The Girl on a Motorcycle
The potentially liberating aspects of The Girl on a Motorcycle's road trip narrative (featuring a "free" female protagonist) are undermined by the film's blatant adherence to both phallocentrism and scopophilia. The most pervasive and overt manifestation of the active feminine being rendered passive by a heterosexual masculine force is the motorcycle itself. Not only is Rebecca's motorcycle a gift, but she must also be meticulously instructed in its usage--all under the oppressive gaze of Daniel. The motorcycle, in a metaphorical sense, is completely aligned with the phallus. For example, the final scene of the film features Rebecca not only simulating sexual intercourse with the motorcycle, but also reminiscing about Daniel-themed lovemaking and fetishistic domination fantasies while doing so. The film reinforces the importance of phallic power by portraying Rebecca's husband Raymond as absolutely pathetic, castrated even, in the face of his students after her allegiance to, for all intents and purposes, Daniel's motorcycle/phallus. Rebecca, despite her resilience, is under the effects of masculine power throughout the entire film. In the diner scene, the penetrating gazes of other men force her into daydreaming and unreality. Her tryst with Daniel (which could be more accurately described as his raping of her) is visually stylized much like her (apparently) drug-induced euphorias. Her eventual annihilation is framed as punishment in that her entire journey is under the pretense of Daniel's phallus. The film essentially argues for her death in that she is a castrated being only capable of succeeding through the giant phallic symbol she just happens to possess. In other words, The Girl on a Motorcycle is not liberating for women because none of Rebecca's achievements are really her own and she is killed for her, in the view of the film, foolishness.