Misogyny In The Film "Witnesses"

[Everybody Wang Chung]

Reading the reviews for DCP's magnum opus I noticed there were a couple of reviews that mentioned there were no positive female characters in the film. I've also wondered why the women characters are either portrayed as scared, helpless, evil, conniving or silly and brainless.

From the first scene that shows David Whitmer's wife helplessly cowering in fear, to portraying Lucy Harris as an evil mastermind and portraying all of Lucy's friends as gossipy, shrill and silly, DCP's film drips with misogyny. I don't know if there are any women in the entire film with any redeeming qualities. Even Emma Smith is portrayed as a one-dimensional character written to only serve Joseph's needs as a prop.

Why did DCP portray the women as silly and/or villains in his film? Is that really how DCP views women? Much has been written about DCP's misogyny and maybe the misogyny in Witnesses is merely a reflection of DCP's deeply held biases?

Regardless, I hope that 'Six Days In August' doesn't portray Emma as a one-dimensional villain who tried to wrest control of the Church from Brigham Young to her sons, but I'm not holding my breath. If DCP is actually able to get funding to make "Six Days In August' it will probably also be filled with misogyny.

You can do better DCP. You can be better. It's not too late.

[Gadianton]

I don't think there's really much choice. Either blindly support Joseph Smith or be a bad person.

By the way, doesn't "Six days in August" sound like the title of one of those NC-17 sex movies? If that's what this is, it might be an upswing in accuracy.

Probably wouldn't be a bad idea in the future to leak potential film titles and get some reactions.

[Moksha]

RFM had some good thoughts regarding how Brigham Young was able to shapeshift into a replica of Joseph Smith and back within the course of a speech. Can't remember if it involved Brigham being an extraterrestrial, but that is probably covered under the advanced "meat of the gospels" course at BYU.

Is relegating women to background parts a form of misogyny?

[Everybody Wang Chung]

I don't think there's really much choice. Either blindly support Joseph Smith or be a bad person.

By the way, doesn't "Six days in August" sound like the title of one of those NC-17 sex movies? If that's what this is, it might be an upswing in accuracy.

Probably wouldn't be a bad idea in the future to leak potential film titles and get some reactions.

Yes, "Six days in August" does sound kind of porny. I heard DCP's initial choice was rejected, "Tapir Boookakke: A Haunting in Delmarva."

[Kishkumen]

I have warned my father-in-law that I will be pressing him to go see “Six Days In August” with me. He chuckled, and he said he would try not to fall asleep during this one as he did during Witnesses.

There definitely should be a film that focuses mostly on women heroes of the Restoration.

[drumdude]

South Park did a pretty good job

https://youtu.be/Hm3mDatFpNE

Lucy Harris Smart!

[Kishkumen]

South Park did a pretty good job

https://youtu.be/Hm3mDatFpNE

Lucy Harris Smart!

That one is hilarious. Of course, Don Bradley demolished it as a historical narrative.

[Physics Guy]

Beyond just avoiding outright misogyny, a further standard for artistic representation of women is the Bechdel test. It’s still a ludicrously low bar, when you state it: do any two named female characters ever discuss anything other than a man? The test is passed if such a conversation, even a very brief one, occurs anywhere in the entire work, even once.

It is disturbing how many books and films fail to pass this minimal test. Stories that fail the Bechdel test are usually not notoriously weird, either, the way any story would be that never even once had two men discuss anything besides a woman.

[drumdude]

South Park did a pretty good job

https://youtu.be/Hm3mDatFpNE

Lucy Harris Smart!

That one is hilarious. Of course, Don Bradley demolished it as a historical narrative.

Interesting. I haven’t read his new book but I did find this:

https://youtu.be/1smM8sRMCRU

[drumdude]

One of many examples of the Directors not so subtle misogyny:

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeters ... -name.html