Have you heard of “misandry”? If you read un-moderated comments on feminist websites you probably have. Misandry is the theoretical inverse of misogyny, so a systematic prejudice against and hatred of men. In a world chock full of systematic prejudices and hatreds, this is maybe the ONE form of oppression that doesn’t exist. Misandry is the unicorn of the kyriarchy: it isn’t real, but people still won’t shut up about it.
Because misandry is bogus, I know I can’t be a misandrist. But I really, really didn’t like Foxcatcher, a widely acclaimed film, and in my efforts to articulate why, the best I’ve really got is, “Ugh, men.”
Foxcatcher is very serious meditation on men and masculinities, male relationships, and the white male experience of the class system in America. And I am so fucking bored with those subjects, even when they aren’t presented with a deliberately slow pace, sterile tone, and distracting amounts of face putty.
And I KNOW that masculinity is a feminist issue, and that the narrative of male greatness that shapes the neuroses of Steve Carell’s John Du Pont and Channing Tatum’s Mark Schultz is a byproduct of the patriarchy. I also feel that as a feminist I should also have some interest in whatever this movie was trying to say about the psychosexual component to their relationship. (Have you ever noticed that a lot of wrestling holds look like sex positions? Because Foxcatcher would like to make sure you are aware of this. Really, absolutely, 100 percent clear. WRESTLING LOOKS LIKE BONING, YOU GUYS. DUDES BONING. IN A GAY WAY.)
But I’m just so boooooooored by it. I’m tired of movies that are all about dudes, and movies that act like their characters’ very dudehood is the most interesting possible thing about them. I wasn’t planning on commenting on the controversy regarding Foxcatcher‘s departures from the facts of its true crime story, but I do think it is worth noting that John Du Pont’s schizophrenia was not included in the film. Maybe they were just trying to avoid the hoary cliche of mental illness as a catalyst for murder? (So they went with the incredibly novel repressed homosexuality motive instead… hm.) Or was mental illness just not MANLY enough of a subject for Foxcatcher?
One of the first movies I reviewed for Bitch Flicks was Moneyball, also from Foxcatcher director Bennett Miller. It is another movie that is almost entirely about dudes. And at that time, I said:
Which is fine! There are stories, stories worth telling, that are just about men. (Likewise, there are stories worth telling that only involve women, but it’s hard to get Hollywood to bankroll those.) Telling a story about men in a men’s world isn’t inherently sexist.
Hmm, 2012 Robin sounds a lot mellower than 2015 Robin.
But I ALSO said in my Moneyball review that “I think it is fair to subject whatever scraps of portrayal of women we get in these male-dominated films to a slightly higher scrutiny.”
Well, this will be impossible with Foxcatcher, because it has exactly three female characters: 1) Vanessa Redgrave as Du Pont’s Ice Queen Mom (another example of the cutting-edge psychology Foxcatcher prefers to exploring the actual diagnosed condition Du Pont had), 2) Sienna Miller as Mom Jeans, and 3) The Maid.
Wait, I misspoke when I said there were three female characters (and not because one of Dave Schultz’s kids was a girl). There are three women (and one girl) in Foxcatcher. There are no female characters.
Which, like 2012 Robin said, is maybe OK. And maybe 2015 Robin IS a misandrist for finding Foxcatcher’s fascination with masculinity boring at best and annoying at worst. (No, I’m not. Misandry isn’t real.) But I need a movie by and about women STAT as a palette cleanser. Please offer suggestions in the comments!
Robin Hitchcock is an American writer living in Cape Town who does not actually hate men. In fact, she lives with a man, works with men, and even allows men to ride in the same elevator car as her.
This article resumes perfectly my thoughts when I exited the theater, but I’m not the most articulate person so I couldn’t quite explain what bothered me about this film to convince my dad (who was with me) it was bad. So thank you for this I really enjoyed reading it and that I’m not the only one who was annoyed by this film and its overdudeness.
Look at that, a bunch of white females crying about trivial bs. BTW you girls already have everything dedicated to you:
http://www.cultural-misandry.com/female-only-programs/
Yet a movie “about men” gets the manhating white girls (aka feminists) to angrily write on their blogs about how angry they are at men and anything that has to do with them, movies included.
I broke my new years resolution of sorts in going to see this movie as I wrote just last week that I, too, am sicking of consuming pop culture about men. http://scarlettwoman.com.au/2015/01/26/catching-up-on-women-friendly-media/
Look at that, a bunch of white females crying about trivial bs. BTW you girls already have everything dedicated to you:
http://www.cultural-misandry.com/female-only-programs/
Yet a movie “about men” gets the manhating harpies panties in a twist.
