Here’s a picture of Cutlass Liz complete with beach ball breasts, bared belly-button, tight pants and phallic cannon. Voiced by Salma Hayek, she’s one of the very few female characters to make it into the movie “Pirates! Band of Misfits” coming out next month from Sony Pictures Animation. It’s a movie for your kids.
Here’s the poster:
See that bird? She’s one of the other female characters. In the preview there’s a joke about whether or not she’s fat or just big boned. (If you see the movie, it turns out she’s a dodo, but before that she’s just fat ha ha ha.) That’s not the only sexist joke in the three minute preview either.
An all male group presents itself with this hilarious intro: “No one here but us Girl Scouts.” (You can watch the preview for yourself here.) The “we’re not scary or powerful, we’re only girls” gag isn’t uncommon in animation. In a preview for “Madgascar 3,” while an all male group of penguins is pillow fighting, one of them says: “You fight like a bunch of little girls.” Isn’t the intended audience for these movies, in part, little girls? How will these kids feel when they see jokes about how harmless they are? How will they feel when the audience laughs? Do you think boys and girls will learn to laugh at these jokes too?
When you consistently have an all male group of characters, it’s actually pretty challenging not to make sexist jokes. That’s why we need diversity, right? But unfortunately, female characters have gone missing from animated films made for kids. Look at Reel Girl’s Gallery of Girl’s Gone Missing from movie posters in 2011.
There’s no reason why at least half of this “band of misfits” can’t be female. How are girls going to feel when they see this movie and their representation is a sexualized pirate and a bird mocked for being fat? One of the few female characters in the upcoming “The Lorax” movie is also mocked for being fat. Coincidence? You can watch that preview here. Mind you, all these sexist jokes I’ve gotten from three minute previews. I haven’t even seen the whole movies yet.
There’s another female character in “Pirates” played by Ashley Jensen. Her name? Oh, she doesn’t have one. She’s called “Surprisingly Curvaceous Pirate.”
Sexism in movies made for kids is so perpetual and accepted, that, ironically, it’s become invisible. In contrast, when “the leprosy community” and the World Health Organization complained about a leprosy joke in “Pirates,” Aardman Animation modified it. This from Wikipedia:
In January 2012, it was reported that the latest trailer of The Pirates! caused some very negative reactions from the leprosy community. In the trailer that was released in December, The Pirate Captain lands on a ship demanding gold, but is told by a crew member, “Afraid we don’t have any gold old man, this is a leper boat. See,” when his arm falls off.[10] Lepra Health in Action and some officials from the World Health Organization, expressed that the joke shows the illness in a derogatory manner, and it “reinforces the misconceptions which leads to stigma and discrimination that prevents people from coming forward for treatment.” They demanded an apology and asking that the offending scene be cut before the film is released.[11] Several days later, Aardman announced that they will modify the scene, “After reviewing the matter, we decided to change the scene out of respect and sensitivity for those who suffer from leprosy.
Leprosy joke, not OK. Protest and removal. Sexist joke(s )when half of the audience is probably girls: totally cool. Are they even noticed? Will anyone make a peep?
Parents, if you’re at a movie made for children, and you see a sexist joke, either in the movie you’re watching or in a preview for another, please call out: “Not funny! Sexist!” Do this for your kids. It’s unfair to relentlessly show females in this way.
When our daughters want to dress up as a pirate for Halloween, is Cutlass Liz the character they’ll want to emulate? What do they think a “girl pirate” is? Where are the other “girl” pirates?
Why is the animated world so sexist? Why does it have to be sexist at all? If we can’t get gender equality in our imaginations, how can we get it in reality?
Yeah! Let’s boycott every single movie that doesn’t have girls in every single role, except for one crappy one! Booyah!
No, but seriously, u know what this post makes me wanna do? Fap to some XXX porn of big-t*tted b*tches!
Lol, trolled. I wasn’t serious.
I WASN’T SERIOUS!
(but I do have a point).
Oh, and to save you time typing a comeback, all you have to do is fill in the parts in brackets!!!
Yeah! Let’s (insert extremely sexist against women act that, according to you, happens all the time, when, really, it doesn’t)!
No, but seriously, you know what this comment makes me wanna do? (insert some random act that is supposed to really annoy us men)!
And I WAS serious
I WAS SERIOUS!
(insert comment about why I’m a sexist b*strd, men all suck, save the whales, confess your sins, stop global warming, et cetera.)
All right, that was very immature of me, and I’m sorry if I offended anybody. I was just brig a butthole. Sorry.
Yeah, coz women never complain about sexism, and men are never portrayed as dipsh*ts in movies.
You really don’t get it, do you?
ReelGirl, you are a nuerotic lunatic, the worst kind of feminist, the kind that makes people roll their eyes and shake their heads in contempt.
It is obvious to anyone reading this pathetic blog, that your stance is motivated by an obsessive compulsion to draw attention to yourself with manufactured arguments so that you can appear knowledgable and courageous to all your vapid Facebook friends. Your modus operandi is to take things in the media out of context and twist them to mirror your own toxic outlook on life, one in which men are responsible for all of woman’s ills. Every film, every advert, every song is an attack on the female sex, and where women are found to be lacking in any area, it is always the fault of their brutal oppressors. Play another fucking record.
You are no better than that wizened harpy, Germaine Greer, who sits alone with her cats contriving ways to argue about sexism -a desperate attempt to appear relevant in a world where women today have almost more opportunities than men. Feminists like you seize every chance they can to make women appear victimised, because they enjoy riding a tide of presumed moral superiority. You get off on it. It is such a sad, useless existence and you have my pity.
I’m sure she is very thankful for your pity.
Yeah, because this response TOTALLY makes men look better. The author never once stated that this is all man’s fault or said anything against men, she only spoke in support of women. That is what it means to stand up for gender equality. Feminism does not require hating men, in fact, it requires that all human beings work together regardless of their gender.
It is people like you who shoot us down that just make us fight harder. So congratulations, you have just fueled the fire you so passionately hate. Have a nice day.
I really wish you would stop writing these ridiculous feminists posts. You make me ashamed to be female with your sick ideas.
Not that that was at all cheesy. Or biased. Or unhelpful to your cause.
I only read a handful of the comments under this post and just have to laugh. I hope you are able to laugh too. Keep up the good work! (:
Hi Shirley,
Yes, they are pretty hilarious.
MM
Dear magotmagowan
I honestly believe that 99 % of women, and men for that matter, who watch Pirates will not think its sexist. It wont even cross their minds. With this in mind, do you not think you may have got this wrong?
P.S There is a great gag about using the hot air ballon for looking down womens tops. You would of loved that!
x x ( or is that sexist?)
U make me LOL do hard… my GF is, like, an EXTREME feminist, and she still found it funny.
