The Power of Wonder Woman

The world is alight with commentary and viewing of the latest release of Wonder Woman. I don't want to delve deeply into that conversation, as there is so much being written and discussed already, except to add the recurring thought I had during my viewing of the new film:

The character of Wonder Woman is what happens when you don't have the patriarchy breathing down your neck telling you what you can and can't do; what you should or shouldn't do. You never learn the lie that you owe your power to someone else, or have to sacrifice your power to someone else.

Rupi Kaur sums this idea up in her beautiful way:

Dance on the Silver Screen

Today I saw a film entitled The Lovers. Overall, I enjoyed this film--it was an odd take on infidelity in a long-term marriage and the havoc that can wreak. However, one character had a career as a dancer. She taught ballet classes as well as choreographed and performed modern pieces.

The trouble is, the actress portraying that character couldn't dance--at all. The scene in which she taught a children's ballet class included a wonky foot devoid of turnout or proper point. Her arms were weak and awkward. I don't think the actress had ever hear of attitude as it pertains to dance movement. Later, when she is performing a piece, she moves the same way someone doing an at-home dance video might--amateurish and unsure. 

The above dance critiques are just fine if you are doing an at-home dance video, or goofing off, or even just enjoying yourself in whatever capacity that may be. But a character whose entire career revolves around dance should be able to dance. 

After watching The Lovers and complaining for the last several months about the (lack of) dance skill in La La Land, I've about had it with the sheer disregard for dance in film.

Say it with me: Dance is not simply a string of movements. Dance is art. Dance is passion. Dance is feeling. Dance is poetry in motion. Dance is your heart. 

Film has a rich history of phenomenal dance and so the modern trend of including dance that is simply atrocious is disheartening, abysmal, and unacceptable. Sure, not every actress is a Debbie Reynolds who can star in Singin' in the Rain after hardly ever dancing before it and come out the end with enough song and dance skill to do even more Hollywood musicals. However, not being Debbie Reynolds doesn't excuse a cast, director, choreographer, etc. from ensuring the dancing included in film is quality--plenty of people can dance and act.

The original talkies struggled--they included syncing mishaps, terrible acting, recording problems, etc. Musicals aided in the development of quality talking pictures. 

Warner Brothers' 42nd Street (1933) adapted Broadway style to fit a new medium and allowed for creativity in choreography not necessarily possible on stage. The success of this film rescued Warner Brothers from bankruptcy

Bill "Bojangles" Robinson is likely most recognized for his appearances in films alongside Shirley Temple. His dance skill was unsurpassed by most of his white dance peers, and while he made a successful career for himself both on Broadway and in film, his portrayals were limited by the epic racism of his time. 

The work of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers is complemented by that of Eleanor Powell, the Nicholas Brothers, and others. Musical pictures provided an avenue of hope and release from the stark realities of Depression Era America. 

Gene Kelly. My heart belongs to Gene and his magic feet. The films in which he held a great amount of artistic control included choreography that transcended what had before been seen in film musicals. He combined theatre, ballet, modern, tap, ballroom and had the utmost skill and creativity. 

Play List : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-0Qm7yk-4UNec7hfzYGmNuoITIpvSz4n 1951

Funny Face might not include the best choreography Fred Astaire has ever crafted, but it does include one of my favorite dance scenes of all time, starring the venerable Audrey Hepburn. 

Below is an example of magnificent dance in film, featuring Vera Ellen in White Christmas.

Below is an example of sad, embarrassing dancing featuring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in La La Land. Not only is the dance skill lacking, but the choreography itself is weak--perhaps in an attempt to accommodate Gosling and Stone's ineptitude in dance. 

Admittedly, the film musical began to lose its popularity eventually and so the "triple threat" required of actors and actresses became less of a resume feature. However, that does not mean dance included in film gets a free pass for being terrible. For example, the closing number in The Artist (2011) might not be at the same level of Astaire, Kelly, Robinson, and the others, but it nonetheless features excellent dancing. AND it won and was nominated for several Oscars, making the argument that casting lesser-known actors would limit its viewing potential is a non-starter. 

And there are other modern musicals that feature quality dance numbers. Strictly Ballroom, Moulin Rouge!, Chicago, Across the Universe, Billy Elliott, all include excellent dance. 

I would be thrilled if dance continued to make a comeback in modern film. But if film wants to include dance, the dancing must be excellent and be just as important as the acting chops. 

