Don’t Let the Title Fool You: Bitch Looks Like a Worthwhile Feminist Satire
Director Marianna Palka has taken a loaded word and a batshit premise and managed to create a feminist satire that seems to be as insightful and incisive as it is funny and weird. Check out the trailer for her new film, Bitch, above!
This dark comedy tells the story of a woman (played by Palka) who is so overwhelmed by her life as a mother and wife that she becomes an actual bitch—a female dog. Her cheating husband (Jason Ritter) and their kids then have to navigate life without her, clueless about all the physical and emotional labor they heaped upon her day in and day out, completely taking her for granted.
The film’s title is a divisive word in feminist circles. I happen to be in the camp that believes that the word can be reclaimed and be empowering depending on context and usage. There are others who see the word as demeaning in all contexts and prefer it never be used with regard to women. At Sundance this year, Palka explained her take on the word and why she chose it as a title:
“I think because there’s such a power in the word, and I think that the word actually means so much to so many people. I think that it’s obviously sometimes misused as a word and a term. I always think there’s another way to talk about someone. If you want to call them that, you should call them something else. You could say that they’re being assertive.”
Bitch arrives in theaters November 10th. Will you be checking it out?
(via The Muse, image: Youtube)
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