Female trouble: juggling themes

 Kaitlyn Woodard

Professor Matt Wisniewski

English 280

September 18, 2020

    “Female Trouble” is an exploitation film which does everything in its power to shock an audience to gain attention for its criticism on certain topics. I will acknowledge that this black comedy did not age well for all audiences but, at the same time it does offer valid criticism on certain culture values within his societies subcultures.

    The world that John Waters and his team creates is full of violence and contradictions. This can be seen within the sets and costuming. Dawn Davenport and her friends are obsessed with the idea of beauty and fame yet when she is upset with her parents she is willing to have sex on a matress on the side of a road with a man who does not respect her or find her beautiful. Plus that scenery is far from something that suggests that he respects her or sees her as much more than someone to get him off. This idea of pursuing beauty and fame is a central focus on Dawn’s goals and yet this film shows her participating in crime, having sex on the side of the road, and staying with a man on multiple occassions cheated on her and was no longer all that intrested in being with her. When participating in these actions she does not have respect for herself and  when participating in crime she doesn’t consider how this could negatively impact her. Another big contradiction is the implication of genitalia in Donna Dasher’s wardrobe even though she and her husband insist on being absent while others use sexual language or swear. This can be seen in her first outfit, a white dress and hat which suggests the form of a vagina, with the vaginal lips and hooded clitoris. Then when they are heading to Dawn’s house she is wearing a long pale pink coat with white fluff outlining the edges and a white fluffy hat. The fluff along the edge and the way it fastens kind of resembles a penis with the hat being the tip of a penis.

    This is not the only occasion though where the idea of superiority is presented within the film. This is seen in multiple cultures that Waters and his team present within the film. One small aspect that plays into larger themes is how gendered stereotypes can play into the LGBTQ community and the insistance that any man presenting femininly is seen as some members of the community as automatically gay or just in denial. Then within heterosexual characters it appears that Waters plays into existing harmful stereotypes, such as all older men participating in  predatory behavior towards young children(specifically Taffy in these instances), and flips claims onto heterosexual people. Dawn from the beginning is abusive towards her daughter and at times her friends would join in on the abuse, chaining her up to a bed for simply annoying them and being rude. Dawn also is completely neglectful not allowing her daughter to attend school and make friends yet at the same time punishing her for being loud and disruptive in the house for some form of attention. I have seen on multiple occasions arguments made that LGBTQ parents would not be able to properly take care of a kid and that they would turn abusive towards the child. Then there is the issue of marriage. Dawn’s marriage is full of infidelity and other unhealthy behaviors, the sanctity of their union is tarnished. Which was an argument often brought against a lot of LGBTQ people especially when it pertains to gay couples because it would tarnish marriage as a union, these scenes show though that just because a couple is straight that does not mean they will respect marital unions. Also, infidelity specifically is often brought against bisexual people because they can’t “choose”, so it only makes sense that they won’t stay loyal to their partner.

    The film Waters and his team created seems to have held little sacred and at times appears to heavily cross the line. However, that does not mean it holds no message. During this time exploitation films were especially popular and I could see how filming dark subjects can be fun and entertaining. This format allowed Waters to bring these issues to light and hopefully get as many eyes as possible on them at the time. Through using Dawn Davenport as a criticism on a pursuit to fame and with many others several more topics. From marriage, to child abuse, to how gender stereotypes play harmful roles in both heterosexual and homosexual relationships.