Forget Sex In The City. Tarantino makes the best chick flicks. Hands down.
When Sex In The City's Carrie Bradshaw was totally incapable of using an iPhone, even to avert a major relationship crisis, I inwardly groaned. I sunk further in my seat when women around me chortled on cue, relating to her technophobia. Come of chicks, get with the programme!
Now, Tarantino. Dude is like a lady - in a good way. As if Kill Bill wasn't enough, he directed Death Proof, which has kick ass, hot, car mad girls meting out punishment to a Kurt Russell's psycho stunt man. I watched it again the other day and it always makes me smile.
Tarantino's chicks are the modern ideal of womanhood for many teens (and me, although I'll have to chalk that one up to immaturity!) Some might say he contributes to the much talked about 'pornification of girlhood', whereby girls and women are made into sex objects by the media, making pornography part of popular culture. This, in turn, is said to contribute to low self esteem and eating disorders. What's more, women actively objectify themselves in the way they dress and dance etc.
Clearly this is an area for debate. And there's clearly some truth in it. The Dove campaign for Real Beauty wouldn't have hit such a clear home run if this weren't such a contentious issue.
But, far from demeaning women, I think Tarantino's films have the opposite effect. They're joyous and empowering. They're full of crap. They're funny and gross (take the car crash scene with the wobbly dismembered limb in Death Proof). They collude with young women, who want to be sassy and sexy and smart and tough. And, of course, there's a cracking soundtrack. Yes, we have it all. With nobs on.
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