What is it with Yanks and shouting stuff during a cinema feature? Don’t call out anything: it’s a useless gesture that will annoy the other patrons and make you look ridiculous, even if you’re right. If you don’t like it, write to the production company.
And no talking either. It’s always an American talking during the damned film.
WIll people like you ever stop? I want my girls to grow up like a lady, just like I was taught to be. Please stop filling their head with this feminist nonsense and let them be little girls.
Hi Debby,
No, won’t ever stop. Hopefully your daughters will find my blog or blogs like mine.
MM
God you really need to learn your place woman. Don’t try to kid yourself. It’s a man’s world.
Just saw the movie. One of the lead role is queen victoria. She has more lines than any of the crew member (except for the captain and his second), she rules an empire, gives orders, has a bigger boat than every one and fights better than the captain. And maybe because I live in France, I had the chance to watch the leprosy joke. And I wouldn’t say that Aardman and Sony are Hollywood industry. They’re more like UK and Japanese one, aren’t they ?
Hi Mik,
I heard Queen Victoria has a strong role. I will see the movie and let you know my thoughts on it.
MM
You hadn’t even SEEN the movie before posting this drivel? I’m so glad you’re so well informed, then.
As a little girl, I never once noticed that all my favorite movies had male characters. But, oh my goodness, Barney probably ruined my perception of my self-worth! I guess I’ll be stuck slaving away for a man in a kitchen for the rest of my life. I mean, of course, I’m getting my degree in physics right now but that obviously doesn’t explain my childhood trauma.
That. Was. Bloody. EPIC! THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT I WAS THINKING!! Good luck with your physics degree, btw.
I am on the fence about this issue… I see the possible negative effect to little girls. I have two girls and we watched the preview to get their reaction. they thought the movie looked good, not so excited that they had to see it… I BELIEVE IT IS MARKETED TOWARDS LITTLE BOYS….
My girls honestly did not notice the sexism. I did, after I had an open dialog with them about it and how to start the journey to become strong, confident women.
IT ALL COMES DOWN TO PARENTING… if the parents are afraid of the conversation, their children will pay the consequences in the future… WE CAN NOT PARENT EVERYONE ELSE’S CHILDREN.
Another shrill, excitable, yapping she-dog. Why do people like you always have to find fault where there is none? Women like you make me glad I’m a gay man. I feel sorry for your kids; I’m guessing they don’t really like you very much.
Hi Charles,
Find fault where there is none? Sad that people like you can’t acknowledge sexism exists.
Love,
yapping she dog
You suck, that is all.
Hi Margot,
Having worked in feature animation, this has long been a known issue. Pixar has been working long and hard to address this situation, and when Brave comes out this summer, I hope that you will have a movie to take your daughters to without fear of exposure to such hurtful humor.
HI Tom,
You are one of the few animators who actually acknowledges what I am writing about. THANK YOU. I am not saying these movies are bad, many of them are great. I’m saying that they leave girls out which reaches that boys are more important, and that that is a horrible message to send to kids. I cannot wait to see BRAVE!
MM
That trailer was fantastic! I’ve never taken my daughter to a movie before but this might be the first!
Those female characters seem to be rather perfectly pretty, big eyes, little noses, perfect skin, couldn’t the animators have made them a little more realistic?
If they make it too realistic, it may fall onto “uncanney valley”, that is, the characters look creepy and unsettling.
I cannot believe you got so upset over a trailer for a movie. You haven’t even seen the damn thing yet but you’re sitting in judgement?
It’s women like you who give the rest of us a bad name. Seriously.
“Seriously?
A petition???
Ok so did you ever stop to think of the impact that could have on 200 people?”
I’m siding with you on this one Pirates Animator. As an animator myself, it really irks me when people don’t think about the negative consequences these “petitions” and “boycotts”, if they would actually work (remember when the Baptists tried to boycott Disney? FAIL!) may have on the many talented men AND WOMEN who work on these movies.
Feminist: THIS MOVIE IS SEXIST! WE DEMAND YOU STOP PRODUCTION ON PIRATES 2 AT ONCE!
Sony: Fine whatever. You’re all fired!
*200+ animators and artists kicked out into the streets*
Again, I didn’t create a petition. I don’t really get what you’re talking about. The comparison between not caring about sexism and caring about leprosy?
MM
A few points i would take issue with .
Firstly many have pointed out that historically Pirates have been mostly male – Your response to this has been “so what its animation they can do what they want” which is true to an extent – however it has to be grounded in reality in order to have any form of believability. And i get the feeling that if they were all female we would be seeing an “oh great they have portrayed female characters as cut throat murderous criminals what a great example that sets” type of post.
As for things such as her “beach ball breasts” she is a cartoon character, features are exaggerated – are your eyes that shape? Is you mouth? Know many people whose chin is twice the width of the top of their head like the captains? Its not a case of sexualising the character. She is female and therefore has breasts, which it should be noted are in proportion with the rest of her body – would you be happier if they left them off altogether? While they are at it perhaps they should also stop all of the sexualising of male leads as this is clearly portraying a terrible image to the young boys in the audience. I mean Batman, Spiderman, Superman, Robin et al are all ridiculously buff and spend there whole time parading around in figure hugging lycra.
As for your “black face” comments i just find simply insulting. To suggest that being attractive or wearing a crop top is comparable to blacking up is possibly the craziest thing i’ve heard. Are you truly suggesting that a woman who chooses to wear a crop top in public is comparable to a white person blacking up and going out in public? One action is a concious decision to dress a certain way and has no intent to harm, the other is clearly intended to belittle and ridicule – the fact you even put the two together boggles the mind.
And that’s the main issue with this article – you are desperately clutching at straws, and its sad really, as there is sexism in Hollywood but when you hunt so desperately for it and attach the tag “sexist” to anything that moves it waters down your argument to the point it becomes invalid. Your ridiculous title of “Porno or Pirate” and “Surprisingly Curvaceous Pirate” comments highlight this – i notice you don’t mention that all of the pirates are named after a feature – and that the “Surprisingly Curvaceous” moniker is due to the fact that she is dressed as a man, course not, you’d rather through in the sexist accusation without displaying a fair argument.
I’m also willing to make a few bets on this film as well – the comedy character who is stupid, will be male – any character that double crosses or is untrustworthy, will be male. Female characters may not get the lions share of lead parts but they certainly get it when it comes to “positive attributes”. Here’s a simple challenge – you list all of the female characters in the past decade that are portrayed as stupid for comic effect in kids films and I’ll list all the male characters that are portrayed in this way.
Maybe men should start complaining at the way Hollywood feels the need to incessantly portray them as morons, and during screenings shout “Not Funny! Sexist!” every time they see it on screen.
