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"Why did it the main character have to be a girl?" and other tough questions about modern cinema

ScarJo as Lucy: Apparently, if you're really really smart, you can grow another hand
ScarJo as Lucy: Apparently, if you’re really really smart, you can grow another hand

So the other night I watched Lucy, a highly entertaining movie with an incredibly silly premise: Scarlett Johansson develops superpowers after a drug enables her to use more than the standard 10% of her brain. (Yes, I know, and the film’s director knows, that the idea we use only 10% of our brains is a myth. And that being super smart wouldn’t give you power over the laws of physics.)

Anyway, after watching the film I took a peek at the IMDb message boards to see if anyone had a way to explain one particularly baffling plot point. Someone did. But I also encountered this charming fellow, who started two separate topics in order to express his extreme displeasure that the main character was … a woman:

 I don't like how a woman can take out so many guys so easily.. image for user Comment-Here by Comment-Here » 2 days ago (Fri Feb 27 2015 07:42:13) Flag ▼ | Reply | IMDb member since September 2012 This never happens in real life, so why is it in so many movies? I find it hard to believe that an average size girl can beat up an average sized male.. ive never seen it happen.. why is that trope so popular?

 Why did it the main character have to be a girl? image for user Comment-Here by Comment-Here » 2 days ago (Fri Feb 27 2015 07:37:31) Flag ▼ | Reply | IMDb member since September 2012 I am tired of the movie industry trying to shove girl power down our throats.. most women dont even watch action movies.. it would be like making a chick flick that caters to only men.. wth?

Bear in mind that this is a science fiction film. In it, Lucy does many things that would be impossible for any human being to do, regardless of gender: she [SPOILER ALERT] causes a dozen men to collapse on the ground with a wave of her hand; she learns a language by overhearing three conversations on the street; she travels through time and meets the original prehistoric Lucy; she grows an extra hand just for the hell of it; and, oh yeah, she turns herself into a tiny computer with a USB plug.

Movie heroes and superheroes, most of them male, do impossible things in action movies all of the time. But somehow I never see any of these guys complaining that Superman can fly or lift cars off the ground or turn an entire lake into ice with his breath.

Even those movie heroes who don’t have superpowers regularly do things that would be impossible for any real human being to do. I mean, have you seen the Crank movies? Or, I dunno, Rambo? Or any of the other gazillion action movies out there with male stars?

Somehow Mr. Comment-Here — and all the other guys who put forward this complaint — have no trouble suspending their disbelief when it comes to male characters doing impossible things. But the idea that a mere “girl” could win a fight with a guy — something that isn’t impossible in real life —  breaks their brains.

When another commenter responded to Mr. Comment-Here with a snarky putdown, he offered this odd retort

 Re: Why did it the main character have to be a girl? image for user Comment-Here by Comment-Here » 1 day ago (Fri Feb 27 2015 19:04:15) Flag ▼ | Reply | IMDb member since September 2012 Post Edited: Fri Feb 27 2015 19:04:45 Omg.. I make a good point and you just sweep it under the rug.. you are the one with issues if you ask me  you probably let a woman take charge of your body, coward Re: Why did it the main character have to be a girl? image for user harveythepooka by harveythepooka » 1 day ago (Fri Feb 27 2015 19:27:37) Flag ▼ | Reply | IMDb member since July 2006 You are so overtly sexist there is no point in talking to you. If you don't want to watch a movie with a female protagonist that is your own issue, not the issue of the movie industry.  And why is the main character a woman? Why not? It doesn't matter either way who played the role just from the script and Lucy did nothing that a man or woman wouldn't have done in the same situation. Re: Why did it the main character have to be a girl? image for user Comment-Here by Comment-Here » 1 day ago (Fri Feb 27 2015 23:16:01) Flag ▼ | Reply | IMDb member since September 2012 Well like I said before, men are the ones who mostly watch this.. you can't really get into it if it is a girl... It seems so backwards to me.. are they trying to get more women to watch action movies (to make more money)? I hear it worked for making women play more video games

Looking back through Comment-Here’s previous contributions to the IMDb message boards, I discovered another, er, injustice he seems to care about a lot. In the forum devoted to the 1997 version of Lolita, he wrote:

 If Men can't sex Girls.. Then neither should Boys, end of discussion! image for user Comment-Here by Comment-Here » Thu Feb 5 2015 19:27:21 Flag ▼ | Reply | IMDb member since September 2012 It is illegal for underagers to send each other nude pics  Why is sex any different? It should be illegal for underagers to have sex with each others..  If I can't have sex with underaged girls then neither should boys, end of discussion!

Evidently the Men’s Rights movement is leaking. .

 

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markb
markb
9 years ago

And then there’s this fellow, who took exception to a scene in “Last Action Hero” where a teenage girl beats up a villain. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107362/board/thread/229012076?d=230662692#230662692

BritterSweet
BritterSweet
9 years ago

That last comment about about how if he can’t have sex with an underage girl, then neither should an underage boy amused me. It reminded me of a quote someone made to mock men who are against public breastfeeding: “If I can’t suck on a titty in public, then neither can a baby!”

