tact n. small metal object with one pointed end, used for sticking things to walls
This afternoon, I bumped into a fellow GA in the Union on my way to my car. We talked a little, and he mentioned that he's showing a movie to his class today. Then he pulled Sin City out of his back pocket and held it up. With no warning, my mouth started to move, and I heard this come out: "You're making them watch that horrible piece of shit?" He looked--understandably I think--taken aback, so I tried to explain. After seeing the movie in the theater last year, Eric and I had at least an hour-long discussion (almost a fight) about whether it was antifeminist or not. The constant damsel-in-distress motif irritated me to distraction, and even the "strong" female characters were unconsoling, since they're all either hookers or strippers (feminist or not? not in this context, I think.) and their "strength" (lord knows, the only way to be strong is to be violent, like a man.) is offset considerably by clothing that turns them into sexual eye candy. On the other hand, the cinematography is wonderful, and I said that a few times as I fumbled to take back my unheeded overstatement. He offered to loan me the comics, insisting that those treat men and women more equally; I agreed to look at them but my reaction probably seemed lukewarm at best. As we finally turned and walked in separate directions, I offered lamely, "I hope your class likes it." And since then, my conscience has been gnawing holes in my stomach. I hate it when I'm insulting.
This afternoon, I bumped into a fellow GA in the Union on my way to my car. We talked a little, and he mentioned that he's showing a movie to his class today. Then he pulled Sin City out of his back pocket and held it up. With no warning, my mouth started to move, and I heard this come out: "You're making them watch that horrible piece of shit?" He looked--understandably I think--taken aback, so I tried to explain. After seeing the movie in the theater last year, Eric and I had at least an hour-long discussion (almost a fight) about whether it was antifeminist or not. The constant damsel-in-distress motif irritated me to distraction, and even the "strong" female characters were unconsoling, since they're all either hookers or strippers (feminist or not? not in this context, I think.) and their "strength" (lord knows, the only way to be strong is to be violent, like a man.) is offset considerably by clothing that turns them into sexual eye candy. On the other hand, the cinematography is wonderful, and I said that a few times as I fumbled to take back my unheeded overstatement. He offered to loan me the comics, insisting that those treat men and women more equally; I agreed to look at them but my reaction probably seemed lukewarm at best. As we finally turned and walked in separate directions, I offered lamely, "I hope your class likes it." And since then, my conscience has been gnawing holes in my stomach. I hate it when I'm insulting.
posted by Amber at 1:59 PM
3 Comments:
eh. it's stephen. I don't think he deserves much tact.
of course, I may be the most tactless person I can think of, so I wouldn't know much about it.
sounds like something adam would show
If the goal is to show something that will provoke discussion, it's probably a good choice--although sometimes the violence is gratuitous enough that it could distract anyone from the more thought-provoking aspects of the movie.
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