THE PIANO: my two cents
Don't get me wrong, I believe "The Piano" to be a very smart movie, rife with feminist theories and building blocks. But at the end of the day, Campion correctly distinguishes a "film about feminism" from a "feminist film".
Pick your adjective: independent, strong, career-driven. Women can be all these things (and more) and still promote a patriarchal system. Call me uppity, but I think snapping the binary of male-female onto the binary of patriarchy-feminism is, frankly, barbaric.
Feminism does not end with women elected into established positions of power; feminism (as per my beliefs) is an active critique on those established positions of power. Should Hillary Clinton win the 2008 presidential race, will it be a shining day for feminism everywhere or just "business as usual"? I argue the latter. Philosopher Antonin Artaud postulated that any CONTENT was fleeting, but that FORM was "the invisible pistol held to people's heads". As long as we perpetuate the same top-down, "all [X] dominate all [Y]" form (even if it's all women dominating all men!), aren't we just feeding the same system that feminism originally sought to destroy?
"The Piano" was produced by Lions Gate Entertainment, an American-based studio mired in a capitalistic society. Lions Gate gave the final greenlight, and the only reason why they would do that is because the saw the project as profitable. And profitable movies require a narrative and cinematic vocabulary that the masses can understand ("Passion of the Christ", anyone?). How feminist can a film be when its very construction is painstakingly framed by established models, rubrics, and systems?
Again, I thought "The Piano" was a moving and brilliant film, an evocative film that utilized feminist building blocks, but above all, a Hollywood (read: patriarchal) film.
Comments
I agree. Well stated. I especially agree with your comments on feminism activly critiquing those in power. It's similar to what bell hooks wrote about in her piece on "gansta rap."
Who is it that is behind the record label promoting and rewarding music that perpetuates the patriarchal white mans world? (The partriarchal white men of course.) So the same is true of media that attempts to say "oh look! strong woman! choices! sex! Lets call it feminist!!" Really, the media is simply using loaded words to construct a feminism that can function under the current institutions.
i digress...
Posted by: alissa | October 9, 2007 4:30 PM