BritterSweet
BritterSweet
9 years ago

I also remember reading tons and tons of complaints about the existence of female characters fighting in Dragon Age: Inquisition. There was an article on The Escapist on how it’s actually not implausible that a girl could wield a longsword.

sunnysombrera
9 years ago

@markb Holy sheeeet what is that guy’s problem?

fruitloopsie
fruitloopsie
9 years ago

Markb
I..huh? what? I can’t even.
http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110628103846/icarly/images/9/93/11vs2zmjpg.gif
Does he relize in movies that men get hot women like all the time? Men do absolute impossible things in movies like all the time? And he does know that women can do and already doing amazing things in the real world like All. The. Time?

He also contradicted himself, he says that women can’t be strong or intelligent as men but then he turns around and says that men have no power: Misogny in a nutshell.

I’ll let bugs bunny to the talking
http://youtu.be/C_Kh7nLplWo

Buttercup Q. Skullpants
Buttercup Q. Skullpants
9 years ago

Spaceships traveling faster than light, people surviving 30,000 foot plunges because they were able to somehow accelerate during freefall and catch up to a passing helicopter, entire alien fleets being brought down by Windows-based viruses….sure, seems reasonable.

A woman fulfilling her mind’s potential….nope, unable to suspend disbelief.

I guess it’s easy to think only men can be superhuman when you believe women are subhuman.

M.
M.
9 years ago

If Men can’t sex Girls.. Then neither should Boys, end of discussion!

I can’t help but read this bit of semi-English in the same voice as the first segment of this video (linked because I’m not embedding it; dramatic readings of really gross Internet comments, so TW for everything).

suffrajitsu
suffrajitsu
9 years ago

Let’s face it, a lot of the time, women in action movies are there so men can star are hot chicks contorting their bodies in spandex and high heels as much as for female representation. Look at the ’60s and ’70s, when cheapo exploitation films like Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! and Foxy Brown became cult hits. I think one of the reasons I loved Kill Bill so much was because the women in that movie actually *fight*–they get bruised, they hit hard, they’re at least a good half of the important characters, and they’re surprisingly not nearly as gratuitously sexualized as you’d expect (obviously they’re very attractive Hollywood actresses and there’s some fetish overtones at play with the Japanese schoolgirl and that one scene where Daryl Hannah wears the nurse outfit, but no boob armor or catsuits).

The “it’s impossible for any woman to beat up any man” thing is stupid for all sorts of non-sci fi reasons (studies of remains have found that pre-colonial Native American women were as strong as modern-day American men), but also, the underdog angle is really popular in action movies. Asian martial arts movies, for example, love disabled warriors (Zatoichi is blind, the One-Armed Swordsman, is, well, one-armed).

Trigger warning for extremely bloody (albeit awesome) violence:

Buttercup Q. Skullpants
Buttercup Q. Skullpants
9 years ago

The idea that guys will only watch movies with men as the main character is absurd. My sons love the heck out of Frozen. Twin #1 spends a lot of time building Lego models of Elsa (I think he might have a small heroine-worship crush) while Twin #2 loves to belt out “Let It Go”. They don’t care if they’re watching boys or girls, so long as there’s action, humor, cute animals, and good music.

I can’t believe Fox News is taking exception to the diversity of male roles in Frozen. They’re actually angry that the movie features men as villains, sidekicks, comedic relief, bumblers, and love interests – but no square-jawed prince who saves the day. Hey, get back to us when there’s a movie that allows *women* such wide latitude in their characters.

fruitloopsie
fruitloopsie
9 years ago

BritterSweet
“It reminded me of a quote someone made to mock men who are against public breastfeeding: “If I can’t suck on a titty in public, then neither can a baby!”
comment image

Lady Mondegreen
Lady Mondegreen
9 years ago

He “can’t get into [the story]” if the protagonist is female?

What an unimaginative, whiny little shit. Of course it’s never occured to him that there are more male protagonists overall in film and in literature, and women manage to enjoy narratives with male protagonists just fine.

He betrays his lack of imagination in his gender stereotyping, too. Who says women don’t like action flicks (Kill Bill!) and all enjoy romcom? (Romcom was a fine genre until 1972. I blame Peter Bogdonovitch.)

suffrajitsu
suffrajitsu
9 years ago

*so men can stare at, not “star are”, gah.

fruitloopsie
fruitloopsie
9 years ago

Frozen is what? Two years old? When is Fox News gonna…Let it go?comment image

Sorry I wanted to tell that joke.

katz
9 years ago
contrapangloss
contrapangloss
9 years ago

There was an article on The Escapist on how it’s actually not implausible that a girl could wield a longsword.

Hey! It’s been six years, but I used to do line drills in fencing with the replica weapons. And, then this one dude showed up to fencing club that one time with a whole bunch of blunted weapons and we all played with them!

