Viewers Call Out Movies With Questionable Gender Representation

Reddit’s reaction to ‘Just Go With It’ shows viewers won’t stand for outdated stereotypes.

Damjan

• Published in Film & TV
• December 11, 2024

How films represent different people has always sparked debate, especially regarding its impact on the plot and the audience. Research shows that viewers are more likely to connect with films that feature characters they can relate to.

This connection often goes beyond race or gender, extending to age, personality, and life experiences. When filmmakers fail to represent these groups accurately or rely on outdated stereotypes, it disconnects the audience.

This lack of authenticity can lead to criticism of films that must be in touch with reality. A recent example of this emerged on Reddit when a user, Embarrassed-Toe-1920, shared their thoughts on the 2011 romantic comedy 'Just Go With It' in the popular subreddit r/TwoXChromosomes.

The film, starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston, centers on a wealthy but shallow plastic surgeon who, after a fling with a younger woman, ultimately falls for his older assistant. Embarrassed-Toe-1920 called the scenario "disgusting," noting how it reinforces harmful gender dynamics, portraying a storyline that seems like a man’s fantasy and a woman’s nightmare.

While the comment may have upset some, it raises important questions about how films handle relationships and gender roles. In 'Just Go With It,' the 25-year-old woman plays a minor role, serving as a plot device, while the older assistant, with more complexity, becomes the genuine love interest.

This reinforces the idea that women are only significant in romantic contexts or through their relationships with men, rarely showing them as independent characters. This Reddit user prompted others to suggest similar movies. Here's the list.

Research shows that viewers are more likely to connect with films that feature characters they can relate to.

What Women Want

"It still baffles me how many women were involved in the making of What Women Want. It should be called What Men Think Women Want. It is so so so so stupid."

The Notebook

"I love many movies that Ryan Gosling is in, but in The Notebook (2004), the character threatening s***ide (or at least a broken neck and bones) if Rachel McAdams won't date him has got to be one of the more disgusting coercive interactions in a mainstream movie that only a bunch of men in the writers room (and a male novelist) could think of as "romantic". Truly messed up stuff."

Blended.

"Another Adam Sandler movie - Blended. Overall kind of a cute but dumb movie. But there's this one scene where leading lady is helping him pick out tampons for his daughter and basically explains he needs to get small ones because of her small v*gina. They extend it further by having the checkout lady make an awkward comment about the days when she could use those.

When cringe meets misinformation..."

"Basically every single James Bond movie ever. "

A woman critiqued male-only writing rooms.

"This reminds me of the woman who wrote about male only writing rooms, she cited an episode of a crime drama where the inspector declared that the k*ller must have redressed the female victim because her "bra and panties don't match". And her underwear was really expensive, at least $20 for her bra alone!"

Star Trek

"Just watched an old episode of the original Star Trek where a woman somehow switched bodies with Captain Kirk against his will as a way to take over his command/life. The way the crew was convinced that the apparent Captain Kirk wasn’t himself was summed up by Scotty: “I’ve never before seen the Captain red-faced with hysteria.” God damn."

The episode of Ted Lasso in Amsterdam.

"The episode of Ted Lasso in Amsterdam, where Rebecca falls into a canal, goes into the houseboat of the man who helped her out, showers there, and ends up sleeping there. The whole time I was thinking “what MAN wrote this?!” In what universe would an adult woman go into the home of a complete stranger and feel comfortable enough to shower, let alone spend the night?!"

Passengers

"Passengers, and if you can't tell that Chris Pratt is absolutely evil in that movie, you're definitely not safe to be around. And tbh, I've heard the "he picked the wrong girl obviously " argument, and it also reeks of predatory male privilege."

"Anything with 90% of men being the protagonist and the overly-objectified women who are only there as love interests. "

National Treasure

"My ex and I rewatched the first National Treasure movie last year and it was...rough. The treatment of Diane Kruger's character was downright criminal.

She plays an archivist working in the f*****g National Archives, a bona fide professional in her field, but once she gets wrapped up in the (from her perspective, INSANE) hunt for the Declaration of Independence she's treated like a child. I can't count the number of times the two male leads share a look and shake their head in response to DK's character asking questions. They just oozed "aww isn't she cute, she's trying so hard to keep up" energy. The infantilization was crazy."