Big Driver, Black Rock, Lovely Molly, Excision
I tweeted you, but then deleted them and decided to post here instead. I understand why you didn’t like it. As a woman who grew up with wrestlers, I might have a biased opinion of it though I would not call myself a wrestling fan at all. In fact, I’ve always said that I hated wrestling. But, when I heard what Foxcatcher was about, I thought the story was so interesting that I could not resist seeing it. And hearing that Steve Carrell was going to play a dark, serious character was even more intriguing to me.
I do think you missed pointing out that this film is about a particular kind of masculinity that is related to wrestling. Wrestling isn’t exactly a popular sport, as you can see from the film. Within the male sport world, it’s not nearly as well watched and supported as football or baseball for example. The Olympics has even contemplated removing it even though it’s an ancient sport with lots of history.
Yes, it is another white man’s (or men’s) story, I agree completely, and I understand how you would be sick of that. I am too. But, as someone who also thinks about gender a lot, I felt that the film showed how sad and lonely some male conditioning and masculinity can be and is. It didn’t glorify masculinity or maleness at all.
You’re right that it was about men, but I disagree about it not having any female characters. I do believe Du Pont’s mother was a character and she was a key person in his life. She was portrayed very accurately to who she really was. You could see why Du Pont was the way that he was. You could see why he wanted her approval and recognition so much, and why he was obsessed with wrestling (a working class sport that did not match his mother’s upper class approval). His mother favored her horses over her own son. Yes, Du Pont had a mental illness and he also had a traumatic childhood. They might be related. No, his mother was not in it a lot, but I thought she was in it enough to have some understanding of where Du Pont might be coming from.
As I mentioned earlier, I am also sick of the white man’s story, but I still find myself drawn to some of them and I think that’s okay. What’s not okay is that white male stories dominate over other ones, but I think to hate this film only because it is about a white man’s struggle is a poor reason. We can be sick of the dominant culture but, Foxcatcher, as an individual film, is a good one that is based on a true story that has not been told in this way before and it is very well acted.
TIL the stories about white men can’t exist or feminists cry oppression.
You really sound like a bunch of whining Jan Bradys “White men, white men, white men!”
If you don’t like it – get the money together and make your own movies without white men – and in the process incur the financial risk associated with such a venture. Stop trying to control what other people do with their money, their business processes and their entertainment.
Equality is you getting off your ass and being enterprising to create the market you want that other people will spend money on to support.
Take a look at the world around you. People other than white men are actually doing this. You can too. But you don’t. Because its easier to complain and get people to cater to your whims.
Misandry does exists and is pervasive, this article being a clear example of it. Your disclaimer merely reinforces it.
Men of color are also sick of white women telling the world ‘misandry’ doesn’t exists. We have a lot of Ivy League social justice activists running around with boat loads of privilege acting as gate keepers to keep other identities marginalized in accordance with their dubious self serving social theories that marginalize race and class to keep focus on a myopic gender dynamic where men are always to blame. While men of color fill what has been the worlds largest prison system for decades we’ve yet to see that issue get as much attention as trivial concerns like ‘body image’ or ‘cat calling’.
Even white men who have make up an astounding 70% of all of America’s 40,000 suicides each year don’t have enough lobbying power to get an issue like that pushed to the forefront while the the mere 1200 women who die due to intimate partner violence have an army of lobbyist looking out for them. The power dynamics feminist claim to exists clearly aren’t representative of which identity groups get attention for their problems. The only thing apparent today is white women sit at the top of our ‘victim’ pyramid and women’s activists via the media fully exploit their privileged position of receiving disproportionate attention.
It may very well be that this just isn’t a very good movie. Since the main character is Channing Tatum, one can probably conclude this without ever even viewing the movie. I am in agreement with the author in this probability.
I am in complete disagreement with the author with regards to the prevelence of misandry. Misandry is mainstream in the United States, one cannot watch TV shows or view advertisements without seeing men held in contempt, even modern Disney movies for children teach female children to hold men in contempt. It is only misandrists who think misandry doesn’t exist, because they do not criticize their own thoughts and actions as they do others.
A good test is to simply swap the genders in this article. Where the author refers to men, ask what the response would be if a man referred to women in the same manner?
If a man concluded his article with this, what would people think of him?
” is an American writer living in Cape Town who does not actually hate women. In fact, he lives with a woman, works with women, and even allows women to ride in the same elevator car as him.”
