Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter


 OPINION 
3

Sorry, Chick Flicks: We're Just Not That Into You

Genre too often relies on 'clichés, hateful caricatures' of womanhood

Share

(Newser) – Where have all the Carrie Bradshaws and Bridget Joneses gone? The women of flicks like Bride Wars and Confessions of a Shopaholic are pale imitations of those relatively feisty heroines, “variously neurotic, idiotic, label-obsessed, weight-obsessed, man-obsessed or wedding-obsessed, and often all at the same time,” Kevin Maher complains in the Times of London.

Citing “institutionalized schadenfreude,” one scholar says heroines “are getting dumber and dumber.” Writes Maher, “The reason for all this sinister discord is ultimately, of course, men,” abetted by women's lack of creative control in Hollywood. His solution: “Motivate women away from chick flicks and towards the few edgier, more interesting movies that might normally go unnoticed.” Last Chance Harvey, anyone?

In this image released by Warner Bros. Pictures, Justin Long, left, and Ginnifer Goodwin are shown in a scene from the New Line Cinema film,
In this image released by Warner Bros. Pictures, Justin Long, left, and Ginnifer Goodwin are shown in a scene from the New Line Cinema film, "He's Just Not That Into You."   (AP Photo/Warner Bros. Pictures, Darren Michaels)
In this image released by Warner Bros. Pictures, Kevin Connolly, left, and Scarlett Johansson are shown in a scene from the New Line Cinema film,
In this image released by Warner Bros. Pictures, Kevin Connolly, left, and Scarlett Johansson are shown in a scene from the New Line Cinema film, "He's Just Not That Into You."   (AP Photo/Warner Bros. Pictures, Darren Michaels)
In this image released by New Line Cinema, Sarah Jessica Parker stars as Carrie Bradshaw in New Line Cinema's
In this image released by New Line Cinema, Sarah Jessica Parker stars as Carrie Bradshaw in New Line Cinema's "Sex and the City."   (AP Photo/New Line Cinema,Craig Blankenhorn)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
The trailer for "Confessions of a Shopaholic."   (TheMovieJam)
Academy Award winners Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson reunite in "Last Chance Harvey."   (overturefilms)

View larger videos >>
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next »

increasingly, the modern Hollywood women's picture or so-called chick flick has become home to the worst kind of regressive pre-feminist stereotype and misogynistic cliché. - Kevin Maher, Times of London

For every smart-thinking Bridget Jones, Legally Blonde or Devil Wears Prada, there appeared a slew of movies that appealed to the genre's baser instincts. - Kevin Maher, Times of London

Women's lives today feel oppressive, more so than they did ten years ago. And the more oppressive they feel, the dumber these portrayals of women become. - Diane Purkiss, Oxford University

The entertainment industry allows you, the audience member, to pat yourself on the back and say: ‘I'm smarter than her, I'm more together than her, and I'm not as stupidly anorexic as her.' - Diane Purkiss, Oxford University

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
OFF THE GRID
11.24.09
Murdoch and Microsoft: The Mice Are Trying to Roar
11.23.09
Books Are Bad for You
3 comments
VIEWING:
 
Collusive
Feb 5, 09 12:02 PM CST
HERE! HERE! Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
0
YouAreWrong
Feb 5, 09 12:36 PM CST
Blame men! It's mens fault chicks like stupid movies.... YEA RIGHT!!!!!! Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
0
iamacidangel
Aug 16, 09 1:44 PM CDT
I won't lie! I like all movies! from The Notebook to the Transformers to Shawshank Redemption to Grandma's Boy! Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
+1
LEAVE A
COMMENT Comment Policy
Facebook ConnectPost this comment to Facebook?

After connecting you will have the option to post your comment on your Facebook profile.

 

Related Newser Stories

3 Stories

BOOK REVIEW

Hotties Hate Marriage
in Prospect Park West

Get ready to meet the scheming gals of Prospect Park West

Aug 23, 09 4:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - Kudos to Carrie Bradshaw for seeking sex in the city, because marriage in the city apparently stinks, Annie Karni writes in the New York Post. Author Amy Sohn’s dark new tome about marriage and motherhood, Prospect Park West, is garnering praise as the next Sex and the City, following... More »

MORE ABOUT:
women • Sex and the City • book reviews • Carrie Bradshaw

 8 Ways Hollywood 
 Changed Fashion 

Before there was Sarah Jessica Parker, there was Jennifer Beals

Aug 16, 09 7:08 AM CDT
(Newser) - Fashionistas rejoice: Mad Men returns tonight! To celebrate the show's influence on fashion—yes, thin-lapelled suits and Peter Pan collars are back—CNN remembers other Hollywood offerings that dominated the fashion zeitgeist:
  • Some say Clarke Gable's bare chest in It Happened One Night caused undershirt sales to plummet by
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Hollywood • fashion • John Travolta • Sex and the City • Regis Philbin • Saturday Night Fever • Carrie Bradshaw • Mad Men • Clark Gable

Sex Success Bodes Well for Chick Flicks

Fabulous turnout gets studios eyeing female demographic

Jun 7, 08 10:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - The studios were wowed by the huge turnout for Sex and the City, and a slew of sisterly imitations could follow, Variety reports. Movie executives have been leery of chick flicks in the past, and they still hold doubts about projects with slim crossover potential. But with four other... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Hollywood • film • women • Sex and the City • film studio • Hollywood studios

3 Stories


The latest entry: 'He's Just Not That Into You'

'He's Just Not That Into You' not typical chick flick: stars
Spectator Blog

Nope, flick is like all the rest and 'fairly insulting to femininity'
St. Petersburg Times

Where did the phrase come from?
Los Angeles Times

More chick flick news

'Shopaholic' a little too real
Los Angeles Times

Yet more 'Sex and the City'?
Los Angeles Times


Arts & Living  •  Opinion 
TwitterFollow @NewserArts on Twitter

 
Hollywood • feminism • women • men • Sex and the City • Carrie Bradshaw • chick flicks • Bridget Jones' Diary • He's Just Not That Into You

from our news partners