Change Your Image
jdmarsh
Reviews
Chi-Raq (2015)
Male violence is not women's responsibility
Spike Lee might be a black man, but he is clearly out of touch with the reality of being black (or black and female) in America. Despite a laudably all-black cast, this movie conveniently ignores the reality that male violence is not women's responsibility to deal with, and black male violence is likewise, not black women's responsibility. Black women already bear much of society's scorn and shame; The black woman is the welfare queen, the irresponsible teen mother, the whore. The idea of black women using their (culturally stereotyped) sexuality to control rates of black male violence (which are presumed to have reached war zone levels in this film despite lowered national crime rates in reality)is patently absurd and would be perceived as a racist move had this film not been made by a black man.
Even without the race element, male violence IS NOT women's responsibility. The conceit that women use their vaginas and sexuality to fix toxic masculinity and the poverty that causes violence and desperation in poor communities of color is absurd and wrong.
Sucker Punch (2011)
visually stunning and vapid
I found this film completely unwatchable. The lack of centralized plot, the fetishization of young women through costuming and clichés, and the hollowness of the visuals, though dazzling, all left me cold and insulted as a female viewer. It's not enough to acknowledge that these tropes in movies (and video games) exist and make a movie that supposedly satirizes these tropes. "Ironic" sexism is still sexism. Humor does not excuse reprehensibly shallow representations of women in the media, and giving women guns and placing them in a traditionally macho male fighting role does not make them "strong female characters".
I am highly disappointed that Snyder is directing Wonder Woman, as he will certainly bring his peculiar skill of living in complete and utter denial of his blatant sexism to the table in the latest DC installment.