A theater chain in Melbourne has cancelled screenings of Cassie Jaye’s The Red Pill in response to a petition on Change.org. Good news for feminists? No. Bad news.
As someone who’s writing critically about Men’s Rights activists for years, including many of those who appear in the film, I ask you to NOT support efforts to get the film removed from theaters.
Yes, the film (which I haven’t seen) looks to be a whitewash of some of the most noxious people in the world.
But if you’re interested in fighting against MRAs and all that they stand for, attempts to get The Red Pill removed from theaters don’t help.
I’m against this sort of thing on principle. But it’s also a very bad move practically. These sorts of campaigns give the film free publicity. They allow Cassie Jaye and her supporters to play the part of free-speech martyrs — especially ironic given the ongoing efforts of MRAs and fellow travelers in the alt right to silence women and feminists through harassment.
It’s exactly what they want.
So please don’t start petitions against The Red Pill, don’t sign petitions against The Red Pill; don’t support petitions against The Red Pill.
Let it sink into the obscurity it deserves on its own.
EDIT: As I said in the comments, this is such a boon to MRAs I would not be shocked in the slightest to discover that it was an MRA publicity stunt.
My advice is to give as little attention to the garbage screening as possible, mounting a huge protest will probably just get the film more publicity in the long run.
If it were me I’d just write/email the owner about the stuff filmmakers have said and the vile nature of the film, at least to let him know exactly what it is he’s giving a platform too, that’s worked in the past in some areas.
Honestly I don’t think there’s much we can do except point out the problems with the film and filmmakers as civilly as possible, because they will turn any negative reaction into proof that they are ~being oppressed~ by the matriarchy illuminati or something.
My strategy would be to petition the same owner to screen a film that debunks the points of The Red Pill, that way you can cite “balance” and detract attention away from The Red Pill, any other ideas folks?
@Naomi
I think you could explain your concerns and how the film being shown there makes you feel and maybe ask whether they’re aware of the content. Informing them of the message they’re sending by showing it without putting pressure on them to pull it is a fair approach, IMHO.
@Lauren
The difference between MRAs and feminists is that the former is an anti-woman, anti-feminist group while the latter is a movement that has put real time, effort, and energy into improving gender inequalities, including those that men face. We agree with some of the points that MRAs make, such as the argument that family court needs to be unbiased, that suicide rates (for both men and women) are too high, that men shouldn’t be treated as incompetent parents, etc. Where we differ is in both who we blame (MRAs blame women for these problems, while feminists blame our culture and the patriarchal system we live under), and what we do about it (the MRA does little other than rant online and steal funds meant for actual charities, while feminists do fundraising for actual charites, build shelters, help educate people, fight legal battles, etc. etc.).
So, while we agree that there are ways in which men are disadvantaged, that doesn’t make the MRA a good movement. A person can have a just cause but if they shit all over it and all over people who are even further oppressed than the ones they’re trying to help, they’re still shit people even if their intentions are good. And the guys she interviewed? They never had good intentions. We know them and if you read through this blog you’ll know them, too. They’re not good people and they don’t deserve a platform to spread their misogynistic views.