*spoiler-free*
Happy National Women’s Month and advance International Women’s Day! Some may think that this is an unnecessary celebration, but those who do may have taken for granted how much women were treated as second-class citizens not so long ago. Case in point: the comedy-drama Misbehaviour (2020), directed by Philippa Lowthorpe, and written by Rebecca Frayn and Gaby Chiappe.
Misbehaviour is based on true events, and chronicles the circumstances leading up to the Women’s Liberation Movement’s (WLM) infiltration of the 1970 Miss World pageant in London, the very year a black woman first won the title. This was a period of intense cultural change, as the second-wave of feminism was in full swing. We get a balanced view from all sides–from the WLM members to the beauty contestants to the pageant organizers themselves.
In its exploration of whether beauty pageants are sexist or not, the film asks us: Would you rather want a seat at the broken table or build your own table? Would you rather stay and attempt to fix a broken system, or operate out of the system altogether? In fact, these questions are being tackled out in the world right now. The former would take the form of women achieving high positions of power in male-dominated spaces like CEOs. The latter, on the other hand, would take the form of women-only spaces.
I was surprised by how much Misbehaviour tackled the nuances of the feminist movement. It explored intersectional feminism, intergenerational feminism, and the different forms that feminism can take. I love how it didn’t seek to criticize any woman, but embraced women who believed all kinds of ideas about womanhood. The main character’s traditional mother, the WLM members, and the pageant contestants all had their reasons, and that’s exactly what feminism is. Feminism is all about having choices.
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Aside from feminism, Misbehaviour also tackled sexism in the academe, in the workplace, racism, and performative inclusivity, among others. While it covered a lot of ground, the tone never got melodramatic. Its music was whimsical, colors were rich, and pacing was sharp. There were a lot of funny moments in the film, which is why the dramatic moments hit the audience harder.
Social commentary was rarely explicitly delivered; it was instead mainly conveyed through juxtaposing shots of WLM meetings and Miss World rehearsals. One space empowered women, while the other tried to objectify them. These sequences danced a thin line between outrageously funny and horrifyingly sickening.
After watching this film, I gained a deeper appreciation and love for the feminists who came before me. Fighting for women’s rights back then was so taboo and very much looked down upon, so I’m thankful that they had the courage to try and make sure that the next generations of women would not face the same discrimination and objectification they had. They paved the way for me and other women to have more choices in life.
Things are definitely much better now, but we’re still nowhere near sex and gender equity. Women are still told that they have to look a certain way, dress a certain way, act a certain way, speak a certain way, and even move a certain way just to be taken seriously. Men are also conditioned to believe that they have to perform a certain brand of masculinity before they’re considered a “real man,” which is just harmful.
This International Women’s Day, I hope you can educate yourself with this piece of history so that someday, we can all be more free. See the trailer for Misbehaviour here.
Pictures taken from:
Lowthorpe, P. (2020). Misbehaviour. United Kingdom.
