As someone who works with feminist film exhibiton etc., this is obviously something I’ve come across and been dead frustrated about so many times – even recent Nic Cage flick Mandy was partially ruined for me by this.
So, you know how in a lot of movies (and other media), women have to suffer and/or die because it’s needed as a plot device for a man’s story?
IT FINALLY HAS A NAME! Or rather, has had a name all along, but I haven’t known about it until now. It’s called fridging.
Can’t wait to use this in real life discussions with male filmmakers etc who think that this is a really good way of telling a story about men. “Mate, fridging is like so 1999.”
Gladiator is the first thing that sprang to mind. His wife and child don’t even have any lines, they just exist as a sort of abstract plot device to justify Russell Crowe decapitating some people.
Thought this was a bit weird to be honest. I mean on the one hand she gets offed very quickly in the film, but on the other hand she’d already been a significant character throughout the whole of the first film, so she was hardly a lazily thrown in plot device.
