Million Dollar Baby: A Feminist Message?

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I would like to add another perspective to this by
taking up the point that Irene makes below.

--- Irene Weiser <iweiser  AT  TWCNY.RR.COM> wrote:
>
> Looking to strengthen herself and gain the release
> that she had achieved by
> running, Katie took up kick boxing. She later
> practiced boxing at a local
> gym. She liked the feeling of strength that boxing
> gave her. For the first
> time in her life, she felt like she could protect
> herself.

I know several athletic young women. They all saw MDB.
They all hated the ending (as did I). But what they
loved, and what they took home from the film, was the
very rare mainstream portrayal of an athletic woman
making her way in the world with determination and
spirit.  They loved the way she looked, and the way
the film captured the grubbiness of boxing with snot,
spit, and sweat. They loved the underdog narrative,
not just of Maggie but of Freeman's character who sets
the narrative karma wheel right by taking on the
bullies.

These young women, like Katie, find boxing inspiring
and empowering. They like being strong, looking
strong, and feeling strong. They rarely see
"themselves" shown in mainstream media. So, despite
the obvious problems with the films, what they held on
to about it was the portrayal of Maggie. Many also
liked the fearsome power of the "evil" character
played by Lucia Rijker (who has, in fact, been called
"the most dangerous woman in the world" by boxing
pundits).

Such a response reminds us that we cannot look only at
the narrative of a film - we also have to consider how
the viewer responds and what she retains about the
messages. Women crave portrayals of themselves that
show them at least doing *something*.

That being said, I'd like to see more Girlfights and
Bend it Like Beckhams and fewer operatic tragedies.
Another less well known film about women's kick boxing
(whose name escapes me at the moment) has the female
protagonist go crazy from one too many shots to the
head, and run amok leaving a swath of destruction in
her wake. Eventually she has to be taken down like a
rampaging elephant.

By the way, my 61 year old ex-judoka father loved the
film. So I guess we know who the audience was supposed
to be. :)

Regards
Krista Scott-Dixon
York University
Toronto, ON

I haven't seen MDB yet - I'm waiting for the DVD.

So I don't have much to add to this very interesting
discussion, other than:

1. To second the recommendation of the wonderful film
Girlfight, which several people have already made; and

2. To recommend this insightful Marxist analysis of the film
by critic David Walsh:
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/jan2005/mill-j22.shtml

Here are some excerpts from Walsh's review:

"First and foremost, the element of a protest against existing
reality, including the reality of the boxing world, is
entirely absent from EastwoodG^+^+s film. There is nothing
remotely anti-establishment here. Although Maggie comes from
poverty, she accepts without hesitation all the conditions and
hardships imposed on her."

[Snip]

"Million Dollar Baby takes as a positive given an attitude
that would have been scorned by the filmmakers of another
eraG^+^+relentless individualism."

[Snip]

"Aside from its three central figures, who are given some sort
of special dispensation, EastwoodG^+^+s work expresses nothing but
contempt for humanity, especially for working class humanity.
The black and Latin kids in the gym are malevolent louts; the
one decent G^+^_gym ratG^+^¦ is mentally handicapped and a rather
pathetic figure. MaggieG^+^+s final opponent, a savage former
G^+^_East German prostitute,G^+^¦ is the product of someoneG^+^+s fevered
and unpleasant imagination.

"Most telling of all, and most grotesque, is the portrayal of
the members of MaggieG^+^+s family in Missouri, as lazy, selfish
monsters, caricatures of G^+^+poor white trash.G^+^+"

[Snip]

"Far from expressing pride in her daughterG^+^+s accomplishments
as a boxer, MaggieG^+^+s mother ridicules her profession and tells
her to G^+^_find a man ... live proper.G^+^¦ More than that, she
angrily greets the gift of a house that her daughter has
bought her with winnings from the ring, because G^+^_theyG^+^+ll stop
my welfare.G^+^¦ I would be grateful to Eastwood and his
screenwriter if they could provide me the name of a single
successful athlete or entertainer whose working class family
has responded in such a manner. Truly, this is a case of
unconvincingly and absurdly distorting reality, damaging oneG^+^+s
drama in the process, to sustain a reactionary social conception."

