Modern “woke” feminism, despite claiming to fight for the betterment of the female gender, is a destructive movement that has strayed away from the original motives of feminism. It has become a media-hype term that nobody understands, and everyone ardently supports.
As all movements do, feminism has evolved greatly since its beginning in the late nineteenth century. First-wave feminism had a fairly simple goal: recognizing women as humans as opposed to property. Second-wave feminism challenged the role of women in society, and third-wave feminism symbolized the importance of individuality and autonomy.Â
Over the years, the definition of a feminist has changed. An early feminist may have been a woman who was able to instill good values in her children; a twentieth-century feminist was one who could balance her academic and career goals with her family life.
A modern feminist, however, is often portrayed by the media as a powerful, unmarried woman in high heels and a skin-tight pantsuit who is able to effortlessly climb the ranks in a man’s world and take their place in the workplace as well as society in general, even if that means putting everyone else in the back seat.
Modern feminism influences women to constantly fight against the allegedly suppressive patriarchy that has haunted them since the beginning of time instead of inspiring women to become happy individuals who benefit future generations over seeking revenge for the mistreatment of past ages.
Since the beginning of this century, women have been out to reform male-dominated industries, especially the entertainment industry. One would think that new feminist films are taking the field by storm.
Movie ratings would say otherwise. The 2019 remake of “Batwoman” has a solid IMDb rating of 3.4 stars out of 10. “Wonder Woman 1984,” the recreation of the original “Wonder Woman,” has a Google rating of 2.5 of 5 stars. “Mulan (2020)” has an astounding 2.8 stars, and the infamous “Charlie’s Angels“ remake has 4.9 stars out of 10. All these films performed terribly, despite the originals being American blockbusters.
A lot of feminist directors have taken to remaking classics to fit the modern feminist mindset. An example of this is the remake of “Mulan” in 2020.
Apart from the cultural appropriation and mediocre plot, the new “Mulan” film was a perfect example of the flaws of woke feminism.
Compared to the original movies, the remake falls short. The original has everything: a wonderful soundtrack, relatable characters, and most importantly, a very human main character with impeccable character growth. Fa Mulan is a teenage girl in sixth-century mainland China who disguises herself as a man in the imperial army to protect her elderly father from being enlisted.Â
Mulan starts out as a failure, possessing all the spark and willpower, but none of the talent needed to be a successful man in the army. With the help of her horse, pet cricket, and hilarious side-kick dragon, Mulan works hard to become the best soldier and bring honor to her family. As she grows as a character, the audience becomes more emotionally involved with the movie and feels immensely proud when she achieves her goals.
Not only does Mulan appear to be humanly imperfect and relatable, but she also respects the people around her. Mulan, despite proving her superiors wrong, still respects them. She doesn’t let her pride get in the way of saving China, even after being dishonored by the men of her army. When she proves everyone wrong, she doesn’t become haughty or entitled, she becomes humbled by her achievements. By doing so, she becomes the bigger person.Â
The new movie is belittling to the original franchise and has proven to be a great failure. It dehumanizes Mulan by turning her into an all-powerful heroine who has been born with great powers. The audience completely misses out on character growth, as Mulan doesn’t need to train to be better than the males around her. Additionally, the audience doesn’t see a friendly camaraderie between Mulan and her army peers; in fact, she leaves them to play a hero in a battle she logistically has no chance of winning. The entire remake is centered around the idea of the perfect heroine against society. Nothing about the film is remotely relatable or inspiring to viewers.
The remakes for “Batwoman” and “Wonder Woman” have suffered the same fates. The once inspirational tales of the female characters have turned into plotless, woke digs at men. The characters that once showed the importance of hard work and perseverance have turned into arrogant, entitled, unrelatable showpieces that have left a bitter taste in viewers’ mouths.
Elizabeth Banks’ “Charlie’s Angels” is another example of woke feminism’s impact on modern entertainment. Unlike most action films, “Charlie’s Angels” lacks a prominent plot structure, any character development and fails to provide the audience with an incentive to continue watching. The three female leads are extremely self-centered and entitled. They don’t fight for a higher cause; instead, the entire movie is centered around the idea that these women are underestimated by society and are out to seek revenge.Â
Feminism was never meant to be a vengeful movement; it was supposed to seek peace and equality. Today, it’s telling women that they are born without flaws, that they don’t need to listen to criticism, they don’t need to change who they are for the world around them.Â
All the latest feminist movies have one common denominator: they seek to belittle men, whether it be subtly by portraying them as unable to compete with women or more prominently by displaying scripted retorts directed at males.
In fact, this mentality of depreciating men has made its way from movies into real life.Â
Lilly Singh, a Canadian YouTuber, got her rise to fame by creating humorous videos about the struggles of being a child in a South Asian household. Her popularity in the U.S. quickly rose because of her charisma, witty humor, and her undeniably inspirational work ethic.Â
As she grew out of the YouTube bubble, Singh took to Late Night TV. Surprisingly, her followers were dropping like flies. The once relatable comedian had turned into a cringe-worthy person. Her comedic style had changed for the worse after being influenced by the woke feminist mentality that was making its way around her industry.
