Is it finally time?
2 comments February 6th, 2009
With HE’S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU opening this weekend, CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC waiting in the wings and BRIDE WARS gasping for breath at the box office, it seems like the right time to ask the question “Is it time to kill the chick flick?”
And over at Times Online, Kevin Maher does just that. Among others, he quotes feminist historian Diane Purkiss. Not surprisingly, it’s not only your average guy who hates these movies:
Chick flicks, (Purkiss) says, thrive on a form of institutionalised schadenfreude. “The entertainment industry allows you, the audience member, to pat yourself on the back and say: ‘I’m smarter than her, I’m more together than her, and I’m not as stupidly anorexic as her.’”
So who’s to blame? Could it be…. MEN?
“Fewer than 10 per cent of Hollywood films are written by women, and fewer than 6 per cent directed by women,” explains Melissa Silverstein, a movie marketing consultant and founder of the company Women & Hollywood. “So really what you are seeing is a white male version of women. And that is just unacceptable.”
I’m going to respectfully disageee. I’m sure there are plenty of sexist guys in Hollywood, but not every awful chick flick is the fault of a fella. THE WOMEN, which was one of the worst movies I’ve seen in years (see my review here) and offered a terrible portrayal of females, was written and directed by women.
BRIDE WARS, however, was written and directed by guys. So, on behalf of my gender, I apologize.