Hi Paluski,
“Believability” ? Huh? It’s an animated movie!
Totally disagree people would be upset that females were portrayed as “murderous criminals.” Cutlass Liz is anyway, right? She just has to kill people after being ogled at and in tight jeans and the crop top. Females should be allowed to play all parts, just like males are: heroes, villains etc.
As far as the breasts, the males sex characteristics are not exaggerated. Being buff is different. They aren’t shown with giant penises or testicles.
This is not about “being attractive;” this is about being sexualized. The way females are treated in animation: sexualized, limited to supporting roles, or completely invisible is sexist and marginalizing in the same way that people of color got marginalized in animation. It’s not as bad for people of color anymore in animation because openly racist jokes derided by all; so many characters are animals or robots which don’t have a race but Hollywood still genders them all (cows with udders are male; female robot in Wall-E gets secondar/ girlfriend role etc etc)
Of course male characters get stupid roles, they get ALL THE ROLES
MM
“Of course male characters get stupid roles, they get ALL THE ROLES”
That’s a cop out and you know it. You cannot claim that women are limited to supporting roles and then in the following paragraph claim that they have no roles. Cowardly roles have now become the domain of the male character as well, in the New Adventures of Scooby Doo we have Scooby and Shaggy – Cowards. Fred – Stupid. Wilma – intellligent. Daphne – arse kicker. Yet i don’t see you getting all het up about men being stereotyped as idiots or cowards. Look at the number of films as well where there is a male lead, who is the hero yet heavily flawed. In the Incredibles Mr Incredible is vain, foolish and selfish – yet his wife is intelligent and rational. Ratatouille – Linguine is incompetent and foolish yet Colette is talented and driven. Cars – Lightning is brash, arrogant, self obsessed and refuses to listen Sally is a business woman who once again is clever and the voice of reason. Shrek – bull headed, rude and unfriendly Fiona – strong clever independent.
Male characters may get the leads – but they also get the character flaws, in spades. It’s also interesting to note that none of the female characters i’ve mentioned are sexualised.
As for male characters getting the leads – like it or not this appears to be a commercial decision. The consensus is that girls are more likely to watch a film with a male lead then vice versa. I’m willing to admit i may be wrong on this – and i hope Brave does prove me wrong – but so far I’ve yet to see an animated film that has proved this theory wrong (I’m am not arguing the right or wrong of this merely stating the situation).
As for cutlass Liz – her top is not low cut, her shoulders are not exposed. Her midriff is, but she’s a pirate presumably in the Caribbean a hot climate. I just don’t see the sexualisation there. If she was in low cut top, had excessively large breasts etc i could see your point, but she doesn’t. She is relatively in perspective for a cartoon character.
“As far as the breasts, the males sex characteristics are not exaggerated. Being buff is different. They aren’t shown with giant penises or testicles.”
Ridiculous – clearly we are talking about childrens films. I know you will jump in with the “but the shape of Lizs breasts are visable” but answer me this. When walking down the street how many times do you see the outline of a mans penis in his trousers – now compare that to the amount of times you see the outline of a ladies breasts. So feel free to point out which Pixar film has a character with over inflated breasts? The average bra size in the uk is 36D – which characters do you feel are in excess of this? Infact which animated film in the last five years do you feel has contained women with “giant” breasts”. Ironically Coraline which does have a female in the central role does contain such a character – yet i believe you like that film.
“Females should be allowed to play all parts, just like males are: heroes, villains etc.” – Will if that argument holds true surely they must also be free to play vampish attractive characters? And which negative characteristics would you say they are allowed to portray then? Bitchiness? Vapidness? How about hormonal? Or “ditzy”? Or image obssessed? Would you be happy to see those associated with female characters?
As for animals/robots not having race but having sex – eh yeah, that’s how the animal kingdom works – sex exists – race (as defined by humans) does not? And I’m curious as to how you would attach a race to a robot? I’ll also ask which female robot in animation do you feel has been overtly sexualised?
Paulski, I think I love you.
I don’t really see what the problem is. Women have been getting away with too much for too long. I think most people can agree the world would be a better place if women kept quiet and got on with their house work.
I think this film is educational and serves to remind women that they have no place interfering with things they don’t understand such as voting or reading books and their place in life is in the kitchen, looking after their man.
So you think the film is sexist? Why not wait until you see the film and reserve judgment? And while you’re at it maybe you could try to understand the real meaning of sexism.
If this film was truly sexist it would not be allowed.
I have worked for Aardman for many years and have been totally honoured to animate those little puppets you find so sexy.
When making a movie based on a book, you kind of have to do the book justice.
We can’t just take Gideon’s story and change it all. The whole film is crammed with jokes that mock ever character, in every way!
You may well believe some of the jokes are sexist, but you’re obviously so wrapped up in trying to find something to complain about you have failed to notice all the other gags.
The ones that mock the pirate captain, all of the male characters, why hasn’t anyone complained about the other aspect of the leprosy scene? As the leper states, “there’s no gold here OLD MAN, this is a leper boat”.
Why has no one mentioned this? I’ll tell you why, because as you are picking out things that you’re trying to take out of context you’re avoiding all of the jokes on the men!
Yes, the film does have a lot more men than women, and therefore has a lot more jokes mocking the men.
So please put your complaints back into context.
Hi Pirate animator,
I will see the film. I was blogging about the sexist preview. Many previews (madagascar and the lorax included) highlight sexist jokes. It sucks to have your daughters see girls made fun of and laughed at for being girls. Its actually the 100 year anniversary of Girl Scouts and all over FB and Twitter and the Web are celebrations of how bad ass the Girls Scouts are. The joke about them in Pirates is obviously made by a grown up who has no idea how these girls think of themselves.
Truly sexist movies are allowed all the time. Female characters are marginalized in animated films and it’s getting worse. Disney changed the movie title from “Rapunzel” to “Tangled” to hide the girl and play up the boy character.
The argument that the movie is based on the book is the same argument made for Tintin, How I Trained My Dragon, Lord of the Rings, etc etc. All of these films star males. Can you imagine making movie so female dominated, where almost all the parts go to females? Can you imagine a movie called “Fantastic Ms. Fox”? Hollywood wouldn’t allow it. The problem is when kids go to see these movies with so many males parts and so few female parts, both genders learn that boys are more important than girls.
Being made fun of for your gender is different than other jokes. Racist jokes are no longer OK. Sexist jokes are. We’re talking about little kids. The men are not being made fun of for being men and men are not marginalized as a group, its like saying: there are jokes about white people too!
I know people worked hard on this movie and its probably great in many ways. I loved Ratatouille. I love many of these movies. It’s no fun picking on loveable cartoon characters. But the sexism is really bad and its just not fair to kids. Please look at Reel Girl’s Gallery of Girls Gone Missing From KIds Movies in 2011. Or the stats from the Geena Davis Institute.
