I had heard so much about “Animal” and all those reviews made me want to not watch this movie. I don’t usually go by reviews. I hated some movies which many critics loved. (GVM’s ‘Vendhu thaninthathu kaadu’ for instance, was not really “raw” in my opinion)
This Animal movie however got me intrigued. I, like many others, had postponed watching this movie after hearing everyone badmouth the movie for its “animal” nature. Most people were saying it was a terrible movie and should be boycotted.
Animal movie was called out for – glorifying misogyny, its extreme violence, the portrayal of toxic love, sexist behavior, and the hero’s unbearable toxic masculinity. Sandeep Vanga was also being attacked for being a misogynist himself for taking such movies.
Misogyny : Misogyny is a feeling characterized by hatred of or prejudice against women. Misogynist can be a person who hates women, belittles them, shows violence on them, who sexually objectifies them, who discriminates them based on their gender, or one who puts on patriarchial airs and harasses them
Finally, I ended up watching it, to draw my own conclusion.
My verdict? I care the least about how many agree with me, but this movie was just another Indian movie. I was utterly confused on why so much hate surrounded this movie particularly. Enraged even. You guys have a problem with “Animal” movie but are celebrating so many misogynistic movies that are soaked with sexism, racism, and objectification of women, completely clueless on what you are supporting!! You say, Animal movie should not be encouraged as its demeaning to women kind, but you continue to whistle and clap for movies that are equally, if not more, demeaning!
You are able to see that in Animal movie, there were scenes where the protagonist makes comments which made you cringe. If you hated it, kudos. But there are scenes like this in every other Indian movie we have watched! Why don’t the same Indian moviegoers, reviewers, and artists complain?!! Instead, they choose to act in those same sexist patriarchial movies and the same reviewers who hated Animal, choose to embrace the other idiotic movies.
Let me make it clear. I am not angry that you guys spread hate against Animal. I am furious about why you are not spreading hate for all the Indian movies released that had, and continue to have misogynistic scenes.
See, you can’t digest the scene where a guy proposes his love, by commenting that she has beautiful childbearing hips and he would like to marry her. You hate it. I understand. You think that a woman should be treated with respect and should be shown that way in movies too. I am completely with you on that.
But you see in most of the movies, you will see a guy proposing to a girl, looking at her beautiful face, her perfect shape, the breezy hair falling on her face. He falls for her just by looking at her face! Doesn’t that seem crazy to you?? Why not? Why do you accept it as normal?
Very few movies show a guy and a girl falling in love based on other factors – like compatibility…or the way they stand for each other… or factors that are more than just “physical”. Almost every romantic movie will have a guy falling for a girl based on her looks. STOP with that already! It is the same as falling for a woman because she has a childbearing hip. Get what I mean?
To put it simply – don’t stop with opposing Animal movie – critic all Indian movies. You will find that everything is a shit hole and you have just been watching and appreciating movies without knowing they are so sexist.
Let me give you another example. You guys argued that in Animal movie, this married guy has sex with another woman, to get information out of her, whereas he could have gotten it out in many other ways. He even tells her to lick his shoe to prove her love – and pulls away when she is ready to do it. Ugh!! Daaaamn!!! Yuck!! Misogynist behaviour, you say? Belittling a woman! So bad!! I agree. He is titled an “animal” after all.
Then hear this out – in all family-related Indian movies, you can see a woman blindly following a husband after marriage, by moving into his house and trying to please her inlaws. Why does this seem “normal” to you? A girl leaves her home and her family and has to take care of the hero’s paasamaana mother and play a role to support his dream. The “girl” in the woman has no other purpose, except to make the guy achieve his dream and cheer him all the way. You guys have accepted this as “not” belittling a woman, I assume? You have accepted it as part of life. It’s not apple-to-apple comparison as a guy telling a woman to lick his show to prove her love, but see, things like where she is made to be a dumb mannequin and plays the role as the wife of a hero, holding a torch for him so that he can shine – is belittling a woman in its own way.
“Thappad” movie , which was so interesting began with a happy housewife, taking care of the family. There was no issue as long as she minded her own business, all hell broke loose only after the Thappad, the slap. But the initial scenes where she takes care of the guy, bringing him every single thing in the name of “love” was misogynistic as hell for me. A girl shouldn’t be shown to be doing chores for a guy in the name of love. Why doesn’t anybody argue for those “romantic” aka demeaning women scenes? A wife doing everything for her husband and the husband getting the love and giving nothing back is acceptable to you? A mother who has made her son her entire world is acceptable as normal love to you? Why did you guys not complain about such scenes?
These are just small examples. Take any movie, see what role the woman plays, and see what kind of respect is given to the women characters in the movie. Very few movies stand out as breaking the norm, where women are given roles which didn’t belittle them. Even in the wonderfully taken “Kaathal- the Core” movie, which I loved btw, Jyothika was shown to be doing all household chores, while Mammooty goes about doing his business. That’s degrading and belittling, don’t you think?