Strong women characters.

Extroverted, adventurous women inexplicably fall for quiet introverts and make it their mission to "fix" them.

"I can't imagine any Adam Sandler movies holding up especially well tbh. "

S1 Supernatural episode

The Switch

Knocked Up

M.A.S.H.

Ghostbusters

Love Actually.

"Every Judd Apatow movie."

"I feel like this is basically every movie until "Clueless."

Knocked up.

Daddy’s Home

"Just watched Daddy’s Home (Will Ferrel and Mark Wahlberg) with my parents. As someone who’s just coming out of an emotionally abusive relationship with a narcissist, I was floored by the amount of gaslighting played for comedy on display in that movie.

Both of those men were treating the wife character as an object to be won. It’s was pretty gross. If I was watching it on my own I would have turned it off 10 mins in."

Supernatural

"The sheer amount of times that the woman costars died instead of their male ones was enough that people started memeing it. And then the people in charge got all mad when we started shipping them with the other male characters. They've got no one to blame, but their own s****y writing."

Some Disney episodes

"Poor Things, for so many reasons. "

"THANK YOU! That movie felt like a 3 hour sequence of triggers and rage bait. And the gaslighting in the reviews! "You don't understand, it's actually a very feminist movie 🤓" Miss me with that bs. Unlike the protagonist, I have a functioning adult brain of my own, thank you very much. Sorry for the rant, I'm just so glad I'm not alone with this! All the best to you."

Ready Player One

"Ready Player One was a major one for me - I mean, the book alone already gives me the ick but the whole "All my problems are fixed because I'm finally loved even though I'm soooo ugly!!" s**t from the protagonist's love interest was especially ridiculous in the movie, considering that they gave her a tiny, faded red mark, which you couldn't even SEE in most scenes because of the lightning."

American Pie

"I watched the first few minutes of American Pie: Girls Rules and turned it off because it was so blatantly written by men and i was not about to subject myself to an hour and a half of a stupid movie written by stupid men about ***adolescent female sexuality***. like, just f**k no. i didn't even bother with googling the writers, it was THAT obvious. a critic also said the same thing."

"There's Something About Mary"

"Just watched it this morning and that exact thought kept popping up everytime a joke was made."

Chef.

Indecent Proposal.

Scott Pilgrim

"This might be an unpopular opinion, but it’s how I feel about Scott Pilgrim. I won’t deny that it’s a really well-made movie overall. However, I’ve always struggled with *why* Ramona Flowers suddenly becomes so interested in Scott Pilgrim. What does she see in him? That aspect of the story felt a little too rooted in the male gaze for me."

Any movie with a se* scene.

Catch and Release

Hot tub Time Machine.

"Felt like a forced excuse to showcase J Law naked. "

Dumb and Dumber.

Sucker Punch.

Time Traveler’s Wife

Naruto.

The English.

"Anything written by Quentin Tarantino"

Indiana Jones

"Not the worst offender by far, but on a recent rewatch I was kinda shocked at how patronizing and at times outright misogynistic the Indiana Jones movies are. I never clocked that when I watched them as a child. But Jesus, I had to do a double take when it was implied that he slept with his love interest in the past when she was underage and his student. Like, I am sorry WTF did you just say?"

Old School.

Bladerunner 2049.

Game Of Thrones.

How I met your mother.

"Pretty much any stoner comedy."

When an unremarkable guy wins the dream girl without growth or effort.

50 first dates.

Dude, Where's My Car?

Wonder Woman 2017.

"Wonder Woman 2017. Wonder Woman is a super hero in her own right but it took the death of her man to unleash her full potential and defeat evil. The movie literally defined her powers as it related to a man in her life. I almost walked out."

The Godfather

The Holiday

Lost.

Clockwork Orange

Bridgerton

Walking Dead.

Try Guys.

Peaky Blinders.

Movies have a significant impact on how we see the world. When filmmakers show characters accurately and diversely, they make their stories better and help create a more inclusive society.

We must remove stereotypes about women and show them as real, complex people with their goals and desires. Today’s audiences want to see respect and honesty in films, and filmmakers can meet this demand by telling stories that truly reflect life.

Damjan