A female face in comedy is always refreshing. So I thought I just had to find out what’s the buzz over this Amy Schumer that I’ve heard so much about. Referred to as “inspirational” and “stereotype-transcending” by the girls in my feminist film class, I just needed to learn about this woman for myself.
A quick Google search later, I got a pretty good idea of what the appeal is. We see an “everywoman” (as my professor put it) openly talking about promiscuity and eating junk food. Who doesn’t love to see someone just like ourselves on the big screen? On the surface, Amy Schumer seems harmless enough, although she’s made some questionable jokes about black women needing Google in the delivery room so they give their children “normal” names or about all Latina women being just as crazy as the female lead in "Gone Girl". Or the time that she made a joke about Hispanic men being rapists...Okay, comedians making racist jokes, whatever. Not my cup of tea, but most people seem okay with it, so what can I say?
But then I watched "Trainwreck" for my film class. And I really did try to not let my own biases about Amy Schumer affect how I perceived the movie. Even then, there were elements of the film that just did not sit well with me.
Let me start by saying I’d heard so much about how progressive "Trainwreck" is by bringing attention to the idea that women are allowed to be just as promiscuous as men. And that would be something that I’m 100% behind, until I watched the movie.
Although the movie does present a woman expressing her sexuality openly, it's not as progressive as it prides itself. The movie is about a woman who has sex with a lot of men, clearly trying to make the point that women can be promiscuous in the same way that men are, though this message is quickly invalidated by the end of the film.
Yes, Amy ends up falling in love and puts those habits behind her, which isn’t regressive itself, but it's implied that her promiscuity was a negative aspect of her life. When Amy decides to “get her act together” in the movie, she throws out all of her alcohol and drugs as well as that promiscuous lifestyle. The fact that she ends her habit of having lots of sex along with her throwing out all of the other harmful substances in her life, the movie seems to be making the point that all of that sex is included with the “harmful” things in her life.
Amy also tries to make the point that she won’t change herself for a man, yet she stops smoking pot and drinking as much as she used to because her boyfriend doesn’t like it. She states that she hates sports, but by the end of the movie is dressed as a cheerleader on the New York Knicks court.
The movie continually tries to make progressive points, but then regresses right after. Not to mention, there’s a scene where Amy (unknowingly) commits acts of pedophilia by almost engaging in sex with a minor, as well as, “Oh yeah, I have black friends” jokes.
From what I’ve gathered, Amy Schumer tries to pass herself off as some progressive feminist comedian while simultaneously making jokes that go against the ideals of what she supposedly stands for. And the fact that people praise her as some trailblazer just boggles my mind.
