Thursday, December 3, 2009

Feminist Film Fail?


Last night some friends and I decided to watch the movie “Jennifer’s Body,” starring Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried. We weren’t sure what to expect, as we had heard mixed reviews. Though, we were interested in investigating the claim that the movie is feminist.

“Jennifer’s Body” is written by feminist screenwriter, Diablo Cody (Juno), and directed by Karen Kusama (Girlfight), and is described as a feminist horror-comedy film.

So, is the film feminist?
Well, the film was written by, directed by, and stars women. Diablo Cody claims to have written the script with feminist messages all along.

That being said, I’m not quite convinced. Local band, Low Shoulder, singles out Jennifer (Megan Fox) at one of their shows to be a human sacrifice, because they believe she is a virgin. One of the band members even makes a comment about how “that type of girl never gives it up.” Since Jennifer is actually not a virgin, she is instead turned into a man-eating demon. Punishment for not being a virgin? *That sounds familiar…
Then there were the constant close-ups of Megan Fox’s body. Next there was “the kiss” scene between Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried. Where did that come from? An attempt to draw in male viewers perhaps?

I wasn’t that impressed by the movie. It was funny though. We were constantly laughing at the crazy things that Needy (Amanda Seyfried) and particularly Jennifer said.

What do you think? Is “Jennifer’s Body” feminist?



*Jessica Valenti has written extensively about this topic. For more information see her book, “The Purity Myth”

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