Trailer Watch: Nina Menkes’ “Brainwashed” Exposes How Women Are Dehumanized in Cinema

Trailers

Trailer Watch: Nina Menkes’ “Brainwashed” Exposes How Women Are Dehumanized in Cinema

“The male gaze is definitely normalized in our society,” we’re told in a new trailer for “Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power.” The doc explores how women are objectified in films and the impact that on-screen storytelling has on the real world. “I personally see a very clear connection between this visual language of cinema, employment discrimination against women, and an environment of pervasive sexual harassment, abuse, and assault,” director Nina Menkes explains in the spot.

Based on Menkes’ lecture “Sex and Power: The Hidden Language of Cinema,” the Sundance film sees Menkes showcasing the myriad ways that women are sexualized and dehumanized by the camera. “Women actors are often shot with fragmented body parts. Another thing that’s very common is a female body on direct display for the audience,” she observes. A wide range of film clips, hailing from different decades and genres, are included to illustrate her points.

“Brainwashed” marks Menkes’ seventh feature. “Phantom Love” and “Queen of Diamonds” are among her other credits.

Set to launch in theaters October 21, “Brainwashed” includes interviews with “Daughters of the Dust” filmmaker Julie Dash, “Transparent” creator Joey Soloway, and “Twilight” helmer Catherine Hardwicke, among other women and non-binary industry vets.