Filmmaker Gaylen Ross (Killing Kasztner) posted a link to Shepherd’s article on my FB thread about Black Swan. Great catch, Gaylen!
8 Messed-Up Portrayals of Women Going Insane in Film
On the cusp of Black Swan’s sure wins, we look at the misogyny that drives the meme of the insane beauty.
“Everyone loves to watch a hot babe going batshit crazy. At least that’s what the astronomical success of Black Swan would have you believe, the film in which Darren Aronofsky casts his misogynist gaze upon Natalie Portman, gorgeous and coming completely undone, for what is essentially a two-hour snuff film.” (bold emphasis mine)
As I say on FB: “Really folks, sometimes you really do need to think twice before just going with the flow…” Wonderful women I know are now telling me that they have tix to Black Swan because “people are talking about it.” Well, um, is that really where we want our film dollars to go?
Remember, when films like Black Swan make big bucks, Hollywood thinks we’re telling them we want more films like Black Swan . But when films like Conviction & Please Give don’t do well at the box office, Hollywood thinks we’re telling them we don’t want more films like Conviction & Please Give. Are those really the messges we want to send?
For years now, my contention has been that if we use our POWER OF THE PURSE wisely, then we can make positive societal change. But alas, if not, not 🙁
