Laughter was not uncommon throughout Hollywood Theatre on Tuesday night as a few hundred people previewed the upcoming movie release, “Miss March”. However, much of the comedy came at a high cost—though it is a cost most are willing to pay for an hour and a half of “humor.” Stereotypes, especially those regarding gender, were promoted throughout the entire movie. Women were made to appear as indulgent, sexual fantasies, present only for the pleasure of their male pursuers. The ideal appearance of women, complete with large breasts, round butt, perfect curves and flawless features, was advanced endlessly. The only woman who actually stuck up for herself in some way was posed as a crazy, albeit attractive, lunatic. Yet, even she gets sucked into the lifestyle that males fantasize about—one founded on sex. And I doubt that viewers were thinking about females’ intellectual abilities or strong sense of character when they watched a girl unlock a door with her tongue in the movie.
However, instead of addressing the “butt and boob” camera angles that prevailed in a movie centered on Hef’s perfectly-engineered playmates, I want to talk about the slapstick angle that was taken regarding the men in the movie. On one hand, we have Tucker who is the stereotypical, sex-crazed, loopy, immature young guy whose life pretty much is measured by sexual encounters rather than days or weeks. In addition, he regularly evades entering in a strong relationship that is based on more than “banging each other.” On the other hand, we see the atypical young male, Eugene, who has deep emotion invested in his relationship with his girlfriend—a relationship that is not based on physical intimacy in the slightest. In fact, it takes the encouragement of the girlfriend to get him to consider the prospect of sleeping with her in the typical prom night scenario. He is purported to be spineless, requiring excessive amounts of alcohol to work him up to becoming “a man.” His passive stance on sex was negated throughout the movie and made to be a comical aspect of the film. It seems that one reason for this is because it has become abnormal in the media for males to deeply respect females and their relationships. His anger at Horsedick.Mpeg (an up and coming hip-hop artist who assumes the stereotype of the typical profane, grotesque, sex-oriented star) is almost mocked for being too emotional. Throughout the movie, he is made the obvious anomaly of the male species because he’s not constantly referring to girls as “bitches” or still experiencing overflows of testosterone that drive him into a sex-crazed stupor at the sight of a beautiful female. Eugene exhibits femininity in his actions and reactions to situations, which makes him the butt of a lot of the humor throughout the movie, largely because he does not live up to the macho, hyper-masculine standard that pervades films today. Even the name “Eugene” has a somewhat “nerdy” connotation” in the media.
What I find disappointing about this film and others like it is that so many standards, morals, or values are degraded simply to draw crowds, laughter, and profit. What makes things even worse is that the film’s plot and theme repeatedly portray women as sex objects and men use them as spare objects. It saddens me to think that people watch these movies and subconsciously assimilate all of the messages the media has to offer them, without realizing the raunchy ideas and negations of individual standards that they are endorsing.
Excellent.
ReplyDelete