13 Reasons Why: Reaction

I don't typically write about television. Sure, like any true Parks and Recreation fan, I have a poster of Leslie Knope upon which I wrote What Would Leslie Knope Do, signed by my old roommate and myself. But, I don't usually write about TV. Film often strikes me as more worthwhile and artistic, while TV seems to be merely entertaining (not to say that things that exist primarily to be entertaining are in any way bad or not worth any attention, I just don't usually feel like writing about them).

But 13 Reasons Why, the new show on Netflix based on a book by the same title, is not entertainment, and had a surprisingly strong impact on me, so write about it I must.

First, there is a litany of trigger warnings--definitely for the show, and possibly for this post. Trigger warnings include:

• Rape/sexual assault/sexual harassment
• Bullying
• Physical violence/physical abuse
• Suicide
• Stalking
• Alcohol abuse

Second, I want to address some of the problems I saw in this show before delving into the personal reactions I experienced. 

The show graphically depicts rape and suicide. I oppose depicting rape graphically--it is horrifying and unnecessary and can be incredibly triggering. As for depicting suicide, besides being disturbing I worry about the effects it might have on viewers who are already suicidal. I have no expertise on suicide prevention, but it seems like dangerous territory.

To the show's credit, preceding the episodes containing these graphic events were warnings. However, I think overall the show was pretty disturbing and triggering, and probably should have had general warnings throughout.

This is not a show everyone should watch. While I appreciated the accurate depictions of rape culture, misogyny, bullying, and how smaller hurts can grow into giant inescapable hurts, this show is likely too much for many people. It has so many triggers and questionable depictions of horrific events thus should be watched with caution. 

The timing for me watching this show was interesting--I recently received an invite to my ten-year high school reunion, as well as an invite to have a reunion with my primary group of friends from high school. High school for me was pretty neutral. I had some good times, knew some good people, had some great teachers. It wasn't a thoroughly exciting time--I never understood the high-school-is-the-best-time-of-your-life mentality, and having moved on from it don't really look upon it with nostalgia or longing. 

Junior high, on the other hand, was terrible. I think watching 13 Reasons Why, while also having various invites that thrust me back in time, forced me to really think about high school and junior high in ways I hadn't in a long time.

Junior high started out OK, but at some point devolved into a fairly typical yet utterly painful living hell. I'm not sure what happened, and I don't harbor any blame or anger towards the folks from junior high. But it has been a long time since I addressed that pain, and watching heinous bullying on TV made me realize that I never truly addressed in it the first place--I simply got through it, adopting social fears and unhealthy communication habits along the way. 

In my perspective, one day I had friends and the following day I did not. Other than the hell that is junior high that probably all of us faced in one way or another, I don't know what shifted. All I know is there were times when I walked down the halls and said hi to people and they looked at me before looking away and ignoring me. I remember a handful of rumors about myself and recognizing even then that for every rumor that got back to me, there were likely more I never heard. I remember having a birthday party where no one showed up. I remember an intrinsic and overwhelming loneliness, and feeling like there was nothing for me in that wretched building. I even considered transferring to a new school to see if a fresh start would help. Were it not for a few select teachers and a few good people, I probably would have transferred. 

There were a few people who helped me stay afloat. In eighth grade, I had a group of people who were there and seemed to not care about the new trend of shunning me. Nonetheless, I never felt I could really talk about what was happening--that loneliness still existed.  That's not to say it was their fault--when you find yourself the subject of rumors and are ostracized, it is easy to fold into yourself and not take advantage of the people who might be there for you if you could just be vulnerable enough to let them. 

Looking back from an adult perspective I can see a few other people who could have been there for me, too. But at the time, there's no way I could have reached out to them--it just didn't compute. I saw this in 13 Reasons Why. Hannah was sure Clay had begun to hate her, but as viewers you know he completely high school in love with her. But when you're in a state of loneliness like that you can't see and you don't trust. 

High school was different--I had friends and if there were any rumors that followed me from junior high I was unaware. I focused on writing and dancing and healing, however I can see a direct line from my junior high experiences to the way I interacted with people in high school. 

A few months ago I reached out to one of my high school friends and asked her what her experience was with me in high school--I was on a mission of self-growth and reflection. She said she always enjoyed my company and appreciated my ability to just be Tamsen, but remembered that I never talked about my problems or disclosed the identity of any guy I was crushing on. I remember this, too. I remember wanting to talk to people about my problems--especially this friend because my perception of her was always that she loved and accepted people for whomever they were. But I never could talk about my problems or the guys I liked. I lost the ability to open up or be vulnerable and feared that by talking about the things that were hard for me I would drive people away, and I couldn't stand the idea of that. 

