Tag Archive: Harvey Weinstein


Hidden abuse and the invisible man

Filed under: Gender, Movies — Leave a comment
March 22, 2020

THE INVISIBLE MAN directed by Leigh Whannell (USA, 2020)
220px-the_invisible_man_282020_film29_-_release_poster

Following the welcome conviction of Harvey Weinstein and the exposure of simlar abuses prompted by the #metoo movement, movie-makers are treading on eggshells when it comes to depicting modern relationships. Unsurprisingly, there are noticeably fewer scenes of physical and psychological violence.

Many will welcome this trend, but it does not mean that the problem has magically gone away. Far from it, cases of gaslighting, domestic assaults and femicide feature all too prominantly in the media every day. The impression you get is that Weinstein’s litany of abuse was just the tip of a very unpleasant iceberg. Continue reading →

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BOHEMIAN TRAVESTIES – QUEENS ON FILM

Filed under: Fiction, Gender, Movies — Leave a comment
February 2, 2019

MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS directed by Josie Rourke (UK/USA, 2018)
THE FAVOURITE directed by Yorgos Lanthimos (UK/USA, 2018)

fight the powerfavourites

Personally, I blame Harvey Weinstein.

Were it not for him (and similar monsters) the gender politics that drive these two royal dramas would have been quite different.

Both are contemporary, feminist-orientated dramas which play fast and loose with notions of historical accuracy. The tone and thrust of each is to resolutely present women centre stage and very much in charge of their own destinies. Men are there to service their ambitions or else conveniently sidelined. Continue reading →

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Explaining mansplaining

Filed under: Books, Gender — Leave a comment
February 4, 2018

rebecca_solnitThe term ‘mansplaining’ was inspired, though not directly used, by Rebecca Solnit in her marvellous 2008 essay ‘Men Explain Things To Me’.

The word succinctly encapsulates men’s uncanny ability to display what Solnit calls “the confidence of the totally ignorant”.

With barbed wit, she notes how “explaining men still assume I am, in some sort of obscene impregnation metaphor, an empty vessel to be filled with their wisdom and knowledge”.

As she knows to her cost, these kinds of power games are nothing new and represent a pattern of patronizing behavior that, at least until recently, women have learned to put up with.

The #TimesUp and #MeToo initiatives stemming from the outing of Harvey Weinstein’s serial abuses represent a potential sea change in gender attitudes. Now, not a day goes by without fresh accusations and the squalid details of the Larry Nassar case is a further illustration of the can of worms that has been opened. Continue reading →

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