MM
Not that i’d ever go out of my way to defend disney, but Isn’t it possible that Disney changed the name so that it had a stronger brand identity and would be their own IP, rather than just another film based on a classic fairytale of the same name? Obviously this isn’t a game they needed to play back when they made snow white or cinderella, but they’re not the only player thesedays and are forced to differentiate, it honestly didn’t look like an attempt to draw focus away from the strong females(and on to the treacherous, bloodthirsty or stupid men) in the story, but maybe i’m just not jaded enough to see it.
Your particular over the top brand of feminism seems to smell quite strongly of bat droppings, it may be an idea to just tone the persecuted minority and conspiracy theories down a tad, people will pay far more attention to the points you try to make if you sound at least somewhat reasonable while attempting to make them…
Well, it’s a pirates movie. And as I far as I know pirates are mostly men. Sexism is a matter of conscience, so we can’t say that someone is being sexist until we permit that person express his or her own motivations. I think this post lacks objectivity and it’s completely biased by the author’s mission of criticizing sexism where she finds it.
We human beings make a common mistake very often: we tend to assume to understand someone’s opinion by assessing not what he or she is saying but what he or she is not. I believe we need to fill in those blanks, find in things a meaning that serves, opposes or favors our own points of view. I see it everyday. I.e.: if you criticize Cuba, there’s always someone getting the idea that you are a “pro-America capitalist”. And vice versa, of course.
In this case, in particular, I think “The Pirates!” is just a movie and we are jumping to conclusions with pretty much no evidence at all.
Hi Julio,
I think I’ve answered this about 100x. SO WHAT IF PIRATES IN REAL LIFE WERE MEN< THIS IS ANIMATION: TOYS COME TO LIFE, SINGING LIONS BEFRIEND WART HOGS, RATS COOK, ALL OF A SUDDEN WHEN IT COMES TO GENDER ROLES, WE CARE ABOUT REALISM?????????
I totally agree. We don’t care about realism, but there is a reason why you don’t mention a woman playing a man in fiction only for the sake of fantasy and creative freedom.
And I mean a woman playing not a woman in disguise or a transvestite or a lesbian woman in masculine clothes, but a woman as a man. And not in comedies, that too often use this resource to make people laugh by exaggerating the stereotypes you an I are tired of.
Actually the only examples I can think of are Cate Blanchett as Bob Dylan in I’m Not There (which served to complete the portrait of an evasive and puzzling man), and Felicity Huffman as a gay man on his way to have his genitals removed.
The reason for this lack of examples is evident to me: gender is at the foundation of any character. It defines a character more than any of his or her given (not chosen) attributes.
I love discussing in a respectful way. If you do too, we can continue to talk about this very interesting topic.
“ALL OF A SUDDEN WHEN IT COMES TO GENDER ROLES, WE CARE ABOUT REALISM?”
“Here’s a picture of Cutlass Liz complete with beach ball breasts”
So just to clarify, animation doesn’t have to be realistic at all – except for breasts.
“phallic cannon” – is there another shape of canon that i am unaware of? But i’m willing to bet that whatever she was holding it would be “phallic” – whether it was a musket, sword or dagger.
“Oh, she doesn’t have one. She’s called “Surprisingly Curvaceous Pirate.””
And i’ve noticed you’ve still not responded to the fact that you knew that the majority of the crew were not called by a name, and the trailer makes it pretty obvious that its a women in drag, hence the name. So why did you feel the need to try and score points using something that has no relation to your argument?
“Protest and removal. Sexist joke(s )when half of the audience is probably girls: totally cool.”
My favorite comment – why are only girls affected by the jokes. Are you saying that sexist jokes can only ever be against females. Is this assumption in itself not deeply sexist? Or are you saying that sexist jokes against males are “totally cool”? But thats OK, i’ll give you the benefit of the doubt, maybe it was just a typo – oh wait …..
“Parents, if you’re at a movie made for children, and you see a sexist joke, either in the movie you’re watching or in a preview for another, please call out: “Not funny! Sexist!” Do this for your kids. It’s unfair to relentlessly show females in this way.
So again, only females are portrayed in a negative light? Or is it only unfair if its against females?
Hi Paluski,
I have read this email twice and I dont get your point. I have commented endlessly about breasts: No, I do not think sex characteristics in movies for kids (penises/ breasts etc) should be exaggerated. I don’t think that is a crazy or strange request. I have not responded to the fact that the majority of pirates are not called by name? What? I did not see the “Surprisingly Curvaceous pirate” in the trailer?
Both genders are affected by the jokes, I have written that many times: when kids go to movies that feature boys as stars and mostly boys as characters over and over again, both genders learn tha boys are more important than girls.
MM
“No, I do not think sex characteristics in movies for kids (penises/ breasts etc) should be exaggerated. I don’t think that is a crazy or strange request.”
But they are not exaggerated – that is the point. Like it or not the shape of womens breasts are visible through the majority of their clothing, their very shape and size denote this, the same cannpot be said about a mans penis. Liz’s breasts are not overly inflated in size, their shape can be seen as unrealistic, but then the same can be said about animated eyes, hands, feet facial features etc. Like i asked before which animation characters do you feel have had exaggerated over inflated breasts in the last five years, again the only one i can think of is in Coraline, a film with a female lead and strong female characters throughout.
“I have not responded to the fact that the majority of pirates are not called by name? What? I did not see the “Surprisingly Curvaceous pirate” in the trailer?”
In your original piece you attempted to imply that the film makers had not even bothered to give the pirate a name (. Her name? Oh, she doesn’t have one), and that this lack of name and the moniker of “Surprisingly Curvaceous Pirate” implies a sexist undertone. Yet you would have been aware that the majority of the crew were not given names, but merely nicknames (your activity on imdb proves this), and a quick watch of the trailer clearly shows the female pirate in a comedy false beard. How does this “joke” in any way demean women? If the roles were reversed and the the Pirate was called Surpisingly Gruff, or Curiously Stubbly would this be demeaning? And this is the point, many of the “facts” you point to as being sexist are tenuous at best, and at worst just innaccurate. Look at the “Sexist Jokes” you claim are present within the film –
“In the preview there’s a joke about whether or not she’s fat or just big boned. (If you see the movie, it turns out she’s a dodo, but before that she’s just fat ha ha ha.)” – Hang on this isn’t like Darth Vader turning out to be Lukes dad, she’s a Dodo – very clearly to all of the audience, infact everyone except the rather dim crew (a rather dim group of males in an animated film – now theres a shock), thats the joke – not whether or not she is fat or whether she is female. I would also strongly question why you believe that a character being teased about their weight is inherently sexist? There are a couple of “fat” jokes in the incredibles aimed at Mr Incredible – do you feel that these are sexist?
