Okay... and...?
Oct. 11th, 2007 11:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eumeliaIn relation to my previous entry.
Jeff Robinov, the Executive who was reported saying this has issued a denial that seems less than honest.
Despite this denial, all I have to say is: Okay... and...?
The problem isn't that that a Hollywood Executive thinks women make bad leads. The problem is that Hollywood, the big entertainment entity, considers Women a Genre(1).
The "Woman Genre", as I see it, is the romantic dramady(2), in which the heroine, in a very formulaic way, is lonely (for friends, for romance, for children, whatever) a man comes her way - if a woman came in to fill this void it would be classified in the "Lesbian Genre" not the "Woman Genre" - now this man could be old, young, black, white, straight or gay, but he is a male and offers her one of things that is missing from her life, those things in the aforementioned parenthesis, and she either lives happily ever after or is hurt and lives a better life without this particular man, confidant in the fact that the next man will be better.
This, to me, is the formula of the stereotypical "Woman Genre".
The few "Woman Genre" movies that break this mold are considered Special, are not put into this "Genre".
Is "The Hours" considered a "Woman Genre" movie, seeing as it was a cinematic masterpiece?
However, the issue isn't the "Woman Genre". The issue is the Female Lead, as opposed to the Male Lead.
Women are 51% of the general population. "Woman" is a gender, in fact it's a gender identity filled with nuances, mannerisms and customs that often overlap with "Man" as a gender identity, obviously this works both ways.
It irks me, on many levels, I mean was "Alien" and its sequels failures in the Box Office? Was "Thelma and Louise" anathema to the Buddy Movie? Were Uma Thurman, Daryl Hannah, Lucy Liu not up to par with John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson?
Ach, I could go on about Heroines and such, because they are out there and to blame Jodi Foster (Clarisse!) and Nicole Kidman (Virginia Woolf!), and not over-all production, or perhaps crappy markerting, for a Box-Office flop is labeling yourself that very apolitically correct label... misogynist.
Notes:
1) Much like Black and Queer are Genres and all movies in a language other than English are Foreign films.
2) A combination of Drama and Comedy.
In addition, the genocide in Darfur must be stopped.
וכמו כן, צריך לעצור את רצח העם בדרפור.
Jeff Robinov, the Executive who was reported saying this has issued a denial that seems less than honest.
Despite this denial, all I have to say is: Okay... and...?
The problem isn't that that a Hollywood Executive thinks women make bad leads. The problem is that Hollywood, the big entertainment entity, considers Women a Genre(1).
The "Woman Genre", as I see it, is the romantic dramady(2), in which the heroine, in a very formulaic way, is lonely (for friends, for romance, for children, whatever) a man comes her way - if a woman came in to fill this void it would be classified in the "Lesbian Genre" not the "Woman Genre" - now this man could be old, young, black, white, straight or gay, but he is a male and offers her one of things that is missing from her life, those things in the aforementioned parenthesis, and she either lives happily ever after or is hurt and lives a better life without this particular man, confidant in the fact that the next man will be better.
This, to me, is the formula of the stereotypical "Woman Genre".
The few "Woman Genre" movies that break this mold are considered Special, are not put into this "Genre".
Is "The Hours" considered a "Woman Genre" movie, seeing as it was a cinematic masterpiece?
However, the issue isn't the "Woman Genre". The issue is the Female Lead, as opposed to the Male Lead.
Women are 51% of the general population. "Woman" is a gender, in fact it's a gender identity filled with nuances, mannerisms and customs that often overlap with "Man" as a gender identity, obviously this works both ways.
It irks me, on many levels, I mean was "Alien" and its sequels failures in the Box Office? Was "Thelma and Louise" anathema to the Buddy Movie? Were Uma Thurman, Daryl Hannah, Lucy Liu not up to par with John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson?
Ach, I could go on about Heroines and such, because they are out there and to blame Jodi Foster (Clarisse!) and Nicole Kidman (Virginia Woolf!), and not over-all production, or perhaps crappy markerting, for a Box-Office flop is labeling yourself that very apolitically correct label... misogynist.
Notes:
1) Much like Black and Queer are Genres and all movies in a language other than English are Foreign films.
2) A combination of Drama and Comedy.
In addition, the genocide in Darfur must be stopped.
וכמו כן, צריך לעצור את רצח העם בדרפור.
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no subject
Date: 2007-10-11 09:58 pm (UTC)Oh, and of course the whole misogynistic matter is outrageous, etc. etc... :)
no subject
Date: 2007-10-11 10:03 pm (UTC)And yes, Hollywood has absolutely no sense of proportion, women are objectified, etc. etc. 'וגו ;D
no subject
Date: 2007-10-11 10:56 pm (UTC)Oh, Hollywood has a great sense of proportion - usually in the 90-60-90 area?
And yes, women are the largest minority group, glass ceiling, stay-at-home moms, וכו' וכן הלאה
(hey, this is a fun game!)
no subject
Date: 2007-10-12 06:36 am (UTC)Ha! indeed, 90-60-90, though the 60 and lower 90 seem to want to be shrinking all the time there.
And the whole women of colour are exotisized - much like objectified, only for actual fetish reasons - just like lesbian sexuality if for the consumption of straight men and all that jazz, sex and rock n'roll.
no subject
Date: 2007-10-12 09:23 pm (UTC)Good one with the women of color... But don't forget about inter-racial couples! How they are ostracized out of both worlds and forced to live in a kind of seclusion and so on and so on!
no subject
Date: 2007-10-13 11:47 am (UTC)Inter-racial couples... inter-racial homosexual couples o_O(!) and so forth and 'וכו.
Gosh, we're good at this game :)
no subject
Date: 2007-10-13 11:15 pm (UTC)Inter-racial homosexual trios! It is a cruel and unjust world outside for those daring to defy the coupling standard! והלאה באקסטרפולציה
Yes, we rock ;)