Yeah, the fencing instructor (a dude) totally beat us, (my sister and I) but we totes were wielding longswords.

Longswords are weird, you all.

Like, legit: a single handed rapier can be just as long as a longsword; longswords should probably be named longpommels, because it was really more the grip that was extra long just to accommodate the two handed wielding.

…actually, weapon naming has always been a bit weird. I have a really cool book that talks a lot about how some of the same things were called all sorts of different things, and then attempts to make a coherent classification system that doesn’t depend on describing every single little detail to get over the whole shebang.

suffrajitsu
suffrajitsu
9 years ago

@Brittersweet and Contrapangloss: a friend of mine just posted a video on her wall featuring female longsword competitors!

http://www.nytimes.com/video/sports/100000003040466/inside-the-world-of-longsword-fighting.html

Sissy
Sissy
9 years ago

To be honest, I snark on action movies regardless of who the lead is. Then again, I usually snark on anything (that doesn’t cause trigger warnings and the like). MST3K can do that to ya. If I’m watching with one or both of my sisters, I’m usually in the “Where’s the bad sex scene? Let’s just get it over with.” mood.

Then again, I haven’t watched any action films or movies in general in quite a while. So I don’t know if they’re still hitting the same cliches.

“are they trying to get more women to watch action movies (to make more money)? I hear it worked for making women play more video games”

*sits on soapbox*

I didn’t need any “assistance” to play video games. I played video games BECAUSE I LIKED ‘EM. Still do, actually. Watched action films BECAUSE I LIKED SEEING PEOPLE KICK OTHER PEOPLE’S ASSES AND WATCHING SHIT BLOW UP*.

*When I was 16, that was true. Now I just laugh at stuff blowing up. Thanks, Michael Bay.

Heck, I still enjoy “Kill Bill” to this day. Maybe I should watch it again this week. No explosions needed for that one.

@weirwoodtreehugger:

Okay, I cracked up, too. That was hilarious.

mildlymagnificent
9 years ago

Welcome TakeThatHatOff.

Your Welcome Package awaits you at The Scented Fucking Candle link —>.

LaurelG.
LaurelG.
9 years ago

Ah, MRA contradictions…it’s unfair that men get drafted and do the dangerous/dirty jobs, but we can’t let women do them! Women are natural caregivers (and nothing else!), but they shouldn’t get any preferential treatment in custody! Feminists are ugly and unfuckable and also, oppressing us with their sexiness! Feminism keeps demonizing men as rapists and also, men can’t stop themselves from raping if you dress sexy/drink/whatever! Rape culture (the idea that women want to be raped/it’s okay to do so) is a myth and also, women totally want to be raped and it’s okay to do so! Feminists are NEVER willing to work with MRAs, so that’s how you know they’re unreasonable and also, don’t you dare agree to work with feminists who keep trying to find solidarity! Valerie Solanas was a nutjob but Paul Elam is fine! Rape is not a serious crime and why aren’t we prosecuting the women who do it to men? There is no pay gap and also, women just want mwn for their money! Women are soooo incompetent at, liek, everything and also, why haven’t feminists solved problems facing men?

contrapangloss
contrapangloss
9 years ago

@ suffrajitsu:

THAT’S SO COOL!

… that’s it. When I go to grad school, I’m getting back into swordstuffs. I’ve been missing it, and that looks fun. Not that épée wasn’t fun, back when I lived in a town with fencers, but there’s only so much “hit the hand” that one can take.

Dumpster Jedi
Dumpster Jedi
9 years ago

@ParadoxicalIntention — do you have a link to that study? It sounds an awful lot like a study I used to have a link to, but lost and now can’t find. I have been trying for ages!

Noadi
9 years ago

There was an article on The Escapist on how it’s actually not implausible that a girl could wield a longsword.

Exhibit A:
http://www.themarysue.com/samantha-swords/

ParadoxicalIntention
9 years ago

Dumpster Jedi | March 1, 2015 at 10:27 pm

@ParadoxicalIntention — do you have a link to that study? It sounds an awful lot like a study I used to have a link to, but lost and now can’t find. I have been trying for ages!

I don’t have the exact link anymore, but I can find some similar alternatives!

http://www.newswise.com/articles/boys-speak-up-girls-silenced-in-the-classroom
http://amptoons.com/blog/2006/11/16/gender-bias-in-the-classroom-do-teachers-give-boys-more-attention/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/yourvoice/classroom_talk.shtml
http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:394795/fulltext01.pdf
https://www.narst.org/publications/research/gender.cfm

alaisvex
alaisvex
9 years ago

@LaurelG,

That sums all of their contradictions up beautifully.

samantha
9 years ago

I have a question. Now, according to the above fellow, men are the ones who watch these fantasy action movies, so it is natural that they just cannot get into watching a female super hera character. Yet, women are assumed to be able to “get into” MALE super heroes. Because THAT is natural. Now for my question:

WHY??? How on earth does any of that make any sense?

Ok. That was, technically, two questions,