Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power is filmmaker Nina Menkes’ thought-provoking analysis of the sexual politics in (heterosexual, I should add) cinematic shot design. Part documentary, part student lecture, and using scenes from dozens of our favorite movies as examples, Menkes successfully argues that shot design perpetuates sexism and other ills across the world.
Movies such as Blade Runner, Do The Right Thing, Dressed to Kill, Eyes Wide Shut, The Avengers, and countless more, all contain scenes and camera angles where women are displayed as objects for the use, support, and pleasure of male subjects. Male and female characters are consistently filmed in very different ways. There are often unnecessary naked shots of a woman, shot in slow motion as the camera pans her body whilst she submissively does nothing. Nude shots of men are much rarer, and when they do occur, the man is usually being very active and macho, achieving results, eg: Magic Mike. The sexual value of a woman is generally prioritized over her character or dialogue. This happens even when the woman is the protagonist in the film – clips from Sissy Spacek in Carrie, Scarlett Johansson in The Avengers and Gal Gadot in 2017 Wonder Woman are shown to reference this. The visual language of the vast majority of cinema is there to satisfy the heterosexual male gaze. This is an outdated way of thinking and yet such objectivity still pervades new releases, even many of those by female directors. Cinematic dialogue and character have evolved significantly over the past fifty years for women, but shot design remains rather unevolved.
Referencing the seminal work of the 1970s and later feminist writers such as Laura Mulvey, as well as interviewing other female film directors and actors, Menkes explains how such patriarchal messaging and presentation of women subliminally can lead to sexism, abuse, and employment discrimination, particularly in the film industry. This is obviously less of an issue in queer film-making. Menkes isn’t calling for there to be no gratuitous nudity or sex in films, but rather that men and women are treated equally within the realms of shot design. Desire needs to be less about a subject/object scenario, and more about equal lust. Women need to look back at the looker. 95% of Directors of Photography are men and that too needs to change. Her research and conclusions are so obvious that it’s a wonder this issue hasn’t been properly documented before and will change the way you view a film. All film directors and viewers should watch this documentary. Time to level up.
Brainwashed, Sex-Camera-Power is now streaming on Kanopy & Kino now and then coming to iTunes, AppleTV and more on December 20th
Queerguru’s Contributing Editor Ris Fatah is a successful fashion/luxury business consultant (when he can be bothered) who divides and wastes his time between London and Ibiza. He is a lover of all things queer, feminist, and human rights in general. @ris.fatah
