Let's Watch a Girl Get Beaten to Death - Revisited

(This post is from guest-blogger TonyaJ, who sent this as a comment - but it needed to be a post. Here also are a couple of featured links: the Nothing But Red book project to benefit Equality Now and Amnesty International's International Violence Against Women Act. )

On May 20, 2007, Joss wrote a stunning essay about Du'a Khalil Aswad's murder, violence against women depicted on film, and violence against women in general. Because of this impassioned plea for sanity in the world, I started doing more, a little at a time. I joined Equality Now awhile back and contribute "X" dollars a month to their causes. I write blogs once in awhile on subjects that are meaningful to me and try to be more aware and compassionate about what is happening to people, every single day.

Joss's essay: Let's Watch A Girl Get Beaten To Death.

It's also on the main page of this blog.

I received the email below last Friday morning, the 28th. Below the text of the email are three links; one is to a gathering honoring Du'a Khalil and other women who were victims of honor killings, as well as what you personally can do to honor Du'a on April 7th, 2008, the anniversary of her murder. Last is a link to a discussion blog:

From The International Campaign Against Honour Killings

Date: Saturday 12 April, 2008
Time: 5.00-9:00pm
Address: University of London Union (ULU)
Room 3D, Malet Street London WC1E 7HY
Closest underground: Russell Square

Hello,

A year after the world was stunned by images of a 17 year old girl being stoned to death in Iraqi Kurdistan; an international panel will debate the rise of honour killings, violence against women, gender apartheid and political Islam in Kurdistan/Iraq and the Middle East.

The high profile speakers are women’s rights activists, academics and experts from Kurdistan, Iraq, Iran, Sweden, New Zealand, and Britain and include:

• Dr Sandra Phelps: Head of Sociology Department, Kurdistan University
• Houzan Mahmoud: representative of Organisation Women’s Freedom in Iraq
• Heather Harvey: head of women’s campaign-Amnesty International in UK
• Maryam Namazie: Spokesperson of Equal Rights Now
• Maria Hagberg: Cofounder of Network against Honour Killings in Sweden
• Azar Majedi: Chair of Organisation for Women’s Liberation in Iran
• Chair: Maria Exall, Communication Workers' Union National Executive in UK

For more information and to confirm please contact the organiser:
Houzan Mahmoud, houzan2007@yahoo.com Tel: 07534264481
Organisation of Women’s Freedom in Iraq - Abroad representative

Also:
• 7th April: A day against 'honour' killings - What you can do
• Conference in San Francisco: Violence Against Women, Honor Killings

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

(from QuoterGal: I haven't been at all active on this blog... got all strikey-involved and then there's that other RL stuff... but if you send me comments, I will post them as guest blogs...)

RUN FROM "CAPTIVITY": New York Times review of torture-porn flick "Captivity"

Well, hah! And not surprisingly, the reviews, including of course this one from Jeannette Catsoulis at The New York Times, are confirming that Captivity is pretty stinkola.

I loved this from the review, especially the last line:

"By the time those heightened expectations are dashed (What? No chain saw?), the money is in and the sequel already in the works. There are no refunds on your innocence."

Though from the sounds of it, I suspect the likelihood of that particular sequel is slim to none.

Cinematical.com's Ryan Stewart has also reviewed Captivity, but I must say I was kinda revolted by his review, and felt compelled to leave a comment.

IGN also reviews the film, saying:

"There is precious little to recommend "Captivity." It is an ultimately pointless tale that throws in anything and everything that might offend -- misogyny, cruelty to animals, patricide, incest, pedophilia, mutilation, cannibalism -- in the hopes of being shocking."

The L.A. Times is reviewing it Monday, due to the lack of a press preview screening. They did, however, review this week's Captivity party in which they quote After Dark promoter Courtney Solomon:

"Solomon claims that Joffé was supportive of the revisions to the film, returning to do reshoots, if not perhaps to the test-marketed ending. 'He's a really nice man,' says Solomon."

Huh. I do wonder what the real story on that is...

They also note, "The original billboards made a cameo appearance at the party, when they were affixed to the outside of the building during early evening hours, easily visible from Sunset Boulevard, until representatives from the MPAA showed up on-site and demanded their removal."

How very socially-conscious and green of After Dark to recycle their discarded billboards.

Defamer.com also sent someone to the party:

"If you're wondering why all the hardware stores in LA were sold out of electrical tape, it's because much of it was stuck to the nipples of the models at the Captivity premiere party last night."

Classy. From the descriptions of the party, I guess Solomon has given up all of his earlier pretense that the film is "also about female empowerment...". By the way, the star and most of the announced celebrities, including the director, failed to attend this glittering soirée, which is sad, because they missed, among other empowering moments, this:

"The music takes a turn, buckling from a poppy remix of The Bravery's 'An Honest Mistake' to the grind of Pantera's 'Walk.' And on cue, like a magician removing a cloth to reveal his latest bit of trickery, the curtain drops and a steel cage full of Suicide Girls spill out, teasing on-lookers, teasing each other, dancing to the music. Hallelujah. This moment crescendos with the entrance of a bald fella who proceeds to hang himself from the top of the cage by hooks in his chest. His skin stretches like rubber. The audience gasps. Those aforementioned tanned bedmates who befriended Navarro? They stand by the sidelines, cameras in hand. Eyes wide and flawless lips curled up in shock. It becomes apparent these are not Suicide Girls by any means. Likely wannabe actresses/models hired for the show. Sheep in a den of wolves."

Oddly, for what seemed an obvious attempt to court additional publicity-arousing controversy and protest, the event-planners were a tad ambivalent about the party's media coverage, according to Condé Nast/portfolio.com/The Hollywood Deal, first inviting, uninviting, and then re-inviting three reporters.

"...it was hard to understand why the party set-up had been handled by super crisis-management firm Sitrick & Co., or why three female reporters--from Portfolio, the Wall Street Journal and the New Yorker--had been told over the weekend they were uninvited to the party. After kicking up dust, they (we) were let back in. When asked about the initially rescinded invitation last night, Solomon said, "there had been a lot of sketchy people on the list " and that we had been flagged. Hmmm. Portfolio? WSJ? New Yorker? Sketchy publications indeed."

Portfolio.com also reported:

"Toward the end of the night, Solomon, who stood watching as a pale and bare chested man was suspended from a rack by pins in his flesh, ruminated on what might be the sunset of the torture-porn genre. 'It's at the end of a movie cycle,' he said. 'This is like a party for the end.' "

OMFG, one can only hope.

This party was held just around the corner from me, at a club charmingly-named "Privilege." I think probably if I had just dressed in black, stuck a prop axe through my head and carried a blender, I could've gotten in. Unfortunately, I had to wash my hair or something, I forget what exactly.