Read this: Interesting Posion Ivy analysis from a book

Hi, Gleaming. I did not see anything written concerning Poison Ivy, only The Hand That Rocks the Cradle.

The title was listed was under the heading of Backlash - Anti Women's Friendship Films or something similar. Did I look in the wrong spot or maybe not scroll down far enough?

I would love to read it, so please let me know - thanks!

Thanks for sharing this. I think it is a rather problematic essay, however. First of all to use Poison Ivy as an example of patriarchal oppression in the context of film history - whether or not intended to support a feminist agenda- is foolish. Poison Ivy is a quintessential film that was typical of films in the 90s in the tradition of The Hot Spot, Basic Instinct, The Last Seduction, etc. These were films where women were in the foreground and and they were sexual and not apologizing for it. No matter what an anti-sex, feminist agenda would like to portray, women have desires and are sexual. Mainstream films of the 1990s were the last time in contemporary American mainstream cinema where women were able to seek out sex and sexuality from a female perspective was explored. The scope of the article you linked to seems intent on trying to paint Poison Ivy and The Hand that Rocks the Cradle as films whose characters are causalities of anti-women sentiment and misogyny. In fact, these films are part of more neo-noir films of the period like Palmetto, Wild Things, and Jade. Being part of such a tradition of films, no one is to be trusted. Everyone is questionable, male and female alike. TTRC is a bit different, in that it is a film that it exploits psychosis more than sexuality. The characters played by Rebecaa DeMornay and Anabella Sciorra aren't exactly friends, but the former is hired help- the power structure is entirely out of balance to have an egalitarian relationship. The two films really have very little in common besides class inequity and human instability, which the piece never acknowledges. They are also stories about the vulnerability of broken families, but the issues the author takes with the films only works for a reactionary audience and if you haven't seen both films. In Basic Instinct and Wild Things there is male-male rivalry as much as there is female-female rivalry. To claim that the intent is goal of the "patriarchy"to pit women against one another requires quite a bit of reaching and still falls short. When we look at most glorification of inter-female strife in the media today it in television franchises and magazines that are driven by women, and whose audience and consumers are women. To continue blaming men for issues between women makes one wonder where accountability begins and ends.I can think of a number of films written and/or directed by women The Future, Sound of My Voice, Friends With Money, and they all have female conflict and are written by women. So how is this trend the fault of men? I think if the author is going to use film to strengthen a point, it would be wise to gain a greater understanding of the medium.