this is refreshingly non-commercial, express
ing the women's viewpoint — whatever it
was. I say if we women are to compete, we
must be commercial, must be entertaining,
can’t settle for incompletely done stuff and
think that's all right This film hits part of what
seems to be the prevailing female attitude, at
least in our culture, right on the head. That
making a profit is not all right If women are to
compete on an equal basis, they must prosti
tute themselves as shamefully as men do.
“Streetwise"
a docum entary by Cheryl McCall.
Mary Ellen Mark. Martin Bell
by Elecuior Malin
The crusty little moppets in Streetwise
smoke, swear, steal, and spend a lot of time
burnishing their tough images. I guess that’s
what they think being an adult is. You can’t
blame them, really. Childhood has never
been so undervalued and all kids spend as
little time on it as possible.
Survival takes on different forms for the
two sexes in Streetwise. The boys steal,
panhandle, dumpster dive, sell drugs, pimp,
m ug homosexuals. The girls, too proud to
panhandle or sort through garbage, ironically,
turn to prostitution.
The little prostitute, Tiny, who is pictured in
the movie ad, has only had (Wo periods, but
she has been turning "dates’’ for quite a
while. She has had three kinds of V.D., but
she's not sure what “sexually active" means.
She says she likes some of her young “dates,”
but most of her clientele are old guys, she
calls perverts. Her little mouth droops down;
she has a mod haircut; it droops, too. She
looks, despite her youth, used. Later, we see
her with her m om. A waitress in a burger joint
Same droopy hair, droopy mouth. Alcoholic.
Really, rather proud her daughter made $200
in one day, and relieved Tiny can finally buy
her own make-up and trinkets and stop nag
ging her m om.
Th e filmmakers portray a mini-world con
tained in and near Seattle’s Pike Street
Market, but it could’ve been anywhere. We’ve
got lots of kids like the ones they interview in
Portland.
These kids don’t go to school. They go
downtown. Most of them don’t have a home.
Their folks are lost (drunk, again), strayed
(moved, left no forwarding address), stolen
(still got three years to go in prison). The role
models the kids have had for work and family
are either not there at ail or failures at
everything.
Certainly school is failing these kids, as
they’re not engaged enough by it to attend.
Certainly the parents are failing these kids, as
they do not have enough wherewithal! to get
their own acts together. Some of them aren’t
even trying with their children, and if anything
is to be done to fix these castoff kids, some
one will have to also fix the castoff parents.
Th e kids gang up in a society of their own,
teach each other the tricks of surviving in a
hostile environment, talk about the dangers
inherent in their chosen lifestyle. And that’s
one of the drawing points, h’s not boring.
These little girls, especially, might be hired
one night by the Green River killer, and they
know it
Th e film’s subjects are aware of the cam
era, but give honestly of themselves,
although their verbal communication skills
are small. If you bleeped out the three or four
most popular expletives, some of these kids
wouldn't be able to form a thought at all.
Th e interviewees relish the attention they
are being given as the film unfolds, which is
one of the few things that saves it from being
a total downer. The kids are at least having a
good time, for once. What they need most is
attention, but they don’t know how to ask for
it nicely. They act tough, because that's the
only chance they have to survive. They would
sooner eat their liver than appear vulnerable.
Here, where Seattle meets and breeds with
sleaze, the filmmakers have delineated and
fleshed out a rapidly evolving subculture —
one of dependent scavengers, waiting for the
other shoe to drop. One of the obvious
reasons for the burgeoning (and basically the
viability) of this subculture is made clear in
the film — so many people are giving them
what they ask for— handouts. Don’t do it! It’s
not helping!
This is one of the most gripping, entertain
Just Out, July 1985
ing documentaries ever. So much has been
included that the patterns are crystal clear.
We've got a real mess on our hands here.
Som ebody had better do something, quick!
Variety has been playing at the 5th Avenue
Cinema to mixed reviews. Th e film is interest
ing, but fatally flawed. The story revolves
around a young woman who would like to be
a writer, but can’t get motivated, doesn’t want
to compete, or maybe both.
