Faster, Pussycat Kill Kill (Russ Meyer, 1965) - Essay Example

Meyer’s film "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" (1965) Meyer’s film "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" (1965) sets the new limits of relations between men and women. There are unusual images developed by Meyer and he uses enchanting directing methods when portraying the action and sex. The image of a dominant female character, a woman with enormous and incredible breasts presents allegories of the male world, where men are usually choose women for their sexual satisfaction. Female breast is positioned as a tool for male intimidations, it is not the goal for desire, but it is a violent instrument intimidating men around this female character.

Tura Satana, the actress, who plays the main role in the film, has a violent and magnificent appearance. Her makeup is aggressive; she wears black costume and scares off men. What was the main intention of the director, when he showed a woman from a different perspective, than it used to be in the society? Female empowerment can be seen in the aggressive female characters. This is a kind of fantasy, where a female dominatrix leads the whole story. This is a strong female character, which is able to cause a physical damage to a man with her karate moves or with the help of her car, pressing Vegetable to the wall.

In such a way, we can claim that the film director created an image of a pop powerful woman, showing her unnatural and weird, but really attracting for the audience. A strong female character has an enormous power influencing men around her. Her appearance is not the main toll for her, but her energy and emotions, which are directed on destruction. All these features enable the main female characters to be violent and aggressive creatures, who want to take power back from men and live on their own, for their own satisfaction.

On the one hand, the character of a violent woman is a great social challenge. There is no tenderness or vanilla in these girls…They do not make any attempt to be calm housewives, but remain rough and speed up in their cars. In the episode of young man’s spine cracking, there is a great panic and emotional turmoil among the girls. There is a direct juxtaposition of men and women power, when Varla comes to the Old Man and his two sons live. There is an air of danger, but this air is filled with sexual restrain.

Billie reveals her libido and wants to stay alone with a handsome young man. On the other hand, the main features of female feelings and emotions are prevented by a potential intention of exploting women. Therefore, there is rather ambiguous feeling after watching this film. I am sure that there is a need for female independence, but to propagate violent female behavior is the last thing to do. Moreover, I can claim that propagation of violent relations between men and women is also the last thing to be made.

Therefore, such type of films is good as a pop depiction of creative images or relations between men and women. There is no need to underline the prevalence of one gender over another. The director’s accents are shifted to the exaggerated depiction of female opposition in relation to a powerful male class. I have many doubts that in the harmonious society, where gender or sexual bias is absent, and such type of films would occur…Therefore the point of the director is to show perverted social relations between men and women, which is the result of male class dominance over the class of women, even in spite of promoted democratic principles.

Works citedJean-Luc Comolli and Jean Narboni, “Cinema/Ideology/Criticism” (FTC) p. 686-93 Metz, “Identification, Mirror” (FTC) p. 694-700 Metz, “The Passion for Perceiving,” “Disavowal, Fetishism” (FTC) p. 701-10