I think I've told you before-- men are absolutely afraid of women. I think that drives about 90% of male behavior toward women including and especially all the misogyny and (watch me re-connect to our actual point) the way men portray women badly on the screen.

I agree that we ought to watch Jennifer's Body-- I find the reviews intriguing, too. However, I suspect that the level of blood and gore is way beyond what my poor old sensibilities can tolerate. So, I don't know about that one.

I see you've been watching Murder, She Wrote. I hadn't ever really thought about Jessica Fletcher as a feminist icon, but now I think I'm going to mull that one over. I watched it sporadically in my youth, though the casting of the California coast as Maine along the with the weirdly elastic nature of Cabot Cove's small towniness were always a distraction (is it bad that my enjoyment of these things is so often interrupted by minor features of the narrative).

She's single, independent, has at least two men pursuing her in the course of the series. Though of course all of the coupley subtext is treated in the standard "people over forty are basically dry and sexless" manner of twenty-six year old television executives who still can't bear to think of their parents getting naked together. But her lack of a partner is not treated as any sort of ongoing deficit in her life; she's not Mary Richards.

Fall TV Ladies

So, in our first attempt to watch To Have or To Have Not, a lasagna exploded (which was definitely not my fault for a fun change). Because of this, I haven't really been pushing to watch it again, but it is on the to do list. Also, we have finally signed up for the beloved Netflix, so I am prepared to respond to any claims about anything, if you give me enough time to work on it.

On a side note, I have been half watching a lot of tv online while I do lots of French translation about the chemical reactions that take place to darken cider. The point of this is that all of the things I am about to list you could go seek out yourself. But, these are some of my early notes on what television is doing with women so far this season. On a side note, I also feel that maybe television has the opportunity to do a better job with women than film, if only because of the privilege of time.

1. Something bad has happened to Pam on The Office. Maybe it is just me, but Pam as the unreachable object of Jim's affection was kind of quiet and subtly awesome. I love that the writers are offering her some upward mobility, but the dynamic between Pam and Jim as a couple goes something like this. Jim makes joke. Pam makes joke about how stupid Jim is. Jim says something sweet about Pam. I am not sure where I am going with this, but Pam actually reminds me of Kate Gosselin, and I think that is weird.

2. Glee- So this show is supposed to be fresh (and I will happily admit I enjoy it), but I feel like the underlying message of this show is that all women are crazy. Different sorts of crazy, endearingly crazy, but crazy all the same. Basically, there are a lot of colorful leads in this show, but the heart of it is two guys, both trying to navigate their women. What about this is fresh?

So, 30 Rock starts up next week again, and we all know that Tina Fey is awesome, but I hope it picks back up from next year.

Two other thoughts (Its been a while since I posted, so i have a bunch of things milling)- We should watch Jennifer's Body. I bet this movie sucks, and you will hate how affected the dialogue is, but I feel like I need to see it, because almost all the reviews I read were basically like "How dare these women think that they can make a movie?" I hate that.

Ok, I promise I will watch my Hawks movies this weekend. It makes me sad that Lauren Bacall doesn't scare Bogey. If my ballroom dance class has taught me anything, its that men are really afraid of women. I like that and I kind of think you should be. I apologize at the sort of frantic/schizophrenic nature of this post, but you have to start somewhere.

More Hawks Women

I watched To Have and Have Not, another Hawks film and one that the extras on Rio Bravo referenced extensively.

THoHN has a couple of interesting things going on, not the least of which is it clearly wants to tap directly into the same vein as Casablanca. But while many of the elements are virtually identical (amoral expat has to decide whether or not to help the Free French), the love story makes it a whole other thing.

I can see why Rio Bravo critics often refer back to it. The first kiss in THoHN will be recycled almost exactly in Rio Bravo-- except that Lauren Bacall does not scare Humphrey Bogart. But like a good Hawks hero, he has A Job To Do and so he keeps moving. She is tough, vulnerable, but imo perhaps a bit more submissive than Feathers. But she's also a bit more audacious and funny, so it's a toss up for me. And Bacall sings like a man.

I'll be interested to see what you think.

The Thing (from another world) was directed by a man who worked on Hawks's crews for years, and Hawks is his producer. Lots of film historians argue just how big a hand Hawks took in directing it and it's easy to see why because it plays just like a Hawks film.

And once again, we have a tough woman who has a history with our hero-- he took her out once and she drank him under the table, then pinned a note on his unconscious body and had him shipped back to his base, to the great amusement of his men. She does none of the usual hysterical screaming, getting in the way, or requiring rescue. And at the end of the movie, in a typically Hawnsian non-sentimental way, she basically proposes to him while his men tease him and he realizes (good-naturedly) that she has him completely overmatched.

It occurs to me that all three of these women display the emotional side associated with female characters, but by embracing that side of themselves without getting all sentimental or weepy about it, they actually end up emotionally stronger than the men, who are busy putting a lid on their emotions so they can Do the Job.

Hawks is often cited for male characters who are all about the job, doing what they are supposed to be doing, regardless, and that's what makes them strong and admirable.

So perhaps the short answer is that in Hawks's world, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, and a woman's gotta feel what a woman's gotta feel, and as long as neither of them make a big deal out of it, things work out fine.

But I'll be interested to see what you think.