"Ferris Bueller, you're my hero."
Watched "The Stepford Wives" the other night. My expectations were nice and low because S-Dawg didn't like it much, even WITH Matthew Broderick in it, the love of her life.
The so-called twist at the end of the movie -- for those who haven't seen it, I'm only ruining a lame ending -- is when it turns out Glenn Close's character is the one who masterminded the whole Stepford robot concept when she caught her husband in bed with another woman (as if we aren't scared enough by her "Fatal Attraction" stint). But it actually makes perfect sense. Women are much bigger control freaks than men, and relational manipulation is just a smaller scale form of the whole robot thing really. The whole fall of mankind thing plays out everyday and people don't even realize it: "Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you" (Genesis 3: 16).
It's in that subtle disapproval we express to our men rather than being direct and honest, that finding out what he values most and emulating that, finding out what he likes and suddenly we're fans, that fear of coming off as too needy or pressuring, or that neediness and pressuring that forces him to prove he cares. Who needs Stepford remote controls when mind games seem to work just fine?
In the movie, the solution to Stepford is embracing reality: my guy isn't perfect but that's better than him being a robot. But in an age where Hollywood falsities pretty much dictates society, is that really what we want? Can we handle the real life truth of how selfish, codependent, insecure and unforgiving we all are? Seems like being caught between a rock and a hard place, but I'm holding out for something better.
1 comment:
That movie tanked! But if the goal is control, I'd opt for the robot - manipulation takes too much time and effort. Plus, it seems like you can make a much better looking robot.
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