Singh’s jokes were centered around making fun of white, straight males and men in general. While people were happy to see a minority woman on an international stage, fans soon got uncomfortable when she belittled anyone who didn’t belong to an LGBTQ+, female, or minority community. Her shows weren’t about her audience anymore; they were about her.Â
Worst of all, even while Singh’s career was dropping rapidly, she was unable to take criticism from her fans and wrote all their feedback off as hate.
Even though feminism was meant to help and empower women, it has instilled a toxic attitude in young women today. Not only does it show women that they don’t need to listen to feedback or advice, but it also teaches them to hate men. Modern feminism has turned women into the very qualities they hate in men: egoistic and entitled.
Women today don’t realize that a man doesn’t have to step down for a woman to climb up. So why do women keep pulling men down? Feminism was never about female power; it was about gender equality and mutual respect.Â
Whether intentionally or not, people are being affected by what they see on TV, and it’s seeping into real life. Women should not be looking to the new Mulan, Charlie’s Angels, or Batwoman for inspiration. Real feminists are women who work hard to meet their goals, can take feedback regardless of who it comes from, and fight their battles without villainizing men.
Eden R. • Apr 29, 2023 at 9:43 pm
This article is expertly written and accurately displays the destruction resulting from the extremity of modern feminism. The connection of such a complex sociopolitical topic to the entertainment industry and pop culture was a clever one! Unfortunately, analytical pieces like this don’t get enough attention in media today because of the liberalization of modern journalism. It is great to see young authors, like yourself, spreading light on these prevalent societal issues. The maturity and level of in-depth analysis displayed in this article is phenomenal, it’s a relief to see that well-read and well-researched authors still exist in today’s generations. Excellent work!
Patricia G. • Mar 4, 2023 at 1:17 pm
The article is well written and shows good examples that are affecting our society. It shows that she is not living in a bubble but she is aware of the negative effects of today’s version of feminism. What is happening now is young people are being targeted by the media to be influenced and they need to learn the difference between false truths and real information. I think many are starting to see it. Young people need positive examples. The author compares and contrasts original versions of movies with new feminist versions that use their ideology to influence young people because adults are not as easy to influence. It is much needed and I support what you are saying. I was very impressed at how mature the article sounded and I am sure you have a beautiful and bright future.
Diana Prince • Sep 29, 2022 at 10:19 pm
You’re basing your argument on Hollywood movies and a former Youtuber? Step outside of your digital bubble and interact with the real world. The problem is not modern feminism. The problem is a generation that doesn’t know how to interact with real humans. Talk to real people and you’ll find a different perspective on what women stand for today.
Camrin A.B. Young • Dec 1, 2022 at 9:22 am
NO your wrong just like the rest of them. Feminisim infects and erodes society.
Elon Musk • Dec 15, 2022 at 10:15 pm
This condescending tone has no place on a high school author’s article. Maybe step outside of your own bubble and listen to what is being said in high school’s today. Extremist thought like the ones referenced in the article are vastly prevalent and in circulation throughout the younger generation. This journalist did her due diligence by combing through the internet as well as interviewing real people, and came to her conclusions as a result. I can appreciate if you do not agree with the ideals mentioned in the article, but maybe you need to do some personal research and re-evaluation to see that modern feminism does in fact represent what is mentioned. Whether or not you agree with what modern feminism stands for, this is in fact what it does stand for and it is destroying American societal values as mentioned in the article. Maybe instead of sitting behind your chair and writing conceited comments directed at young female high schoolers you should follow your own advice and seek out real people to determine the true ideals of modern feminism. Be the change you want to see in the world by speaking out against modern feminism instead of using your twitter fingers to put down high schoolers.
Jasneh Sasan • Dec 20, 2022 at 10:42 pm
Diana, thank you for taking the time out of your day to read my article! I appreciate it! While I am always open to feedback and discussion, I’d suggest taking a look at the subtitle: An analytical look at woke feminism through a cinematic lens. I specifically targeted feminism through the lens of the entertainment industry.
Thank you, once again, for reading the full article and commenting!
Patricia G. • Mar 4, 2023 at 1:22 pm
This is also part of the problem, as displayed in your comment. The article had more to say than discuss movies and youtube, if you had read the entire thing it would be clear and she is correct. Just because she is young does not mean you can attack her and generalize that she lives in a bubble because young people use a lot of technology. She sounds more mature and smarter than most women who are in their 30’s.
JD • Aug 2, 2022 at 5:06 am
One day men will say “Enough is enough” and that will be a very sad day for women.
Camrin A.B. Young • Dec 1, 2022 at 9:18 am
no it will not be a sad day it would be a day of rejoice I will join them When ENOUGH is ENOUGH because this society has put us down so much I would stand with my brothers against this female terrorism.
Lawrence • Jun 30, 2022 at 9:58 pm
Men were never born to be liked. They represent a small but unequal role where their minor achievements are discarded as cringe worthy. Men did not discover the need for them to liked for designing the first locomotive but cared enough to make a caboose so that other people could ride. He did not asked to be liked but made the first plane for everyone else today to fly. This story reminds me of how far we have not come to appreciate the achievements of men and settled with the doubts of some women.
Peter • May 24, 2022 at 8:56 am
Very well said — all valid points that get to the heart of the problems with third wave feminism, a toxic, anti-science movement that shouts down opposing views and alienates many people who support women’s rights.