३० एप्रिल, २०२३

The complicated woman and the complicated man.

My son John comments on a NYT post at Facebook.

This is a variation on a point I've made a few times: The mainstream media present whatever is true of the woman as good. If the same quality were found to be true of a man, it would be presented as bad.

In this case — complicatedness — is something that — in a woman — feels intriguing and sophisticated. But what the hell is a "complicated man"? We're not wasting our time exploring his psyche. Screw him. He's an asshole.

But the complicated woman....

२६ टिप्पण्या:

john mosby म्हणाले...

He’s a complicated man, and no one understands him but his woman. John Shaft!

JSM

Dave Begley म्हणाले...

Neil Diamond is a Solitary Man.

A TV version of “Fatal Attraction?” Say it ain’t so!

Dave Begley म्हणाले...

Some one here wrote years ago, “Don’t fuck crazy.” Sound advice.

Jersey Fled म्हणाले...

Women are higher on the woke totem than men.

Xmas म्हणाले...

I believe the male equivalent of "complicated woman" is "sociopathic man".

Please don't tell me they are portraying the character that was played by Glenn Close in a sympathetic way.

boatbuilder म्हणाले...

"He's a complicated man, but no one understands him but his woman--John Shaft"

Chuck म्हणाले...

Damn. I had the notion, reading this post, that the Stones' album "Between the Buttons" (1967; their seventh U.S. album) featured on this blog post also contained what would have been the fabulously ironic "Stupid Girl."

Sadly, it was on "Aftermath" (the Stones' previous US album, a year earlier) that we got "Stupid Girl."

"Stupid Girl" (1966) on YouTube.

holdfast म्हणाले...

It’s pretty clear that the phrase really means “psycho bitch”. So on behalf of the male half of the species, were not envious.

Poor little boiled bunny.

n.n म्हणाले...

Life is but a baby, a fetus, a fetal-baby, a conception of mother and father, waiting to evolve.

RideSpaceMountain म्हणाले...

"But what the hell is a "complicated man"? We're not wasting our time exploring his psyche. Screw him. He's an asshole."

Look up Sigma male. And there's been a lot of press on this just recently. And yes, it has all been "Screw him. He's an asshole" type coverage. Don't they cover men any other way?

Sebastian म्हणाले...

"This is a variation on a point I've made a few times: The mainstream media present whatever is true of the woman as good. If the same quality were found to be true of a man, it would be presented as bad."

One of your best points. A thesis that follows from the general feminist axiom that women are special. Hence the special regard for women in media representation, the special case for depicting abortion uniquely among medical procedures as "women's decision," the special concern for women's feelings on controversial issues. Women are so special men want in on it.

MayBee म्हणाले...

It is amazing how much the media thinks women's egos need to be stoked. Glad JAC subtly called it out.

RigelDog म्हणाले...

I went to the NY Post Facebook you linked, because I was interested in seeing your son's comment and any follow-up comments. I couldn't get Facebook to display more than the few comments that they had curated out as the "best," and John's comment was not one of them...they were all complementary.

First time I haven't been able to keep scrolling to see all comments on a Facebook post, no matter how many there may be.

hombre म्हणाले...

Well, "It's complicated." As they say in tv series, movies, etc. - endlessly.

Metamorf म्हणाले...

The opening line from Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey:

"Tell me about a complicated man,"

Free Manure While You Wait! म्हणाले...

"If the same quality were found to be true of a man, it would be presented as bad."

Absolutely.

There's a great example on TV right now. Three women strut into a restaurant with a bottle of Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc with jaw-dropping confidence. If it we three men walking into a restaurant that way, they would immediately be thought of as wise guys. Possibly hitmen.

There's a split-second of four women walking like that in a promo for Yellow Jackets too.

In our society, women are lauded when behaving like a gang of ruffians. Men, not so much.

Free Manure While You Wait! म्हणाले...

"Well, "It's complicated." As they say in tv series, movies, etc. - endlessly.

The NYT definitely knows the intellectual level of it's audience. Folks who use news as entertainment.

n.n म्हणाले...

the special case for depicting abortion uniquely among medical procedures as "women's decision,"

Progressive liberal sects assert that women possess neither the dignity nor agency to unwind the mystery of sex and conception, and that girls groomed under social progress, can relieve the "burden" of the "splooge stooge" under a veil of privacy. You've come along way, baby, maybe.

James K म्हणाले...

This seems on-topic: The Hot Crazy Matrix: A Man's Guide to Women (six minute video)

Aggie म्हणाले...

Waitaminute....If that's the woman reprising Sharon Stone's role, well......it's not even going to be close. Sharon Stone looks better then her, now. Stone's appeal in that character was as a crazy-hot, crazy-dangerous highly-intelligent manipulative woman. This one just looks like a disheveled, neurotic pain in the ass.

boatbuilder म्हणाले...

John Mosby--LOL. I swear I did not read any comments and posted the first thing that occurred to me on reading the post. Great minds (who grew up in the 70's) think alike.

MayBee म्हणाले...

Aggie- Sharon Stone starred in Basic Instinct, and now stars in laying on the floor for Sam Smith on SNL. It was Glenn Close who starred in Fatal Attraction.

Robt C म्हणाले...

@Aggie
You're thinking of "Basic Instinct" with Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone.
Glenn Close played the psycho in Fatal Attraction.
But your comment stands nonetheless--the actress in the remake doesn't hold a candle to the original.

Bunkypotatohead म्हणाले...

I'd watch a movie of Lizzy Caplan peeling turnips for two hours.

Saint Croix म्हणाले...

The mainstream media present whatever is true of the woman as good. If the same quality were found to be true of a man, it would be presented as bad.

Althouse, do you think that feminism is to blame for this? I know there's a long history of "equality" feminism versus "difference" feminism. It seems to me at this point that equality feminists could and should morph into humanists, as Meryl Streep once suggested, before the mean girls jumped her and savaged her for betraying the sisterhood.

Have you see The Red Pill? That's a documentary by a former feminist, Cassie Jaye.

I'd love your thoughts on that, and on the men's rights movement generally. If you haven't seen it, you might enjoy her Ted Talk, Meeting the Enemy.

cdb म्हणाले...

You’re arguing that peak prestige TV, exemplified by the likes of “Mad Men,” “The Sopranos,” and “Breaking Bad,” is uninterested in exploring the psyches of “complicated men”? That’s an obviously nonsensical claim.