Male Characters and Appeal to Male Viewers.

"I’ve heard from a number of friends and critics, that all of the male characters on this show or at least a significantly large proportion of them, are one-note misogynistic characters and that the show is very anti-men."

They are one-note misogynistic characters and the show is very anti-men. The reason being Jane Campion doesn't know how to create characters that aren't one-note, and she is well known as being anti-men, which is why every male character in all her films are one-note misogynists.

Campion may believe her hatred of men is justified, but it's a shame she feels that's reason enough to foist her horribly amateurish crap on the world, because it isn't. Campion should just go and write a column in Ms. Magazine, and leave film making to competent professionals.

And all women are damaged and desperate in some way and a lot of them are shown in a creepy way, borderlining to insanity. I don't think this show tries to represent mankind as a whole. Also this show does not objectify men half as much as the average Hollywood film does with women. So I felt absolutely okay living with that for the duration of the show and could enjoy the story which is told.

Why do you need to have a certain type of male charatcer to enjoy a show? Women enjoy Michael bay films, where very Female Charatcer is a one note shallow cliche, Jud Apatow films where every woman is a one note nagging shrew, shows like Supernatural where every woman is a one note throw away baddie, and horror movies, where every woman is a one note snivelling victim.

But to answer your question I thought the male characters in this were very three dimentional. Matt, for instance, a loving father and abusive drug addict, a criminal, who also feeds and supports others, and an victim of abuse himself. Johnno is a very sympathetic character as is Jamie. The only really unsympathetic character is ...Al... and even he had hidden depths.

I didn't feel it was anti men it was anti pedophile. Incidentally it was also one of the most realistic depictions of small town life I've ever seen.

I have the feeling that anyone who told you that has a problem with a show/movie with a female lead. Maybe they're the misogynists?

... all of the male characters on this show or at least a significantly large proportion of them, are one-note misogynistic characters and that the show is very anti-men.

Such a worldview espoused by Jane Campion? Someone get CNN, Reuters, Fox, NBC, ITN, Daily Telegraph, Night"still on TV?"Line, TMZ, etic. etc. on the phone, for this is a happening truly unprecedented.

One fact I have learned from this movie is that there are no snakes in New Zealand. Another fact I have observed from this movie is that there are no attractive men in New Zealand either, LOL.

As a male viewer who watched it start to finish in two sittings, I have to say I didn't even notice an 'anti-man, pro-woman' vibe. At no point did it enter my head that it was in any way a consideration of gender issues or had a feminist agenda.

In hindsight, thinking about it now, I can see how one could make that argument, but I still don't think it had a simplistic 'men-bad, women-good' viewpoint. The argument could also be made that the three most positive, selfless characters in the show - Johnno, Jamie and the crazy old guy - are male. I thought the strength of TOTL was that it showed how everyone, of whatever age or gender, was messed up, mixed up, and a combination of good and bad.

And I don't see any problem with the main character being a woman, I didn't feel myself alienated or unable to identify with her because I'm a man. I was right with her when she revealed she'd been gang-raped, when Matt told her he was her father, when she went to GJ entirely broken. I don't buy into that whole Laura Mulvey stuff about adopting a masculine or feminine viewing position - I watched it as a human being, able to empathise with another human being. I thought the chcarcter of Robin was amazing, the perfect combination of strength and vulnerability. I haven't been so impressed by a character since Kenneth Branagh's Wallander.

Overall, I didn't think about gender at all while watching it - I was simply absorbed by the story, the acting, the atmosphere, the scenery and the soundtrack.

If anyone does find this too 'anti-men, pro-women', I wouldn't recommend watching The Fall with Gillian Anderson.

I was too busy being offended by how this poorly written show insulted my intelligence with one-dimensional characters and the highly implausible plot twists. It's a nice comedy show, but it truly falls short to be a genuine critique on pressing issues that do need to be adressed. I hope the second season of True Detective can give Elisabeth Moss the proper platform to tell a stronger story of gender inequality.

There are good people and bad people and every gray area in between within every gender, genetic background, culture, and socio-economic position. People are people. Movies are about people. Some movies are about good and/or bad people of one particular culture or job or region or gender. Films are moving snapshots of life, often simplified or stereotyped for the sake of streamlined story-telling.

This series is about the effects of misogyny on a small town and on the lives of both them men and women (and, obviously, children) living there. It's the point of the movie. Having seen so many "madonna vs. whore" movies about women, it is no surprise to see the "men are either rapists or weak" flip side in any other film. This is not the first story to over-generalize a specific character trait for the sake of story. Every sit-com out there does it.

This one seems to touch a nerve more deeply than some of the other ones. The knee-jerk reaction seems to be to condemn the series not only for its stereotyping, but also for its other aspects. It's kind of like "yeah, and you smell funny, too" come-backs of childhood. I think the fact that the series upsets people so much is a testament to its strengths. If it really had no artistic merit, it wouldn't have bothered people so much.

Being bothered doesn't make it a "bad" or "badly done" film. It can open dialogue and makes us question our own truths. Sometimes overt stereotyping isn't propaganda, sometimes it just drives home the ridiculousness of stereotyping. American culture, for example, learned as much about acceptance and compassion by listening to Archie Bunker as it did from listening to those who fought for social justice.

If this film makes men think about the nature of misogyny, even in all of its subtle forms, it's a good thing. And if it makes women think about the dangers of stereotyping all men as misogynists, that's a good thing, too.


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Movies are IQ tests. The IMDB boards are each person's opportunity to broadcast their score.