Monthly Archives: February 2014

Prowling around for a good feminist topic to blog about, I came across a short French film,  Majorité Opprimée (Oppressed Majority), that is really giving me a lot to think about, and a lot to write about. Watch the 11-minute film here:

I’m going to break down the scenes one on one.

First of all, we can see that the director is a woman, Eleonore Pourriat. I think this is especially important because it gives the movie more credibility. Another thing to point out is the short description of the film: “On what seems to be just another ordinary day, a man is exposed to sexism and sexual violence in a society ruled by women…” This little description caught my attention because I never thought about what it would be like if the roles between men and women were swapped so dramatically.

In the first scene we’re introduced to the main character, a 30-ish-year-old slightly out of shape man who’s taking his child off to daycare. A woman neighbor stops to talk to him about a recent building meeting, addressing him as “my dear”. They chatter for awhile, and then as the woman is leaving she chuckles, “Oh I’m saying this to you? I should really be talking to your wife…” The man pauses for a second, but doesn’t really take offense by it. In fact, this line is so subtle that in real life, in our male-driven world, this remark probably wouldn’t register as misogynistic. But in reality, it is; why wouldn’t the male be as informed as the female on these matters? Why is one more worth talking to than the other?

The man sets on his way and is nearly knocked over by a topless female runner. Only the French are shamelessly not boob-a-phobics and I love ’em for it.

Notice this subtle comment as well? She’s only remarking on his looks. This happens over and over in a woman’s lifetime that she starts to base her self worth on her beauty.

Dropping his child off at work, he notices the nanny, who’s a man, has started wearing a hijab, and he asks if he feels trapped by his wife. The nanny replies no, that it’s the law and that he’s protected by God that way. It’s possible that the nanny is telling the truth, that he feels more comfortable wearing the head scarf, but it’s also a possibility that he’s changed himself to please his wife. Our main guy is concerned about this, because this is a real issue for men (our women) in everyday life. I’m not arguing about the hijab itself; as a Westerner, I see it as a misogynistic practice, but I wasn’t brought up in that culture. I’m arguing about the fact that women often feel like they have to change the way they look to please their significant other or the males in their life.

Leaving the nanny, our guy hops on his bike. On the way he’s cat-called by a homeless woman who offers to give him a blowjob. The man ignores her at first, but when she yells at him to give her money and he refuses, she blows up at him, insulting his looks. He stays silent until the light turns green and he rides away. His silence is really disturbing; it’s weird to see a woman insult a man and have the man be silent, subservient.

Riding off, the man makes it to outside his office building and parks his bike. Four young girls are standing in the road, one of them relieving herself in the alleyway. The girls start to heckle the man, and finally, he gets fed up and asks if there’s a problem.

Our guy finally sticks up for himself, but when he calls them bitches, they get angry and react violently. In the alleyway, with a knife to his throat, the girls tear open his shirt, play with his nipples, and unzip his pants. This scene gave me chills; it’s so strange to watch women violently dominate a man in this way. As a woman, scenarios like this frighten me enough so that I am afraid to walk alone in the dark. I feel pretty safe in State College, but the idea of being taken advantage of is so scary to me that I don’t like to take risks. I can’t possibly imagine a world in which the roles would be switched, that men would fear me and my girl friends at night, and so I think that’s why this scene was so poignant to me.

The film skips to the man at the police station, as a woman officer dryly recounts his story. After she condescendingly asks for a cup of coffee from her young male assistant, she says, “It’s crazy isn’t it? In broad daylight, with no witnesses…” Our man asks what she’s trying to get at, and she replies,

Her icy gaze is what gets me most; she has absolutely no sympathy for what he went through, and what’s more, she questions if this scene ever took place.

When his wife meets him at the police station, she briefly explains that she couldn’t come earlier since she had a meeting. “I think I really knocked ’em dead” she says proudly, and the man says “I’m so happy for you”. That really ticked me off.

Walking out of the hospital, the woman makes no effort to try and comfort the man who can barely stand on his feet. She looks so uncomfortable, and clearly doesn’t know what to do. Then, he breaks down.

One of the first things she replies is:

When he says he dresses as he wants, she harshly replies, “Don’t complain then!”

This is the popular argument of the ignorant, that women are asking for it when they wear tight or suggestive clothing. Yet, if we wear baggy clothing, we’re accused of being uptight, boring virgins. It’s the kind of double standard that makes me crazy.

She walks away, and as the camera follows her down the long, dark road, male voices start to insult her. She looks afraid as she walks alone; in a matter of seconds, the roles are switched back to normal. I applaud the director, Pourriat, for this exceptional short film that brings attention to one of our biggest issues as a society, objectification and violence against women. I especially want to know how men react to this film, so share your thoughts.

Ladies and gents, the newest Disney phenomenon has swept the nation; yes, you guessed it (by the title I hope?), this post is going to be all about how Disney’s Frozen can be considered a feminist film.

