_Nashville_, _Osaka Elegy_, _Virgin Machine_, & _Working Girls_ (was Re: Breakfast of Champions)

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

>I think a feminist reading of Nashville, or Altman, would be
>severely flawed, unless of course you think feminism is merely "contempt
>for the male audience."
>Eric

That's one of the few possible feminist responses that the Gwen Welles
character could make in that particular scene (in front of dozens of
contemptibly boorish men who seek to objectify her).  Her contempt defines
the scene as feminist.  Mizoguchi Kenji's _Naniwa Hika [English title:
Osaka Elegy]_ (1936) is also quite interesting along this line, when judged
by the standard of its times.  Yamada Isuzu's performance overcomes the
limits of the script in many ways.

For a joyful, sexy, & feminist lesbian striptease scene, watch Monika
Treut's _Die Jungfrauenmaschine [English title: Virgin Machine]_ (1988).

For a realistic portrayal of what sex workers feel about their clients, see
Lizzie Borden's _Working Girls_ (1986).

Yoshie