If a man wrote this, people would probably think he is an asshole, and a misogynist, not some noble crusader.
When a woman writes the same thing, with the sexes swapped, reasoning people should reach similar conclusions.
Thank you for recommendation. I will watch it.
And yup, many people (men and women) dont’ care if there are “people” who would go mad with happiness if they see a photo of a man murdered.
You are not misandrist because you didn’t like a movie.
Even you know that is ridiculous, don’t pretend to be stupid, it’s not necessary in your case. So don’t worry, be ok with only being a bitter idiot as you don’t prove why misandry doesn’t exist.
Perhaps Foxcatcher is misandrist itself because it’s all related to male gender stereotypes such as wrestling, honor, “boys don’t cry” and shit like that. As a male, I puke all that up.
Oh look, another misandrist hit piece, femsplaining why misandry doesn’t exist.
Is there supposed to be an actual movie review. With what is said here, you could have just watched the trailer and made almost all of your complaints.
As far as the disclaimer about living with a man, working with men, and riding in elevators. Replace man with child and men with children, and many child abusers could likely say the same thing. Silly.
The author of this article clearly has never done anything as difficult as wrestling. Any guy who wrestled even at the high school level knows those matches can feel like the longest two minutes of your life. Just as men do the majority of difficult physical jobs like coal mining and arc welding , we also make up the majority of those who study the hard core sciences and engineering, yet most scholarships are now for women. Good luck with your liberal arts and sociology trained work force!!!
If people like this author would get off their butts and maybe clean houses or sew jeans instead of “writing” for a living after Daddy put them thru a journalism program, they might understand misandry. It is partially exemplified by a world which will have your group , men ,who do most of the work, yet get few of the resources or support.
Men do the majority of the tough work our world needs done, yet are more likely to suffer addiction, depression, suicide, homelessness , murder, or any of the horrid things life can throw our way, HELLOW- MISANDRY . Just wait until your kids can’t afford to buy EVEN a tiny house because there are no men left participating to build them and you will get an answer to the feminist question”are men really necessary “?
Men build suspension bridges, women choose colors.
As a black man I am really tired of white women saying misandry does not exist, this whole article is a pure example of misandry. Not a very nuanced review of the film at all, more like PC whining for
Another privileged lady. Get over it. By the way the film sucked not
Because of it’s man centric topic it was just boring. Films about all humans if done well can be compelling stop discriminating against white males they are people just like anybody else with stories to be told.
I’m torn about misandry. I find that many men are quite misandrist. In fact, these men who self-quarantine themselves from society at large and call themselves MRAs or MGTOW are the absolute worst misandrists men will ever encounter. If you’re a man who practices a certain level of heterosexuality, these misandrists will call you ‘white knight’, ‘mangina’, ‘simp’, ‘beta’, ‘phaggot’, and various other abusive, man-hating terms.
Ironically, these misandrists are always inflicted with misogyny as well! It is equally misplaced. Pardon my usage of the word “bitter” as a verb, but trust me, it works here: they bitter about how men comprise most suicides, most job-related deaths, and most homicides — and find ways to claim it is women’s fault (or at least not men’s own fault). They further bitter about how men “made everything in history”, but neglect to mention how men also prohibited women from being allowed outside the kitchen until pretty darned recently in history. (Women contributed to the war effort, to modern computers, to all facets of science, but their efforts were claimed or co-opted by men.)
Men bitter about conscription (which feminists try to abolish), men bitter about serving bravely in war, yet b!tch to high heaven when women try to do it too. They complain that women do not gravitate toward STEM fields, yet when women do try to work in STEM, men become abusive to the point of bullying those women right out of any STEM-related job. Self-fulfilling bitter. It’s like they want to claim victimhood and victory on every single Bingo square in life! Everything can be twisted and contorted until men’s sins/actions/behaviors are women’s fault. This is not just patriarchy (as you point out), it is more correctly the Kyriarchy — as the most privileged men (white, cis-het, Xtian, etc.) also have worked hard to keep men of color down, not just women.
Luckily, these awful, awful men only comprise a small sliver of males, and that tiny 1% of men who incessantly bitter on about women always go by “MRA” or “MGTOW” — “Misogynists’ Rights activist” and “men got thrown out (by) women”.
I guess I’ll give this movie a try if it comes up on Cinemax’s free movie weekend in the future. I’ve always love Steve Carrell, would love to support him in a non-funny role for a change.
Do you not fucking realize that this story is about the lonliness of masculine conditioning? In what way, shape, OR form does this file even BEGIN to put masculinity in a good light?