May 24, 2010

"The rather scathing portrayal of Muslim society no doubt will stir controversy, especially in a frothy summer entertainment..."

"... but there's something bracing about the film's saucy political incorrectness. Or is it politically correct? 'SATC 2' is at once proudly feminist and blatantly anti-Muslim, which means that it might confound liberal viewers."

Oh! Poor liberals! Beset on all sides. Even "Sex and the City" has turned on them.
Indicative of the film's contradictory stance is a scene in which the ladies perform a karaoke version of Helen Reddy's "I Am Woman" in an Abu Dhabi nightclub. An equally outrageous moment comes when the interlopers are rescued by a bunch of Muslim women who strip off their black robes to reveal the stylish Western outfits they are concealing beneath their discreet garb."
Ha. Check out the trailer:

56 comments:

mesquito said...

When I was in school, back in the 80s, the feminists, gays and multiculturalists marched shoulder to shoulder, seemingly unaware of of the huge ticking bomb at the heart of their coalition. Back then it worked because the universalist tenets of feminism and gay rights always trumped any other claims. The multicultis were seemingly content to pronounce the names of various Latin American countries with fruity Spanish accents.

That changed when the coalition brought aboard, via the Pallestine Solidarity crowd, the Muslims. And the feminists and gays were immediately cowed. Maybe now it's turning back.

Anonymous said...

NOMAD: “Virginity is the obsession, the neurosis of Islam... the fundamentalists seem haunted by the female body and neurotically debate which fractions of it should be covered, until they declare the whole thing, from head to toe, a gigantic private part.” - Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Alex said...

Why does Althouse keep baiting liberals? Stop pretending this is a "centrist" blog.

HKatz said...

a bunch of Muslim women who strip off their black robes to reveal the stylish Western outfits they are concealing beneath their discreet garb."

That doesn't seem a stretch from the truth either, mainly when it comes to middle-class or wealthy Arab women who live in big cities and who have access to designer labels (which in public they wear beneath robe/veil). I remember a while ago also reading about malls with lingerie shops in Saudi Arabia - although these uncomfortable for many people, because the sales clerks are males (somehow it's not permissible for men and women who are unrelated or unmarried to mingle, but it is permissible for a salesman to help a customer find the best-fitting bra or panties).

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2010/02/saudi-arabia-saudi-women-in-lingerie-boycott.html

Fred4Pres said...

Lots of Emirate and Saudi women do wear haute culture under those burkas. Just sayin.

mesquito said...

Centrists may not bait liberals? Who knew?

Alex said...

I have it on good authority that the Althousian liberals(jeremy, AL, danielle, Ritmo) are sick and tired of Ann's lefty-baiting. They are really SICK & TIRED of it!

mesquito said...

I have it on good authority that the Althousian liberals(jeremy, AL, danielle, Ritmo) are sick and tired of Ann's lefty-baiting. They are really SICK & TIRED of it!

There oughta be a law.

Greg Hlatky said...

Muslim extremists will cut off Sarah Jessica Parker's head and put it in the bed of the executive producer.

(sorry, couldn't resist)

Michael said...

Maybe at the end, it will be revealed that Abu Dhabi is merely a front for an evil American corporation run by Jon Voight.

Beth said...

mesquito - that's an apt memory.

Freder Frederson said...

Centrists may not bait liberals? Who knew?

First off, Althouse is not a centrist, she is a conservative. A "c" word she hates being called more than the four letter "c" word, which is really bizarre.

Secondly, only in some right-wing bizarro world are liberals offended by Muslim women rebelling against the horribly oppressive society of the Middle East. What liberals has she been talking to?

Unknown said...

"proudly feminist and blatantly anti-Muslim, which means that it might confound liberal viewers."

It confounds me that this would confound liberals. Do they think Muslim women enjoy the oppressions of conservative Islam??

Just another of those "inherent contractions," to borrow a leftist term, in liberalism.

And yes, many Muslim women wear fashionable clothes underneath their chadors. I guess this reviewer hasn't met any actual women who escaped from Islamist societies.

Alex said...

Freder - I'd believe you if it weren't for all the liberals defending the right of Muslims to impose Sharia law on people who happen to be born into Muslim society. Basically human rights/dignity are left at the door here.

Freder Frederson said...

Maybe at the end, it will be revealed that Abu Dhabi is merely a front for an evil American corporation run by Jon Voight.

The UAE is nothing but what would happen if the Mafia happened to come from a part of the world that had a lot of oil.

Trooper York said...

Greg Hlatky said...
Muslim extremists will cut off Sarah Jessica Parker's head and put it in the bed of the executive producer.

Normally I am not one to kowtow to Muslim extremism, but if they are going to do that....well all I can say is......Allāhu Akbar!

master cylinder said...

Only a creamy hippie love chick could make this insighful post. So organic.

Fred4Pres said...

Getting beyond the fictional outrage of sex and the city, are we allowed to be upset over the Islamic Center opening up two blocks from ground zero. Or is that racist or bigotted or something?

