First of all, I am a man. I can hear many of you booing about that. I am however very much supportive of women and what they can accomplish. Often, my wife has earned more money than I have, and I am not bitter about it. My mother has earned more than my father did. It has never bothered me.
This documentary however is quite selective in what it portrays and how it is portrayed. For all the times women can be upset about how sexualized they are in media, or how catty they are portrayed, men can be just as upset about how ignorant, dumb, and out of touch they are. How many sitcoms are built around the premise of a dumbed down dad and a smart mom? Meanwhile there have been plenty of representations of smart sophisticated women on television. Where is their mention in this documentary? It's largely ignored.
As far as politics go, the vast majority of the women politicians shown are controversial, and not simply because they are women. But that's not the worst of it. Women have been gaining political ground, working as lawmakers, legislators, governors of states, and in some areas heads of states.
What irked me the most about this though was for all the pontificating, the documentary actually undermined a large part of its premise. Near the beginning there was anger that "reality" television presents women as being catty, argumentative, and backstabbing. Yet toward the end many of those interviewed called for an end to the cattiness and backstabbing. Which is it because it can't be both at the same time? And then what's with the director of Twilight? Doesn't she know that the novels and the movies make Bella, who is an extremely weak willed girl, into some kind of a role model? That she does anything to get the attention of a voyeuristic vampire? Yeah, great female role model there.
I'm going to end by saying this: does objectification exist? Certainly it does, but it's not a one-way street. Movies like "Magic Mike" exist. My sister is completely enamored with Chris Hemsworth's portrayal of 'Thor' in the Marvel movies. Yes it exists. I wish it didn't. But it goes both ways. What we need to do is learn mutual respect for each other, not lists of demands to force on each other.
This documentary however is quite selective in what it portrays and how it is portrayed. For all the times women can be upset about how sexualized they are in media, or how catty they are portrayed, men can be just as upset about how ignorant, dumb, and out of touch they are. How many sitcoms are built around the premise of a dumbed down dad and a smart mom? Meanwhile there have been plenty of representations of smart sophisticated women on television. Where is their mention in this documentary? It's largely ignored.
As far as politics go, the vast majority of the women politicians shown are controversial, and not simply because they are women. But that's not the worst of it. Women have been gaining political ground, working as lawmakers, legislators, governors of states, and in some areas heads of states.
What irked me the most about this though was for all the pontificating, the documentary actually undermined a large part of its premise. Near the beginning there was anger that "reality" television presents women as being catty, argumentative, and backstabbing. Yet toward the end many of those interviewed called for an end to the cattiness and backstabbing. Which is it because it can't be both at the same time? And then what's with the director of Twilight? Doesn't she know that the novels and the movies make Bella, who is an extremely weak willed girl, into some kind of a role model? That she does anything to get the attention of a voyeuristic vampire? Yeah, great female role model there.
I'm going to end by saying this: does objectification exist? Certainly it does, but it's not a one-way street. Movies like "Magic Mike" exist. My sister is completely enamored with Chris Hemsworth's portrayal of 'Thor' in the Marvel movies. Yes it exists. I wish it didn't. But it goes both ways. What we need to do is learn mutual respect for each other, not lists of demands to force on each other.
