"The Love Witch" think piece

As for other means of entertainment such as film, I was so delighted to discover that Anna Biller's "The Love Witch" was now available on amazon. When I had first discovered screen grabs of the teal-eyed main character, Elaine back in 2016, I was surprised To discover that the movie was of this decade and not a product of the 1960's. With costume silhouettes historically accurate as well as the production/film value being highly reminiscent of that era, it's difficult not to imagine it actually being filmed decades ago.The visuals are not only an absolute camp dream and the set design, especially captivating with minute attention to detail but, the story line is incredibly refreshing and original. It is thought provoking and touches on topics of the way women are systematically conditioned to play an enigmatic and unconditionally supportive role in their partners life without ever asking to receive. in "The Love Witch" Elaine states that she takes what she wants from men and not the other way around. Which is

This led me to think about the "dream girl" trope and how many women today try to emulate that role some unknowingly. However today it has more to do with someone's "aura" and appearance rather than actually submitting to male needs and desideratum. More women are But, isn't this a way of conforming to the male gaze and therefore preforms more of a disservice to yourself and a play into the patriarchy? When we we truly know when we are liberated in our appearance and not just satisfied with what we portray ourselves to look like because we are "preforming gender". The in depth discussion that Anna Biller had with Criterion channel answered all these questions and more. It gives insight of why is the image of Women are not up for discussion on their right to their autonomy. This film conveys usage of feminine sexuality as a means of escape and empowerment.

this film is different in they way that most films depicting women are which is often disinterested in the lives of its own characters and only interested in how they look while they're fighting, dancing, and having sex - these roles depicting beautiful women are merely incubating feminine aesthetics for the sake of masculine consumption.

"A lot of the women b-pictures and melodrama of classic Hollywood, for instance, were great for women and contained both the male gaze and female narcissistic gaze. Knew that these films were positive for women, and what [Laura Mulvey's Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema] did was to focus my goals on recreating this earlier type of cinema that could be cinematically pleasurable for women." - Anna Biller

This idea could be found throughout feminist theory: the argument that it's not enough to elevate females, but also femininity. and that empowering women in masculine roles such as fighter, adventurer, and typically the macho stereotypes all reinforces masculinity as the legitimate sphere of power. In "The Love Witch" emphasis is directed towards Elaine and the power she possesses through female sexuality, as almost a means or gateway to eventually get a man to fall in love with her.

"The reason I became interested in visual pleasure as a concept is because of Laura Mulvey’s challenge (I took it as a challenge, anyway) to create a cinema of visual pleasure for women. That essay made me think of all of the things that are pleasurable for me, and really freed me from trying to copy things that are current or that other people are doing, especially all of the macho, violent, nihilistic, or even minimalist work that has been so popular in my lifetime. It’s such a personal thing, what gives me pleasure, and I enjoyed the illogic of combining all of these different kinds of pleasure into a movie. It seemed a bit naughty to work like that, especially since working from my fantasies makes my films so odd sometimes. But it’s working from a kind of truth"

the actress who plays the role of Elaine has stated what makes the role so empowering

SAMANTHA ROBINSON: On What does it mean to me to be a beautiful woman?

"Someone who is kind and genuine and whose inner beauty radiates outwards. In Hollywood, to be a beautiful woman, you will be simultaneously objectified and glorified. You will be praised and gain attention for your beauty, which is of course addictive, but it will come with a price. You may not be taken seriously or even be considered for the better roles because of your beauty. You may also be expected to draw in viewers by exploiting your sexuality.

For me, I know that there have been moments, wherein playing a sexual character, that I have felt vulnerable with the attention I elicited - whether from crew-members, viewers or others - as I am really quite shy. There is often no immediate separation from what you look like and how you feel. I hope to be fortunate enough to continue work in projects like The Love Witch, where women are not objectified, but exposed as multi-faceted characters whose complexities and issues are presented; furthermore, where being glamorous and feeling beautiful is empowering."

I think that it is empowering for some women to see these characters because it implies a shift in stereotypes and disturbs gender normalcy. To see a lady kill is just not what is expected and to see an unhinged behavior is mainly associated with a male protagonist rather than a leading lady. Which is why films like Gone Girl seem to be so popular.

"We are socialized through movies to feel that masculinity is fine for everyone to have, but that femininity is weak, degraded, and laughable."

In a blog post from Biller's website, I found an interesting perspective on the era of the 1970's women's lib movement. Like how sex workers would be shamed and dubbed as anti-feminist work. This also argues how this liberation movement encourage the natural look and how power was in refusing societal expectations of beauty when in reality, it was stating that a woman's demise lies in her femininity, that there is no power in being feminine, it is debilitating to "wear makeup" or "miniskirts" because it is seen as "offensive" or associated with lacking morals.

"The destruction of glamour was portrayed as something women wanted, and although this is partly true, it’s more complicated than that. It was true that feminists in the ‘60s and ‘70s burned their bras and demanded to be equals with men. And it’s true that feminists stopped shaving their legs and wearing makeup to show men that they were not objects for male consumption. But this is mainly because men had turned what had formerly been a source of pleasure for women, or at least a neutral reality—their femininity—into a tool for their oppression, and thus harmless items women used such as lipstick suddenly became symbols of patriarchal oppression. Feminists had learned that men were so blinded by the physical presence of females that they tried to take visual pleasure away from men as a form of resistance, a strategy that only led to the demonizing of feminists and the glorifying (i.e., increased objectification) of women who continued to act and look overtly feminine. So women began to be divided into two camps: the ugly, hairy, ridiculous feminists, and the dumb, ridiculous feminine women. These stereotypes were represented in mainstream movies such as FOUL PLAY (1978) and in a barrage of Playboy cartoons lampooning feminists and women’s libbers. Movies featuring sexualized, stupid, powerless women proliferated, even on mainstream television, in the early 1970s. Part of the reason second-wave feminism became such a strong movement is because of the explosion of explicit and violent movies objectifying women. This was also the period in which Laura Mulvey coined the term “male gaze” to refer to the barrage of movies in which women could no longer locate themselves as subjects."

By using the word feminism so often and indiscriminately, we are erasing feminist discourse. The over-use of the word feminism has rendered it entirely meaningless as a serious political topic, making it easier and easier for everyone to think of it as just a trendy subject or a buzzword rather than the very fabric of women’s lives. This is an effective way to kill a political movement, and it’s unfortunately working.