Why does a female masturbating in a movie inevitably turn evil?
You see this coming (excuse the pun) a mile away. Don't they believe we ordinary, non-evil chicks indulge?
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MovieChat Forums > Stoker (2013) Discussion > Why does a female masturbating in a movi...
Because God says masturbation is evil, and women are the root of all evil? Though, if your question was rhetorical, I wouldn't mind knowing the answer as well.
shareum i don't think normal people masturbate to someone being killed
i don't think this was a commentary on female masturbation in any way and i don't know why people need to relate everything to their sad little gender/race/sexuality wars.
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Why does a female masturbating in a movie inevitably turn evil?
Wow.
A long thread which goes off on many long tangents, but not even one poster has pointed out that the question above completely misrepresents what happens in the movie.
She does not first masturbate, and then later on "turn evil"
The scene was shot in a clever way so as to finally reveal her nature to the viewer.
ie up until then, we had only thought of her as being a bit weird. Her failure to report her uncle to the police for murdering the housekeeper was strange, but most of us probably thought that it was just an indication that she was too shy and repressed to communicate properly with outsiders, and/or that she felt a mis-placed sense of loyalty to the brother of her beloved father.
So, now she had been even closer to another murder (of Whip, or whatever his name was) we expected her to be very upset. ie even more frustrated by her detachment from society, and even more confused/conflicted by her desire to protect her relative
So, of course, we expected her to be crying. It was only natural. Who wouldnt cry in a situation like that?
When we found out instead that she was far from upset, she was elated, that completely re-positioned our view of her. Her silence had not been due to a powerlessness on her part, it was because she was excited by the possibilities her uncle's murderous habits brought her.
So the masturbation served a duel purposed in the movie. It (a) allowed us to mistake her breathing for crying and (b) gave a quick shock to the system when we realised what she was really doing, and why.
The same scene could have been done in a more PG way. Imagine, instead, she came home and lay down on her bed with her back to camera, shoulders heaving and apparent wailing noises. But as the camera panned round to face her, the viewer would realise that she was actually laughing exultantly.
I think the version actually filmed is much better than the PG alternative. But it was in no way trying to say that female masturbation leads people to "turn evil".
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You make some really good points. You examined the wording of the o.p. with an attorney's eye for detail, though maybe RabbitWithFangs meant it less literally. I agree with what you say. Of course, with words like "masturbating" and "evil" you can see how we got all worked up and followed many different directions, some of them quite interesting - it was a lot of fun, too. But, yeah, I think the masturbation just revealed to the audience India's natural tendency - what it was that turned her on - it wasn't showing it as turning her evil, but as a reaction to the evil inside - maybe the o.p. was just referencing the link between the two. India probably wasn't really in touch with it herself until her amorous encounter with Whip, but she did have some earlier inklings.
shareJiminy Cricket! I don't think anyone associated with the making of this film was saying that there's a 'cause and effect' thing going on here. Like a girl who entertains herself must be evil.
Spoilers ahead:
The scene was put in purely as character development - it was not in the least gratuitous, it was there only to tell us who she was, or who she was turning into: a disturbed girl who gets off on watching people snuff it.
As for other films portraying female masturbation in a negative light? I could give a rat's @ss what some movie has to say on the issue. They don't dictate to me what I do or how I feel about my sexuality. My Catholic upbringing got there way before Hollywood!
Everything I've ever told you has been a lie. Including that - George Spiggott
What, do you mean that good girls masturbate? My GOD!
I fart in your general direction.
My god. The feminist was so preoccupied with inequality that she missed the point of the scene.
Now I see why some people find their mindset annoying.