Recently there was an article in the news about how chick flicks are degrading the female population by a negative and weak portrayal of female characters. This came on the heels of the numerous criticisms about Slumdog Millionaire. I find both these issues stem from a single phenomenon; movie audiences today have lost the sense of reality in entertainment. I mean what is so wrong about showing the reality of some women who do indeed have shopping obsessions or those who desperately cling onto a man to feel complete? Also have the rich Indians today forgotten the slums that line the perimeter of their booming metropolitan city and the slum dwellers who exit side by side with them? It is very convenient to close our eyes and say these females or these slum dwellers don't exist and the movies are unfair portrayal of the "truth" in an effort to disgrace the female population or India.
I have seen 3 chick flicks in the last 2 months; He's just not that into you, Confessions of a shopaholic and Bride Wars. I am also a diehard fan of Mean girls and White Chicks. Does that mean I am on the side of the chauvinistic males who rule society and females alike? Not at all! In fact there are a lot of movies that portray men as the chauvinistic male pigs who couldn't give 2 hoots about using a woman's body and walking away. Now does that mean that is the typical man in the world? I certainly hope not. This man is just 1 of the many kinds of men who inhibit the world. So why then the uproar over the true portrayal of the "weaker" kinds of females?
The same goes for Slumdog Millionaire. The irony over the issue here is much larger since the majority of Indians live below the poverty line. Mumbai aka Bombay has the largest slums and a large, thriving slum dwelling population. How do you expect to deny this fact? What is so wrong with showing this to the world? In fact I applaud the movie for showing how a slum boy aka slumdog rose up in society to become a millionaire. Isn't that something to be proud of? Such stories though not the norm are a true fact of the Indian landscape. Stories of boys and girls coming to the big city with nothing more than dreams of making it big. These same people have gone to achieve amazing things. Indian should be proud to have such resilient citizens who dare to dream and dare to achieve those dreams despite such odds.
I enjoy chick flicks for the humour and the madness of the characters. I even use them as a reminder for myself to not lose my self-confidence and identity as a woman. I have certainly not ran amok after watching "He's just not that into you" looking for the perfect guy and then stalking him all in the hopes of falling in love with Mr. Impossible. Movies are made for entertainment but they usually are based on some kind of reality. This reality may not be the most predominant one but that doesn't take away from the fact that it is still reality.
1 comment:
The problem is, movies as a form of media is a very powerful medium for leading social trends and beliefs. Just see how fashion is heavily influenced by what's showing at the theaters. That's why movies with for e.g. racist or religiously offensive themes are often banned, even though racism and religious criticisms are rampant.
The fact that chick flicks often portray women as ditsy, mindless and obsessed with complying to the media standards of beauty and feeding the male gaze shows a somewhat unbalanced view of society. Why are such shows not deemed offensive, and why are they preferred as a source of entertainment to movies featuring intelligent and confident women who seek equality both at work and in romantic relationships? Is a world of gender equality, made possible by the past decades of feminist movements, not as much of a reality as that of silly girls?
It is unfair that women are more often portrayed as bimbos in chick flicks, and it is disturbing that they are so much more popular that way.
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