THE RED PILL

Presenter:

Cassie Jaye

Rating:

⭐ – 1/5 stars

3 word overview:

• Frustrating
• Polarising
• Biased

Summary:

The feminist presenter decides to explore the world of men’s rights activism, interviewing key members of men’s rights groups and taking a look at ways in which men suffer discrimination. As the documentary progresses her views begin to change, ending in a dramatic proclamation that she ‘no longer considers herself a feminist.’

Thoughts:

Before watching, I was excited about the potential of this documentary to explore a complicated topic in a nuanced and intelligent way. I was disappointed.

First I want to note that I did find myself sympathetic towards the issues raised by the men’s rights activists (or MRA’s). I think it’s undeniable that men suffer disadvantage due to their gender in some areas of society, however the often legitimate arguments of the MRA’s seemed to be mixed in with questionable, one sided arguments that completely lacked critical analysis.

A key topic was men’s disadvantage when it comes to childcare. I completely agree that this is a real problem, but the documentary account of it seemed to lie entirely on biased and questionable anecdotes. For example, it spent an absurd amount of time describing the injustice of how one MRA lost custody of his son after complaining that the mother was causing him to become fat. At one point the man said ‘and of course I’ve been falsely accused too’ a statement which was glossed over and not picked up on at all by the presenter. I was very alarmed at the way in which this account, which had a very obvious lack of objectivity, was accepted without even a pinch of salt. The presenters unwavering acceptance of all arguments made by the MRA’s was a recurring theme throughout the documentary, and it made her come across as naive and gullible.

However, the key frustration for me lay with the framing of the viewpoints. The entire premise felt like a fight between improving men’s rights and improving women’s rights. I was disappointed that she didn’t consider that perhaps these two causes are not mutually exclusive. She had a clear opportunity to examine the bigger picture, and look at how men and women are both suffering from the same system of patriarchy, however instead she resorted to the unproductive debate of who is suffering more. Her disappointing denouncement of feminism at the end of the documentary created the false impression that you cannot support the women’s rights movement whilst simultaneously validating the ways in which men also suffer from the same system. To me, this is a damaging viewpoint which hinders progress and further contributes to polarization between men and women.

Where to find:

Amazon prime