I went to the movies with a guy last night and as we were talking in the parking lot we watched all the other movie goers exit. We ended up trying to guess what movie they had all just left. He couldn't figure out what movie it could be because there was a mix of guys and girls. I suggested Wolverine and he scoffed at me. "Girls interested in superhero movies. Puhhhlease." (Ok, I may be paraphrasing here.) I felt insulted and proud at the exact same time.
In an age where women are still "the" demographic to try and get to the movies, studios and apparently the average man still think that all women want to see are biopics, dramas, and romcoms. They specifically advertise certain movies to females based on certain advertising gimmicks. The best and most ridiculous example in recent years would be Steven Soderbergh's Magic Mike which featured a montage of Channing Tatum and the rest of casts' expertly toned bodies doing things we can only dream of to other women. In reality the movie was a gritty, almost documentary style story of one man's realization that there is more to life than booze, drugs, and women while another falls prey to the same lifestyle. Most women I talked to hated the movie, minus the 18-20 minutes of ridiculously realistic dance routines of the male strippers.
Now, I know most of you are going to call me a hypocrite. Yes, the main reason for me going to see that movie was my boy Channing and his expert dance moves. However, I knew the movie wasn't just going to be about that and I really enjoyed it. As a female, my tastes are not limited to gushy proclamations of love. I can find humor in a lewd joke just like any guy. Why do guys and studios pigeonhole women into this category?
As a girl, if you like superhero movies you are placed into the hot nerd branch. A girl that likes action movies is put into the tomboy branch. If a girl likes lewd comedies, she is instantly one of the guys. And if a lady likes a romantic movie, she is forever the girly girl. There is no in-between.
I know that I've used my "hot nerd" cred, or let's be serious, geek chic title to get into a conversation with a guy. It's a great in and most guys think it's cool that a girl likes action and/or sci-fi movies. Some guys only see "girly" movies because they are forced to. If a guy tells me he really liked The Notebook, I have a hard time believing him. Should we really question what a certain genre of movie says about you? I like to see what a person's favorite movie is because it is more revealing than a whole genre. Most of my friends are up to seeing any kind of movie; are we the minority in a majority of women who only want to see a love story? I can't believe that but there hasn't been much evidence otherwise.
My night ended well; my wide variety of movie genres impressed the guy. I wear my geek chic badge with honor. Even if I am an endangered breed of woman, I would rather be open to other possibilities.
Except foreign films. I definitely don't have time fo' that.
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