Is Your Film Feminist?
Here Are Some Simple Ways To Find Out
Are you tired of watching films that you can’t relate to? A damsel in distress, an abusive hero, a gory villain and an overload of breasts and ass? Me too!
In the past decade, thousands of films came out, most of which cater to a single demographic — men. Films are made with the needs of this sole demographic in mind. Coming from India, I can safely conclude that barely 1% dared to peek out of it, and I say dared because such films faced dire consequences.
Many steps have been taken to change this model, but the rate of change is painfully slow, and the number of misogynist films increases exponentially. With every good film made by a woman (some men), comes a barrage of disgraceful films that border on pornography. These films, however, are deemed superhit and their box office numbers could alleviate India’s poverty problem.
While this trend has been popular for as long as films existed, there is a desperate lack of education in the minds of the audience. The latest spate of self-proclaimed feminist films makes matters worse. Not only are these films not feminist, but they also negate the efforts of many women who’re trying to find a foothold of their own.
While there is no one simple way to call a feminist or not, here are some basic hacks to call the bullshit on films that aren’t. This list will hopefully aid upcoming filmmakers while devising their film’s outlook, as well as the audience in being well-informed. And as a long-shot, I hope film producers take note of some blatant violation of a woman’s agency in some of the films they make.
Should a woman’s introduction be via her body parts?
Aren’t we all sick of the tedious slow-mo sequence of the heroine turning around? The camera tilts upwards focussing on her ass, breasts, and lips for a little too long. The wind blows her hair, her clothes everywhere. The hero is seen to letch on her and fall in love right that instant. Stalk her throughout the film, tire her into marrying him. Of course, many films have moved on to show working women, yet, the camera is that of a male gaze.
Male saviours? No, thank you!
One key difference that makes a feminist film stand out of a “woman-centric” film is that there are no male saviours in the former. A woman-centric film does not necessarily make a film feminist, nor does a woman-made film. We all know what the films of Farah Khan look like. So I’d dare not make that generalisation. In the past decade, some men have managed to get this aspect right, but the world is glorifying them enough, so I shall reserve my comments about them.
Could we please cut down on the stereotypes?
If I had a penny for every time a woman is shown to perform gender stereotypes, I’d succeed in making perfectly round rotis. (NOT!) What is it about men who can’t place a woman outside of her roles in a patriarchal world? Some common misconceptions here would be films in which men “allow” their wives to work. They believe they don’t conform to the painfully long list of shitty films. “She’s working, what more do you want?” some would contest. Or, a woman is shown to be smoking and drinking to imply that she’s free…spirited. Is there no middle ground between this dichotomous display of what a woman is? The same extends to films worldwide where black and Latina women are cast in subservient roles, and dark-skinned lower-caste women cast the same way. These stereotypes are dangerous and upkeep an unequal society. We have enough of that in the real world, we need not promote it further via our films.
Representation is not an item on the checklist!
While the past decade has been a scary time to make films, it has also been the time when there was a worldwide protest on the lack of representation in films. The US drove the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement into the film industry beautifully. Similarly, filmmakers in India too, have succeeded in narrating the stories of marginalised communities like the Dalit, Bahujan, Adivasi women, and portrayal of homosexuals. While the protest brought about some fantastic films, many filmmakers tried to ride on the ‘woke’ wave with misplaced ideologies; they included a role for the sake of it. That’s no way to implement inclusion, it is exploitative and contemptible.
Would you let the women talk?
Right, so you are making a film with a woman, but does she feature in enough scenes and has dialogues/screen time as long as the hero? If not, this film is anything but feminist. Films that have a woman in the film for the sake of it, don’t count as important if she is satiating a man’s needs. You might as well have a table lamp instead. GIve her agency, let her express herself. And please, let her say something more than, “Oh no, what do we do now?” Research has shown that of the films that released recently, women have less than 10% screen time, and on occasions, no dialogue.
The Feminist Tests — use them, embrace them!
Outside of the things I have mentioned, there are many amazing tests you can use to assess the feminist quotient of a film. My favourite is the Furiosa test who’s primary objective is to make men upset. Of course, it is a tongue-in-cheek take on the way films have been pissing women off for generations, but it is the one for me! There are also tests like the Duvernay Test, the Waithe Test, the Villalobos Test, the Kimberly Pierce Test, and finally, the Villarreal and Landau Tests.
As a filmmaker and a woman, I have become so averse to going to a movie theatre unless I do thorough research on whether or not the film is worth my time. These pointers have helped me for the most part. But these are only rudimentary ways to save yourself from the shitty movie experience. How do you go about selecting a film? What are your ‘tests’ let me know!
Vaishnavi is a writer, self-taught filmmaker among other things. You can read all of her work by signing up for her newsletter.
