Be honest. I did. I remember thinking Prince is cool but seriously what is his problem with women? After I saw that movie, and lising to some of his lyrics I remember thinking to myself that he gets off on humiliating women for some werid reason. Did you get that impression after you saw that movie?

I didn't get that impression. I saw that it was a movie with great music performances w/ really bad acting in between.

Well, no

i remember that even though we both loved watching 'purple rain' so much that we went to the movies six times to see the damn thing, my mom always had the complaint that prince must not care for women very much to have them treated the way they were in that movie. i wasn't really able to argue her points very much at the time (well, i was only 13, so i wasn't really up on my women's studies), and i do think prince's view of women has matured significantly since that movie came out...or at least, i hope so!

Nope.

I knew he was.

Unfortunately, I think stardom would do nothing but reinforce those beliefs. He knows on some level most-- if not all of the women he's been with or that scream for him-- wouldn't give him the time of day if he weren't "Prince". I'm sure part of what drove him was to be in that position where he could make them feel like he felt. Once he got what he wanted that is.

I was already aware of Prince's mysoginy when I saw PR, and that movie sort of let fans hope he was becoming less of a male chauvinist pig, though by no means completely reformed. I think his attitude is only relatively better now. He used the view women as defined by Penthouse, and now it's as defined by his interpretation of the bible.

Well, I always thought that a major point of that movie was the cycle of abuse, which is very real. I saw The Kid hating his father for the way he treats his mother, yet at the same time he's oblivious to the fact that he himself is treating women that way. I think the whole point of the moment when he plays "Purple Rain" is that he has come to the realization that he was turning into a chauvinistic dick, much like his dad, and that he had to break the cycle or else he would wind up the same way.

JediMaster said:

That's called spin. What would explain Morris' actions then?

On second thought I think we're all right because there's likely to be more than one reason for the misogyny. It's also more than a reflection on Prince because the directors, producers, studio, bandmembers, etc. went along with it.

of course, what we don't consider is that in reality, if The Kid tried to raise his lace-gloved hand to just about any woman in the world, she'd probably be able to stuff his pert little ass into a microwave and enjoy him as a light afternoon snack.

Aerogram said:

Does he? In all honesty I think he has changed the way he treats women. But I don't know if I would think he is any less sexist now. In fact I think he is just as chavanistic but in a diffrent way. Listen to the way he talks about women in his interviews. Like on the view when he was discribing how he didn't like people touching Mayte. On TRL how if we stop the battle of the sexes men and women will fall into their proper roles. Whatever that means! And remember when Kevin Smith was discribing how Prince was preaching the bible as order Man, then woman and all the women were not having that! Just seems like he is using the bible to excuse his sexist additude.

To be fair I would say P. Control is a very inspiring and feminist song but I can also see how alot of women might even be offended by that because basicaly saying a woman's power is through her pussy, which it very well may be but alot of women might see that as a chavanistic way of looking at femminisim.

I think Prince still may have a negative view of women.

no.

whodknee said:

"LAY OFF THAT!"

Nope.


I thought he was gay.

AsianBomb777 said:

rudeboynpg said:

If you treat a woman who WANTS to be treated like shit like shit does that make a man a misogynist?

If you treat a woman who LETS people treat her like shit like shit does that make a man a misogynst?

If you treat a woman who USES herself
to manipulate like shit does that make a man a misogynist?

whodknee said:

-----
You guys should listen to the voice over on the PR DVD. Some of the movie came from things that happen to Prince growing up or at least tht is what the director said.

AsianBomb777 said:

-----
Wishful thinking for you Asian Bomb.

Krystal666 said:[
To be fair I would say P. Control is a very inspiring and feminist song but I can also see how alot of women might even be offended by that because basicaly saying a woman's power is through her pussy, which it very well may be but alot of women might see that as a chavanistic way of looking at femminisim.

I think Prince still may have a negative view of women.[/quote]

I hear a lot of folks say that P. Control is about a woman having power because of her sex, but I never get that from the song. Listening to the lyrics, it's more about a woman who has control of her sexuality and puts her goals first, not allowing her "pussy" to control her and fall into a trap of succumbing to a relationship that leads her off track. Guys may step to her, but she controls her destiny, gets her degree and finds success.

As to Prince being a misogonist, I never got that, either. The Kid was a role loosely based on his life, but it was a ROLE. So just based on the movie, I made no assumptions as to what the man is really like.

origmnd said:

I kind of agree with you but it doesn't excuse the way P used to treat women. to me, he was still a misogynist, whether the women agreed to let him treat them that way or not.

Of course. Almost every scene has obvious or underlying objectification and/or hatred towards the fairer sex. It was Prince's star vehicle, so most of the blame should indeed go to him. The '80's were not PC times, but he should have known enough to get it toned down.































Nudity's one thing, but throwin' a bitch in a dumpster?

origmnd said:

Yes, yes, and yes.

Using her weakness as a way of excusing mysoginistic behaviour is still mysoginistic, possibly even more so than it would be normally.
[Edited 3/28/05 22:57pm]

Krystal666 said:

Nope. I just thought he was a fucking shit actor.
[Edited 3/28/05 23:06pm]

whodknee said:

Well, we weren't discussing whether or not Morris is a misogynist, we were talking about Prince, but I'll still bite. Morris's character is the antagonist, and thus should NOT be seen as being better than The Kid. The whole thing is about The Kid overcoming his environment, and stopping himself before he becomes no better than Morris, his father or whatnot. I personally do think that misogyney is a theme of the film, but I don't think its intended as an endorsement. I'm not saying the film does this well, just that I always got that from it.

As for it "being more than a reflection on Prince", well, I think its more a reflection on the screenwriter. I realize that Prince had plenty of input, but my understanding is that he gave the directors, screenwriters and what not far more control on PR, because he knew jack about making movies. After PR, he decided he could do it himself, and that was why he directed UTCM and GB (which proved he still knew jack about it, he just thought he had gotten the hang of it)

To be honest, some songs did bother me and I did used to cringe at the "Gett Off" video, treating women as objects. However, someone once explained something to me that I thought sums it up quite well: Prince demeans and liberates women at the same time. Seems to be quite frustrated that women aren't allowed to express their sexuality in the same way as men and wishes that they would.

meow85 said:

Thank you.

yes and i still think prince is a misogynist today -

meow85 said:

If people would learn to spell the word..


I wasn't sayning it is an EXCUSE for that male behaviour ...just that it may LOOK like that by the way the woman resonds/ reacts/ presents herself.