3/25/2008
I want to like this,
but it feels a little too second-wave-y for my liking. Or something. Your thoughts?
Happy Women's Month, by the way.
Not unrelated, I re-watched Roman Holiday this past weekend, and I was struck, during this scene especially, with a tinse of regret at not haven taken any film classes at UIUC. I just want to sit around and talk about this scene, and the one before it, all day. Maybe I'll watch it with students one day.
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7 comments:
While I am a fan of the whole "feminists are the majority" mentality, I can't also help but feel that anytime you have people repeating in a sing song fashion any catch phrase it diminishes its effect. Moreover, I am just not convinced that showing Booger from Revenge of the Nerds saying "this is what a feminist looks like" is really an effective marketing campaign. Finally, any one else a bit disturbed by the cut from the group of women wearing pink "abortion is a right" shirts to women wearing shirts with hangers on them that say "its my body." ?
Fascinating scene in Roman Holiday. The whole Audrey Hepburn obsession becomes fascinating with the whole short hair flat figure being often times her look which is also often considered rather boyish...
Kasey:
"I can't also help but feel that anytime you have people repeating in a sing song fashion any catch phrase it diminishes its effect."
True that.
Susan:
Totally. I love the way this movie juxtaposes the whole "princess" type with the idea of duty, which I think can be read as almost a "career woman" type thang. It's simultaneously cool and whack. Fascinating is right.
Not all feminists are smart, beautiful, fearless, strong, kind, intelligent, individualistic, cool, or active. Interestingly, although this video advocates that all people are different and feminist are a diverse group, the white, thin, pretty feminists with long hair and soft voices are the ones who get the most theme song. All the minorities, fat or conventionally unattractive women, even short-haired women are paired or shown in groups, and are only spotlighted for a hot second.
In addition, the video perpetuates the idea that in order to be a person of worth, you have to be smart, kind, beautiful, active, funny, individualistic, fearless, strong, or cool, and the popular culture definitions of those words as well. What about women from collectivist societies who are not individualistic and yet are also feminists? What about the feminists with no sense of humor? What about the conventionally unattractive feminists? What about uneducated or unintelligent people? Can they not be feminists?
The video's goal was to make it look like "Hey, anyone can be a feminist!" but it ended up doing the opposite of that.
and you've hit the nail on the head.
i fucking hate feminism.
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