If anyone’s been to the movies lately, you’ve probably seen the poster or the trailer for Black Snake Moan, the new movie directed by Craig Brewer, best known for Hustle and Flow, which showed us just how hard it is out there for a pimp.
In the trailer for Black Snake Moan Christina Ricci plays a half-naked “nymphomanic” in the poor American deep South, who has just been raped and beaten almost to death. And she seems to spend most of the movie chained to the radiator by a crazed Samuel L. Jackson. But, wait, here’s the kicker: from the music and dialogue in the trailer, I think this movie is supposed to be a comedy.
I don’t like to judge movies before I see them (though I will say that the trailer for Black Snake Moan is quite horrifying). My problem is, I don’t think that I could stomach Black Snake Moan. Moreover, I’m pretty worried that after I fork out $10 to see it, I might wish I’d never supported this potential quadraple-threat of possible racism, misogyny, anti-sex-ness, and classism.
Just the film’s reviews makes me yak. The Rolling Stone review (one of the few bad reviews — yup, the critics seem to love this one) states that “the eye-filling sight of a mostly naked Christina Ricci, playing Tennessee white trash with her own spin on “she’s gotta have it,” is unassailable.” The Premier Magazine review starts by saying “Perpetually wide-eyed and mega-snarly bedraggled, Christina Ricci prowls through Black Snake Moan looking like something the cat dragged in. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be very grateful to the cat. (Whoza good kitty? Boo zha zha zha … )…” and goes on to say “Now, these days, chaining a woman to a radiator even if it’s for her own good! is all kinds of unacceptable. And Brewer’s self-imposed mission is not just to make you accept it but to make you like it.”
Now, who knows, maybe this movie is amazing. Maybe it inverts and brings new light to every single horrible stereotype about women who like having sex, black men and white women, gang rape, and violence against women. But I just don’t think my weak humourless feminist stomach can take it. Anyone wanna volunteer to watch it for me?
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two comments
Thea I'm with so you.
I watched the trailer and had no idea what to make of this film at all. In fact, I think I said "WTF" multiple times while viewing it.
I have wached a lot of movies that seemed to be marketed differently than their content and intent (V for Vendetta being one of the nicer surprises,) but I can't imagine I'd watch this film and be elated with it's overarching feminist message.
Benefit of the doubt? Maybe it is a statement of no extreme is a good extreme? Misguided morality oppresses women? Okay I'm stretching it?
Regardless, Thea, I accept your challenge and will go see it. And if it offends me beyond belief I'll have a freak out in the theatre and demand my money back, so I won't be supporting the quadruple threat.
One last thing - and I've been meaning to mention this for a while- Thea, congrats on the pending release date of The Same Woman with Invisible!
Posted by Stacey May
February 27, 2007, 2:20 PM
Hey I just found this blog while trying to find an interview I read with Christina Ricci (in the hair dresser, so don't remember the magazine), because she had an interesting take on the film, which I was glad about.
She said that she basically hated the "everything is hotter down south" tagline because of the sexual message it gives, and berated the male designers/audience for marketing/viewing the film in this way. She was pretty feminist about it really, and it made me smile. I can't remember her exact words but it was along the lines of "men typically will only want to watch this if they think it's about sex, and they will get something sexual from it". It seems her view of it is that the film is supposed to be quite shocking rather than entertaining in it's content, like a film that actually makes you think rather than numbs your brain.
She actually said something against that misogynist view of it all!
I might go and see it as I have a cinema pass, but I don't know if I can pluck up the courage to sit through it really. The website is disturbing enough!
Posted by Grace
June 17, 2007, 3:57 AM
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