Much of this discussion about MDB is fascinating to me -- but as an artist, I
must admit it is also disturbing to imagine it as documentary and then
criticize its limited (and standard) POV.  Cinematic film is an art form, even
as a commercial art form.  It is not reality and it is not meant to be analyzed
as if it were reality.

When Grahm is quoted as saying:

I would be grateful to Eastwood and his
> screenwriter if they could provide me the name of a single
> successful athlete or entertainer whose working class family
> has responded in such a manner. Truly, this is a case of
> unconvincingly and absurdly distorting reality, damaging oneG^+^+s
> drama in the process, to sustain a reactionary social conception."
>

I would be grateful to Balanchine to provide me the name of a single successful
woman who wraps her leg up around her neck or perches on the tips of her toes
or circles her arms up around her head, opens both arms, and undulates them like
a bird, and yet we accept this "absurdly distorted" physicality NOT as reality
but as a part of the form of ballet and look to it to stimulate conversation
and considerations.

What is disturbing to me in this MDB discussion is the way the commercial art of
film is asked to do something it is not designed to do, and then held
accountable for another discipine's agenda.  That is not to negate some tru;y
inspiring observations.  But in our "rush" to became quickly highly focused and
critical, we failed to mention other pertinent threads.  For example, what of
the fact that CE wrote to his daughter every day and had those letters
returned?  (I am not suggesting he should be canonized. I am just asking what
my students might make of this action on the part of a father who atempts,
daily, reconciliation.)  What of the fact that Maggie took control of her own
life/death desire by biting her tongue until she nearly bled to death and then
the nurses/hospital policy(?) sedated her so that she could not damage herself
again?  (What might my students make of the intervention of the hospital staff
or policy to be in control of a person personal decision?)  And what of the
art-fact that the CE figure came to terms not with his desire to see her dead
but with her own?  (What might my students make of this kind of moral decisions
-- for themselves, not for CE.  Do they have living wills?  Do they know the
wishes of others in their families? etc.)

Art forms give us scaffolding for holding these discussions -- and MDB offered
us much to talk about in class, including the shortcomings we have already
discussed.

Gill Miller
millerg  AT  denison.edu

While not strictly 'feminist' in outlook, I think it's
important to consider the criticisms of 'Million Dollar
Baby' regarding its portrayal of disabled people.  In fact,
while I haven't researched in thoroughly, I've seen nothing
that explicitly brought a feminist outlook to the quesions
of quality of life raised by disability activists.

The following page is a set of links and information about
disability-rights groups' protest of the movie:

http://www.raggededgemagazine.com/mediacircus/eastwood0205flap.html
----------------
Betsey Behr Brada
Graduate Student
Department of Anthropology
University of Chicago
1126 E. 59th Street
Chicago, IL 60637
email: bbbrada  AT  uchicago.edu

This says it all about the "sport" of boxing. How telling, the ways
the story was changed to elevate the trainer from a betrayer to a
benefactor (but only for people who accept that death was the only
acceptable outcome for a disabled fighter).

This is really a disturbing story -- the reality -- where the
dynamics of gender and class are even starker than in the movie.

Max

--
Max Dashu
Suppressed Histories Archives
Global Women's History
http://www.suppressedhistories.net

[SDS] SDS slogan ideas?In case anyone is interested in reading further
disability critiques of this film, here is another link:


It is DSQ's largest issue ever, with part one of a Freakery theme
section, the second part of the Technology theme section, and a Forum
on the film, Million Dollar Baby. It also includes three general
papers and a dozen reviews.

It can be found at:
http://www.dsq-sds.org/current_issue.html

Claudia Malacrida
Department of Sociology
University of Lethbridge
4401 University Drive
Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
T23K 1M4

> Yes, Leah-
> Million Dollar Baby was loosely based on the real life story of Katie
> Dallam- you can read about her here  http://www.kddallam.com/
> Katie, now an artist, is still alive, living with permanent head injuries as
> a result of the fight.  She is cared for by her sister, Stephanie Dallam RN,
> MS - who works for the Leadership Council http://www.leadershipcouncil.org
> where she works to expose the myths, and tell the truth about child sexual
> abuse.

