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I am unfamiliar with and fairly indifferent to the casting process, however, after systematically noting certain things that are routinely said and done in mainstream movies I have noticed that some actors consistently play misogynists. It makes me wonder whether they have a preference for these roles or if casting agents see them as a natural fit for these roles.
In other news I have analysed heaps of movies lately, including Boyz n the Hood (1991), Waterworld (1995), Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005) and Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016). Analysing so many movies provides me with many examples for the points I make throughout my book. The process is enjoyable, but I am itching to share my findings with the world. © 2017 Alline Cormier
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One of the reasons I am writing a book about the sexualization of women and violence against women is because there is so much violence against women in Canada. This week the media has covered one more of the preventable gynocides that has occurred under this sad state of affairs. Eighteen-year-old Daphné Huard-Boudreault was stabbed to death by her 22-year-old ex-boyfriend when she returned to their shared apartment to collect her belongings, in spite of the fact that she was accompanied by a police officer and her stepmother. She had requested protection from the police because that morning she had found him waiting for her inside her car. According to CBC News, “[…] Huard-Boudreault was frightened and frustrated, asking her co-workers whether her ex would have to kill her for police to do something.”[1] The morning of Huard-Boudreault’s murder the police spoke to her ex-boyfriend “before concluding there wasn't anything they could do to help her.”[2] What is the point of a police force if it cannot protect its citizens? The problem behind the police's ineffectual response lies in the fact that police forces are created and run by men. A police force managed by women would protect women much more effectively.
[1] CBC News, Police officer was with Quebec woman when she was slain, distraught father says, March 23, 2017 [2] CBC News, Police officer was with Quebec woman when she was slain, distraught father says, March 23, 2017 © 2017 Alline Cormier In keeping with my plan to analyse every Canadian movie to win a best picture award at the Canadian Screen Awards since 2000 I have added Away from Her (2006) to my growing pile of analysed movies. The screenplay behind this moving drama was written by Sarah Polley and Alice Munro based on one of Munro's short stories. Sarah Polley also directed it. Away from Her is refreshing in that women are shown doing more than drinking, partying, attempting to look sexy and having sex. Julie Christie is shown cross-country skiing in several scenes. She also reads aloud to her husband--rare occurrences in Movieland indeed. I enjoyed this one much more than most of the movies I analyse. Away from Her scores better on the Bechdel test than many movies, but it was still disappointing to see so few interactions between women. At least here sexualization was not an issue, which was nice for a change. © 2017 Alline Cormier #Sarah Polley #AwayFromHer #JulieChristie
  By now I have analysed roughly 150 mainstream movies for my movie chapter, and I can say without a doubt that We're the Millers (2013), starring Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudeikis, is one of the most pornographic mainstream movies I have ever seen. It's got just about everything: violence against women; humiliated, insulted and silenced women; lesbianism for men's viewing pleasure; and the promotion of incest. And if you watched this movie as a drinking game, taking a shot of tequila every time a character says balls, d*ck or c*ck you would die from alcohol poisoning before the end of the movie. In keeping with my new pastime of pairing a recent movie with a much older one for analysis I think I will watch Roman Holiday (1953) next... © 2017 Alline Cormier  Lately I have begun making odd pairings of movies to analyse, for example: The African Queen (1951), starring Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart, followed by 27 Dresses (2008), starring Katherine Heigl. The difference 50-odd years makes in cinema is incredible. In The African Queen the main characters are consistently polite. When Hepburn throws all Bogart's gin overboard--they are alone on a barge--he says, "Oh miss! I'll perish without a hair of the dog." When she gives him the silent treatment he asks her, "What you being so mean for, miss?" In 27 Dresses, however, the characters are not quite well raised. For instance, bridesmaid Judy Greer says of the bride's wish for her hair not to hang loosely, "The b*tch said up. It's up." In another scene Katherine Heigl says to her sister, "Today you're just some b*tch who broke my heart and cut up my mother's wedding dress." I'm beginning to think what I like most about old movies is the fact that women are not constantly being called b*tches. © 2017 Alline Cormier #TheAfricanQueen #KatherineHepburn #HumphreyBogart #27Dresses #KatherineHeigl   After analysing the R-rated mainstream movie Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016), which made US$75.9 million at the worldwide box office I decided to devise a rating system for mainstream movies that include pornographic content. To give you an idea, the majority of movies made before 1950 would likely score a zero, i.e. no pornographic content. Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, on the other hand, scored a 13. Sausage Party (2016) scores even higher, but I haven't yet calculated exactly how high. To rinse out my brain (and imagination) I'm reading Edith Wharton. © 2017 Alline Cormier #MikeandDaveNeedWeddingDates #SausageParty  For International Women's Day I am treating myself to an analysis of A League of Their Own (1992), starring Geena Davis, Lori Petty, Rosie O'Donnell and Madonna, because it is heartwarming to see so many women supporting each other, cheering each other on, hugging and building solid friendships. I have already seen it a couple of times, but it is one of the rare movies that deserves to be watched more than once. Penny Marshall directed it and the story comes from Kim Wilson and Kelly Candaele. It is a real shame there aren't (many) more movies like this one. I tip my hat to those who gave the world this beautiful story.
© 2017 Alline Cormier The other night I analysed Casablanca (1942) followed by Alien (1979), which was one of the weirder combinations so far, however it brought the total movies analysed for my most extensive chapter up to nearly 150. In Casablanca there are four named female characters, but none of them ever speak to each other. In Alien there are two, and they are for the most part hostile towards each other. So yesterday I treated myself to an analysis of Sleepless in Seattle (1993), in which two of the female characters (Meg Ryan and Rosie O'Donnell) have a beautiful friendship. Given that today is International Women's Day I will try to find something similar. This is hardly the day for Fatal Attraction (1987). © 2017 Alline Cormier #Casablanca #Alien   Thanks to the cable subscription I am keeping for the duration of my research on women in media I was able to analyze the R-rated animated movie Sausage Party (2016) without paying for it directly. This is significant because I would not want to give my hard earned money to the creators of this film. In spite of having watched the trailer and seen the poster, which features an upright sausage and a tagline that reads: A hero will rise, I still found it shocking. Shocking for so many reasons, namely: someone gave its creators a budget of US$19 million (estimated according to IMDB) to make this garbage; it made US$140.4 million at the worldwide box office; and many well-known actors agreed to be a part of it. That US$160 million could have been spent so much more productively--in a society with superior values to the ones it currently holds. For those who have seen the movie Idiocracy (2006) Sausage Party is especially frightening because it seems to prove that the devolution of humanity depicted in Idiocracy has already occurred. Based on the content of the movie the intellectual level of its creators must be exceptionally low. My knee-jerk reaction was to suspect mental retardation, however, it is far more likely that the cause--again based on the content of the movie--is excessive use of illegal drugs and life goals for the most part limited to chronic masturbation and the consumption of pornography. An unexpected result of my watching Sausage Party was a feeling of gratitude that none of the men in my circle correspond to this vision of manhood. I had always suspected they belonged to a better class of men, but Sausage Party provided overwhelming proof. © 2017 Alline Cormier #SausageParty #Idiocracy  |
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