Near the top of the Men’s Rights subreddit front page today: a post with 160 upvotes sporting the sarcastic title “Because male film directors (85% of total film directors) getting 87% of the funding is discrimination.”
The post is reference to the charge, made by feminist activists, that the fact that the Icelandic Film Centre — which funds and promotes Icelandic films — sends nearly 90% of their funding to men just might be evidence of discrimination against women.
Pshaw, the Men’s Rightsers contend, the Icelandic Film Centre is just being fair. Because, you see, 85% of Iceland’s film directors are men. So of course they should get roughly that percentage of the money.
Because, as Reddit MRAs (and evidently a lot of studio executives see it), women just aren’t cut out for the manly world of directing.
Indeed, in the minds of some Reddit MRAs, filmmaking ability is tied to one’s possession of a penis much in the same way that baby-having ability is tied to ones’ possession of a womb. Mocking the faux quiz in the billboard above, one commenter writes:
Another commenter suggests that the feminists need to stop their whining, because evidently in the imaginary world in which he lives money only goes to those who truly deserve it — at least as long as neither the government or criminals are involved. (Never mind that the whole point of the Icelandic Film Centre is to give government money to filmmakers.)
Another helpful fellow suggest that women shouldn’t worry about the fact that he overwhelming majority of directing jobs go to men because, hey, non-film-directing women can always resort to lady jobs like nursing, or art curating, or, you know prostitution!
Problem solved! And all it took was a little bit of male ingenuity. Give yourself a hand, fellas!
I always wonder if the red pill movement would have been called something if Lana Wachowski had come out as a trans woman before or during the release of the Matrix.
Called something else I mean.
Snuffy:
The red pill has lady cooties? Day made!
weirwoodtreehugger-The Diarrhea Pill (expect the phrase would be ‘have you NOT taken the Diarrhea Pill?’), since that is what started the whole thing (according to Paulie) in the first place? I always found it ridiculous that they used a reference from a movie like the Matrix as inspiration for their ‘philosophy’. I found it even more ridiculous when I discovered that the whole thing started because Paulie did not want to take his diarrhea medication. Hilarious!! I wonder how many ‘redpillers’ know about this? Maybe we should tell them?
PS
I also wonder what the actors and produces think about the film being used in such a way by the MRAs. Do they find it ridiculous as well, or are they pissed that they are not receiving any royalties? The whole red pill and blue pill thing WAS their idea after all and is their intellectual property! 😀 Maybe they can sue for copy-write violation?
Hambeast, Social Justice Hoo-Ha Glitterer-The red pill has lady cooties?! YAY! Take that MRAs!!
http://www.gifvault.com/img/2014/3/dance-gif-684-16806-hd-wallpapers.jpg
I read a very informative article about this very issue a few weeks ago: http://www.laweekly.com/news/how-hollywood-keeps-out-women-5525034
Interesting points (but please check the whole thing, it´s very good and just more prove these MRA iidiots don´t know what the heck they´re talking about):
1 – in film schools there´s a even representation of men and women, and their work, according to the teachers and such, have the same level of quality; also, when they go out to present their work in festivals and such, men and women are just as like to receive awards, etc.
2 – It´s AFTER this stage where the problem begins. Male directors who are awarded start to receive invitations for work in big studios, etc; for female directors, however, it´s another story altogether: they may be top of their class, receive awards in festivals and such, but that is not followed by invitations. It´s like they´re not there.
3 – It´s funny how women are considered instable, and emotional, and yet, everybody has horror stories to tell about crazy ass male directors screaming, throwing objects, cursing and abusing actors and stuff (ex Iñárritu and David O. Russel). They don´t lose their credibility and keep getting work. NOW JUST IMAGINE if it was a woman instead…. It would harm said female director immediately. And of course it would strengthen the argument women are not stable or reliable… (while men with the same behaviour sale through unscattered, as the male fame as serious, and reliable, and sane)
4 – Even when a woman goes against all odds, get to direct a movie and said movie wins big awards, said woman is still not garanteed to receive other job opportunities (ex: Debra Granik, from Winter´s Bone). Men, on the other hand, keep receiving opportunities even when they fail.
Obs: Guys sorry my english, not native and also not a fan of revieweing my texts #)
@SVM
Just as a minor note, we don’t use the word “Crazy” here for a few reasons (a lot of regular commenters are mentally ill, and allowing it tends to result in trolls using “Crazy” to simultaneously excuse misogynists’ disgusting behaviour and demonise all mentally ill people as violent), but thankyou for the excellent link! =) Hope to see David make a post out of it, because that was really interesting.
@baroncognito the kiddo that I know born of transman is currently three years old. A little bit young, but just you wait! I do know of a 14 year old born of an agender person, though, if that’ll do? Is 14 old enough for memesploitation?
oh and dont get me started on people telling doctors “youre SO smart” and nurses “you’re such an angel!” Because it sure as hell wasn’t the doctor who noticed your blood pressure starting to tank, initiated the rapid response sequence, got you stabilized, searched your history for a cause and had a short list of plausible causes when the doctor arrived…and then if that poor doctor is FEMALE? Heavens above! ::clutches pearls::
Not to mention that they can create a widely-recognized masterpiece only to get snubbed at the Oscars and not win anything except Best Original Song. Yes, I’m still pissed about that.
Their amazing math skill sure is mindblowing. 3+3=5 and all that.
Regarding curators being 60% men – a job category that is 40% women will be perceived by these whiners as feeeemale-dominated.
And that’s real.
@katz
May I ask what you’re referencing? Because I don’t keep up with Oscar. (I think they’re kinda stupid IMO.)
Selma.
@katz
I didn’t know Selma was directed by a woman. There was some minor fuss about it then it died out, but, you know, Lincoln was praised for months. (Fun fact, Lincoln has a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, Selma has 99%, juuust to get your blood pressure higher.)
So lets see:
Men get 87% of the funding because 85% are men because men get 87% of the funding because 85% are men because men get 87% of the funding…….
C
Phew – I thought I was never going to stop.
Err – that last C was typed as ctrl C abort (with the ctrl and abort in angle brackets) looks like I found some forum code that ate my ctrl and abort)
Seems also no edit facility – a good geek reference ruined.
PS – Hello everyone, I’m new here, in case it wasn’t obvious.
🙂
If 85% of the directors are male, and they receive substantially less than 85% of the funding, then that would be discriminatory.
Hi, tricyclist! Nice to meet you. 🙂
If you haven’t already done so, you may proceed to the sidebar and click on the scented candle to collect your welcome packet.
Thanks FM – read and (mostly – I think) understood.
hi david – love your blog! however, i (among others) am uncomfortable with the perpetuation of this notion that penis automatically equals man and that vagina automatically equals woman. in the future, could you please be more inclusive of your transgender audience? <3
When I read what redditors say stuff like the “other industries where women dominate lIke prostitution”, denial of the wage gap, and “edgy joaks” about not hiring women because of sexual harassment suits, I think “you want me to starve to death.”
I am unmarried and without children, so the ‘choice’ argument is irrelevant. While people I am dating would disagree, r/MR posters would say that I am “ugly” and that I am too old and fat to go the housewife route. No disrespect meant to homemakers of all genders.
r/Mr want me to be unemployed, or underemployed in something low paying. They would be raging if they worked in retail instead of engineering. Is it harsh to think that? Am I taking this too personal?