Women in Movies-Which or What?!!

Several years ago, I noticed women had very predictable (and not very nice) roles in movies and television. I decided to keep track and it was pretty awful. Women were routinely portrayed as the bad wife, the bad girlfriend, the bad mother, always the reason the man had gone wrong, done wrong and ended up badly. The audience was moved to understand the man, no matter how terrible he acted because it was always some woman's fault. Fast forward to the present and after viewing the recent Angolina Jolie movie, Wanted, I really don't think we have come a long way baby! In fact, I am a little discouraged. First of all, I want to say up front, very quickly, there is no good reason for you to see this movie. I did it and you don't have to. It is a violent, bloody, very graphic action movie with a body count way beyond what any human being, especially children, teens and even adults should witness. It is the epitome of self-indulgent violent mania.

Back to the women in this movie. Basically, there are three, the girlfriend, the boss, and the assassin. And are they terrible people. The girlfriend is whiny, _itchy, and unfaithful. The boss is huge, ugly, grossly overweight, rude, nasty, unfair and an insensitive _itch. The assassin is beautiful, robotic, insensitive, territorial, and yes, a _itch. (and played by Angelina Jolie)

I walked out of the movie stunned. Yes, I felt I had returned to the movies of the 80's and the misogynous messages they were sending that women were the cause of everything bad, not to be trusted, mostly stupid, and those with brains were conniving evil, (yes, that word again) -itches. Besides the abject negativity towards women this movie delivers, the other message may be worse which is....if you have a gun, you have power. This movie is R rated but it should be X rated for the dangerous possibly lethal messages it sends about women and violence. And as far as I can see, even though it is not getting rave reviews, no one is talking about the graphic, bloody violence in this movie and the subliminal hatred of women it embraces.

Some of you may be scratching your heads saying, why Marilyn, did you go to this movie in the first place? I went to see James McAvoy. I also thought that Morgan Freeman gave it some credibility. All three of the stars delivered their roles and I am sure a very big paycheck made them say yes without thinking about what they were doing. But they were all wrong and I will remember this when I see their names on the marquees in the future.

I hope I have said enough to keep everyone I know and everyone they know and everyone everywhere away from this movie......