Good feminist documentary?
February 12, 2018 2:00 PM Subscribe
What is a good feminist answer to a documentary like "the Red Pill"? Same format please (documentary)
Recent is better, but doesn't matter too much. 3rd or 4th wave intersectional feminism is preferred. Must be sex positive and trans positive, if those topics come up. Preferably on a streaming service.
Basically, someone important to me is teetering awfully close to jumping on the MRA bandwagon. Since I was telling this individual a lot about feminism, he wants me to watch the Red Pill with him. I agreed (I get to relentlessly fact check throughout though). Since I have to watch the Red Pill, I want to show him an equally compelling film that demonstrates why feminism isn't about man-hating, and how he can benefit. Like I said, teetering awfully close to MRA territory, so he is quite sensitive to the plight of the "straight white cis male." He is also stuck on the idea that socioeconomic class is more important than gender, race, sexuality, etc, and gets defensive when privilege or the patriarchy comes up. He says he is open to having his mind changed, but he keeps getting very defensive and I might be making it worse. So, any documentaries that can do a better job of explaining feminism in a non-threatening way?
Recent is better, but doesn't matter too much. 3rd or 4th wave intersectional feminism is preferred. Must be sex positive and trans positive, if those topics come up. Preferably on a streaming service.
Basically, someone important to me is teetering awfully close to jumping on the MRA bandwagon. Since I was telling this individual a lot about feminism, he wants me to watch the Red Pill with him. I agreed (I get to relentlessly fact check throughout though). Since I have to watch the Red Pill, I want to show him an equally compelling film that demonstrates why feminism isn't about man-hating, and how he can benefit. Like I said, teetering awfully close to MRA territory, so he is quite sensitive to the plight of the "straight white cis male." He is also stuck on the idea that socioeconomic class is more important than gender, race, sexuality, etc, and gets defensive when privilege or the patriarchy comes up. He says he is open to having his mind changed, but he keeps getting very defensive and I might be making it worse. So, any documentaries that can do a better job of explaining feminism in a non-threatening way?
Whatever you pick, I suggest that you go with something narrated by a man or featuring a prominent male character, because this person may simply be incapable of listening to a woman. Misogynists see women as a collection of holes, and if one of the holes makes displeasing noises, they do not consider themselves obligated to listen. They may not understand or believe this about themselves, but it is true. A man needs to tell them some things.
posted by Countess Elena at 4:06 PM on February 12, 2018 [24 favorites]
posted by Countess Elena at 4:06 PM on February 12, 2018 [24 favorites]
Following up on Countess Elena's point, Justin Baldoni's TED Talk "Why I'm Done Trying to be Man Enough" is, I suspect, aimed at exactly this genre of dude.
posted by dizziest at 7:29 PM on February 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by dizziest at 7:29 PM on February 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
It's been a quite a while since I watched it, but I recall feeling generally positive about The Mask You Live In (mentioned above). I don't remember how it fared on sex positivity or trans issues. When I saw it it was paired with a panel discussion featuring Tony Porter who is interviewed in the film. Porter is the author of "Breaking Out of the "Man Box": The Next Generation of Manhood" and also did a TED Talk called A Call To Men.
posted by Secret Sparrow at 8:00 PM on February 12, 2018
posted by Secret Sparrow at 8:00 PM on February 12, 2018
Not meant to derail, but is the Red Pill worth a watch? and I don't know if it counts, but I would watch Human with him. It might serve to widen the scope of his life a wee bit beyond whitestraightmale.. the series is long, but they're pretty powerful stories.
posted by speakeasy at 10:09 PM on February 12, 2018
posted by speakeasy at 10:09 PM on February 12, 2018
I want to second the recommendation for The Mask You Live In which does a good job at presenting the case for how patriarchy hurts men, too. Also, while it's not exactly what you're looking for you may want to check out some videos by Contrapoints — She presents well thought-out rebuttals to a lot of the MRA/anti-sjw talking points but the style of her videos is edgy, irreverent and self-deprecating in a way that makes them more palatable to people who aren't already on board with the arguments.
posted by metaphorever at 10:33 AM on February 13, 2018
posted by metaphorever at 10:33 AM on February 13, 2018
Hbomberguy and Shaun also debunk MRA and alt-right youtubers and, like Contra, they're funny too.
posted by sukeban at 8:14 AM on February 14, 2018
posted by sukeban at 8:14 AM on February 14, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
Miss Representation
Killing Us Softly 4
Tough Guise
The Invisible War
The Hunting Ground
There are more than a few Ted talks
posted by childofTethys at 4:02 PM on February 12, 2018 [2 favorites]