So I went to see Sandra Bullock in The Proposal. And I laughed. And I enjoyed Sandy B and Betty White. And I ogled Ryan Reynolds.
But also? I was troubled. The movie essentially argues that women will be happier if they cede all their power to men, and that’s kind of … icky. (And I know I’ve been talking about gender politics a lot recently, but they are always there, you know?)
For more on The Proposal, read how I break it down at NPR’s Monkey See blog.
6 responses so far ↓
1 Cora // Jun 26, 2009 at 1:18 pm
It’s also right there on the poster: he? Standing straight. She? Arched such that her boobs and ass stick out further. Unfortunately this sort of double-standard posturing – literally – seems de rigeur for movie posters.
2 InfoMofo // Jun 26, 2009 at 3:44 pm
I think you missed the point.
The point is not that women will be happier if they cede power… it’s that they will be happy if they keep running into a naked Ryan Reynolds.
(full disclosure, I have not seen this movie and am completely basing this analysis on the 4 seconds of the movie trailer that I kept rewinding over and over for about half an hour last saturday)
3 Mark Blankenship // Jun 26, 2009 at 4:15 pm
Point taken, InfoMofo. Though I think the subtle distinction is that women have to cede power AND run into naked Ryan Reynolds to be happy. Men, meanwhile, don’t have to cede power.
4 Amanda // Jun 27, 2009 at 2:21 pm
I haven’t seen the movie either, but the trailer really made me wonder two things. 1: Why did the casting director choose to pair two actors who look so obviously different in age for this movie? and 2: Why, instead of letting Sandra Bullock look her age, at which she remains quite beautiful, cake her with poorly-applied makeup? Blegh. I HATE being reminded that women in America aren’t allowed to age freely, as men are. There’s some gender politics for you.
5 Deanna // Jun 29, 2009 at 11:44 am
I think the point is that THIS woman will be happier if she doesn’t see “The Proposal.”
6 Ron // Jul 9, 2009 at 12:10 am
The thing that jumped out at me when I saw it is that Bullock’s character seems to start her metamorphosis only when she realizes that Reynolds’s character’s family is wealthy.
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