Current Events > Here we go again. Stars blame sexism on Ocean's 8 lukewarm reviews

(+) Yeah! (+)

Stars of Oceans 8, the heist movie featuring all-female leads, have accused male critics of failing to appreciate their film.

Speaking to Yahoo Movies, Mindy Kaling called the dominance of white male reviewers unfair. If I had to base my career on what white men wanted I would be very unsuccessful, so there is obviously an audience out there who want to watch things like [Oceans 8], what I work on, what Sarah [Paulson] works on.

Co-star Cate Blanchett concurred, saying the media had failed to make the mindshift the movie industry had when it came to gender equality. The conversation has to change, she said, and the media has a huge responsibility.

study by USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative was released earlier this week, examining the gender and ethnic profile of US critics who wrote about last years 100 most successful films found 80% were men and 82% white.

Such makeup was well-known, said Blanchett, but only belatedly being raised. When you start pointing that stuff out you realise theres a certain gaze that looks at women.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/jun/15/oceans-8-dominance-men-film-reviews

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I guess they are taking a que from Star Wars and blaming ever negative review on sexism.
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.....I literally did not even realize they were making an Ocean's 8.

I'd blame marketing.
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I mean, in both RT scores and 7 day gross, 8 has done better than 12. And 12 was pretty hyped coming off 11.

Maybe the entire series after 11 is just lackluster. It's not like the reviews are even that bad or anything.
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LockeMonster posted...

I mean, in both RT scores and 7 day gross, 8 has done better than 12. And 12 was pretty hyped coming off 11.

Maybe the entire series after 11 is just lackluster. It's not like the reviews are even that bad or anything.

That one came out like years and years ago. So I guess if you adjust from inflation it might not look so good for 8. And with the Incredibles coming out this week , I don't think it will have legs.
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Sure, because movies like Shape of Water, or Lady Bird with female leads, weren't some of the biggest movies of last year.
Make a movie that actually looks interesting and I'll watch it. Not a sequel noone wanted, without the actors who we loved on those movies in the first place.
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It seems like Mindy Kaling has a habit of blaming all of her woes on outside influences instead of her just not being very talented or likeable.
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DrizztLink posted...

It seems like Mindy Kaling has a habit of blaming all of her woes on outside influences instead of her just not being very talented or likeable.

Yeah lets just ignore reviewers are super left wing and the reviews for ghostbusters literally mentioned evil sexism in every positive review. This wasnt as bad but didnt have the backlash. I mean look at the reviews compared to audience scores.

cjsdowg posted...

That one came out like years and years ago. So I guess if you adjust from inflation it might not look so good for 8. And with the Incredibles coming out this week , I don't think it will have legs.

Currently 8 is 60 and 12 was 50. Adjusted for inflation puts 12 at around 65.

Not much difference, plus it had an extra $40 million for the budget compared to 8 and reviews are not subject to inflation.
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It's sad because no one challenges these people on their statements or even says "Could it be because it wasn't very good?"
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This is why Trump won
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NeonOctopus posted...

This is why Trump won

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Most of the criticism has been aimed at the director, who is male. Their objection makes no sense.

Sometimes shitty movies are just shitty movies, but if there's a primarily female cast, they just tout it as sexism. Ghost Busters Reboot was a really shitty movie, and not in an enjoyable way.

Resident Evil and Underworld movies are really shitty, but in a fun way. Nobody downs that.

These movies are just trying to make a statement and not trying to make a compelling movie. The story, acting, and directing are all secondary to the pat on the back that they're looking for
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Drop the victim complex and stop being so entitled. People don't have to love your movie just because you have vaginas.
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These topics are like lightning rods for incels
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thelovefist posted...

These topics are like lightning rods for incels

"You only dislike this movies because you hates womenz!"

"No I just thought it was bad."

"UR AN INCEL!"

Jesus christ
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Regardless of the reviews, it's quite a fair point that white men make up 80% of the critics, no?
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YourDrunkFather posted...

Drop the victim complex and stop being so entitled. People don't have to love your movie just because you have vaginas.

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scar the 1 posted...

Regardless of the reviews, it's quite a fair point that white men make up 80% of the critics, no?

no
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Mister_Spyker posted...

Sure, because movies like Shape of Water, or Lady Bird with female leads, weren't some of the biggest movies of last year.

This is a really shitty comparison.
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cjsdowg posted...

I guess they are taking a que from Star Wars and blaming ever negative review on sexism.

In a way. I think it's a bit more complicated than that.

In the case of Star Wars, it was basically "this is Star Wars, nerds. You should like it because it's doing Star Wars things, no matter who the main character is". Whereas for Ocean's 8 it's more like "this movie wasn't made for white men, so why are white men the majority of the ones reviewing it?" Not to mention that Star Wars actually had the critics' back and it was the fanbase that rebelled, whereas in this case, they don't have the critics either.

This is more in line with the Brie Larson Wrinkle In Time topic we had earlier this week. The idea that certain movies would be reviewed better if the review base was more diverse.

Then again, I haven't seen either, so I have no opinion on either Wrinkle in Time or Ocean's 8.
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scar the 1 posted...

Regardless of the reviews, it's quite a fair point that white men make up 80% of the critics, no?

Fair in the sense that it may be factually true. But not particularly relevant.

Unless you believe white men can't fairly review a movie that stars women, for some reason. But then you would have to explain away all the times those white men gave movies starring women positive reviews.
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Esrac posted...

Unless you believe white men can't fairly review a movie that stars women

Again, it's a little more complicated than that.

Different people with different backgrounds can have different perspectives on a story.

