they’re not great people. They are violent, morally corrupt misogynists, and
not advocating for censorship. I am not saying that people can only make
ity as a creative choice. I’ll never know for sure until I grab dinner with him. Despite literally my entire essay, I want to make something clear: I’m
Fear and not get a twinge of discomfort for your fellow women in the audience would be just plain ignorant.
sometimes even full-on psychopaths. Something about Marty is that he finds the smallest ounce of humanity in these shitty characters, allowing the audience to still feel sympathy for them. But even so, what is it that draws him to depict characters that beat their wives, control who they are allowed to talk to, and have unrealistic standards for their virgin status? What is it that makes him want to portray shitty characters over and over again? What is even more concerning to me is the objective viewpoint in which he presents these characters. For instance, Raging Bull acts like an ethnographic case study on boxer Jake La Motta. We follow the story of his life, objectively and somewhat detached; a life where he happens to emotionally and physically abuse his wife (as well as other people who are close to him such as his brother played by Joe Pesci). But maybe it is much simpler than all that. Maybe he just thinks the psychology of these characters is intriguing, and he likes objectiv-
films if the protagonist isn’t flawed. In fact, I am all for depicting anti-heroes, especially those highlighting a range of complex human emotions. I just wanted to share the female perspective on these canonically important films. The problem isn’t necessarily the films themselves, it’s the lack of conversation around and acknowledgement of their prominent themes of misogyny. Oh, and by the way, it’s not just Scorsese. My favorite movie, like ever, is The Social Network, and it has by far the worst portrayal of female characters I’ve ever seen. But I still love it. Why? Maybe it’s because I unironically love Aaron Sorkin, or maybe it’s my internalized misogyny. Or maybe it’s both. My point is, we can have mixed feelings about our favorite movies, and we can still love them even if they are not perfect. I don’t even think there is such a thing as ‘the perfect movie’ (except for Dazed and Confused). But to watch Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, or even Scorcese’s remake of Cape
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