Girl Scouts – the group have to appear “innocent”, they could have choosen monks, schoolboys etc. but the whole point is that they should be hard to find – simply put if you are looking for a group of mostly male Pirates in their 30s (cue emphasis on the mostly male part) then you would not suspect a group of young girls. Its in no way a slight on the girl scouts – and whether you like it or not the Girl Scouts as a group in comparison to Cutthroat Pirates would be considered Sweet and innocent.
And then we have the “Suprisingly Curvaceous” comment, which we’ve already covered.
Thats it – and I’m sorry, I’m not being obtuse but i do not see the sexism in those jokes.
“Both genders are affected by the jokes, I have written that many times: when kids go to movies that feature boys as stars and mostly boys as characters over and over again, both genders learn tha boys are more important than girls.”
Yet you have only written about it from one perspective, you insist that the way in which women are prtrayed (as possibly sexualised – and as side characters) is damaging, yet where have you written about the way in which male characters are repeatedly represented, and the character flaws that they have in abundance yet seem to be curiously missing from many of the female characters. Do you believe parents should call out to the screen “boo, not funny sexist” every time they see a male character on screen portrayed as stuid, or cowardly? And it still does not answer the one simple question – if this is simply a financial decision then what can be done about it – if films with male leads do better then films with female leads, whats the answer?
Quote: “Sexism is a matter of conscience, so we can’t say that someone is being sexist until we permit that person express his or her own motivations. ”
Firstly, ReelGirl criticizes actions rather than motivations. It’s entirely possible for an action to be sexist even if the person performing it isn’t (consciously intending to be) sexist, just as it’s possible for an action to be racist or other-ist even if the person performing the action is convinced that they’re completely free of racism or other-ism. Intent isn’t magic, and not intending harm doesn’t free you from the responsibility for the harm you’ve unintentionally caused.
Secondly, people may act in sexist or racist ways simply because they’re unaware of how their actions are perceived by the people who have to suffer sexism or racism. If nobody points out what the effects of an action are, it’s impossible for these well-intentioned people to make their actions match their intent.
Hi Apoidea,
Thanks for this comment and great points. I don’t think the animators intended sexism. Sexism is so ubiquitous and normal, we’ve stopped noticing it. It’s not fair to our kids and it allows sexism to keep getting recycled for a new generation.
MM
This is pathetic, and so are the people that agree with this Blog. ‘Porno or pirate movie’, I almost thought it was a joke at first. KIDS DO NOT LOOK INTO STUFF THIS DEEPLY. Stop trying to put barriers around what they see – they will hear much worse things on the playground or anywhere else. Your little girl is not going to see this film and instantly become a slut. You need to open your eyes a bit, or your kids will become as neurotic as you are.
Hi Joel,
“Your little girl is not going to see this film and instantly become a slut.”
OMG, I am so worried that my little girl will be a slut! Are you kidding me? WOW your comment is so sexist and so misses the point.
MM
KIDS DO NOT LOOK INTO STUFF THIS DEEPLY.
That’s why the parents need to pay extra attention to see what their kids are being fed under the guise of entertainment.
Besides, the “kids don’t care about it so it doesn’t matter” is one of those points that needs to be put aside, because you can use it to justify anything.
Margo writes: “new suposedly healthy bar for kids contains 99% sugar and none of the nutrients it claims to have”.
Joel: KIDS DON’T CARE ABOUT NUTRIENTS.
Margo writes: ” New kids park has dangerous toys that are being left unsupervised, kids might get seriously injured “.
Joel: KIDS AREN’T THINKING ABOUT THEIR SECURITY WHEN THEY SEE TOYS THAT LOOK COOL.
Its exactly because kids don’t pay attention to all the little details that it’s their parents responsability to do it.
I agree that it’s a shame there aren’t more western animated films with female lead roles, although I could name Tangled and The Princess And The Frog as exceptions, but check out Studio Ghibli’s work for awesome girls taking the lead – Spirited Away, Nausicaa, Princess Mononoke… to name a few.
This is a film adapted from a very popular and unusual kids book, with the main characters already established. Cutlass Liz may seem over the top in her look but all the characters are caricatured. Darwin has a huge forehead, Pirate Captain has a ridiculous beard, the Pirate King looks like a bejewelled Elvis and so on. It’s all in fun. I also don’t feel that a provocatively dressed woman is necessarily sexist by definition, it depends on context surely. As I mentioned earlier Queen Vic is a much bigger character in the film and is more conservatively dressed and very much in charge.
I appreciate feminist analysis of film as a whole but really feel you are misrepresenting this film based on a very brief trailer. Watch the film, it’s great.
Hi Megan,
I’m a big fan of Studio Ghibli and have blogged about it a lot. I’ve also blogged about Tangled and Princess and the Frog. My main complaint about Tangled is that the title was switched from Rapunzel: Disney does not allow females to be in titles anymore. I have blogged quite a bit about the reasons behind “boys won’t see movies about girls…” Basically, its a bullshit justification for sexism.
As far as the characters already existing, this is an argument I get all the time: Lord of the Rings, Tintin, Winnie the Pooh, Superheroes, all male dominated so what is Hollywood to do? Be more creative, make another movie, or invent characters. Are we going to go on recycling sexism forever?
Is Queen Vic “attractive” though? Or is she unappealing because she is strong? I’d like female characters get to beautiful/ attractive / sexy for their heroics, because they are brave and strong, not because they show belly buttons.
MM
you seem to imply that having a female character that looks ‘sexy’ in a kids film is inherently sexist, and even analogous to blackface. I’m not sure that this really holds. If your opinion really is that it’s never OK to have a character that looks like Cutlass Liz in any animated/kids film, then I’d struggle to be persuaded.
It’s a shame that you chose to condemn the film without having seen it because as people have mentioned, she’s in fact somewhat of an ‘alpha female’; in addition to being ‘hot’ she’s also ruthless, brutal, and swaggers about inspiring fear and awe amongst the comparatively hapless male characters.
The scene with the girl guides IS hilarious. It got a great roar of laughter at the test-screening I saw, from both girls and boys. It may indeed portray girl-guides as ‘harmless’, but the point of the joke – certainly for the kids – is in seeing a bunch of big ugly men dressed up as little girls. That’s funny, and simply funnier than seeing them dressed up as boys. The context that you may have been unable to grasp from the 3 minute preview is the reason for their disguise – they’re terrified of (and hiding from) Queen Victoria, who hates Pirates. Again – strong female character intimidates hapless males.
