One thing people may not realize is that most of the time when I’m looking for secretary-related things online I come up with some reference to the film Secretary (tagline: Assume the Position). I hesitated to mention it here because I really don’t condone the sexy secretary image, having experienced the consequences of it myself in various — including non-secretarial– jobs and having seen the counter-effects in examples provided by male friends in traditionally-female positions. BUT read on to see why I included it here…
Apparently this story is based on the short story “Bad Behavior” by Mary Gaitskill. It sounds like a horrific film to me, and I have not in fact seen it. I don’t plan to, either, but I may check out the author.* I resent the fact that this movie, in which the secretary and her lawyer boss engage in a sado-masochistic relationship, is supposed to be making a statement about the relationships between men and women on different levels in the workplace– supplemented here by the types of attire women wear… high heels, anyone?**– but the chosen review for the poster is “Very sexy.” Clearly the social implications here are not what’s selling tickets.
So, given my disdain for sexy secretaries and the like (aside from Charlie’s sexy librarian costume for Rebecca’s and my April Fool’s Day-Half-Halloween Party… hilarious**), I’m a fan of the idea of this movie but not the way in which it has to be marketed– re-inscribing the ideas that it seeks to question. {{An interesting thing to think about later would be whether in this or other cases marketing changes the truth of what they say about how the submissive is the one who’s really in control (this I learned from an episode of CSI:Miami), but as per usual I will save my more interesting thoughts for when I’m not constantly interrupted by phones or other tasks, i.e. when I’m trying to fall asleep.}}
At the same time I do LOOOVE Maggie Gyllenhaal, not just because she is so so cute but also because of the movies of hers that I have seen she seems to pick interesting roles/films and also she has a cute–just one cute here– brother and they are cute cute cute together (two plus one is three cutes… I feel like The Count). This totally reflects the way both Kema and I feel about this whole ‘secretary’ thing, where we may not be huge fans of our professions but we have other projects that make us interesting, keep us sane, and provide some kind of reassurance that this is not our way of ‘being all that we can be’ (not that our other projects include the armed forces). Just like Maggie Gyllenhaal, who is vindicated by her other performances and really should be glad this movie wasn’t her first, Kema and I have redeeming parts of our lives. No really, we do. And no I don’t just mean the blog, jerk.
Perfect example? Stranger than Fiction, which I really liked. Fun to watch and also her character is someone who was bound for everyday drudgery until she chose something she loved. Granted that something is an unrealistically well-off baker¤, but to add to that passion she also pays a precisely-calculated portion of her taxes in concordance with what percentage of the government’s policies she agrees with (to the delight of a hobo patron) and manages to set free the inner rocker of an IRS agent. She may not be a secretary in this movie, but her character is someone I’d be friends with. Everyone’s got some part of their lives that they like less than others, whether that be one particular thing you did in the past, one part of your taxes you’d rather not pay, or some aspect of your work that is– for now– less than your dream job.
*Kema, you might be interested in her book Two Girls, Fat and Thin, which according to Wikipedia is a satire of Ayn Rand. I have not read this either, but someone who writes on wikipedia has at least read a summary of it somewhere else.
** Drag is fascinating to me.
¤ A discussion with thesocialutilitarian‘s baker friend assured me that her character’s wardrobe is also extremely unlikely for a baker– no tank tops and scarves in the kitchen. Where’s the hairnet, Maggie Gyllenhaal? Didn’t you research this character at all? She’s a phony!
hey, this guy’s a phony! Maggie Gyllenhaal is a phony!
for the record, i liked both movies, but i think however unlikely a real-life baker wearing a scarf might be, it’s way less likely that Maggie bent over for that DVD cover. Regardless of what Maggie is trying to tell me about sado-masochism in the work place, that’s what comes to my mind. Sorry, Maggie.
i’m very intrigued by the idea of Ayn Rand satire, but even more so knowing it comments on cult influence on the socially disenfranchised. i ♥ you for feeding my brain.
Yeah good call about the hiney shot. The balance alone would probably necessitate a Cirque du Soleil performer’s abilities.
I will feed your brain not only through references, but also by rilly rilly long blog posts.
… For the record, that’s the second Cirque du Soleil reference I’ve made this week.
I also enjoyed both films very much, both are very unconventional love stories