Pretty Woman

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It was a good movie back in the day but it is kind of offensive when you think about it. Glorifying sex trafficking, how the Seinfeld guy tried to take her against her will, etc.

Long Duk Dong was well received but is offensive also. I posted a year ago about a movie I used to love that I was now shocked at its offensiveness- Grease. It’s a great movie but seen through 2021 glasses, there is a lot wrong with it.

“You know that ain't no shit we'll be getting lots of tit“
“ You know that I ain't bragging she's a real pussy wagon”
Danny’s friends urge him to share details about their sexual encounters.
There is slut shaming, virgin shaming, upskirting, etc.
Asking if she “put up a fight”

I remember watching Grease when I was a kid in the 80s and I knew those guys were pretty gross and trashy then. I that's the point- that Danny was the better guy and his friends were kind of slimy.

I liked Pretty Woman just fine as an adult, but I won't show it to my daughter either. Taxi Driver either, even though I think it's a good movie.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no sex trafficking in Pretty Woman. She doesn’t have a pimp. Don’t compare her to a sex trafficked victim.

The movie makes prostitution seem fairy tale line - rich guy, fast car, new life, new clothes, set for life, jewelry, helicopter, etc.

Prostitution is nothing like that.

Right...because it’s a movie.

And, lots of young girls with sugar daddies have an experience better than Julia’s.

Again: none of this is sex trafficking.

No, lots of girls don’t. Lots of girls have drug problems, vd problems, criminal histories, raped as under 18, pregnancies, etc.

Some, not all.

Back in the day, I knew several strippers and escorts from the DC scene. Most went on to college and/or marry well. None are local anymore. They used dc to make money. They were very savvy. They preyed upon men—certain wealthy, older men. But they pretended to be a shy little clueless girl. It was eye opening. This was back in the 90s.

With social media, sugar babies are cashing in virtually.

^^^All of this is starkly different from sex trafficked girls and boys.

[Anonymous]

If you read about the origins of the movie it was originally going to be more true to life re:prostitution--showing the difficulties, drug use, etc. The studio believed that the subject was too dark and no one would want to watch that. Hence, the plot change and fairy tale ending.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A great movie and holds up surprisingly well! Not perfectly, but surprisingly well.

I don't have a daughter, but I wouldn't want to send the message to my daughter that being saved by a wealthy guy is the way to go. Or that wealthy guys are always middle aged white men.

So you skipped Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, then?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot of women dream of Prince Charming riding in and swooping her off to a better life. In this version, she saves him right back.

So she claims. But I doubt he's saved, and certainly not by her.

It's OK to like a movie that has some creepy elements. I like "Love Actually" even after Lindy West's completely accurate takedown of it. But I wouldn't tell anyone that they, too, have to look past its flaws because it's just so gosh-darned fun and who doesn't really want to get the girl or be the girl who's gotten or whatever.

I just can't get over the awfulness of Pretty Woman's underlying assumptions. Maybe you can. Maybe you think The Help is great, too. Enjoy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The idea that a poor but beautiful and sweet woman can find love and no longer “need” to be a prostitute, and the exec finding love and admitting to his softer side, is the appeal.

Also, the telling off of the snobby shop girl and the spree on rodeo drive is many people’s fantasy.

This. All of it.

Plus, people loved Julia Roberts for some reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of women dream of Prince Charming riding in and swooping her off to a better life. In this version, she saves him right back.

So she claims. But I doubt he's saved, and certainly not by her.

It's OK to like a movie that has some creepy elements. I like "Love Actually" even after Lindy West's completely accurate takedown of it. But I wouldn't tell anyone that they, too, have to look past its flaws because it's just so gosh-darned fun and who doesn't really want to get the girl or be the girl who's gotten or whatever.

I just can't get over the awfulness of Pretty Woman's underlying assumptions. Maybe you can. Maybe you think The Help is great, too. Enjoy.

What awfulness?

I think avoiding the assumptions and instead judging the characters based on their actions rather than a stereotype is the point.

Love Actually is slightly different. The hate seems to come from unimaginative people who make assumptions based on the limited snippets of dialogue. Creative optimists watch the film through a lens that more is happening between the vignettes. Do people fall in love quickly? Sure. But lots of people do irl...I did!

[Anonymous]

Because of the awesome soundtrack!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because Julia Roberts and Richard Gere are so pretty.

Because shopping, yay!

Because what could be wrong with women, even sex workers, being expected to do the work of rehabilitating emotionally stunted capitalists? In a week?

There's a great Merrill Markoe essay on this that offers the following brief review: "It really sucks and it pissed me off." Yup.

What’s it like going through life with such a cynical, unimaginative approach?

Google suspended disbelief. It’s a thing.

You'd have to ask the Hollywood producers who greenlighted this predictable piece of trash. Handsome rich guy chooses to protect his emotions, but a beautiful whore with a heart of gold makes him open his heart! Edgy!

Whore?

Wow. Talk about misogyny.

Isn't a prostitute the very definition of whore? I'm not saying that to be mean, but if a prostitute isn't, then . . . ???? I'm not saying that they are not worthy of redemption, and good things happening to them. But, I do have to say, I kept thinking throughout that movie that she would have been with a LOT of men by that point. For money. Sorry, gross.

[Anonymous]

Oh, I see, so these days the accepted view on street corner prostitutes is that they are total GirlBosses, self-employed entrepreunerial business people.

[Anonymous]

It’s a movie.....a good one. It’s just for entertainment....not a career building class. You people need to lighten up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh, I see, so these days the accepted view on street corner prostitutes is that they are total GirlBosses, self-employed entrepreunerial business people.

Are there still even street corner prostitutes? I thought they all advertised online.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh, I see, so these days the accepted view on street corner prostitutes is that they are total GirlBosses, self-employed entrepreunerial business people.

Well, her character was.

And I literally knew strippers and escorts in DC who operated that way out of local clubs. They mostly went after lawyers, lobbyists, accountants, etc. They made good money, and you would never know it now.

I remember sitting at a charity event where one girl had her eye on something and basically used the auction item as a tool to see how far the men at the table would go to get it. Then she knew which one would be easily manipulated. Shocking, yet kinda cool to hear her break it down afterwards. She lives in a $7M home in the Bay Area now. If you asked her if she was used, she would say she used them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh, I see, so these days the accepted view on street corner prostitutes is that they are total GirlBosses, self-employed entrepreunerial business people.

This was actually a point of pride for the actual character in this movie in 1990.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And I literally knew strippers and escorts in DC who operated that way out of local clubs. They mostly went after lawyers, lobbyists, accountants, etc. They made good money, and you would never know it now.

I remember sitting at a charity event where one girl had her eye on something and basically used the auction item as a tool to see how far the men at the table would go to get it. Then she knew which one would be easily manipulated. Shocking, yet kinda cool to hear her break it down afterwards. She lives in a $7M home in the Bay Area now. If you asked her if she was used, she would say she used them.

Of course, there are plenty of elite prostitutes and escorts who make plenty of money, lead pretty glamourous lives in many ways and are able to choose their clients. However, they don't stand on street corners or parking lots, waiting for clients, and routinely administer their services in cars.
Nor is the main client base of the street prostitutes immaculate looking, minty fresh guys who treat their service providers with respect and charm.