I blogged about “Hotel Transylvania” before I saw it based on promotional material that features truly pathetic male/ female ratios. I am sorry to report that this movie is more sexist than I assumed. The sexism is so ridiculous, it’s almost funny. Basically, a male human stumbles into a movie about monsters, takes over the whole story, and makes the movie all about him. Seriously. In this way, “Hotel Transylvania” sort of reminded me of “Shrek 3” where Fiona goes missing for the movie while Justin Timberlake steps in as the new costar, playing Shrek’s long, lost only male heir. WTF? (That was before, by the way, sidekick Puss in Boots got his own movie. Not Fiona. But I digress.)
I thought that “Hotel Transylvania,” at the very least, would be a father-daughter bonding film. (Sure, there’s the whole dead mother thing in it, but at least there’s no wicked step-mom.) The movie was supposed to be about the dad, Dracula, giving his daughter, Mavis, a birthday party for turning 118. But then a human, Johnny, finds his way to the monster hotel. Johnny shows everyone how to have fun. After finding himself giggling with Johnny, the stiff, repressed, human-hating Dracula and the boy become BFFs. The last scenes of the movie show Dracula and his all male possy of monsters going into the human world to find Johnny again. Dracula has realized that Johnny and his daughter do, in fact, belong together.
That’s right: Mavis is reduced to love interest, a love sick teenager. She’s not even in the scenes where the monsters go to bring back Johnny. She is crying in her bedroom during all of that bravery. It’s Dracula who courageously risks his life going out in the potentially lethal sunlight, chasing down Johnny’s plane. That scenario really pissed me off, because here the girl could be rushing out to win the guy but her dad does it? ARGH.
There is one great female who has about three lines near the end. She was my favorite character in the movie in spite of being decked out in pink. Blink and you’ll miss her.
While there were several sub groups of all male monsters such as construction workers and rocks bands, guess what the one all female group was? Maids. Yep, the hotel’s housekeeping brigade is made up of witches. Witches with no speaking lines. It’s amazing to me how sexism in professional life consistently persists in the imaginary world.
There were sexist jokes as well, said construction workers reacting to a female, a monster carting off a female mannequin, Johnny groping a skeleton by mistake and pissing off her husband.
Because there is at least a Minority Feisty representation in this movie, Reel Girl rates “Hotel Transylvania” ***H***
One more thing: A commenter pointed out to me that in my last blog on “Hotel Transylvania” I made an incorrect count on males and females. I forgot to include the Invisible Man, represented in the promo material as a pair of floating glasses. That brings the pictured male/ female ratio up to 8:1
Lmao should i check my white male privilage as well? Classic feminazis take a movie and bend it to suit your agenda
I can understand the way you feel. I think it is sometimes stupid. But I think that you are looking into it just a little to deeply.
I wish people could accept women as being less helpless then they may think.
I know plenty of women who are a heck of a lot stronger than their male counterparts.
I agree, the make protagonist theme can be a bit boring, and in many modern movies protagonist women are slightly to, for lack of spelling ability, skanky. Generally at least, so many damn breasts hanging out these days.
It have a girlfriend, I don’t need to see theirs to.
When I play a com-game it tend to make my characters female if I get the choice, being male is over-glorified.
Your right about female roles in movies sending the wrong message. Sometimes it’s just best to let it go. There are movies out there that are what you are looking for. It is just someone else’s idea, an angle. The next movie they make may be different, some may be the same. If you really want to make a difference, write a book, make a movie. Don’t just complain and expect people to listen. Actions speak louder than words. Not riots though, hate that, people have a right to opinion, no one has the right to force an idea.
Please don’t right a mushy love story though, we have enought of those.
Good on you, but to be truthful I liked hotel Transylvania. Surely you came except some movies from criticism. This is the same type of arguments you get over racism. It’s all a load of bull. Men need to accept women equality, and the races of the world need to accept each other as bloody humans. Where all the same.
Some movies need to be like hotel transylvania, some women could relate to that, maybe you are made of different stuff
, many women are.
Well enough of my ranting, good on you.
Hi david,
My favorite part of your email is “being male is over-glorified.” It’s good to know just plain glorified is cool.
MM
I don’t understand how the characters are not 50/50 male/female?
I saw the trailer for Hotel Transylvania and it was pretty apparent from it that the only thing the daughter was involved in was the romance with the boy. Luckily my kids are too little to ask to see this one.
Sounds like a lousy movie, pass. Well, Rise of the guardians is coming soon and that should actually be good.
Have you watched Paranorman yet? I’m sure it compensates for this.