"There's more to fill up all that emptiness than just Elvis."
Update: In response to controversy in the comments, here are a couple of takes on the film. Gloria Steinem (CA NOW):
"Hounddog is that rarest of all movies, one about a young girl who is not blameless, lives in a world that demands her self-sacrifice, yet still chooses herself. Dakota Fanning, Robin Wright Penn and writer/director Deborah Kampmeier are panes of glass through which we see others clearly -- yet also a reflection of ourselves. Like a good novel, Hounddog will stay with you. Women especially should see this important, unforgettable film -- and take the men they love with them."
Melissa Silverstein at Women's Media Center:
Fanning, who has been acting since she was five, is more clear-eyed on the topic than the adults trying to protect her. As she had to explain to a reporter about the scene, "It's not really happening…it's a movie, and it's called acting."
That did not prevent organizations like the Catholic League and the Christian Film and Television Commission from calling for an investigation of Kampmeier and Fanning's mother for child endangerment and child pornography. Keep in mind that no one called for an investigation of Steven Spielberg or Tony Scott—both big name Hollywood directors who directed Fanning in violent scenes in War of the Worlds and Man on Fire. Yet, when depicting the epidemic of violence against women and girls, which happens according to statistics every two minutes in our country, an investigation is warranted? The district attorney in Wilmington, North Carolina, where the film was shot, said he received 10 to 20 calls a day from people wanting his office to prosecute this film but did not receive a single call about his recent prosecution of a man who had impregnated his 10-year-old daughter.
The film was given new life when it got into the Sundance Film Festival, but at the time of its showing there in January 2007, the controversy had escalated to the point where Kampmeier needed a bodyguard to protect her against death threats. She and the film became fodder for the Hannity and Colmes show on Fox for two straight weeks. . . The problem for Hounddog and Kampmeier was that the film didn't live up to its nickname and people came away wondering what all the hype was about. Sadly, if the film had warranted the controversy it probably would have easily gotten a distributor.
One of the outcomes of being the target of a religious right smear campaign is that this film, a small personal story about a girl able to break the cycle of violence in her life and told from the heart of a female director, has been turned into a political, feminist film. People who have never discussed their own rapes have come up to Kampmeier after screenings crying, thanking her for giving voice to their own stories.
STARRING: Dakota Fanning, Piper Laurie, David Morse, Jill Scott, Robin Wright Penn and DIRECTOR: Deborah Kampmeier.
Deborah Kampmeier Feminist Politics Gender News Women Centered Films Movies Feminist Films Religious Right Race, Class, Gender
