MovieChat Forums > Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman (2008) Discussion > A Good Example of

A Good Example of

posted 16 years ago by Bzazi
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Female Chauvinism

This miniseries has many problems that I find to be increasingly commonplace in the contemporary "feminist" movement. For one, it portrays a very grim picture of men as slave-holders and the likes. While some men are like this, so are many women, yet try telling that to most modern "feminists".

After a while, the film descends into the depths of the all-too-common female chauvinism and man-hating. This is NOT what feminism is truly about. Feminism is about having women and men be equals, but much of this film, to me, seems to be more anti-man than pro-equality. The members of the first generation of feminism understood the difference between equality and man-hating female chauvinism. I feel that many people, however, do not and that this film does much to obscure true equity-based feminism with a combination of female chauvinism (which is just as bad as male chauvinism) and general man-hating.

For what it's worth, feminism is dead. It has been replaced by a group of man-hating chauvinists who don't seek equality with men (which was the goal, may I remind you, of true feminism) but rather to emulate the power structures which historically put men in a dominant position. They don't want equality, but rather they want a matriarchal society in which men are inherently inferior to women and women control things. This is NOT feminism, and this certainly is not a good philosophy.

I'd suggest reading both Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture by Ariel Levy and Who Stole Feminism by Christina Hoff-Sommers.

Beyond the female chauvinism and betrayal of true feminism witnessed in the film, I found that just judging by its artistic merits, the film is mediocre at best. The narrative style is long, drawn-out (yet with little purpose for doing so). It also borders on narcissism in many aspects, and it seems more like a vanity project done by a film school student than a serious attempt at making a documentary.

Overall, Flying is a mediocre attempt at making a documentary with a poor philosophy behind it.

[–] hakof 16 years ago

> The members of the first generation of feminism
> understood the difference between equality and
> man-hating female chauvinism.

That was certainly the case.

> For what it's worth, feminism is dead. It has
> been replaced by a group of man-hating chauvinists
> who don't seek equality with men

I think your analysis needs more nuance. Your assessment of feminism may be accurate for so-called Second Wave feminism, the classic feminism that grew out of the 1960s and 1970s, championed by Baby Boomers. However, Third Wave feminists -- Gen-Xers and Gen-Y/Echo Boomers -- tend not to have the hard edge to their feminism that their mother's have/had, and they don't hate men.

For example, many Third Wave feminists have no problem with being very feminine and being feminist. They do not think that "patriarchal society" is forcing them to wear makeup, wear a bra, shave their armpits, etc. They have no problem with being stay-at-home moms and being feminist. If that's their choice and makes them happy, that's their choice. They don't have to vote for a woman for president just because she's a woman. If they prefer a younger, more dynamic male candidate, they will vote for him.

Third Wave feminists feel that feminism should be about women being equal and about women having choices . . . so long as it's *their* choice (to work or not to work, to wear makeup or not to wear makeup, to vote Clinton or Obama). Second Wave feminists felt that they needed to sacrifice for The Cause. There was a lot of anger about the "glass ceiling" and the "boys' club," but that was a generation ago. Today's 20-something and 30-something feminists grew up being told they were as smart as boys. They grew up with boys and girls as friends. They went to college long after the Ivy League had gone coeducational. And they graduated into a world where there are plenty of top women CEOs (like Meg Whitman), women senators (California has two!), and women university presidents (half of the Ivy League).

"Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman" does NOT represent the state of young feminism today.

[–] hakof 16 years ago

I would highly recommend the article "Why Didn't More Women Vote for Hillary?" by Amy Sullivan, written for Time Magazine.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1812050,00.html

She develops the argument made in my previous post.

[–] C.S.Wood 15 years ago

I was about to make a similar topic until I saw this one. I'm all for equality, but this thing quickly boils down to a misandry-drenched rant. Granted, there are still many places in the world where women are oppressed in male-dominated societies, but this film isn't about those bad men as it is about EVERY man being evil and out to ruin all women. The main woman blames men for all of her problems, for not being married, for not having children, etc. And if she indeed had gotten married and had children I gather she'd blame her husband for ruining her life. But she says she doesn't want to get married then she's upset because she's afraid she will never be married?

One of the lines that stood out for me was "men change after marriage" as if women don't? Or the "I hated men so much" line, because if a man made a film like this with the genders reverse and talked about how much he hated women this would be deemed as sexist in a heartbeat. Obviously she has had bad experiences with men (she was seeing a married man with children?), but she never seems to take responsibility for why she is so unhappy and doesn't have kids. But does she really even want them? It seems she only wants them because she doesn't have them, and if she actually did have them she wouldn't want them anymore. She openly admits she is drawn to the wrong kind of men, but does she ever seem to do anything about it?

The main thing I came off of this thinking is that the main woman needs therapy. Her entire outlook on life and love has been shaped by her parent's terrible relationship and being sexually abused by her teacher. I seriously hope someone helps this woman or has helped this woman by now before it's too late for her to find happiness.

I think you can make a pro-woman statement without making an anti-male statement, but this wasn't it. If the film had spent more time focusing on the women who are actually being oppressed instead of babbling on and on about how evil every man in the world is this might've been a decent 2 hour documentary.

"Action is how men express romance on film." --Kurt Wimmer

[–] tetrahex 15 years ago

well the question is, was her parents relationship so terrible, or is that the lens she chooses to view their relationship through distorted by second wave feminist dogma she probably grew up in.

but yes she seems to put men in a position where they are damned regardless, her expectations are not achievable. perhaps this is the fault of second wave feminism, it ground everything in a narrative of grievance and set up failure.

wasn't she already in therapy for 20 years?

on one hand showing your life is brave.
i commend that.

but its hard not to be critical of what i saw.