As approximately half of the US is doing today, I am trying to wrap my mind around how the country was able to look past sexual assault, sedition, misuse of campaign funds, racist remarks, regular ableist behavior, a laundry list of misogyny in public and private affairs, and so on and so on. The second election of Donald Trump is a frightening time for our friends and family of all colors, creeds, sexual orientations, and religions – some more than others. Yet, with movies like this 2024 standout fresh in my mind, it’s actually pretty simple to understand why this happened… again: America hates women.
I saw a meme today that read, “The only thing Americans hate more than a rapist is a woman” – and, damn, did it ring truer than ever! With people in the Trump camp who have literally advocated for the removal of women’s rights to vote, it’s the only explanation. When men in the 80s insinuated that women couldn’t run the country because of their irrationality during their periods, not one batted an eye. One may have assumed this type of belief is antiquated, but alas… we’re standing right here… again.
Perhaps, forgetting is a gift.
As the nation collectively forgets history and practices an “ignorance is bliss” approach, the importance of art that focuses on gaslighting women, practicing misogyny, and mistreating people with less power only grows. One of the subgenres that has always dealt with sexism and misogyny head one has been the rape/revenge film. With films like I Spit on Your Grave and Last House of the Left making statements decades ago, we’ve has the chance to watch some badass heroines kick the asses of sexual predators, bigots, and assholes for some time now. With strong themes and messages, these films are often not for the faint of heart, but there’s a need for them and there’s a need for films like these to grow with the times.
Enter Blink Twice, the debut directorial feature from Zoë Kravitz. Releasing without a ton of fanfare, this one caught many – myself included – by surprise. With the help of ET Feigenbaum, Kravitz penned an incredible script that looks at power dynamics, the immunity of the wealthy, and the way women are gaslit and mistreated by our society. With a stellar cast and Kravitz behind the camera, we’re treated to a film that grabs you early and twists over and over until it really starts to play with your mind.
What begins as a too-good-to-be-true vacation in paradise, turns dark pretty quickly. Cocktail waitresses Frida (Naomi Ackie) and Jess (Alia Shawkat) join tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum) on his private island with a few of his buddies. Fat blunts, tropical cocktails, and skimpy bikinis during the day… psychedelics, fancy dinners, and dancing at night… but there’s something more nefarious going on.
What begins to unravel is truly heinous, but with some help from a multi-time winner on a Survivor type TV show focused on bikini babes practicing survival skills Sarah (Adria Arjona), Frida hatches a plan to escape. And, like any good revenge film, Slater and his cronies get theirs. However, the film accomplishes telling its story differently than the aforementioned classics. Much of the storytelling here hinges on a perfume made from a rare flower that invades memories and makes people forget, but this flower is mostly a vehicle for the allegory that Blink Twice is interested in telling us.
Not only do we experience gaslighting from the men in this story, but – initially – the women gaslight each other too. While the women are doing so unbeknownst to each other, theres a commentary here about how women can be so indoctrinated in the misogyny of our society that they can further harm each other – much like how police of color are still instruments of institutional racism. Women can be instruments of institutional sexism and not even know it. In the film, there’s a chemical component to their brainwashing, of course; however, in society, we are indoctrinated and groomed by our media, our churches, our leaders, and our upbringing.
With each viewing, the power of this story on trauma, abuse, and the dangers of institutional sexism and misogyny gets more and more potent. And, as America rejects the more qualified candidate in favor or a convicted felon, it’s hard to deny the truth in this art.
Before I wrap up the discussion on this future rape/revenge classic, I can’t ignore the irony in the fact that much of the film’s plot revolves around brainwashing, a topic that also feels extremely important to highlight a day after this monstrous election. With a campaign that began utilizing modernized versions of the same propaganda tactics of the Third Reich way back in 2015 (or even before, to be honest) – the brainwashing aspects of this film feel all the more potent. While the film really seems to be using this as an allegory for society’s gaslighting of women – as discussed above – there a certain tragic poetry in knowing that brainwashing is alive and well in this world, even if not exactly how the film portrays it.
Whether you love this film or hate it, there’s power and truth in it. For me, it’s likely to go down as a true classic in this subgenre. For others, it may not be. However, I leave here asking everyone who’s reading this to protect women from what may follow – do what you can to not let the women and girls in your life be silenced in this forthcoming era… believe women, protect rights for future generations, fight misogyny, listen to the voices of the marginalized. Support one another because there are more trials to come.
