Why are we still more comfortable with violence on men over women?

[loves2read]

Bumping this thread up
Don’t think I posted to it when it was new—
But saw “Destroyer” today with Nicole Kidman in lead
Very rough, physically violent film (that looks very visceral) and she is not normally female lead you would think of for role like this—
Especially because she is not that young —not like “Far and Away” or “Deal Calm” in her early career....
She plays Sheriff Dept detective in LA area with background that leads to masochistic behavior

Tatiana Mazlany has smaller role—she also gives/takes violence but saw her in the show about clones and there was good bit of physicality in it—and she is younger than Kidman although supposed to be about same age in this movie...

[Suburban_Guy]

I disagree with the original theme, and just like the topic about the supposed decrease in smoking in movies, it is a subject that is not based on any facts.

I don't think there is any bias against showing violence towards women.

I recently saw a Netflix movie "Close" and the lead actress was involved in multiple scenes where she was brutally beaten and at one point almost raped. The camera did not flinch or turn away at all.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ydnNJBb7N4


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmtpE6ov2ao

[AFtrEFkt]

The OP is no longer a member of this site. Maybe Destroyer having its own thread is a better idea.

[bachslunch]

I’m not comfortable with violence on men, women, or animals in film, actually. Especially not when it’s explicit and/or gory. I avoid movies of this kind as a rule.

[ironpony]

I admit that the big end fight in X-Men and X-Men 2 when Wolverine was fighting the female villain, it made me really uncomfortable. Even if she was a villain and trying to kill him, inside I was screaming at Wolverine, "Boys don't hit girls!"

This is interesting. I was watching the movie Man On Fire (2004), and in it, Denzel Washington's character gets revenge on all the criminals who committed the crime.

SPOILER

After he tortures one for information, he will kill them and them move onto the next one, and kill them, and move up the chain. However, when it came to the one female culprit in the kidnapping, he let's her go after. But he kills all the men. Did he do this cause he had a female bias, and were the filmmakers worried the audience wouldn't approve if it was a woman?

But then again, in a show like 24, you see Jack Bauer killing women villains out of revenge at least twice that I recall, so maybe audiences are okay with that since 24 was popular?

[Taiko]

Originally Posted by ironpony

This is interesting. I was watching the movie Man On Fire (2004), and in it, Denzel Washington's character gets revenge on all the criminals who committed the crime.

SPOILER

After he tortures one for information, he will kill them and them move onto the next one, and kill them, and move up the chain. However, when it came to the one female culprit in the kidnapping, he let's her go after. But he kills all the men. Did he do this cause he had a female bias, and were the filmmakers worried the audience wouldn't approve if it was a woman?

But then again, in a show like 24, you see Jack Bauer killing women villains out of revenge at least twice that I recall, so maybe audiences are okay with that since 24 was popular?

I can't recall the Man on Fire scene but on 24 Jack Bauer did all the things we fantasize about our protectors doing, but not really wanting the government to do. I think the ultimate was him executing a child molester just to use his head to establish his cover.

[Ralph_Kirk]

Yes, we are, as a society, more comfortable with violence against men than against women.

That is a good thing.

[ironpony]

I don't think people actually have a problem with movie main characters killing women characters as long as they are villainous. Walter White did it in Breaking Bad for example, and no one complained, compared to him killing male characters. Or James Bond fans didn't mind when he killed a female villain, etc.