Directed by a woman, Bette Gordon, it
stars Sandy McLeod as the young woman,
who takes the first job that comes along, that
of selling tickets at a porno house. Fascinated
by the ambience of the place, she starts to get
hooked on voyeurism, concurrently getting
interested in one of the regular customers, a
businessman in an expensive suit who occa
sionally makes advances to her.
She starts to follow the man when he
leaves her abruptly on their first date— a ball
game. She starts to follow him, right then. I
had trouble swallowing that She'd have to be
pretty hyper to take such immediate action,
and after all, she couldn't bring herself even
to scrabble for a job.
She starts making up pornographic
monologues she recites to her “sort o f ’
boyfriend. He remains unamused. The
monologues get bluer and bluer, and let's
face it if such language, plus some of the
clips from the porno film sequences showed
up in a general release film made by men
about men, quite a few women would be
screaming bloody murder.
But the actress remains dispassionate as
she recites these monologues, and it’s not
clear what is intended here. It must not be to
arouse her boyfriend, as it serves the oppo
site purpose, and like a charm, the third time
she does this, he leaves in a huff.
In her relentless stalking of the mystery
man, she suspects he must be in the Mafia.
She sees him in what surely must be shady
streetside deals. It looks like laundering funds
or drug dealing to me. Towards the end of the
movie, she begins to fantasize about herself
and the mystery man, although the fantasy
remains enigmatic. She has been hanging
around a sex arcade, and buys herself a blue
satin merry widow, which she fails to fill out
Nonetheless, she is wearing it when she calls
the man she's been following to set up a date.
He doesn't know what she wants. She doesn't
either.
Variety played also at the Northwest Film
Study Center Contemporary Women
Director’s series. It was a good entry. I’m
criticizing the film because it’s slow (the di
rector loves long shots of nothing much go
ing on — the train pulling away, the m erry -
go-round going around — and around and
around). And I didn’t like the ending, which
leaves everything up in the air and goes on for
what seems like many minutes of absolutely
nothing. Th e director might well argue that
Desperately Seeking S usan starring
Rosanna Arquette, Aidan Quinn, and, of
course, Madonna, is a film written by, directed
by (and starring two) women. It's funny all the
way through, moves right along at a fast clip,
and pokes fun at the various trips of all the
characters represented without being mean
(easier said than done). Rosanna Arquette
plays a desperately bored housewife, so
starved emotionally that she gets her kicks
reading the personals. She gets mixed up in a
case of mistaken identity, taking on the role of
Susan, played by Madonna. Susan is a flam
boyant drifter, mooching off of and stealing
from most of the people she meets.
As the pathetic little housewife-turned
femme fatale, Rosanna Arquette scores a
point for neuro-linguistic programming. If
you don't know you’re a mouseburger, you
won't act like one.
I really liked this movie. I loved the campy
clothes and the situations and the photog
raphy. Susan Seidelman, the director, did a
good job with the characters and the story.
And as for all those nay sayers who are com
plaining because of Madonna — phhhhhht!
She is perfect for this part Never mind she
can’t sing, ft’s not a musical. No one is hold
ing guns to people's heads to get them to buy
Madonna records and videos. So what if you
can sing better than she can. Are you willing
to go about in see-through underwear?
Would people pay to see you do it?
If you’ve stayed away from Desperately
Seeking Susan because you feel Madonna
has already been overcompensated for her
work, don’t cheat yourself. D on’t let the
negativism and jealousy of lots of no-talent
no-fun people spoil your good time. Go!
5 P I
<3?
A Visit with
f e ^ HOO,>
^ L 1 fV| I V-
Tn, T O
d » ' M >m “
Mnssnge for ivomen nnri »tin
Valerie Lyon, M .S., L.M.T.
Neo-Reichian &
Shiatsu
Barbara J. Torelle, L.M.T.
r , OSES Aug 31 ■1985
^ „«E F R O N T THEATER
Trager Psychophysical
integration SM & Massage
' V ' V
'
For an appointment call: ^ 3 * f ' 0 S 5 7
13