For those of you who haven’t yet seen the film, here’s a short synopsis. (For those who have, skip down to the astericks***.) Two sisters, Elsa and Anna, are princesses in a snowy setting (probably in some Nordic country). Elsa, the older sister, was born with the power of magically producing snow and ice forms through her hands. She and Anna love playing with the snow, until one day Anna gets hurt. From then on, their parents don’t allow Elsa to use her magic, but it’s difficult for her to keep it in. They also separate the two sisters, and refuse for them to leave the house. One day their parents are killed at sea, so 3 years later, Elsa will be crowned queen of the land.

On her coronation day, many people from distant lands arrive to celebrate the new queen. One of these foreigners is Hans, with whom Anna falls desperately in love with right away. He proposes to her, and she says yes immediately. After the coronation, Elsa loses control of her powers, and the entire town, including Anna, learns of her secret. Embarrassed and scared, she flees the castle, and Anna vows to go after her, putting Hans in charge while she’s away. On the way she comes across Kristoff, a mountain man of a guy with a cool moose companion, who at first refuses to help Anna, but later she changes his mind.

Who doesn’t love a Yeti companion?

Kristoff and Anna eventually make it to Elsa’s North Castle, a fortress she made out of ice, and they find Elsa perfectly happy being alone since she can be herself. But when Anna tells Elsa she has caused an eternal winter, Elsa grows scared again, and accidently strikes Anna in the heart with her snow powers. Kristoff takes her to some cool little trolls who say only an act of true love can break that ice. Kristoff rushes Anna back to Hans, but Hans laughs in her face and says he never loved her, he just wanted to take the kingdom from Anna. Meanwhile, Elsa is captured, brought to jail, and then escapes. Anna is left to die, before Olaf, her trusty snowman she met along the way, finds her and suggests they go find Kristoff. At the climax, Hans finds Elsa wandering the fjord in a blizzard, and gets ready to strike her with a dagger. Anna, nearly frozen to death, staggers toward them and steps in front Elsa. She turns completely to ice and shatters Hans’ blade. Elsa, consumed with grief, breaks down and starts hugging her frozen sister, when suddenly, Anna’s ice melts and she’s normal again! By saving her sister, an act of true love, Anna broke her own spell.

Elsa realizes love can break the eternal winter, so she warms the land and everything is back to normal.

The sisters’ kingdom (thawed)

Hans is taken back to his own land, Kristoff kisses Anna for replacing his broken sled for a new one and the sisters rule the kingdom happily together.

A pretty long summary, but I wanted to hit some of the more important parts that I’m going to analyze. In historical Disney films, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Cinderella, and even Tangled, it’s the man who ends up saving the downtrodden princess. I like Frozen because it completely turns this idea upside-down. At first, you think that it’s going to be just another Disney film; Hans and Anna fall madly in love the very first day they meet each other, and you find yourself shaking your fist at Disney, no! not another one of these unrealistic themes! At the same time, Elsa is told by her parents to keep her powers to herself, to hide her true personality. This theme can be seen even in real life, when girls are criticized for too strongly showing a certain characteristic, such as their sexuality, and are encouraged to hide it. Once Elsa is alone and is able to LET IT GO (the starring musical number in the film), she feels freer and happier. I like that Disney wanted to show that it’s not healthy to keep emotions inside yourself, and that little girls and boys alike should express themselves because it feels better to do so.

Moreover, the ending message really hits home. Instead of Hans turning out to be some great prince who rescues Anna, he betrays her, and it’s Anna who saves herself in the end. The tight sisterly bond between Anna and Elsa causes Elsa to figure out how to fix the eternal winter. The two sisters are happy to be reunited again, and they find a balance between allowing Elsa to use her powers and keeping harmony in the palace. It’s the sisters who figure out the solution, not some prince who sweeps in and saves everyone. Can anybody say GIRL POWER? Plus, having an older sister myself, I can relate to the film. Sometimes you fight with your sister, and sometimes you save your parents’ kingdom with her. Go us.

All the while, the film is fun to watch. Girls and guys of all ages can enjoy the cute musical numbers with Olaf the snowman (who steals the show btw), not at the expense of women or some other “dumbly-casted” minority (see characters such as Lightning McQueen in Cars or the Seven Dwarves in Snow White).

As for the sisters’ appearances go, Disney could have further pushed the message that individuality is an okay thing by possibly creating a curvier Elsa or Anna. The girls are still tied up in this rigid, impossibly skinny, model, and I would’ve liked to see a change in that. Like in Tangled, the princesses still have enormous eyes, small noses, beautiful locks that frame their pointy faces. I hate how Elsa, Anna, and Tangled’s Rapunzel all look like twins whereas the men in the movies, Hans, Kristoff, and Tangled’s Eugene are all extremely varied. If the importance of individuality is Disney’s intended message, the creators should have varied the girls’ looks and sizes a bit more.

Demeaning portrait of the perfect woman, or just long lost sister?

All in all, however, Frozen gets the Miranda Holmes feminist seal of approval.