I know now that--especially with the above friend--that notion was ridiculous. She is just the kind of person to be there and love you, but I couldn't see it after junior high taught me about gossip and lies and rumors and shunning. I felt it was better to keep people at arms length and keep them around then to risk bringing them closer only to be abandoned.

And it didn't help that often in high school I felt that some of the people surrounding me only kept me around because they found me to be an amusing oddity. I can't say for sure if this is how people felt, but I remember feeling that way nonetheless. If one feels that way it is unlikely one will make an effort to form stronger and more meaningful connections. 

Why does all this matter now and why does sharing it seem necessary after watching 13 Reasons Why? In part it is because the show really took me back to those years. I was never suicidal and maintained a certain level of hope even when it seemed utterly dark--but still I could relate in many ways. When Hannah describes in one of her tapes the various kinds of loneliness, it was like she was talking to my adolescent self in a way that I only wish I could have conveyed when I was younger. And what is more, the reality of bullying in all its forms is real, constant, and dangerous. Of course not everyone who is bullied will be suicidal, but those hurts linger. 

In my desire to further address the memories and pains from my youth, I also want to extend the hand of peace and friendship. One of the themes at the end of the series is that you never really know what someone else is going through--this is true. But it's vital to remember that whatever it is you're going through, it doesn't justify the unkindness that people are capable of. 

One TV show and one blog post won't put an end to bullying or rape or abuse, but maybe it can start the wheels turning in people's minds. Maybe if individuals who make up our communities begin to realize that every action we take has an impact on our surroundings and others, we can simply do better--there's never a better time than now to send good out into the world.

Maria, Baroness Schraeder, and the Assumption of Competition

The hills might be alive with the sound of music, but they aren’t rife with the patriarchy-infused concept that two women must exist to compete against each other for men.

Honestly, I don’t know how common a perspective it is that Maria in The Sound of Music is the “good” woman and The Baroness is the “bad” woman. However, one of my favorite events of December is the Sing With Maria Sing-A-Long put on by the Salt Lake Film Society each year. At this event, the audience receives a baggy of props, participates in a costume contest, and are given instructions for sounds effects to make at various points in the movie.

One of these sounds is to hiss whenever The Baroness appears, because as we are instructed, she is a slithering snake.

I don’t particularly want to point fingers at SLFS because that organization is one of my favorite things. And, overall, the sing-a-long event is wonderful fun and December just isn’t the same without it. However, the hissing at The Baroness is rooted in sexism and misogyny, and it would be nice if that part of the sing-a-long stopped.

Think about it: If Georg had never met Maria he and The Baroness would likely have had a lovely life together. They had a lot in common and enjoyed each other’s company. The Baroness’s biggest flaw is she’s not great with children--and really how many people could go from childless to seven all at once and be totally okay with it? Maria is the minority on that front.

There is conflict, of course. Baroness Schraeder can tell there’s something between Maria and Captain Von Trapp, but her concern isn’t sinister. On the contrary, it’s reasonable. Here she was planning on marrying this man and out of nowhere comes another woman to whom he is deeply attracted. That would break anyone’s heart.

Baroness Schraeder is perhaps not the most interesting of characters, but as far as we can tell from watching the movie, she’s really nothing but lovely, albeit not sure how to handle seven kids.

Max Detweiler, affectionately known as Uncle Max, on the other hand… well he is sinister. And it’s the presence of Uncle Max, with the absence of any sound effects besides laughter at the SLFS sing-a-long, that really brings out the internalized misogyny on the matter.

Uncle Max repeatedly makes it known that he enjoys the friendship of Captain Von Trapp because he likes the way he lives when he’s with rich people. Despite Georg’s repeated admonitions that his family will not participate in the music festival, Uncle Max nonetheless seeks to undermine Von Trapp’s wishes and puts the children in the festival anyway. And let’s not forget the part when Uncle Max says, “What’s going to happen is going to happen. Just make sure it doesn’t happen to you.”

As an audience I think we give Uncle Max a break because he makes us laugh. But beneath that humor is someone who toes the line, lives off the wealth of others, takes advantage of others’ skills, and--even according to himself--has no convictions. We don’t know why he is friends with Captain Von Trapp, or how they became friends. Clearly there is some sort of history and affection there. And were it not for the insistence that Baroness Schraeder is a slithering snake I possibly would not have even considered how awful Max can be. Nonetheless, when you really think about the characters in The Sound of Music, Max Detweiler is one you don’t want as an ally.

