I'm not one to shy away from expressing unpopular opinions. So here it goes. I saw Fury Road. I get why people like it. But it isn't feminist. On the surface, Mad Max is about resisting a cartoonish version of misogyny. But that resistance takes the form of more glorified violence. Fury Road is different from many action films in that it lets some women participate as equal partners in a cinematic orgy of male violence. Feminism doesn't simply mean women getting to partake in typical badass "guy stuff". Feminism is about redefining our social value system. Sometimes violence may be necessary for liberation from oppression, but it's always tragic. Fury Road frames it as totally fun and awesome. As a film Mad Max absolutely adores its gritty future. The camera caresses acts of violence in the same way it caresses the brides' bodies. "We are not things" is a great line, but doesn't work when the plot and especially the camera treats them like things from start to finish. Mad Max's villains are caricatures of misogyny which makes overt misogynists angry but does not challenge more prevalent forms of sexism. Viewers get to feel good about hating cartoon misogyny without questioning themselves or examining how sexism actually works in our society. It makes me profoundly sad that mainstream pop culture now interprets feminism to mean "women can drive fast and stoically kill people too!" We're starved for representations of powerful women but we need to re-imagine concepts of power and move beyond the glorification of violence.
~ Anita Sarkeesian
|
