Taylor Swift is not someone whose actions I follow closely. I wouldn't call myself a fan; I am unfamiliar with her music. However, this week the outcome of the singer's trial against a man who assaulted her caught my attention. The facts are as follows: during a backstage photo opportunity in 2013 David Mueller put his hand under her skirt and grabbed her bottom. During the ensuing trial over this assault Swift provided blunt, unapologetic testimony. She did not mince her words or allow Mueller's lawyer to lay the blame on her, as is often seen in sexual assault trials. The jury found Mueller guilty and awarded her the damages she requested (i.e. $1).
This is clearly a victory for women and girls: in a high profile case the female victim of assault won her case against a male aggressor. Little girls who look up to Swift as their idol will feel empowered and likely remember this in the future when and if they are sexually assaulted--and chances are they will since the stats are not in their favour. Moreover, sexual assault survivors might feel encouraged by this victory to lay charges themselves--something that happens all too rarely. © 2017 Alline Cormier
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It has come to my attention that among the 200+ movies I have analysed so far there aren't nearly enough from the highest grossing movies of all-time category. In a sense this is understandable because this category includes movies like Furious 7 (2015) and Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), which are the kind of movies that I find unbearably tedious, especially the Transformers movies with their interminable battle scenes. However, as detestable as they are they are precisely the type of movies I talk most about and in their cases, the ones that have been watched by the most viewers, so it makes sense for me to include them. Transformers: Dark of the Moon made US$1.123 billion at the worldwide box office and Furious 7 made US$1.516 billion. With this in mind I analysed both of these movies this week--which was painful and I hate that I will never get that time back. Next up will likely be Avatar (2009), which currently sits in the top position, having made US$2.783 billion at the worldwide box office.
© 2017 Alline Cormier Strictly speaking this post does not relate to my book, except in a vague way relating to opportunity and time management. I wake up wanting to work on my book and spend as much time as possible on it every day. Typically there aren't any major distractions, and things can move along at a pace I'm satisfied with. Once in a while, however, an event occurs which more or less prevents me from making any progress on it, and that was the case yesterday. Plumbers are using a jackhammer in my basement to break up concrete--directly beneath my office. To say this is distracting would be something of an understatement. Not wanting to lose an entire day--and it not being possible to leave my house--I ended up doing a lot of reading, which is okay because research is crucial. Today they should be done with the jackhammer before lunch. I'm keeping my fingers crossed because I have analysed a lot of movies and can't wait to add them to my book.
© 2017 Alline Cormier Analysing Carol (2015) between Cool Hand Luke (1967) and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) made for a strange experience. It was as if I had been island hopping and only the second island was populated with women. Cool Hand Luke features two women: the first, a tease without any lines who puts on a show for convicts doing manual labour on a highway, appears in a scene that lasts three minutes; the second, Luke's mother and the only named female character with lines, lies in the back of a truck smoking for a scene that lasts seven minutes. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes boasts only one named human female, and although she has a few lines she never speaks to another woman. Moreover, in one scene after she has given her advice she is silenced by a man who says, "Spare me the hippy dippy bullshit." In between, thankfully, I visited Carol island.
Carol (2015) not only passes the Bechdel test with flying colours it is populated with women throughout. They have lots of positive interactions, including intergenerational, and are congenial. It includes a solid friendship that lasts from beginning to end and several caring relationships between women. These are all unusual occurrences for Hollywood. Typically it is antagonism between women that is shown throughout. I know what I'm talking about; I've analysed over 200 movies in depth for this sort of thing. © 2017 Alline Cormier I just noticed that today marks the one year anniversary of my starting this book blog! On August 2, 2016, I mentioned that my book was nearly 400 pages long, which means that in the last twelve months it has grown by 200 pages. I've even lost track of how many movies I've analysed--over 200 now. This year has flown by and in spite of getting early starts and working after the sun goes down I never feel like I get enough time to tackle this important subject matter. Back in August 2016 I wrote that the main questions my book addresses are the following:
How are women and girls currently portrayed in the media? How has this portrayal evolved over the years? What are the effects and consequences of these portrayals? How do women fare in today's society, and what part does the media play in women's life conditions? Now that I reread these questions I'm not surprised I haven't run out of things to say yet. I suspect I never will, but I am aiming to have this book ready by the end of 2017. It would be great to be able to wrap it up and put it under the tree... © 2017 Alline Cormier Last night I stayed up late to analyse an old movie: Klute (1971) starring Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland. Lately I haven't had much time for analysing more movies and have mostly been editing the 600 pages my book already has. However, I'm really glad I made the time yesterday because this was an atypical film. The subject matter, broadly speaking, is not since it is about a prostitute, and Hollywood has made dozens of movies about women who prostitute themselves. What differentiates this movie lies in the storytelling. It contains thought provoking dialogue, and women actually have a voice. It passes the Bechdel test, and Fonda has more than one relatively lengthy conversation with her psychiatrist (a grey-haired woman, which is another rarity). Fonda, who plays Bree Daniels, has longer lines than women have in movies nowadays. She is insightful and the real star of the movie so it is a mystery why it is called Klute--after John Klute, played by Sutherland--instead of Daniels or Bree. Not surprisingly, Fonda won the Oscar for best actress that year. One of the things I especially liked was the realistic light shined on prostitution in Klute. It was not glamorized. Instead it was portrayed as lonely, harmful and very dangerous.
© 2017 Alline Cormier |
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