katherine Heigl suggested to Vanity Fair that Judd Apatow's movies were sexist, the assertion came across like an after-the-fact shrug of acceptance. Ever the galvanizing provocateur, New York Times critic Manohla Dargis confronts the issue head-on with a thorough analysis of the gender bias in this year's summer blockbusters. With "Iron Man, Batman, Big Angry Green Man" and other massive expressions of virility invading the box office, female roles appear to be relegated to the back of the multiplex. Dargis touches on the rumors that Warner Bros head Jeff Robinov believes no woman has been able to sell a movie since Julia Roberts (a point that Natalie Portman might contest, but not Paris Hilton) before sizing up numerous upcoming studio releases, with particular attention paid to Anna Faris, "who could be the next Judy Holliday but without the right material will, alas, probably end up the next Brittany Murphy." It's the kind of pronouncement that hits you in gut.
Frank Miller Loves Tough Girls
Filed under: Action », Classics », Lionsgate Films », Celebrities and Controversy », Fandom », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
Last summer, I attended a thesis presentation by one of my classmates. It was on the portrayal of women and minorities in comic books. I wasn't the only girl there, but I was the first one to arrive. As we waited for kick off and were casually discussing the topic, one of the other students piped up, "Hey, let's ask her -- you're a girl who reads comics, what do YOU think of Frank Miller? Is he a misogynist or what?"Yikes. And I've since learned that no man or woman ever expects you to say "No" to that question. If you say "No, I really don't," jaws will drop and everyone will say "But what about that Vicki Vale thing?" Damning, to be sure -- but 95% of comic book writers and illustrators do the exact same thing. But, to make a long story short, I always point to Elektra, and we all begrudgingly agree to disagree.
Well, over at the official website for The Spirit, Miller has posted a new production blog. While he never specifically addresses the charges against him (and may not even be thinking of them as he posted this), Miller nevertheless has written a spirited defense. "I love writing tough, powerful women." And he has set out to do just that with one chick specifically -- Ellen Dolan, love interest of the title character. The character has proved to be a challenge, a weak stereotype of the age in which she was created. Miller calls her "a lousy character" and complains, "[The Spirit] even tossed her over his knee and spanked her. And she took it. Ellen Dolan made Donna Reed look like Angelina Jolie."
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