Take Get Out for example. It's a very obvious example, because the vast majority of critics did approve it. There were aspects of Get Out that make a lot of sense if you grew up in the American black experience, and the movie went well out of its way to show that. There are other movies that are similar in how they show the black experience (either realistically or fantastically), but the facets are more subtle, and it would take someone who did grow up in the black American experience to catch on.

This is not to say we should be touting the idea of "X movie is only good if you're black", BUT with a more diverse review base, we can more easily determine which audience responds well to a movie, and whether the critical response is due to culture or actual quality.
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RAWR! Not everyone can get by on their cute looks like yours truly! *fans self*
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I had my eye on this title because I'm down for more of Ocean's heist shenanigans. Just a bit apprehensive since they cast people like Rihanna for a high profile movie like this. Shame it doesn't seem to be going so well for them.
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Was it also sexist that I didn't care to watch any of the Ocean's movies?
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I thought it was well received.
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creativerealms posted...

I thought it was well received.

As well received as Ghostbusters?!
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Also, speaking of Mindy Kaling:

https://nypost.com/2015/04/05/mindy-kalings-brother-pretended-to-be-black-to-get-into-med-school/
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I didn't like it that much. It didn't have the charm and it wasn't funny like the other Ocean's films.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThGL4yl_2vw" data-time="

Awkwafina was probably the best part of Ocean's 8. It should have just been called Ocean's 1 starring her.

CyricZ posted...

cjsdowg posted...

I guess they are taking a que from Star Wars and blaming ever negative review on sexism.

In a way. I think it's a bit more complicated than that.

In the case of Star Wars, it was basically "this is Star Wars, nerds. You should like it because it's doing Star Wars things, no matter who the main character is". Whereas for Ocean's 8 it's more like "this movie wasn't made for white men, so why are white men the majority of the ones reviewing it?" Not to mention that Star Wars actually had the critics' back and it was the fanbase that rebelled, whereas in this case, they don't have the critics either.

This is more in line with the Brie Larson Wrinkle In Time topic we had earlier this week. The idea that certain movies would be reviewed better if the review base was more diverse.

Then again, I haven't seen either, so I have no opinion on either Wrinkle in Time or Ocean's 8.

What? The way you make it sound most of the bad reviews are from men. That's just not true.
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cjsdowg posted...

Speaking to Yahoo Movies, Mindy Kaling called the dominance of white male reviewers unfair. If I had to base my career on what white men wanted I would be very unsuccessful, so there is obviously an audience out there who want to watch things like [Oceans 8], what I work on, what Sarah [Paulson] works on.

Why does it always come back to white men specifically? If they simply want to complain about men in general reviewing the film that would be one thing, but they just love bitch about about white men at any opportunity.
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Didn't the movie have a higher opening than any Oceans movie? Also, was it any good? I never even saw 12 and 13, but 11 was pretty great, and this one looked cool at least.
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16-BITTER posted...

Its not like this movie had nostalgia working against it like the Ghostbusters fiasco

Think again! Many people see the reboot of Ocean's 11 starring Brad Pitt & George Clooney as a bonafide modern classic! Even if it was just an average movie! & Despite having a different title, we all know this is just a female reboot a la Ghostbusters.

Anywho, it doesn't matter if you're white, black or both! This movie probably SUCKS!
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DifferentialEquation posted...

cjsdowg posted...

Speaking to Yahoo Movies, Mindy Kaling called the dominance of white male reviewers unfair. If I had to base my career on what white men wanted I would be very unsuccessful, so there is obviously an audience out there who want to watch things like [Oceans 8], what I work on, what Sarah [Paulson] works on.

Why does it always come back to white men specifically? If they simply want to complain about men in general reviewing the film that would be one thing, but they just love bitch about about white men at any opportunity.

Because white men hold the most power over every other race of men.

creativerealms posted...

What? The way you make it sound most of the bad reviews are from men. That's just not true.

Is that not a fact? I'm not suggesting no white men liked it, but your statement of "most of the bad reviews are from men" is likely true. Of course, most of the good reviews are from men as well, because of the skewed demographics of the critic base.

And that's my whole point, and the point of the argument of a more diverse critic base.
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CyricZ posted...

creativerealms posted...

What? The way you make it sound most of the bad reviews are from men. That's just not true.

Is that not a fact? I'm not suggesting no white men liked it, but your statement of "most of the bad reviews are from men" is likely true. Of course, most of the good reviews are from men as well, because of the skewed demographics of the critic base.

And that's my whole point, and the point of the argument of a more diverse critic base.

^ they got a point there. Most good reviews were also from white males. I bet they don't mind having those white males review the movie. It's the other white males that didn't fawn all over it they mind reviewing the movie.
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sexism only exists because of Oceans 8s bad reviews
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thelovefist posted...

These topics are like lightning rods for incels

Anyone that uses that word likely don't have much of a life themselves, seems like something a cuck would use.

^^look, theres one now!!!
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Honesty, I don't even think the original (well remake, I've never seen the actual original) wasn't really all that great, it was decent though. The sequels were just bad and milked something that should've only been a one off thing.

I didn't even know this was coming out yet. Haven't seen ads or heard anything. I heard when it was announced because of all the bitter anti SJW's crying and then all the SJW's acting like it's the greatest thing to ever happen and shitting on anyone who thought it was a stupid idea of who wasn't actively praising it.
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CookieMarvin posted...

^^look, theres one now!!!

You're a cuck?

I honestly haven't seen a single commercial or ad for this movie.
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KainFourteh posted...

CookieMarvin posted...

^^look, theres one now!!!

You're a cuck?

hey, thatd probably be better than resenting women because they wont have sex w you
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I disliked every single one of them so I ain't watching another addition to this crappy and repetitive franchise.