Three Hollywood women -- Glenn Close, Nicole Kidman and Heather Graham -- got into the political action this week each on a different issue.
Nicole Kidman went to Capitol Hill to talk about violence against women. No matter what she has or hasn’t done to her face Kidman, for many years, has taken on this really, really important issue. We all know how cool it is to deal with refugee issues and children’s issues (and they are so important and worthy and need people bringing attention to them desperately) but it takes serious guts to focus on women’s issues and violence against women which Kidman has. She has my eternal gratitude for her work on the issue. She testified yesterday before the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee and acknowledged that Hollywood contributes in some way to violence against women because women are portrayed as “weak” by Hollywood.
Weak is usually an understatement in big Hollywood films. Absent and silent is more the norm.
She went asking for an increase in the UNIFEM budget and clearly know her issues saying:
“In the real world, the laws go unenforced and impunity is the norm,”
Kidman: Hollywood probably contributes to violence (AP)
Glenn Close is talking about mental illness and with her sister Jessie she appeared yesterday on Dr. Nancy’s show to promote the new project Bring Change to Mind. Close appears in a PSA with her sister trying to blow the lid off the stigma associated with mental illness.
Here’s what she wrote in a Huffington Post piece.
Whether it is Norman Bates in Psycho, Jack Torrance in The Shining, or Kathy Bates’ portrayal of Annie Wilkes in Misery, scriptwriters invariably tell us that the mentally ill are dangerous threats who must be contained, if not destroyed. It makes for thrilling entertainment.
The original ending of Fatal Attraction actually had Alex commit suicide. But that didn’t “test” well. Alex had terrified the audiences and they wanted her punished for it. A tortured and self-destructive Alex was too upsetting. She had to be blown away.
So, we went back and shot the now famous bathroom scene. A knife was put into Alex’s hand, making her a dangerous psychopath. When the wife shot her in self-defense, the audience was given catharsis through bloodshed — Alex’s blood. And everyone felt safe again.
Yet when it comes to bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress, schizophrenia or depression, an uncharacteristic coyness takes over. We often say nothing. The mentally ill frighten and embarrass us. And so we marginalize the people who most need our acceptance.
Here’s her talking about mental illness on The View.
Heather Graham in her ad from MoveOn.org for a public health insurance option
Yay! I don’t always go to see her movies, but I respect the hell out of Nicole Kidman. I’ve seen posts about her Washington address all over the internet today, so it’s definitely getting attention (as it should!). So often things as basic as “Don’t rape” and “Don’t hit” are seen as so basic that they don’t need to be repeated, but clearly the state of our world proves that they DO.
As for Close, her take on the ending of “Fatal Attraction” needs to be heard as well. Has anyone else read “Backlash” by Susan Faludi? She details the extreme metamorphosis the story took from screenplay to film (mainly that the husband was originally the “bad guy”), and how that change is so symbolic of anti-feminist backlash.
I haven’t checked for any updated lists on this in the last few weeks, but now this post made me wonder if Kidman was amongst those who spoke out against Roman Polanski since that’s such a high-profile, Hollywood-related case of violence against women.
“We all know how cool it is to deal with refugee issues and children’s issues (and they are so important and worthy and need people bringing attention to them desperately)…”
How am I supposed to take this? Are we not supposed to deal with refugee or children’s issues? There are plenty of women in Hollywood who speak out on different issues, why criticize their choice? I say, to each her own.
Ms Kidman is to be commended on speaking out on the effect Hollywood has on societal violence. However, she might want to take a closer look at the research before she makes any more claims that her own work is not part of the problem.
“We all know how cool it is to deal with refugee issues and children’s issues (and they are so important and worthy and need people bringing attention to them desperately) but it takes serious guts to focus on women’s issues and violence against women which Kidman has.”
Melissa, I’m also surprised by this comment. To me this reads like a passive aggressive criticism of actors who have found their “calling” in raising awareness of the plight of refugees and the exploitation of children. So do you believe that Kidman has more guts than Angelina Jolie or Ashley Judd or Maria Bello or Julia Ormond? Why should there even be a ranking?
Please don’t trivialize these populations and their supporters by implying that these actors and others are only involved because it’s the cool thing to do and then follow up with a by the way what they do is important too but just not as gutsy as what Kidman is doing.
Ok. I think I need to clarify a little. I really wasn’t trying to put women on a higher plane of opression or to pit the Hollywood women who do good against each other. What I was triyng to say (which I probably did not say as well as I should have) is that we still live in a world where to speak out about gender issues, especially violence against women, is still SO HARD. I see the press that Angelina Jolie gets every time she goes out (and a lot of that has to do with her celebrity and her relationship with Brad) but I don’t see the press when people (ie celebs) go out and talk about gender violence. That’s what I was trying to say.
Hope this clarifies a little.
I got what you meant, Melissa.
I’m glad for activism regarding human rights and women’s rights…I get annoyed over commercials asking me to help animals/pets, when so many pets have it better than humans in L.A.
I got what you meant as well. It’s been the case for decade after decade that if a woman is going to speak out about violence or dangers, it has to be For The Community, not for herself; it has to be in the traditional realm of women or her anger/strength will be invalidated. For example, a woman who is pissed that her mechanic is fixing her headlight wrong will be written off as a bitch, while a woman who is pissed that her husband sullied the carpet seems to have a leg to stand on (even if it’s still not taken that seriously). A woman telling the world to give a damn about children is fine because it’s something everyone agrees on, but a woman telling the world to give a damn about women is not so universally accepted.
I couldn’t agree with you more Kidman’s stand on violence against women. I am thrilled that she has taken this on. We need a powerful voice like hers.