I am just saying – why are you able to digest these scenes and not digest Animal movie? Think for a few minutes about it.
Now let’s take superhit Rajini’s movie, Jailer. This movie had no equal woman characters. Tamannah who had a very little screen presence btw, is shown to fall for a guy who gives her wealthy gifts. She is shown as a woman who doesn’t think straight and is ready to go to a room with a guy just because he showers her with gifts. Stupid comparison, you say? I hear ya. I just hated Tamannah being portrayed that way in the movie, I had to write it here because it was belittling to women.
There are a thousand other movies. Take a pick. KGF – this guy holds the girl against her wishes and makes her fall for him. Lover movie – he questions her every single move until the table turns and ends up raising as a knight in shining armor when the world questions her face on a porn video. Ohh, and let’s not forget how she was hit so violently by Sathyaraj, who was her father figure, a man in the movie, because he thought his daughter was a “bad girl”. Wasn’t this reeking of male dominance?
All of these scenes – why do you guys not find fault with them?? I don’t get it!! You should be enraged at how a male figure can raise his hand on a grown-up daughter. Even if she did have sex and it was released accidentally – a movie shouldn’t show a guy or a woman hitting their daughter that way!! Harassment and violence against women, don’t you think? But you guys felt it was a “normal” reaction and ate it up. And you are complaining only against Animal movie. Hypocrites.
Another example. Irugapattru – a feel-good movie, which many people loved. In this movie too, it felt like, women are living in a man’s world, watching a movie from a man’s pov. Everything that a woman felt and did in all three pairs, was invalidated in the movie, men were given excuses for their behavior. It was a hit show guys. For instance, Saniya Ayyapan-Sri combo had a toxic marriage, where the male exhibited his dominance and insecurity in every scene. But they “glorified” his heartbreak, and in the end, they are shown to be together! Why?! The woman could have been shown living alone and happy, or getting married to another guy and living in a happy marriage. I could go on.
Other movies which went on to become hits – RRR, Leo, Maaveeran, and others – had women characters, but they were given very small screen space. Nothing big. In some movies, their roles can even be replaced by a pole.
All am saying is – how can people think these Indian movies are normal? A woman being belittled in all those movies, in different ways. But you guys picked Animal movie alone because it flaunted male dominance and sexism in your face, in a way YOU were not used to. So you objected to that.
All other movies flaunted sexism and male dominance in a way that you are already used to or tuned to in society, that it feels normal to you! That’s HYPOCRISY dudes!!
Wake up and smell the double standards.
I can understand not all movies have to have women characters in them to lead. Viduthalai for instance. This movie is about showing caste dominance, so I get it. Or Jigarthanda Double X, predominantly a male-dominated movie, where a pregnant woman was shown as a vociferous wife. But it’s like every movie is made where only men and their feelings are important.
WHY DON’T ALL THE CELEBRITIES WHO VOICED AGAINST ANIMAL MOVIE VOICE FOR THESE THINGS TOO? Why do they accept that they are worthy of only less screen space and low characters?!
Kushboo, who voiced out that Sandeep made bad movies, should also check all the movies she acted in recently or Sundar C directed recently. Kushboo starred in a movie alongside Rajni and her role was to drool over him, (she is married to another guy btw) and fight Roja who was also drooling over him. That’s the extent of her role. Many celebrities hated Animal movie and voiced out – I just saw Kush’s tweet recently, hence the call out.
I am saying – oppose Animal movie, go for it. You should do it. But for God’s sake – oppose all movies where women are not shown respect!! Otherwise, it just seems fake, where you call out a movie because others do it!!
There might not be any movies to watch then you think? NOPE, you are WRONG!
Surarai potru had a wonderful, strong woman character in it. Queen is still hard to beat, but all those Jyothika movies are wonderfully crafted. Kaadhal the Core – though it showed her doing all house hold chores, also gave equal importance to a woman’s emotions as the hero’s. 96 movie was on same terms. “For a woman to be given a big role or their emotions to be addressed – a woman has to be directing it” – This is again bull shit. Get a good story writer and you are set.
As for the violence in the movie, once again, I applaud you for raising this issue for this movie. Also, you should have raised your complaint against Jailer, KGF and Leo, instead of bringing children to theaters to clap and watch these movies.
To end, at least Ranbir had an excuse to behave in his beastly way – he was an “animal”,… just like a movie with the title “pschyo” had psychos doing stuff. But you have to think about all the other movies where women are just objectified, where their self-respect and feelings are not validated or given importance at all..where the movies are dominated by males and their feelings alone.
Hate all such movies people. Spread such hate and raise the society. Don’t be a hypocrite.
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