Bell Hooks demonstrates the importance at looking at films critically, rather than just sitting back and enjoying them for entertainment value. Although I often hear people say that it really doesn't matter what happens on movies and in T.V., it seems that popular culture frames most of what people say and do within everyday life. As Bell Hooks illustrated, most Americans probably never even thought of Ireland before they watched the movie Braveheart.
That concept can be stretched over to so many things that the media brings to the attention of the public, as well as underlying themes dealing with race, class, gender, sexuality, etc. Although this documentary is pretty dated, and there were some films mentioned that I had never even heard of, much of Hooks' concerns still ring true today.
Though I haven't seen the movie KIDS, when Hooks voiced her concerns about the fact that most people couldn't even recall the names of the female leads, I thought of many movies today. If you think about it, almost every movie or T.V. show has a male lead character, and if it doesn't then it's a "chick flick" or we are supposed to feel oh so impressed when some tiny actress has a powerful leading role. The representation of gender in films is still a huge problem today.
Hooks also mentions the role of race in film, and though I can't remember the name of the movie, there was one where the director chose a black male to play the role of a thief, though the original story didn't call for that. Though this was obviously an older film, I think there are still some racist issues with film today, such as the "token black guy" in horror films who is always getting killed first. Though there has been some progress in recent years, I still think it is important to be an "enlightened witness" when watching films. By this I mean that we should view films through a critical feminist eye; instead of ignoring the racist/sexist/heterosexist things we see on screen, we have to remember to pay attention to them, because they do matter.
Bell Hooks and cultural criticism
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I agree here with the concept that these concepts arc across time. While the films mentioned may be outdated and the majority were films that we, as the younger generation, may have never seen or even heard of, the concepts discussed are just as relevant today as they were when this documentary was new. Every example given in it could be replaced with something that is more familiar to our generation and the concepts would be a perfect fit. This is frustrating to me because people look at our society as being one of progression and acceptance, but it is obvious that we are not making any progress in terms of the representation in pop culture if it is this necessary to continue to teach the same lessons that were being taught 15 years ago.
Your comment about the lack of representation women have in film reminded me of a little film analytic tool called "the Bechdel test.". Born of a comic strip, the test is now used to apply a feminist lens to film. It evaluates movies as giving women fairer treatment if
1. There are at least two (named) women in it.
2. Who talk to each other.
3. About something besides a man/men.
Now, I know that this is a queer cinema class, not a feminist (or women in) cinema class, but I still think guidelines like these are important to keep in mind. Filmmakers may have progressive views on homosexuality or other queer themes, and they may provide audiences with refreshing viewpoints that do not reinforce negative stereotypes, but I bet a few films we see will still uphold some backwards thinking about women.
@lundb195, that's a great tool! Love Alison Bechdel.
I have to agree with Kelsey's comment. Though it seems like definite progress is being made in exposure of non-white, queer, and non-gender stereotyped groups and the issues they face nowadays, but the representation is far off. For example, in 'Hoop Dreams,' the African American characters overcome obstacles that society puts before them to not succeed, which is a positive message, but reinforces the stereotype that African Americans are good at basketball, and then totally disregards the African American guy who focuses on school instead of sports. True, the plot was about guys achieving their dreams by playing basketball, but whatever happened to the guy who worked hard in school?