We saw Kingsman last night...romp of a movie in the James Bond genre. Can't tell you my favorite parts without giving away too much of the plot. Looked like a fun movie to make. Spoiler alert, though. If you haven't seen the movie and hate to know outcomes, don't read this one till later...
And, yes, there's but...
I've become more and more aware of cultural bias against women, partly due to my oldest daughter's awareness and discussion of how she gets sidelined in deft, subtle ways. Even the people who do the sidelining don't know they are doing it.
So in the movie, a girl "wins" the spy competition. However, the male main character returns in a crisis and steps into the master spy role. The girl is still around, but he becomes the primary player and she, the supporting role. As the movie progresses, the challenge of crisis pushes him to grow into this role, realizing his training has prepared him. She also accomplishes great things, but always on the edge of catastrophe...she seems to "luck out" and never quite be in control while he seems to "pull through" and gain more and more control as time goes on.
And, of course, the bad guy was black. Funny. Brilliant. Black. And his female sidekick...strong, brilliant, running the show, is Algerian. The good guys are clearly white European. The inclusion factor in this movie was socio-economic status. If you are poor, you can still be a spy. Good to know.
Discrimination, bias, assumptions about ability based on everything but ability...reminds me of that old PSA series on CBS..."the more you know...."
If it is recognized, it can be stopped. The gift of that awareness may be part of the radical hospitality to which we are called.
But it sure does spoil a good movie.
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