There’s something about Mary…’s swearing

Another example of forgoing femininity and adopting a habit of profanity can be seen in 1998’s There’s Something About Mary.  The film, which focuses on a man’s attempts to woo the girl of his high school dreams, casts Cameron Diaz as Mary the dream girl for nearly all men.  An article published in the Media Report to Women names the R rated film as one of its “Dirty Dozen” films because it averages one scene containing profanity every four minutes.[1]  However, it is worthwhile to note that the vast majority of the profanity comes from the many men populating the film and that the film’s female namesake is relegated to swearing only twice throughout the movie.      

It is necessary to first explore the acceptability of profanity in male-to-male discourse in order to understand the impact and meaning of Mary’s two instances of swearing.  The discourse between men, called “report talk” by Deborah Tannen, can be used as an opportunity to “prove their independence and maintain status.”  With this in mind, it only makes sense that profanity can be used in male-to-male discourse to maintain status as an aggressive and forceful figure.  The other important component of the general acceptance of profanity use by males is that the use of expletives has a relational function that constitutes oneself as a member of a group and reaffirms group culture.  Therefore, for the men of these movies, the abundant use of “fuck,” “shit,” and “hell” within the company of other men serve to create a community feeling with other men.

 

---

[1] Anonymous. “Blue language red hot on movies, television shoes, new study finds.” Media Report to Women; Winter 2000, 28,1; Gender Watcch (GW).

Scoptophilia

“It seems, then, that there are two tendencies which always or often determine the goal of the scoptophilic instinct: (a) the impulse to injure the object seen, and (b), the desire to share by means of empthathy in its experience.” (330)

From the paper “The Scoptophilic Instinct and Identification” by Otto Fenichel in Visual Culture: The Reader

Reading this paper, I immediately thought of the idea of Mean Girls and the importance of “the look.” Able to shoot daggers with one look, our stereotypical mean girl is able to convey any range of emotions with just one look. The look is one of the greatest powers that a mean girl has. She is able to assert her power over other girls through this look and in doing so, “injures the object seen.” This one action simultaneously imparts a sense of strength in the viewer/giver of the look and injures the object/receiver by creating a sense of degradation.

Here ‘ empathy’ is a complicated psychological process which cannot immediately be reduced to a short formula. But at any rate it has something to do with the mechanism of identification.

However, there is another look that is not given by the Queen Bee or Meanest of girls. This look often comes from the girl in the crowd that is on the fringe. Barely holding onto her position in the clique, this girl can view the receiver of the dirty look with empathy because she can identity with that girl and understand how easily she could be in that position. Therefore, with that empathy comes a sense of relief.

He’s Just Not That Into You

A movie that I am dying to see is He’s Just Not That Into You, which is set to come out on Feburary 6th.  Based on a best-selling advice book by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo, the movie follows a series of women dealing with a myriad of different dating situations ranging from a woman waiting for her boyfriend to commit to marriage to women meeting men in bars and dealing with the aftermath of phone calls/email awkwardness.  The book, which was published in 2005, found instant success in the world of young women who were looking to understand why their relationships/lack thereof were so complicated.   

Monumental in the motivation for the book was this scene from the fifth season of Sex and the City.  During a night out where Carrie introduces the girls to her new flame Burger, Miranda begins to discuss her date from the previous night.  The analysis that immediately ensues is very encouraging from both the perpetually optimistic Charlotte and the less so Carrie.  However, after being asked his opinion, Burger steps in with a very blunt and straightforward anaylsis that if a guy likes a girl then he’ll do anything to be with her, and since Miranda’s date didn’t do so, he’s just not that into her.

Having not read the book, I am certainly not in any position to judge it. However, the short previews that I have read give me the impression that it is far too one-sided.  They treat men as unwavering beings who know exactly what they want and are never misleading and paint every scenerio in black and white terms.  

But what makes me really interested in seeing the movie is that it does not seem to be so much about pounding the idea into women’s heads that “he’s just not that into you” but rather is a really interesting exploration into anxieties that pervade the relationship world.  Not only does it portray the anxieties of women (there is one part when the main character grills a man she met at the bar on whether he will be calling her or she needs to call him) but that there are also scenes where the uncertainty is the burden of a man.

As soon as I get my hands on this book, I’ll be sure to update you on my thoughts of it and I will certainly be in line to see this movie, so you’re sure to hear about that too!

more on Teeth

Here’s another snipet from my paper on Teeth!

          The location and time setting of Teeth seem purposefully ambiguous so that the viewer understands that what happens to Dawn and the men of this movie can happen anywhere and to anyone.  The movie is set in a pleasant suburb filled with flourishing trees and bright green lawns.  However, it is noteworthy that in almost every outdoor shot, there are ominous smokestacks of some unmentioned factory that are polluting the air with dark black smoke.  This contrast between the seemingly pleasant community and the contaminating smoke can be interpreted as a representation of Dawn’s outward appearance and what lies beneath her exterior.  It could also be a representation of many of the oppressive tendencies of the community.  For Dawn, it is her peers’ taunting of her decision to remain abstinent.  For the greater community, it is their reluctance to accept female sexuality on the same level as male sexuality.  This societal representation is also another reason for the ambiguity of the suburban setting because it reinforces the notion that these oppressive tendencies are not constricted to this one place.

 

might as well be a bullseye

My brother’s wedding is coming up on Saturday and that, in conjunction with a recent viewing of Wedding Crashers, made me think about the hook-up culture at weddings. As a pseudo-feminist, I know that I should reinforce the hook-up culture as a woman’s decision to liberate her sexuality and get what she wants without the commitment that she may not have time for or even want at all. But I can’t help but wonder about the other type of hook-up that we see in Wedding Crashers. Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson’s character essential prey on vulnerable women at weddings.