I'm another lurker coming out of cyberspace (actually Aotearoa New
Zealand). I saw all the Star Wars films, and watched one of the revamped
ones, and the element I came away with was the NUMBER of women. There seem
to be about four in the whole movie universe - Skywalker's hapless aunt,
Leia, the rebel general, and I think there was a one-second glimpse of some
(possibly female) alien singers in the spaceport bar scene.
No other women pilots for all that death star canyon swooping, no women
techs, no women jedi knights. I assume they reproduced in tanks. There
are several movies I can think of that put a neo-feminist like Leia in a
world outrageously more male-dominated than it needs to be, and act like
the world can function with that imbalance.
When I mention that to non-SF, non-feminist Star Wars fans, they have
never noticed it.
I also heartily agree with Marina about the dynamics between Leia and the
flyboy, and I don't plan to go see Event Horizon after reading this thread.
Jenny R
> This Spring, me and my German friend Susanne decided to go and watch the
> new "enhanced" version of the _Empire Strikes Back_ at the theater. First
> of all, my friend fell asleep about 15 minutes to the end. Second, the
> only thing that left really big impression on us was how sexist was the
> film. Starting from the fact that Prinsess Leah always weared this long
> dress which must be hard to walk in, let along fight, while the two guys
> were bravely battling villains of all sort. When they got captured, no
> one tried to tie her hands like the other two, obviously, not considering
> her any threat. Every time operation of the ship became more difficult
> that usual, she would get scared and give her pilot seat to the ape guy.
> Finally, the way Harrison Ford's character treated her was totally
> outrageous. Especially the scene where he forcibly kisses her. At first,
> she is resisting, and then realizes that she actually "liked that". Of
> course, it did not look exactly the same as rape, but it gave pretty much
> the same message - that a woman never knows what she wants and using
> physical force is exactly what she's waiting for.
>
> Of course, this might be a culture difference, since I did not grow up
> being told that _Star Wars_ was the best movie ever made. But I really
> think that what seemed cool in seventies, sometimes does not look like
> that at all anymore. Be that special effects or interpersonal relations.
> This may also be the reason why I cannot watch old Star Trek, in spite of
> the fact that everybody says it is better that New Generation.
>
> This is the problem with _Event Horizon_, I think. Most of its ideas
> are way past their expiration date.
>
> Marina
>
>
> On Thu, 28 Aug 1997, DAVID CHRISTENSON
> wrote:
>
> >
> > What's odd is not that the women characters in Event Horizon are so
rote
> > , but that I've somehow come to *expect* more interesting women
> > characters in my science fiction movies - Sigourney Weaver, Jody
Foster,
> > Mira Sorvino, etc etc. So maybe we really have come a long way from the
> > John Agar/Doug McClure days, and it's the *exceptions* that I notice.
> > Comments?
> > --
>
>
> "Femininity is code for femaleness plus whatever society
> happens to be selling at the time."
> Naomi Wolf
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