A Question of Silence

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A female psychiarist, who has "made it" in a man's world, is called to the case. She then begins to understand the choice not to speak in male terms. adical feminist revenge fantasy?

This movie obviously infuriates some audience members, especially those with penises, because it implies the actions women have or could possibly take against men because of their oppresioin.

In the movie, three women who have been silenced throughout their lives, beat and genitally mutilate an annoying male store clerk. Radical feminists love this film because it shows liberal feminists that just because they have "equal" marriages and are high on the patriarchal corporate ladder, that they are really far from being liberated. The think that being sympathetic to these women was wrong, even though the director doesn't suggest that the women should not be punished for the murder. She, in fact, tries to show that these women are sane and should be held morally AND legally responsible for their criminal activities. The psychiatrist begins to see them not as criminals or clients, but as sisters and begins to understand why they were driven to murder this man. " None of the male lawyers or cops, and judge or her own husband can seem to understand why she would deem them "sane" instead of "crazy man-haters. She pronounces them sane and are in control of their actions, just fed up with a world in which men felt free to degrade and rule over the "second sex. This, of course, will probably not be the case. After a while, she finally begins to see that she is just as unheard as these murderous women when she tries to say anything that contradicts the patriarchal judicial system. Men become scared of films like this because they are inevitably the ones at fault, and begin to think that women will eventually come after them. "

Most men and a few women find the portrayal of these murderous women morally reprehensible.

Common topics in this essay:
Marleen Gorris, Question Silence, implies women, question silence, murderous women, begins understand,

Approximate Word count = 438
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

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