Jurassic World, High Heels and Being Childfree
This is a writing sample from Scripted writer Erica Brunt
The main thing that bugged me about Jurassic World wasn't related to dinosaurs or science. It was the way women (lol, just kidding, woman. There was basically one female character that mattered in the entire movie) were depicted.
First up, the high heels: what the fuck? Am I supposed to honestly believe Claire, the female lead, was able to run through jungle/forest-type terrain without at least breaking one of her heels? She would be dead if she actually tried to do that. I get why they did that: she was Mrs. Businesswoman and needed a suit and heels, obviously. Because if you're a woman in any sort of professional environment, fuck you if you want to be even remotely comfortable. (And yes, Men's Rights idiots. Men are forced to wear uncomfortable clothing in professional environments too. I know! That's horrible! But you at least get to wear flat shoes.)
Heels aren't the worst part, though: they're a minor annoyance. What ticks me off is the treatment, albeit brief, of Claire's right to make her own choices regarding her body. While on the phone, she says "if I have kids" and her sister says "when you have kids. It's worth it blah blah blah" (basically). Such a small moment, easily forgotten by most of the audience I'm sure, that really got under my skin. In the childfree world, that's called "being bingo-ed", referring to the questions people who are childfree always get asked.
I can't figure out which is better, the one about new baby smell or "aren't you curious to see what they'd look like?" Let's all do stuff because we're curious. I'm curious to see what would happen if I punched all the people who don't want me to able to make my own decisions.
Jurassic World's director Colin Trevorrow made some really dumb comments about the film in regards to Claire. He said, "characters that are almost archetypes, stereotypes … are deconstructed as the story progresses" and "the real protagonist of the movie is Claire, and we embrace her femininity in the story's progression." In response, Anne Thériault wrote,
Most likely it has something to do with the final scene, where Claire apparently feels her biological clock ticking for the first time as she gazes soulfully at her nephews hugging their parents; she then shoots Owen a smoldering I-want-to-have-your-babies look before the two of them ride off into the sunset together. Apparently embracing femininity means rolling up your sleeves and getting dirty, while finally realizing that motherhood is your natural destiny.
Yep, pretty much. The characters aren't deconstructed in the least. And why do we need to embrace anyone's femininity? I admit, her character in the beginning was absolutely terrible. That doesn't mean she needs to be "softened" or "feminized." That wasn't her problem. Her problem was caring about her job too much and herself too little. Her sense of self shouldn't be based around her job or being a mother.
Trevorrow seems to really think he's made a film that isn't sexist… maybe he thinks it's even feminist. But that's so far from the truth. Thériault said it perfectly: "It's one thing to churn out bad sexist media when you're not paying attention, but it's quite another to hit so far off the mark when you're apparently giving it your all."
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