“If the camera is predatory, then the culture is predatory.” In this eye-opening documentary, celebrated independent filmmaker Nina Menkes explores the sexual politics of cinematic shot design. Using clips from hundreds of movies we all know and love – from Metropolis to Vertigo to Phantom Thread – Menkes convincingly makes the argument that shot design is gendered. Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power illuminates the patriarchal narrative codes that hide within supposedly “classic” set-ups and camera angles, and demonstrates how women are frequently displayed as objects for the use, support, and pleasure of male subjects. Building on the essential work of Laura Mulvey and other feminist writers, Menkes shows how these not-so-subtle embedded messages affect and intersect with the twin epidemics of sexual abuse and assault, as well as employment discrimination against women, especially in the film industry. The film features interviews with an all-star cast of women and non-binary industry professionals including Julie Dash, Penelope Spheeris, Charlyne Yi, Joey Soloway, Catherine Hardwicke, Eliza Hittman, Maria Giese, and Rosanna Arquette. The result is an electrifying call-to-action that will fundamentally change the way you see, and watch, movies.
For in-depth thoughts on Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power, please see my colleague Mike Vaughn’s review from its original theatrical release here.
Video Quality
Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power comes to Blu-Ray in its original aspect ratio from a really lovely high definition master. The film mostly consists of new interviews and lectures with a substantial amount of archival film clips and photos. All of the different footage looks as technically excellent as it can look in high definition. The transfer appears to have plenty of room to breathe and there are no issues with compression artifacts, banding or other digital nuisances.
The clips and photos from the films included throughout seem to be the best versions available at the time of the film’s creation, with most of it looking at least decent. Interview segments look sleek and clear with natural skin tones and detailed facial features. The colors featured in the film are perfectly natural and vibrant as they provide a nice visual pop on screen. Black levels are deep and give way to a nice amount of detail in shadows. I do not see how this release could have been improved visually. It’s a beautiful transfer handled with care by Kino Lorber.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray comes with a satisfying DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that captures this content perfectly. Dialogue is the driving force of the feature, and it comes through crisp and clear without being clipped by any competing sounds. Filmmaker Nina Menkes does a really great job of capturing her subjects even when they are in a classroom setting as she makes sure all this information comes through with supreme clarity. The music complements the mood of the film, and it is resolved well here as it fills the room. Environmental sounds are limited but what is there is replicated perfectly. You could not have asked for a better audio presentation for this one. There are optional English SDH subtitles included for those who desire them.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Director Nina Menkes and editor Cecily Rhett provide a decent commentary track in which they discuss their intentions for the movie, why they chose certain clips, what they feel they are showcasing with their examples, how they connected with their interview subjects, their rebuttal to some criticism they have faced and more that makes for an interesting listen.
- Deleted Scene: A three-minute unused scene is provided here in which editor Nancy Richardson discusses her experiences in the editing world of eliminating female characters from their own stories and the history of female editors.
- Excerpts Of The Score by Sharon Farber: A 10-minute selection of musical moments from the film is provided here without the voiceover and other effects removed as you would expect.
- The Music Behind Brainwashed: A two-and-a-half minute featurette with composer Sharon Farber in which she discusses her intention behind the score for the film.
- Q&A: A 16-minute Q&A with director Nina Menkes & co-producer Maria Giese moderated by Violet Lucca at Firehouse: DCTV’s Cinema for Documentary Film in which they discuss how this film came about, the power relations that are embedded in cinematic language, the threads they decided not to explore further, and more.
- Trailer: The two-minute trailer is provided for the film.
Final Thoughts
Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power is a documentary which should be an illuminating look at pervasive artistic choices which have negatively shaped how society views and treats women. There are many interesting examples shown throughout her presentation worth further exploration, but there are many ways in which filmmaker Nina Menkes undercuts the valid points she makes. Beyond seemingly stretching to prove a point in a number of examples, Menkes purposefully ignores the intention behind certain moments – especially when it comes to other female filmmakers – and worse yet holds up her own work as a shining example of how to do things correctly. The film is still worth seeing for some of the interviews from her subjects, but this topic deserves a better, unbiased exploration in the future. Kino Lorber has released a Blu-Ray with a stellar A/V presentation and a few great special features.
Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital on January 24, 2023.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Kino Lorber has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.