Chasing Amy Anyway

Dear Declaration,

The Lord and Professor Voris know I am no expert on film criticism. So a precursory disclaimer: take what I have to say with whatever grain of salt you feel necessary, or, hell, don't take it at all. Admittedly, I probably can't deconstruct a mise-en-scene, but my appreciation and love for independent films leaves me feeling obliged to defend Kevin Smith after he was, in my opinion, somewhat slighted in last issue's review of Chasing Amy. With all due respect, I believe Kristin Adolfson missed the points Smith was trying to make with this film. A filmmaker like Smith should be especially welcome in the world of mainstream cinema because, unlike most eye candy put out there today consistent with the modern Hollywood blockbuster paradigm (i.e. bad guys doing bad things are stopped by good guys with cool special effects), his films actually require consideration beyond what is simply laid out for the spectator on a two dimensional screen. Consider: could his "voyeuristic" lingering shots of the lesbians making out in the bar be intentional? Perhaps Smith is attempting to say, yes, this is how many men think about, fixate on, fetishize lesbianism. Does it necessarily have to be a reflection of Smith's own infatuation? Or an affirmation that such fetishism is, in any way, a good thing? Sure, it's easy to just write Smith off as a guy and, therefore, intrinsically perverted. Still, I can't help but cling to an (optimistic?) belief that there are men out there who might actually have some vision that transcends simple perversity to what a generous viewer might consider aestheticism.

As to the overall message of the film, I suggest that, again, Adolfson has misinterpreted Smith's intended meaning. Two scenes in particular suggest that Smith is in no way advocating the futility or wrongness of lesbianism. When Holden asks Alyssa why she agreed to give heterosexuality a try for him, she explains that she originally considered homosexuality to avoid limiting her chance of meeting the right person by entering into relationships with only what society has deemed the "standard" option. It is the same principle, says Alyssa, that leads her to re-explore the possibility that she may also find the "right" person among the male population. Smith stresses the theme of open-mindedness. His message is that the biggest mistake one can make is assuming there is only one way to live your life; the answer the film presents is to open your mind to people and experiences, regardless of the preconceptions surrounding them. In addition, the end is ambiguous. Alyssa may once again be dating a woman, and the extent of Holden and Banky's "love" for each other is never defined. It is by no means suggested that patriarchal society's generic masculine film hero has converted the misguided fallen heroine back to "normalcy."

The second pivotal scene occurs when Alyssa denies Holden the threesome he has requested in order to overcome his sexual insecurities. This, above all other scenes, stands out as a moment of triumph for women: refusing to allow herself to be objectified, Alyssa makes it clear that while she understands Holden's feelings of inferiority and even his reasons for suggesting the particular solution he does, she will not be a tool for him (either as a lesbian or a lover) to come to terms with his own sexuality. For that moment, at least, she is the subject, not the object, and woman has claimed a cinematic position that she has long deserved but rarely been allowed to achieve in the history of film.

Rather than converting Alyssa, what Holden succeeds in doing is making her question herself, and she returns the favor. The movie ends where it begins, but the characters are no longer the same. While the world around us may fail to change (i.e. men may persist in their roles as voyeurs when it comes to lesbian sex), individuals are ultimately mutable. Yeah!

It is often easy to forget that attempts to see through to and expose truths are rarely "PC," seldom pretty, and often unpalatable. Regardless, it is beneficial to reflect on films like Chasing Amy and others by directors like Kevin Smith to a degree that the majority of modern commercial films fail to warrant. It takes little acumen to decipher the themes of ConAir and Contact, but that only provides all the more reason to extend an extra effort to dig below the surface of more intricate, less obvious independent films when they happen to slip into the mainstream.

Sincerely,
Alison Jewett

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