I am always so shocked that people give this film such good reviews. It has to be one of the most sexist movies I've seen to date. The movie is supposed to be told through Darla's perspective (she states this in the beginning), but then the rest of the film is basically the guys take on Darla. Greer constantly puts her down racially, claiming that he could leave her for a white woman, Mars (ironically played by Spike Lee) talking negatively about her behind her back every chance he got.
She's distanced from all the women in her life (Opal, former roommate, psychiatrist) and is supposed to be sexually empowered. It is debatable if she really was, but she was put in her "proper place" at the end of the film. Jamie rapes her. It is this scene in the movie that is the most disturbing for me because many people just gloss over it and see nothing wrong with it. She said "Stop! You're hurting me!" That doesn't sound like a woman who's enjoying the intercourse she's engaged in. And aside from this disturbing scene, I certainly did not appreciate the borderline pornographic shots of her body. If you really wanna know what the film is about, listen to the lyrics of the song that the dancers perform to in the technicolor portion of the film.
This pattern of sexist ideologies is present in several of Spike Lee's films including "The Best Man" and "The Player's Club". Somebody needs to call him out on it and hold him to a higher standard. Just because he's a black director does not mean everything he does must be applauded.
She's distanced from all the women in her life (Opal, former roommate, psychiatrist) and is supposed to be sexually empowered. It is debatable if she really was, but she was put in her "proper place" at the end of the film. Jamie rapes her. It is this scene in the movie that is the most disturbing for me because many people just gloss over it and see nothing wrong with it. She said "Stop! You're hurting me!" That doesn't sound like a woman who's enjoying the intercourse she's engaged in. And aside from this disturbing scene, I certainly did not appreciate the borderline pornographic shots of her body. If you really wanna know what the film is about, listen to the lyrics of the song that the dancers perform to in the technicolor portion of the film.
This pattern of sexist ideologies is present in several of Spike Lee's films including "The Best Man" and "The Player's Club". Somebody needs to call him out on it and hold him to a higher standard. Just because he's a black director does not mean everything he does must be applauded.