There is not a lot we can do about private inviduals buying private land, but my guess is the museum planned for this Islamic Center will not be that critical of Mohammed Atta and his band of merry jihadis.

David said...

Or Hollywood Reporter might just be immensely ignorant of the difference between Arab and Muslim, and that Abu Dhabi is a much different place than Saudi Arabia.

Also, it's true that the clothes underneath the hijab need not be, and often aren't, particularly modest.

reader_iam said...

Nowadays, that little harem girl featured with Elvis at one point in the trailer would be dancing to "I'm a Single Lady."

Fred4Pres said...

Beyond the thin facade of tollerance of Abu Dahbi and Dubai (and I have gotten rip roaring drunk at the Dubai sevens rugby event), it is not all that much different than Saudi Arabia. Look a little scrubby and have a lock of your hair test postive for THC or a couple of weed seeds or nuzzle your girlfriend in public and you can find that out.

Heck, they are not even that harsh in Singapore!

Michael said...

mesquito: The ability of the lefties to pronounce Latin countries with Latin accents always amused me. I always tried to get Germany or England into a conversation so I could use German and British accents. They saw no humor.

TMink said...

That progressives have trouble reconciling feminism and Islam is diagnostic of just how fracking confused the progressives are.

Freder Frederson said...

I'd believe you if it weren't for all the liberals defending the right of Muslims to impose Sharia law on people who happen to be born into Muslim society.

Name one (with a link please).

holdfast said...

Fred - actually there is a lot we can do. Daily protests at the site of this "Islamic Center" (calm and legal, of course). Secondary boycotts of any companies and suppliers involved in its construction. Undercover infiltration to tape the inevitable anti-American diatribes and sermons.

Sprezzatura said...

"What liberals has she been talking to?"

The libs of Madison, of course. She claims that she's motivated to needle the libs because she's surrounded by them.

The sad thing is that Althouse's need to needle hasn't readjusted aim since the formation of Meadehouse. Now that she's conservative-cloistered (in the home) we could have expected some more con-needling.

Maybe Meade is such weak-tea that Althouse isn't motivated to push back. Or, more likely, her previous justification for needling was BS.

Dark Eden said...

Its kind of sad that to the left, Pro feminist and anti muslim ARE contradictory positions. Pro feminist and anti evangelical seems like a no brainer, but the religion that is a hundred times worse to women than evangelical christians is off limits.

Something is DEEPLY wrong with that.

CatherineM said...

I am surprised to hear this because I assumed SATC would be doing the "see, Middle East is not so bad!" schtick. I thought it was an odd destination for a show that used to make a habit of calling out Guiliani for getting rid of the peep shows and sex market from time square.

MadisonMan said...

The ability of the lefties to pronounce Latin countries with Latin accents always amused me.

It annoys me. I blame Dan Rather, reporting from Cobble (not Ka-BOOL) in the early 1980s.

The need to pronounce a city as its inhabitants do is just so much frou-frou-y pretension unless the person also says Pa-ree for the Capitol of France. Or correctly says Munich, Berlin, Venice or Tokyo as a native. Let's be consistent, please.

jr565 said...

It's sad that portraying Muslim society as anti women (and anti gay, anti human rights etc) would be considered a scathing portrayal that will stir controvery. Better, I suppose for liberals if instead Muslim society was portrayed as a kite flying utopia a la Michael Moore's Iraq (before the evil Bush came in and the noble Iraqis had to take back their country from the occupiers and turn it back over to the freedom loving baathits).
What's more scathing is that libs would find a portrayal of the Muslim world as anti feminist (and anti human rights anti gay anti enlightenment anti free speech etc ad infinitum)to be controversial.

Trooper York said...

"Maybe Meade is such weak-tea that Althouse isn't motivated to push back"

Hey take that back. Meade is not "weak tea."

A fuzzy morel maybe but not weak tea.

jr565 said...

Dark Eden wrote:
Its kind of sad that to the left, Pro feminist and anti muslim ARE contradictory positions. Pro feminist and anti evangelical seems like a no brainer, but the religion that is a hundred times worse to women than evangelical christians is off limits.

Something is DEEPLY wrong with that.



Did you ever hear of these yokels?

http://www.quitpalestine.org/

Queers for Palestine. The cognitive dissonance of some people is just astounding.

Alex said...

Meade is not weak tea. He hearts Dick Cheney. That's badass.

Freeman Hunt said...

Of humor: Back when I was kicked out of that liberal children's playgroup after the organizer found out I was conservative, there was someone else in the playgroup who she and others took pains to welcome: the female Muslim convert who hoped to move to Iran with her husband because she wanted to live under Sharia law. I kid you not. Just remembering that reliably give me a chuckle.

Mike said...

Secondly, only in some right-wing bizarro world are liberals offended by Muslim women rebelling against the horribly oppressive society of the Middle East.

Sounds blatantly anti-Muslim to me. maybe even (gasp) pro-Western culture. Even worse would be pro-USA.