It is true, he supported the Von Trapp family's escape from the Nazis, and wished them a fond farewell. But even that parting included, “I shall miss the money I could have made with you.” And really, what did Max do to help, other than simply not get in the Von Trapps’ way as they made their escape?

The double standard of how men and women are treated in this story is glaring and disappointing.

I adore The Sound of Music. I sing the songs even when I’m not attending the SLFS sing-a-long. I love the props at the event, the costumes, and even the sound effects. But perhaps next year instead of hissing at Baroness Schraeder, I will simply ‘boo’ at Max Detweiler.

Les Innocentes

This post originally appeared on my other film website A Feminine Critique.

Director: Anne Fontaine

Writer: Pascal Bonitzer

Les Innocentes isn’t an easy film to watch, but it touches on something so honest and true and forgotten–and that is rape during and after wartime.

Rape and war go hand-in-hand. And, no, that doesn’t only apply to the “enemy,” whoever the “enemy” is to you. Every military is guilty of rape. But when we discuss the costs of war–the money, the resources, the life (all of which are important things to discuss)–we tend to skip over the heavy occurrence of rape.

It’s not surprising, given our overall cultural climate of rape acceptance and rape doubt. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who literally says, “Rape? Who cares?” But, that is in essence what we say when we doubt rape reports, blame the victim, worry about the impact a sentence will have on a convicted rapist’s well-being, and teach women from a young age that it is their duty to prevent rape.

Les Innocentes takes place in Poland post-WWII and is based on actual events. A female doctor with the French Red Cross is shown to a convent (in secret) where she finds at least seven nuns are pregnant. Months prior, Russian soldiers had invaded the convent and raped the nuns. As a result, many were pregnant and all were living in trauma.

The nuns ask the doctor to help with pre-natal care and deliver the babies when they’re due, but all in secret–if the local community found out nuns were pregnant it would be the end of the convent.

Besides being a film that meets the standards for a quality and good movie, it is important because it discusses an experience that is uniquely feminine. Men certainly are raped, and that is a vital topic for discussion. However, when women are raped a resulting pregnancy is something that seems to be only discussed in hushed voices, or in the context of ludicrous unscientific claims that a “true rape” won’t result in pregnancy.

This film accomplishes much in the way of storytelling, acting, directing, and costume. But for me, the most important part of this movie is that it brought out of the shadows a topic we can’t afford to ignore. War and rape travel together, and pregnancy certainly follows. It is dark and it continues today. Bringing that darkness to light, however, can help to change the culture and sever the ties that bind war and rape.

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Mabel Normand: Silent film director, comedienne forgotten and mistreated

I watched Richard Attenborough's Chaplin starring Robert Downey, Jr. this weekend. It is a great film. Downey, Jr. illustrates perfectly why he was such a big name before his drug problems got in the way, and why he has had such a stunning comeback. 

Charlie Chaplin's life was interesting and his work important culturally and historically. It is wonderful that there exists a biopic based on his own autobiography. However, as concerns the treatment of the character and real-life person Mabel Normand, Chaplin made huge mistakes.

In the film, Mabel Normand (played by Marisa Tomei) is treated like an obnoxious overbearing woman (how dare a woman demand what she wants, after all). No one likes her, her romantic partner Mack Sennet (played by Dan Aykroyd) complains about her behind her back. She's treated like a joke. And at the end when each character is given a brief overview as to what happened to them in reality, all that is said about Normand is that she was involved in scandals and never worked again.

Let me make something clear: Mabel Normand is a person of significance in film history. To treat a character rendition of her as a joke whose main accomplishments were scandal is an insult to film history, to women in general, and to women trying to make it in film today, not to mention an insult to Normand herself. 

Normand was the first female director in Hollywood. She acted and directed with Charlie Chaplin, Fatty Arbuckle, and was a comedienne in her own right. Film historians say her talent and significance match that of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, even if her name is not well-known. She was even involved in orchestrating the first time Chaplin played The Tramp character. 

Robert Downey, Jr. as Charlie Chaplin.

Chaplin is, of course, all about Charlie Chaplin so it's fine to highlight him. It's also fine to include Normand's tragic end, because it is what happened to her. However, it is not fine to treat her character like a joke. It is not fine to ignore her significance, even if the film is about somebody else. 

Chaplin is over twenty years old, so there's nothing that can be done about that film specifically. But moving forward it is essential to treat historical women with respect. It's important to give historical women the limelight they deserve. And it is absolutely required that we give modern female directors more chances, more credit, and more significance.