You Can Learn A Lot By How People Rank Movies

A couple days ago, a friend posted a list of how he thinks Quentin Tarantino's movies rank, and invited arguing in the comments. His list was as follows:

1. Jackie Brown 
2. Kill Bill v.2
3. Inglorious Bastards
4. Pulp Fiction
5. Kill Bill v.1
6. Reservoir Dogs
7. Death Proof
8. Hateful Eight
9. Django Unchained


"Arguing" commenced (his list is pretty much in line with my own, although I'd rank Death Proof higher, I really love that movie, but Jackie Brown in without a doubt in my mind, his best). Pretty quickly, though, I saw a pattern. Many of those who commented were white dudes. Many of them made statements like "Ugh, Jackie brown is terrible. Kill Bill meh. Death Proof is hot garbage". His best movie is Pulp Fiction or Reservoir Dogs or Hateful 8 or Inglorious Bastards.

Sigh, white dudes. Pulp Fiction is an excellent film. Its great, few will argue. It helped turn cinema on its ear when it was released as being "original" (topic for another time) with some other films in the mid-90's. By the time QT got to Kill Bill it was all aboard the revenge train for the rest of his run. But of his first 3, Jackie Brown is a cut above for being a slick, well acted, clever who's-conning-who movie with a female lead. Make note of that, I am just getting warmed up, here.
Then, Kill Bill comes along and is a mash up of genre tributes, and while Jackie Brown is his finest film, I'd say The Bride from Kill Bill is his most iconic and fun to watch character. Kill Bill is a movie about characters, and for the most part, these characters are women. Getting revenge. There is so much revenge and lots and lots of blood.

Death Proof is also about women getting revenge, but in a souped up old sports car. It's crazy action that never slows down once it gets to speed, and has, as my mother puts it, "the most satisfying ending she has ever seen". 

Now, these 3 movies (I'm counting Kill Bill as one movie, here) have one thing the others don't: Women in the lead. And comment after comment in that thread made me think "WOW! what a crazy sociological experiment my friend has done, and how fucking sexist these white dudes are". But of course, they aren't sexist, right? I'm sure these guys all don't mean to point out that a movie isn't as good because it's simply inferior to a movie where, let's say Hateful 8, has a premise of a woman being transported to her own hanging, and she is punched and dragged along the way. Django Unchained and Inglorious Bastards sort of cancel each other out, but it's more of the macho revenge. And Reservoir Dogs, sigh. Wild, rapid fire dialogue and who's out to get who that was done so much better in Jackie Brown. Also, I am always suspicious folks who favor Reservoir Dogs  have that beat up VHS of Scarface hidden in their house they just can't let go of.

All this from a seemingly harmless ranking of films of a director who is a misogynist, who makes male gaze-y films. He's been accused of sexual assault (to no ones surprise, he was good buddies with Harvey Weinstein!) I know so many people who hate his movies and don't like him. But, you don't have to like his movies to see this in your face pattern of white guys disliking something because women are in the lead. Women speaking dialogue that is essentially the same dialogue men would have if they films were recast. Would these guys fel differently if instead of Pam Grier, Jackie Brown were about a dude played by, Samuel L Jackson? And maybe Pam Grier could be Ordell? Maybe Robert Forester is just his best friend since childhood who wants to help Jackie out, in a platonic way. No room for queerness in the world of QT (again, another topic for another blog).

I'm sure, of course, that all of the white dudes who rank these films low do it because, honestly, they just are not as good, it could not possibly be they are harboring these sexist leanings. Maybe they're subconscious? No, it must be that I am just wrong. I am just reading too far into it. I am making it up out of thin air the pattern of all these white dudes hating on films with great female leads (Death Proof is more about the action than the acting, this I will concede). 

So, I saw this, and I can't unsee it. I can just share it with you. I'm not saying run out and watch all these movies, either. But if you do watch any QT film, let it be his masterpiece. Jackie Brown. And think, really think, about why you do or do not care for it.