The joke about the parrot is gender neutral. It’s a non-speaking character, not anthropomorphised, and the reason that rival pirates call it fat is nothing to do with its gender, but to insult the pirate captain (and his pirating credentials, for which obviously having a parrot is essential). It’s indeed not a parrot at all – cue more embarrassment for the pirate captain who doesn’t even know a parrot when he sees one.
I could go on (for instance I don’t see why ‘suprisingly curvaceous pirate’ is any more dismissive a name than ‘pirate with gout’) but would recommend that you watch the film in full when it comes out. I suspect you’ll see that it’s far more clever, balanced and funny than it may appear from a few clips.
Hi idb,
Every time I saw the sexist joke in the Lorax perview, it also got a huge laugh. That doesn’t justify making a sexist joke. It sucks that kids are getting trained to laugh at them and think they’re funny. And if they don’t laugh at sexist jokes, will they have “no sense of humor?”
It’s hard to say if I think it’s never okay to have a female character “look sexy” in kids movie. I think that if there were images out there, all over, of powerful women, women in leadership positions, women being brave and heroic, showing a “sexy” one once in a while maybe would be okay. But maybe not. Why is that even sexy to show her that way? Would a male pirate showing his belly button be sexy? Being heroic would be sexy, more likely. Men get to be sexy for what they do. Women are sexy for how they appear.
I will see the film, for sure.
MM
While I agree that there is still a large amount of sexism in film, I don’t believe this is a case for it. As a woman who worked on this film I can assure you it was not just made by men. Aardman has a huge percentage of female staff, in all departments, right up to the producer. There were more women than men in my department, including my line manager – and her line manager.
Cutlass Liz is a strong, powerful character who is the toughest pirate of them all and makes the Pirate Captain feel very inadequate. Curvaceous is a woman pretending to be a man (hence ‘surprisingly’), and most of the pirates on the ship are named after their characteristics, like having a scarf, prosthetics or gout. Polly (the dodo) is clearly too big to be a parrot as they believe she is, which is where the fat joke comes in. The other main female character you haven’t mentioned is Queen Victoria who is extremely powerful, clever and slightly terrifying. When you see the full film I believe you will realise that the female characters are in general stronger than the males. All of the women I know who worked on this film love Cutlass Liz as a character. She kicks ass.
At the end of the day this is a comedy about pirates who historically were almost exclusively men. I can assure you this film was made with a lot of thought and love by all who participated in it.
Hi Megan,
I love many of these animated films that leave girls out. I love Nemo, the Lion King, Toy Story. I know, I know there are females in these movies but not the stars, not in the title. Thus they teach kids that males play the main roles, females are supporting sidekicks.
Cutlass Liz may be strong but how can you get past her look? If a character was in black face and was brave would that somehow not be racist?
And finally, I keep writing all of this but SO WHAT pirates were historically male? This is animation. This is fantasy. Do toys come to life? Do singing lions befriend wart hogs? Do rats know how to cook? Historical accuracy only seems to be come relevant when its a gender issue. If we can’t get gender equality in the fantasy world, how can we get it in reality?
MM
i’m not sure i understand
Of course, it should be mentioned at this point that Aardman Studios also made a film called “Chicken Run”, which was a parody of wartime escape movies set in a chicken farm. It contained a grand total of three male characters, one of whom was a philandering fraud, one of whom was halfway to senility, and one of whom was a henpecked imbecile. I’ll wager there was no baying of sexism about that, was there?
It’s like those unutterably creepy forty year-old females who drool over that Pattinson fellow and wave signs with his face on them, but if a man of the same age was to do the same about a female star, he would be condemned and perhaps arrested.
Can y’all say “double standard”?
Hi Helizapoppin,
I have not seen Chicken Run but I have heard that Aardman has included females in the past, which further confuses me that he would create a female pirate who gets ogled and hooted at. As far as women drooling over Robert Pattison and some kind of double standard, men don’t only drool, they actually hook up with and often marry women twenty years younger. Personally, I don’t get the whole being with someone with hat kid of age gap or being attracted to them.
MM
Yes, she gets ogled at, but it rapidly stops once she runs someone through the heart with a sword. She is a relentless badass compared to the more ham-handed Hugh Grant character.
As I recall, marriage is a two-way process. Both parties need to say “yes” at the altar. People have all manner of sexual preferences and hang-ups, though,which is neither here nor there.
H.
Would you say that if you saw a character on Tom and Jerry or Tintin in black face who did something heroic?
I’d like to answer your question with another question. Is the deed marred by the character or the character by the deed, since that’s how you word the question?
Long-running comedy radio show “The Goons” made a number of jokes about a black character called Ray Ellington, who was also the leader of the in-house band. It was a step forward in any radio show to have a black performer, but there were a number of gags made at his expense. He was treated no differently than any other character, in other words. This did not reflect the attitudes of the writers or actors, and Ellington was usually the winner in any hilarious conflicts. It was a parody. It was anarchic. It was, and this is important, comedy. The basis of comedy is an upheaval of social normality. A descent into brief chaos.
Also, I was practically brought up reading Tintin, as was my son. I maintain that one of the single finest panels ever produced in comic form was Tintin’s reaction to the death of his friend Chang.
Complaining about this sort of thing is… sort of lame. When it comes down to it, they are just marketing what EVERYONE wants, not just men.
When you ask around a bunch of girls if they want to watch girl pirates or boy pirates, they are probably going to say boy pirates. You could have a group of the best non-sexualised pirates in the world, but they would probably still want the boy pirates.
If you look at the stats, boys like boy main characters. Girls like boy main characters. You can scream at the children for being inclined this way, but the film industry is simply going supply/demand.
Also, is she really sexualised? I don’t see how. Yes, it was made by men, but why can girls not look up to an attractive female? Sarah Rees Brennan (author of the Demon’s Lexicon Trilogy) is a firm believer in more cool girls in media. But she doesn’t do this by trying to get goody-two-shoes heroines. By doing that, we teach children that while the boys are around to mess around, they have to be good and kind and be walked over.
No, Sarah made two girls who are quite sexy (not ‘sexualised’). They were hot because THEY wanted to be hot. Not for any other reason. Did you know that only 2% of girls believe they are beautiful?
Her heroines are pretty and smart. They do their best, and win quite a lot. Reading that Cutlass Liz is a contendor for the pirate of the year award, does it not seem like she is a beautiful, successful woman opposed to some sort of skank.
Come to think of it… the writer of this blog is the only person who actually implied that. Why is it that the moment we see a woman in film who isn’t shy, we assume that she is some whorey-mc-slut-slutty-stay-away-from-my-daughters type? Isn’t that teaching us that pretty, competitive girls are bad? Go on, darling, try your best so long as you aren’t successful, attractive or happy!
