Women’s Fiction and Chick Flicks Need to Disappear
Men have themes, women have gender.
“I didn’t like it. It‘s too much of a women’s movie.”
This comment came from a friend of mine after watching Late Night, the 2019 Mindy Kaling-Emma Thompson movie.
“What do you mean ‘it’s a women’s movie’? Because there are two women as the protagonists?”
“No, it’s just the type of movie it is.”
I’ve heard this argument so many times, with “chick flicks” and “women’s fiction” in the bookstore. Put two women in a movie, and it’s a women’s movie. Put two men in a movie, and it’s just a movie. Maybe even an Important Movie, one of those that are about society. It’s pure sexism.
“So, is Saving Private Ryan a men’s movie?” I asked my friend.
“No, it’s a war movie.”
“What about Hobbs and Shaw?”
“That’s an action movie.”
“How about Wonder Boys?”
“It’s a movie about writing.”
There’s always a qualifier that makes the movie different when it deals with men. Men have themes, women have gender.
Men can speak to universal themes, women can only speak to women.