Dallam's website fails to mention an important family member - Katie's lover
Diane. Katie's family completely took over the care and decision making for
Katie, leaving Diane out in the cold. You can read some of the story in the most
recent issue of The Advocate.

Diane is a friend of mine. It saddens me that her part of this story has been
silenced by so many. The ironic thing about all this is that Katie's sister
Stephanie is a lesbian and still did not recognize Diane as family.

Jamie

Jamie Anderson
singer-songwriter-parking lot attendant
Touring nationally for 18 years
www.jamieanderson.com
"She is singing some wonderful songs." -- Holly Near
4201 University Dr., Ste. 102, Box 417, Durham, NC, 27707

While I very much appreciate the concern for artistic freedom in film
articulated by Gill, and the ambiguities in character that can be found in
the film, I don't think feminist criticism of the film should be
characterized as imposing an ideological agenda --

"What is disturbing to me in this MDB discussion is the way the commercial
art of film is asked to do something it is not designed to do, and then
held accountable for another discipine's agenda."

In contrast to ballet, a film like MDB, in the tradition of narrative
realism, presents itself as a fairly direct take (albeit artistic) on
reality. I think such a film absolutely should be held accountable for
whether or not it is true to the reality it purports to depict. And women
and working class and disabled people (who have very few of members of
their respective groups directing Hollywood movies) are the best ones to
offer that critique, since they, not Clint Eastwood, live the dynamics he
at least wants to be seen as portraying.

I don't think this is imposing "another discipline's agenda." I think it
is a reality-check, and a crucial one because the mind is powerfully
influenced by art, especially art that is well made. If Eastwood portrays
dynamics and consequences that wouldn't occur in reality given the
elements he presents, it is essential that that be criticized. No one, of
course, is arguing Eastwood should be restricted in his right to make
films. Though wouldn't it be great if the disenfranchized he depicts had
the same access to high-powered movie making that white men do. I'd also
like to think that Eastwood (though probably giving him more credit here
than he deserves) would appreciate the excellent criticism that has
appeared on this list so he could do a better job (more artistically true)
with future films.

Last, I think it is almost too painfully ironic that Eastwood's film was
loosely based on a true story that was lived and experienced so
differently, with such different causes and outcomes.

What about the accountability of those who, in the real story, did not
stop the fight while the violence was taking place? Eastwood hides this
real dynamic, and lets these people, their institution, their politics and
their motives, off the hook. I think is a lie of important consequences
and that Eastwood should be held accountable for it. Not through arguing
he shouldn't do what he wants, but through pointing out what he did and
what it means. To me this feels like a rip off of one woman's real
experience.


On Tue, 28 Jun 2005, Irene Weiser wrote:

> Yes, Leah-
> Million Dollar Baby was loosely based on the real life story of Katie
> Dallam- you can read about her here  http://www.kddallam.com/

Re Adriene Sere's critique of the earlier comment on art  "held
accountable for another discipline's agenda," I would have to agree on
a far more simplistic level.

Stories that are promoted as based, even loosely, on true stories . .
. are asking to be held to the "agenda" of the discipline of history.

I am not aware of a ballet that is so promoted.  But this film is so
promoted -- if not, cleverly, by its own promotion . . . it is so
described in links from its own website to others.

For example, the most widely followed film critic, Roger Ebert, in his
lede calls the film "a masterpiece, pure and simple, deep and true,"
and he repeats the word "true."  Even a link to a critique on the
film's "misrepresentations" actually is an attack on a critic who
questioned it on many counts -- although never is the point raised
that a central misrepresentation is that in reality, Katie Dallam
lives!

Since there has been extensive -- and interesting; thanks to all --
discussion already on the film, I won't detail this further, as a
search easily reveals several such links.  It also may be that other
disciplines don't face similar scholarly requirements as history.

Btw, I'm not singling out solely this film.  I have had to speak
similarly, to students who asked, about Iron-Jawed Angels --
especially because the very talented Hilary Swank widely promoted it
as based on women's history but without even the adverbial "loosely"
(if it's less loose than MDB).

So I tell students to enjoy it and be inspired by it . . . but to go
read the "true story" upon which that film also was loosely based.
And I tell them to never ever try to pull such stuff on a term paper
in a history course.:-)

I guess I'll just have to stick to historically correct documentaries.