As for rebelling, I do enjoy watching all the support from the left for the Iranians as they rebel against their theocracy. Oh, wait a minute....

Mike said...

I remember my friends going to Istanbul in the 70's. They came back with several stories of Turkish traders trying to buy the cuter blonds in the group.

Those whacky Muslims. Always doing their best to live in a pre-medieval culture despite being downtrodden by the West.

Trooper York said...

"Maybe Meade is such weak-tea that Althouse isn't motivated to push back"

Hey take that back. Meade is not "weak tea."

A long tall glass of beer maybe but not "weak tea."

Oh wait, a half glass of beer. Fixed.

Ann Althouse said...

"The sad thing is that Althouse's need to needle hasn't readjusted aim since the formation of Meadehouse. Now that she's conservative-cloistered (in the home) we could have expected some more con-needling."

Too much canoodling for con-needling.

Fen said...

Those whacky Muslims. Always doing their best to live in a pre-medieval culture despite being downtrodden by the West

Ha. We had the same problem at a Chi-Omega fundraiser where they auctioned off the girls. Had to return money to a muslim who honestly thought he now owned the women he bid on.

Fen said...

She claims that she's motivated to needle the libs because she's surrounded by them.

No, she needles her fellow libs to keep them honest.

And they hate her for it.

Triangle Man said...

The ability of the lefties to pronounce Latin countries with Latin accents always amused me.

There was a hilarious 1990 Saturday Night Live sketch about this with Jimmy Smits playing "Antonio Mendoza". His co-workers were ordering lunch and pronouncing all remotely Spanish words with exaggerated accents.

Fen said...

I have it on good authority that the Althousian liberals(jeremy, AL, danielle, Ritmo)

Would anyone be surprised to discover those Libtards are all Althousian Constructs invoked to keep the vortex swirling? ;)

Meade: We need more traffic! Lemme have the Jeremy profile!

Ann: No no no. You always go to far and spoil the thread. Here, take Ritmo and push the thread count to 300.

Heh.

Triangle Man said...

Here's a transcript of the sketch. Video doesn't seem to be available.

Unknown said...

The Lefties' concern for Moslems is based on the fear that Moslems will come for them first, instead of last.

Just as their high dudgeon over homosexual rights is based on the fact that urban homosexuals bloc vote and they want to maintain that vote for the Demos, so, too, they trumpet the cause of Islam the same way Neville Chamberlain gave you know who Czechoslovakia.

Alex said...

I have it on good authority that the Althousian liberals(jeremy, AL, danielle, Ritmo) are sick and tired of Ann's lefty-baiting. They are really SICK & TIRED of it!

DLTDHYOTWO.

Ann Althouse said...

"The sad thing is that Althouse's need to needle hasn't readjusted aim since the formation of Meadehouse. Now that she's conservative-cloistered (in the home) we could have expected some more con-needling."

Too much canoodling for con-needling.


You can never have too much canoodling.

mesquito said...

His co-workers were ordering lunch and pronouncing all remotely Spanish words with exaggerated accents.

Heh. And no matter how hard you try, you'll never completely lose the aspirated "t" in taco, Gringo.

Beth said...

The need to pronounce a city as its inhabitants do is just so much frou-frou-y pretension unless the person also says Pa-ree for the Capitol of France.

I want to agree, MadMan, but I can't stand hearing "New Or-leens" - unless of course it rhymes, a la "Do you know what it means/to miss New Orleans"

In which case, "How do you keep 'em down on the farm/now that they've seen Paree?" is just fine.

Trooper York said...

You just like Paree because it's gay Beth.

Not that theres anything wrong with that.

TMink said...

It is Nawlins, ain't it? Maybe I have too many Yat friends.

Trey who will leave in 4 days for that fair city

Anonymous said...

I won't be going to see SATC2 in order to find out if it has any redeeming value.

But I read an interview with Kim Cattrall yesterday, and she described it as a caper that is less serious than the first movie.

Beth said...

Trey, there's a bunch of different twists. I think of Noo Awlins when I think of y'ats, but Nawlins is pretty common, too.

Figures you would hang out wit' dem y'ats!

Beth said...

Oh hey, Trey - just saw you're coming for a visit. Have a great time. Just so you know, it's already really hot.

Beth said...

Trooper, mais oui!

Cedarford said...

I think Nawlins is lower black class vernacular for NO, which of course then became the de rigeur way of saying it to liberal culture mavens.

The correct way of saying it before it was shortened and corrupted by black underclass slang, is pretty obvious.

New as in new. Orleans as the French say it.

Beth said...

Thanks, Cedarford. I must have gotten that all wrong in the 35 years I've lived here.

You're so smart! I bet you're really handsome, too.

Sydney said...

Regarding the Elvis clip: So that's why they hate us.

CatherineM said...

Late to the party, but Mad Man, it's one of my pet peeves too. Obama and Pah-kee-stahn, etc., and yet he says Paris, not Pair-ee. Wass up with that.