Jennifer Jason Leigh is one of the stars of Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming western The Hateful Eight and if there’s one thing Tarantino is known for, it is the violent nature of his many films. He clearly enjoys putting his characters, male and female, in gory and violent situations. This has however sparked some rather heated accusations as of late. Many allege that the director is a misogynist – largely due to the amount of abuse Leigh’s character suffers throughout the film.
Leigh has now come to the director’s defence. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter Leigh was asked about the accusations, and she gave a very compassionate response. “He’s about the most un-misogynistic person I’ve ever met. He loves women. He writes the best parts for women around, really”.
I do find these allegations rather puzzling. Looking back over Tarantino’s career, it becomes rather evident that he is as Leigh states an “un-misogynistic person”. He is responsible for some of the most iconic female roles in cinematic history. While women have been sidelined in some of his films, they have taken center stage in others. Have people forgot that Pulp Fiction was entirely built around that iconic picture of Uma Thurman lying in bed, fully dressed in black and smoking a cigarette?
He then went on to make Jackie Brown, Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2, and Death Proof. All of these films contain strong, resourceful and complex female characters. Yes, there might be a lot of violence but that’s just par for the course with Tarantino. Yes, his characters are often subjected to violence but they get through it (most of the time).
Looking at it now, no other director has really continuously provided women with strong and astute roles in the same way Tarantino has, apart from James Cameron (who deserves an honourable mention here). With this said, it would be interesting to find out what people are basing these accusations on.
#Peace.Love.JenniferJasonLeigh
