The central storyline to the classic Cinderella tale is of course that poor little Cindy gets saved my Prince Charming. He saves her from her horrible life of domestic abuse because Cinderella is no match for her tyrannical step-sisters and step-mum. What I wanted to highlight in this clip is what a cop-out that resolution is. It clearly spells out that the end-game is all about snagging that wonderful Prince Charming and that THAT is the ultimate escape from a life of destitution and to a life of riches and security. This is what's been termed as "The Cinderella Complex" and the clips show that throughout the history of the moving image, time and time again the woman plays the role of the victim or the weaker sex, needing the protection and saving of her man. I wanted to make viewers aware that as seductive as it seems on the surface to land Mr Charming Moneybags, it ultimately places the woman at a disadvantage once again, because her fate lies soley in said Moneybags maintaining his interest in her. She hasn't really fostered her own way out of the dumps. The Cinderella dream is a falsehood m'dears, and will turn you into a Princess living in a gilded Cage.
Beauty = Goodne$$
There is the idea first of all as Woman being either a Virgin or a Whore. The Virgin/Whore dilemma lets call it. You are either one or the other, innocent, sweet and non-sexual (or maternal), but if you exhibit seductive qualities you're in the latter, the femme fatale, the home-wrecker, the mistress, you get the picture. First of all in Cinderella it's clear that Cindy's escape from poverty is through her beauty, which Prince Charming falls for. This beauty is the value of her person, and is the sole reason for her success. She is a good and virtuous person because of her beauty (her step-sisters were greedy abusive UGLY womean). What a dismal tale and aspiration for women! But throughout the ages women have been judged and valued on their beauty alone, and this obsession sadly persists today. This remix explores the obsessions with physical appearance and the conflicting demands on a woman to be both Virgin/Whore to a man, of course it's unattainable and pathetic to even want to pander to that.
Sisterhood Lost
This one's for the women. Women vs. Women, I am reminded of Sylvia Plath and her Mushrooms poem of which I will reproduce the ending parts:
We are shelves, we are
Tables, we are meek,
We are edible,
Nudgers and shovers
In spite of ourselves.
Our kind multiplies:
We shall by morning
Inherit the earth.
Our foot's in the door.The poem to me is about women and their struggle for equality. The use of "we" makes it sound like its a joint effort. But the reality is as I try to explore in the remix, women are more often than not their own worse enemies. We don't see each other as sisters, we see each other as competitors and that's a damn shame. What is it about our sex that just loves to rip another woman down to bits? I don't know, but I wanted take the focus off the Man in this remix, and turn the attention back on oppression of women by women.Rotten Cake
Originally I wanted to call this one "Breaking the Mould" then "Breaking the Cupcake" but at then end of it all the remix is about the rot inside the supposed wonders of domestic life and marriage, the idealised notion we have about romance and partnership when the truth is much more about compromise and conflict. The cake seems great on the outside, all white cream and sweetness but dig a little deeper and something doesn't taste right. The clips chosen show how historically women have had to sacrifice so much to make a happy home and lose their independence and self-identity, yet somehow manage to delude themselves that this is the path to contentment and happiness. It's the Cinderella trait coming out, the belief in a "happily ever after" through the perfect man, through the perfect marriage but real life isn't like that at all and the sooner you get over that the sooner you can create a vision of life that's really your own.
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