Also, she isn’t exactly climbing to the top via sexual appeal. Isn’t she fighting AGAINST the boys?
So yes, we could ask the writers to make some more clean cut, boring females and put them into stories because we want them to, or we can take a more equal approach.
Someone once said to me that we either need more girls with their shirts on, or more men with their shirts off.
And this is true.
Look at all the shows with no boys. We are teaching them that horse riding, dolls, faeries, romance and musicals are all for girls. And yes, they do get stuck with pirates, lego and cars, but not all of them want it either.
I am a girl, and I really want to see this film. I am not going to be some sort of ridiculous stereotype who cannot watch a ‘boy’ film. It is keyly pitched at boys with mostly male main characters, but so what? By making it seem like girls aren’t interested in the classic male pirates, aren’t we only conforming to female generated sexism?
Hi Regina,
But why do girls want to watch boy pirates? Could it be they never see girl pirates, that it hardly occurs to them that girls can be pirates?
If you’re a girla nd you’re “hot” things happen to you, you get power, adventures, you exist…that is the only reason girls want to be hot
MM
I recommend you go do some research into the actual pirate world. Very few women in real life became pirates, and the ones that did were only successful because they dressed up as men.
See: Mary Read, Anne Bonny, and Graine O Malley for further details. There was also a Chinese pirate queen who came into some success. Elizabeth Turner in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies also had a few memorable scenes.
Hi Helisapoppin,
I have written on the “but it’s not like that in the real world” justification for sexism in animation so many times. SO WHAT? In the real world, toys don’t come to life, rats don’t cook, and singing lions don’t befriend warthogs. Nobody seems bothered by this use of creativity, yet when it comes to gender roles, historical accuracy is required?
MM
There are plenty of occasions in animation where female characters step over standard gender roles and laugh in the face of historical accuracy and real life. There are also occasions when these same females fill an archetype more commonly seen as a male role.
For some examples, see the cartoon “Avatar: The Last Airbender” and the upcoming “Legend of Korra”. I’m sure you’ll still find some reason to rant about how the blind Toph has the self-confidence to make jokes about her condition, or about how the adventurous and skilled Korra is immensely sexualised because we can see her shoulders.
I write this as a woman who has taken note of quite a few strong female characters like River Song or Honor Harrington, and am generally taken aback at the fact that no matter what concessions artists and writers make, there is still apparently something to complain about. See above in your article where you compare being female to being a sufferer of a disease I would not wish upon my very worst enemy. Just calm down and pass the popcorn.
Hi Hellzapoppin,
There are those occasions and I do my best to document them on Reel Girl. Please see blogs: the Token Feisty, and strong female characters in kids movies, kids movies that center on female characters, and GGG.
They are not the norm.
MM
I wouldn’t honestly describe Harrington’s naval prowess or Azula’s descent into madness “feisty”, to be honest. They are grand, solid characters who have a tremendous effect on the world around them. They are no different from half the characters in “The Dresden Files”, or Nausicaa, or Sergeant Angua, or any one of a hundred different characters from fiction and film.
I would say they very much are “the norm”, in fact. Cherry-picking a few easy targets and blowing them out of proportion as much as possible is not quite the best approach as far as viewing a problem goes.
I’m glad people like you point out things like this. Otherwise they’ll just keep churning out sexist tripe, making money off it, and reinforcing the stereotypes.
What is the best way to notify Sony that I would never take my daughter to this film and am spending those dollars at BRAVE and SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY. Money is all they care about, and if more parents would boycott such films and support the latter types of movies the industry would change. Anyone thought of starting a change.org petition letter to Sony?
Hi Elizabeth,
A petition is a good idea! I would sign and promote. I haven’t done one because I’m thinking about what is the best way? Against sexism in animation and include Disney and Pixar or maybe your’re right, focus. Anyway, doing is always better than thinking, right?
MM
Seriously?
A petition???
Ok so did you ever stop to think of the impact that could have on 200 people?
All over the fact that we chose to make a film based on a book!
So you start up a petition, let’s say it takes off, Pirates 2 doesn’t get made and that’s 200 people unemployed!
I personally have two little girls aged one and two.
How am I going to provide for them now?
And that’s just one person out of the 200.
Hi Pirate animator,
I don’t know what petition you’re talking about?
MM
PS Hi, just re read the thread so now I know what you mean. I would sign a petition to stop sexism in animated films, that is consciously not sexualizing females and making about half the characters females in the animated movies for kids. I am not creating a petition about the Pirates movie. I’ve responded to eth “based on the book” comment so many times. Why not put more female pirates in Pirates 2, don’t sexualize them. If the book doesnt fit that, use another book or make up another story. If Pirates! was the exception, that would be one thing, but the lack of female characters is standard in movies FOR KIDS. When boys star, it teaches both genders that boys are more important than girls.
MM
Your posts title was intriguing. I admit I was attracted by both the idea of porn movie, pirate movie and porn with pirates 🙂
This is sad! The female characters were probably developed after much market research and focus groups on what kids (including girls) like to see. And of course they only like to see ultra-feminine girls because that is what the media has conditioned them to like and expect. Such a vicious cycle.
By the way, beach ball sized breasts? I think the issue is more that we can tell what size and they are since her shirt is painted on (how about a typical pirate style shirt?) And, I’m not so concerned that she is baring her belly, but rather that her waistline is nonexistent…
db,
For beach ball breasts, I was not referring to size but shape, as in gravity-defying, ball-ish.
MM
Why do we care about the physical realities of human anatomy, would you rather she had carefully sculpted human looking breasts which were capable of staying put without the aid of a bra? This is an animated film about pirates, i’m fairly sure that someone has already stated that accuracy isn’t important in such a setting.
boobballs,
I’d rather not be debating over the breasts of a cartoon character fotr kids.
MM
Thank you for this great piece. It is so sad that this is what womyn are presented with, we are breeding young girls to be willing sexual objects. I’m raising boys and these images effect the way they feel bout the girls around them. Phrases like ‘I hate her cause she’s a real girlie girl’ cause my partner and I real alarm and these ideas do not come from our home but from outside it, from these films.
Carmen,
I know, UGH
MM
It seems that you sons also hate the idea of stereotype sexualised women just like you, so you have just shot your self in the back with that comment
Read your daughters the book Pirate Girl by Cornelia Funke, and leave the movie to bomb. It looks awful.
Thanks for raising the flag of attention!
Are you all serious……Creative freedom. Not all movies or shows have to have male and female casts. It is up to the writers to decide this, and what about shows like winx club or my little pony?? Shows geared to females or girls have less males but I would hardly think many would complain about this. People have a choice whether or not to watch a production, just because it is in a theater or on a shelf at a store does not mean you have to buy it nor watch it never less make you child see it.
