Lilith or Eve?

Megan Fox, generally speaking, strikes me as an anti-feminist. She's nothing more than a brunette Barbie. I mean, imagine her on the set of either of the "Transformers" movies. Michael Bay's directions probably didn't expand beyond, "Megan, baby, arch your back more. Really push out those breasts. Great, now trying running slower and...bouncier." The entire last half of "Transformers: Rise of the Fallen" was her running toward the camera in slow-mo, with the camera of course centered on her massive mammaries. With roles like that, how can I not question her position on gender equality? But after watching "Jennifer's Body" I'm beginning to suspect that there's a hidden layer to Ms. Fox.

"Jennifer's Body," written by "Juno" scribe Diablo Cody, is the story of the popular girl at school. You know the one I'm talking about. The one who won't give you the light of day unless she feels she can use you for something. It's about her (played by Megan Fox) and her plain-Jane friend Needy (not her real name, but considering even her boyfriend calls her that, it's what I'll call her, too), and a night gone wrong. 

They live in a small town called Devil's Kettle and decide to drive out to a country bar to see visiting indie band Low Shoulder. Jennifer's plan is to hook up with the lead singer. Unfortunately, the bar catches fire, killing many of the occupants and ruining the show. After barely escaping with their lives, Needy and Jennifer are offered a ride by Low Shoulder in their spooky van. Jennifer being in shock from the trauma agrees to go with them, leaving Needy by herself. The problem is that the band planned on sacrificing Jennifer to Satan in order to gain musical success. As the lead singer, Nikolai, says, "Do you know how hard it is to make it as an indie band these days? There are so many of us, and we're all so cute and it's like if you don't get on Letterman or some retarded soundtrack, you're screwed, okay? Satan is our only hope." 

Things didn't go as planned, though. The ritual required a virgin, which Jennifer was not. As a result, Low Shoulder got their wish, but Jennifer's body was possessed by a boy-hungry demon. So, she goes on a sort of killing spree (a spree involving only four victims) until Needy catches on and stops her. 

Here's my reading of the film, though. Jennifer represents a woman in tune with her sexuality. She is in control of her own sexual nature, and the world is in balance. Low Shoulder, on the other hand represents men. Not just "men" per se, but men who wish to exploit women's sexuality for their own goals. In real life this happens constantly. Just look at most TV shows, commercials, movies and video games. Big busted women are everywhere because the people in power (generally men) know it will earn them money. Likewise, Low Shoulder wanted to be famous musicians. So they used her and tossed her aside when she had nothing else to give them.



However, men tainted the sexually confident woman. Thanks to their efforts, Jennifer was transformed into the lustful man-eater that mothers warn their boys about instead of the relatively harmless sexual entity she once was. This causes Needy, who represents the more stereotypical feminists, to turn on her and eventually kill her. This equates to the death of women being able to use their sexuality and remain feminists (a view often taken by naive junior feminists). Men caused women to turn on each other, but Needy never forgot Low Shoulder's role in the matter. The movie ends with Needy getting revenge on the band for making her turn on her best friend.


This movie, and Megan Fox in general, reminds me of Atom Egoyan's "Exotica." The film is centered on a stripper, and even though she is on stage dancing for men, she's put in the position of power. She takes their money. They can't touch her. She's in control. That's kind of how I see Megan Fox now. And all this reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend about the Wonderbra. The product isn't inherently feministic or anti-feministic; it's all about how it's used. I think the same thing can be said about sexuality. After all, Megan Fox is probably a millionaire by now thanks to the dollars spent by drooling males. 

Now, I'm not saying I like Megan Fox. I'm not saying that she is in fact a good feminist, or even a feminist at all. I'm simply stating that this movie complicates my view of her and caused me to rethink some things. Still, if there's another "Transformers" film I'm going to vomit.