Ruin your favourite books/films with a spot of feminist analysis

[ElephantsAndMiasmas]

Got thinking about this on another thread where I was wittering talking cleverly about the problems I have with Bridget Jones's Diary (the book, the problem with the film is that stuffy faced plonker Firth).

One of her boyfriends is a total cheating dickhead, obviously. But the "nice" one, Mark Darcy, is incredibly patronising towards her, repeatedly "rescuing" her because he wants to fuck her. Which is all well and good, but whereas in Pride and Prejudice (the origin of BJD) Darcy has a lot of respect for the female protagonist, which she earns by being smart, witty, standing up for herself etc, BJD removes that whole side of her. When she stands up for herself it is something she later apologises for.

Anyway - anyone else want to join me?

I watched the first five minutes of some bollocks called "Down to You" last night. Had to turn off after the first five minutes involved a) discussion about one of the (deeply unattractive) male actors being a porn star, and how his female co-star had liked him so much she was coming back to his room for more (unpaid) b) a competition between three blokes as to whether or not they could get certain girls back to their rooms - the prize? Why, sushi of course.

I'm sure I've seen one performance of Measure for Measure where the silence is interpreted as her NOT accepting the Duke...

Also, has anyone else seen a godawful film called "Diva". There are female police which is a nice change (and they don't get killed or anything), but the Diva in question is an opera singer who sleeps with Our Hero after he steals her dress and stalks her all over Europe.

"Diva" was a French film from long long ago, but yes, I saw it. In my memory it was more complex, about a teenaged boy who's obsessed with a black American opera star. What he does is steal the dress in which she performed, then hires an African prostitute to have sex with him while wearing it. It's more about her singing though--he secretly records her, and then lets her find out out about the recording and I can recall her saying in horror, "C'est un vol, un viol" (it's a theft, a rape).

There are Asian gangsters out to steal the tape, and a god-like figure who makes everything turn out happily. That man has an assistant, a young Indochinese girl who's a sort of Ariel figure (Shakespeare not Disney) who also gets involved with the hero, or maybe not, I'm not sure.

How about "One Sings, the Other Doesn't"? Kind of self-consciously feminist French film from way back.

Haven't seen that one but YES that is exactly what happens in Diva. The young girl (I thought maybe Vietnamese) never actually gets involved with him, just hangs out being self-consciously sexy all the time.

that's right - about the singing/rape of her voice. Despite the fact that he "stole" her voice, which she didn't want recorded, and the dress stealing/prostitute antics, they still end up together at the end.

Other than that, incredibly dull film so please don't bother!

I am only at the end of series two of Deadwood. I would highly recommend it.
I knew Joanie and Jane were going to get together, they're nice girls aren't they?