_______________________
Genevieve G. McBride, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of History
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
gmcbride  AT  uwm.edu

on one hand, i loved "million dollar baby".  it was a courageous move on
the part of clint eastwood.  and hilary swank makes the character
completely believable.  i love seeing tough women characters on the big
screen.

unfortunately, the movie repeats the classic hollywood ending for a heroic
narrative that is realistic and  puts a woman in the heroic position.  it
seems that according to hollywood, only women with superhuman powers can
enact the heroic position and survive.  if the story is realistic, then
she must die or be killed.  formulaic.  it is tiring, really.  i expected
no less, and throughout the movie kept wondering how she would die.  a
feminist movie?  it gives with one hand and takes away with the other.

i teach feminist perspectives of the heroic narrative wherever and however
i can.  it is a simple tool for understanding how and why most hollywood
films with female "heroes" are not really completely empowering for women.


jo

Jo Trigilio
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Philosophy
Director of Gender Studies
Bentley College
jtrigilio  AT  bentley.edu

Jo wrote:

> unfortunately, the movie repeats the classic hollywood ending for
> a heroic narrative that is realistic and  puts a woman in the heroic
> position.  it seems that according to hollywood, only women with
> superhuman powers can enact the heroic position and survive.
> if the story is realistic, then she must die or be killed.  formulaic.
> it is tiring, really.  i expected no less, and throughout the movie
> kept wondering how she would die.  a feminist movie?  it gives
> with one hand and takes away with the other

Actually, the old Hollywood formula that is being followed in MDB is
 more insidious than that -- during the days when the Code ruled, if a
 person committed an immoral act, they had to die.  Period.  The male
 protagonist might fall in love with a prostitute, and we might like
 the romance and want her to escape prostitution and have a normal
 life, but Hollywood had to kill her off in the end (the Camillle
 tradition).  She may be an innocent who got a raw deal from someone
 who promised her marriage, but she won't live to the end of the movie
 (A Place in he Sun) .  Inter-ratial romances were similarly punished
 ("Love is a Many Splendored Thing," "South Pacific") - although it's
 interesting that the man gets the axe there.  A strong-minded or
 forceful woman must be unloveable and unloving - must make everyone
 around her miserable, and then be left lonely and unhappy - even in
 the most recent HBO movie, "Empire Falls."  Heaven forbid someone
 have the love that dare not speak its !  name (the Sal Mineo characer
 "Rebel without a Cause").

So if you know your Hollywood, a heroine who breaks through the
barriers into a male -- VERY male - arena (literally) is gonna die.

I remember all too well when this was also the mentalite of the
American South - the rules that guided Hollywood film codes were
enforced in the South by terrorism.

Is it coincidence that boxing has been rising in visibility (HBO, for
example) and popularity at the same time that our nation has once
again turned to substituting violence for diplomacy.  Where does this
movie fit in given the nation's romanticization of the war in Iraq?
Am I reading in too much subconsciously to the female trying to break
into the ring and being punished with death, and the nation's
ambivalence towards women in battle, despite there being female
soldiers in technically "non-combatant" positions whose lives are
endangered daily?

While on this thread, I also wanted to put in a vote for not
romanticizing boxing for women.  Now that we know that the damage of
multiple concussions is cumulative, boxing really should not be
sanctioned as a sport any more.

Historically, the poor fought while the better-off placed bets.  At a
time when professional boxing would have been out of the question for
the educated and elite, they enjoyed watching immigrants from Italy
and Ireland box.  Then whites came to watch blacks box.  It makes me
most uncomfortable to see a movement for men to watch women box.
Especially when (as in the case of the woman whose life was the basis
of this movie) they are clearly enjoying, to the point of laughing,
the destruction of another human being.

Ultimately, the fact that this movie received so many honors gives me
chills.

If boxing is the only thing young women can find in their lives that's
empowering, then it's a sign women are not getting adequate
opportunities to wield REAL power, through education and careers.
That's what we should be fighting for.

Mary Schweitzer, Ph.D. (disabled)
mailto:marymsch  AT  comcast.net