The social structure and hierarchy that exists within our everyday interactions is crucial for analysis, be it from people such as Karl Marx, or feminist academics such as Christina Hoff Sommers. What many figures have claimed as of late, including decidedly left-wing personalities like Bill Maher, is that the pendulum has been pushed so far with movements such as feminism which started off as liberation, but have now transgressed into control and censorship.
The Red Pill is a 2016 documentary directed by Cassie Jaye (a woman) wherein she delves into the mysterious and bizarre realm of identity politics, and more specifically, the men’s rights movement. The film has been cancelled from a screening in the Melbourne Kino Cinema, a branch of the Palace Cinemas conglomerate.
Before this article goes any further, I would like to simply note that as a humble writer, identity politics alludes me. I have no idea about what feminism truly is, due to the nature of the movement today, nor am I particularly informed or supportive of the MRA movement.
However, with documentaries, such as Miss Representation, buzzing with feminist rhetoric, clearly the neckbeards plagued by the censorship of some miserable lonely cat lady are justified in their concern. This is a one-way street: Feminists are allowed to voice their opinion, women with dissenting opinions are not.
It’s a shame that a woman is only allowed to speak out if she has the same opinions of those on the moral right, which is arbitrarily determined by the majorities. I hate to invoke Godwin’s law, but if the majority of people in Germany supported the Nazi Party, did that make them right? No. Just because the majority supports something (feminism), that doesn’t make it right.
Despite the independent film being ensured a cinematic release with the $211,260 Kickstarter sum, a 2000-signature petition by some rabid Australian autocrats has managed to break up this release and silence the film which has swept the media by storm, such as The Guardian in Australia, The Telegraph in the UK, and the LA Times in the United States.
The question that still pervades my existence despite this, is what do feminists have to fear from this film? Surely the ever-present and omnipotent patriarchal hand at work would brush this flick onto the screens of cinemas, televisions and print media, and yet it’s the complete opposite. Surely, if your ideas are so completely infallible, then a tiny shred of criticism will fly off into the abyss.
The counter-movement to get the film reinstated as a piece of Kino’s history currently has 4000 signatures, however, will most likely hit the mark of 5000 by the time that this article is published. Do you want a world in which media is decided by whoever has the most signatures on Change.org?
Rather than engaging in a civil war online between men’s rights activists and feminists over what should be shown and make people dabble in the toxic realm of identity politics to see a film.
Although the film is of a political ilk, it’s not in any regard unique, with Michael Moore pushing out a new film about his half-baked political ideas every second day. Controversy seems entirely levelled at the right, and any form of ‘political thinking’ is forced into a leftist viewpoint.
I miss the day where you could rock up, buy a ticket to the cinema for thirteen dollars, and walk in; rather than having to sign petitions, engage in online slacktivism and then jump through hoops before the film is even shown.
It seems as if women can only voice their opinions if they align with feminist rhetoric and people can only see films if they’re bland and stripped of controversy or intrigue. I guess that’s why we end up with tripe like Ghostbusters… God, that thing sucked, and at least everyone can agree on that, regardless of politics.
David McManus
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