PROVIDED BY CNNNEXT.COM
Published on Jul 7, 2015
"There are many horrifyingly poignant scenes in the film 12 Years a Slave, but among those that have stayed with me most resonantly is the scene in which the white Mistress Epps (played by Sarah Paulson) abruptly lashes out and scratches the face of her slave Patsey (played by Lupita Nyong’o) with her fingernails in a grotesquely accurate demonstration of white female privilege so ingrained that it has become instinctive.
The act itself happens in a moment, but its impact is unending.
Patsey is at at first stunned, then distressed, and then utterly shut down.
I was reminded of that scene over the weekend while reading through all the tweets (#BBHMMVideo), thinkpieces and commentary about Rihanna’s new video for Bitch Better Have My Money, mainly from white women who felt the video was either anti-feminist, misogynistic, or both.
Among the more egregious criticisms came from Sarah Vine of the Daily Mail, who called the video ‘repulsive’ and said it featured an 'endless stream of filthy, violent and downright misogynistic images'.
She, like others, was also quick to note that Rihanna, first seen dressed in 'some sort of voodoo fashion' in the video, tortures a rich, blonde, white woman, but is never punished for her crime.
She then describes Rihanna thusly: 'I’m actually starting to wonder whether she might not have some kind of medical condition which prevents her from keeping her legs – as well as her stupid trap – shut.'” *
