The attitude from the offset of Manohla Dargis' review (http://movies.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/movies/23amelia.html) of the 2009 biopic ''Amelia'' is ridiculous and offensive:
"The director Mira Nair, whose only qualification appears to be that she’s a woman who has made others films about and with women (“Mississippi Masala,” “Vanity Fair”)"
I am not claiming that Nair is yet a crafter of masterpieces, but this statement belies the $85 million and $30 million her films ''Mississippi Masala'' and ''Monsoon Wedding'' made worldwide, as well as the Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Film for ''Salaam Bombay!'', the Golden Lion awarded to ''Monsoon Wedding'', the Golden Lion nominations for ''Mississppi Masala'' and ''Vanity Fair'' and many other accolades. This is no small feat for anyone, let alone a woman from an ethnic minority. Then to have a critic reduce her to her gender, and imply she has relied on positive discrimination, is insulting, and thoughtlessly sexist, in the extreme.
I think an apology should be issued for such careless and cheap journalism.
I expect better from the NY Times.
1 comment:
I can't imagine anybody ever saying that a film-maker's "only qualification" was that they had "made other films about, and with, men", can you? In fact, I don't remember ever hearing or reading a critic questioning the "qualifications" of a film-maker before, and certainly not one who has made several internationally successful films. I'm wondering if there's a racial element to this too - i.e. "who does this Indian chick think she is, coming over here and making a film about an American hero?" It might seem like I'm going overboard here, but really, however bad the film is it's a baffling comment. Also, I liked Vanity Fair.
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