I do not like the idea of provocative shows around my kids, but as a parent I should be in charge of making sure they see the right things. Unless you have a gun to your head and forced to watch the movie it is really quite pointless to complain. If the movie flops then well then they will know why…. but if the producers wanted it that way then shut up ppl it is their vision.
And remember who the makers of this film are… do you expect them to be classy?
Hi Mary,
There is no creative freedom for females. Male producers and directors dominate Hollywood. Once they make these movies, they get turned into Lego sets, video games, embossed on diapers and T-shirts. It goes WAY beyond what parents let their kids watch. These movies create a sexist culture where girls are sexualized or missing and we all have to live in it.
MM
Are you serious? Creative freedom. People have a choice whether or not to read a blog, just because it is in the internet does not mean you have to read it.
Unless you have a gun to your head and forced to read the blog it is really quite pointless to complain. If no one reads the blog then margo will know why … but if she wanted it this way then shut up it is her opinion.
Saying we have a choice whether to watch a production or not isn’t really the point if it’s next to impossible to find any productions that include positive female role models, or that show positive male-female interaction. Does that mean that if we don’t like sexism we should just put up with never going to the movies instead of speaking out and saying that it’s not acceptable? Or that because we can stop our kids from watching these things, that it’s not going to be a problem when they’re amongst classmates and friends who have been fed a constant diet of sexist – and even misogynistic – media? These things have wide-spread effects that shouldn’t be allowed to hide behind a feeble excuse like “creative freedom.”
I mean, I don’t even expect strong female characters – but I just want to see human female characters to whom we can feel emotions for, connect to, and understand. That’s why I’m reluctant to see any animations or kids’ movies – rather just watch Miyazaki’s works. Way better – they’re imaginitive and has genuine female characters.
love your comments chandler swain but vintage cinema?? Strong female role models??
Chandlerswain,
please give us some examples, are we missing something?
MM
I am 100% appalled by the lack of female representation in all movies especially those for children. HOWEVER! Complaining about lack of female representation in a pirate movie when pirates both historically and contemporary are 99% male….I don’t get it. I do realize this is not meant to have any historical value. Really, I do. Think about it this way. Would you complain that a movie about Rosie the Riveter lacked male role models? Even a non-historically accurate comedy?
Hi Teresa,
I’ve written quite a bit about the “historical accuracy” issue. Animations shows us rats who can cook, toys who come to life, singing lions who befriend wart hogs, yet when it comes to gender, all of a sudden people get concerned about realism and accuracy? A similar justification is because so many movies without females are based on books without females (Lord of the Rings, Tintin, Superhero comic books) so its not Hollywood’s fault to keep recycling sexism. Yes it is. Put heroic female characters in your movies, especially movies for kids, or don’t make them.
MM
i would also like to add that kids storybook pirates are so far removed from real historical pirates that you could call them mythological characters. It’s not like a historical drama with some factual license, it’s mythology.
Anyway, if my daughter can imagine herself as a pirate and she is the market for these movies then why can’t the filmmakers imagine it too?
Tamara,
Seriously! I bet this pirate movie has a talking bird and other “non-historical” characters. Come on, guys, use your imaginations! Or, hire more women so you don’t keep recycling the same, old tired stories.
MM
Anyway, there were loads of female pirates, look it up. Grace O’Malley, Anne Bonny, Mary Read, Madame Ching. And they’re just the famous ones. Disguising oneself as a man (a la Mulan) was a reasonably common way to get your independence. Another facet of sexism is when women who were there get casually erased from the histories written of an era (it’s happening now when people write about Grunge).
We need more articles like this so parents will wake up and start complaining…just like the lepers! Sheesh!
Yes, thank you for calling this out. The sexism in children’s media frustrates me to no end! It’s so crucial for us to continue to raise awareness on this issue.
Hear, hear. Sexism is a double-edged blade that hurts us all, and regrettably still hasn’t had much of a dent put into it despite the sham veneer that passes as equality for women in much of our society.
I think it would be a helpful exercise to also analyze the ratio of male to female cast persons in these movies from the bottom up, and perhaps go so far as including another grading criteria that reflects it. If the movie industry won’t hire women, we’ll never see the content in movies improve.
MJ,
Totally agree. Geena Davis Institute has done some great research in this area.
MM
Well, maybe this is not rigorous, but the Bechdel Test is a pretty cool way to analyze how much women show up in movies. Check this out, from Feminist Frequency: http://www.feministfrequency.com/2012/02/the-2012-oscars-and-the-bechdel-test/
Katharine,
I know the bechdel test. I tried to come up with a similar one for kids movies, do a serach on my blog to find it and tell me what you think if you can
MM
Fills me, father of 2 girls, with despair. It’s f$&king evil.
It has been this way for so long. I hate reading my girls Pooh stories. Kanga is the only female character out of perhaps a dozen. At least she isn’t sexualized, but the fact is she only exists so that Roo can have a mom.
Ditto as mother of two girls. Who love pirate stuff. Makes me furious! I will not give these people my money.
Seems like a good time to bring in “The Night Pirates”. A little boy gets carried off by a troupe of little girl pirates, who want to use his house to disguise their ship for a raid. Now *that’s* imagination:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Night-Pirates-Peter-Harris/dp/140521161X
The trend in rampant sexism in film has unfortunately reached it’s way into children’s entertainment. (Remember when Hayley Mills was the smartest person in the room?) This is predictable since the comics industry has seemed to have taken over Hollywood, and EVERY vehicle in that sorry field is rampant with pneumatically oversexed bimbettes. Of course this “comic geek” mentality carries over into the field of animation (which should be ripe for female creators as there are a staggering number of women in the children’s lit illustrative arts) where the sameness of product (is it just me or do they seem to be making the same damn computer animated movie over and over again every year?) seems to be based entirely on the male perspective and a rather infantile one at that. But this being Hollywood, you can bet it will remain a frat boy’s club for the foreseeable future. Perhaps this is a golden opportunity to introduce kids to more vintage cinema entertainment.
Hmm. That is thought provoking. I had not realized how often strong female characters are lost in favor of cookie cutter male leads in animation.
How can I be disappointed and not surprised at the same time? Because the only thing that surprises me anymore is not being disappointed.
From the Cleveland Show “And now for my next act I will saw this woman in half” Creepy family baby response: “You’re just turning one problem into two”. Gee I know I’m supposed to find that funny, but it just called my existence a problem, and the problem is, I don’t know why. And the worst is what happens if i ask.
We’re supposed to relate to being men more than to being women so we’re forced to adopt their viewpoints and laugh at their jokes about us, until we really are just deformed inferior men, just as they suspected.
You’re right. It’s quite an unfortunate thing that sadly will probably never change. At least not for awhile.