Gender Politics

When watching movies, especially ones about male strippers, I don’t always look at the politics that they contain. Therefore, reading this article brought me a new way of viewing movies. One thing I never particularly focused on when watching a movie was feminism. I think that the article is completely right about the male strippers in Magic Mike XXL, I believe that they are perceived to be so self-confident enough to not be bothered by the “gay complex”. I deeply appreciated this change due to the far too commonly accepted idea that any form of emotion or relational complexity is a sign of both weakness and being feminine. I think Magic Mike XXL, much like the article proclaimed, did a fantastic job creating a new persona in film. Women have stronger rolls then normal while the men are both manly and compassionate. Along with that being said while reading the comments on the article one particular quote stuck out to me by Sophie Gilbert when she said, “it’s a narrative structured entirely around the objectification of men and the veneration of women…”. Although I have not seen the movie and do not know for myself if this is 100% accurate it would seem to make sense due to the first article in which Gilbert is responding. I would say that I don’t believe that even though this is a change in what most films portray it is a considerably positive one. It would be very difficult to create a movie without objectification of men that is based upon the idea of male entertainers, but still it does not justify the objectification at all. Gilbert also claims that the movie can be empowering for women too and I’d agree with her. I think that this change is over all one that doesn’t negatively affect either gender because the male entertainers within the movie that are not being casted into a negative light. I feel instead that this article showcases the goodness of the movie as a whole and appreciates the directional change that films like this have taken a step in. I appreciate the characters as a whole especially once described by Gilbert, who gave a far more detailed analysis on the movie than the other author. Gilbert also created a great comparison when she said, "it’s a reversal of the typical Cinderella story" which is something that I can totally compare the movie to. By reading Gilberts comments I  can now see such an importance politics within movies create.