Karalynn Schneck : On Trivialization & "The Invasion"

My family and I rented two movies over the weekend, one of which was “The Invasion,” a remake of the 1950s “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” starring Nicole Kidman and a few other fairly well known actors. Kidman is the protagonist of the story, and interestingly enough, describes herself as a postmodern feminist over dinner with a variety of other intellectuals and high profile D.C. characters. In the movie, she is an independent, recently divorced and therefore single mother as well as psychiatrist. Anyway, in this dinner, she and a Russian diplomat politely banter about the idea of human nature in all its ferocity. Kidman advocates for human nature, saying that humans have evolved a great deal since their original ancestors appeared on earth. Her example is the 500 year development of feminism. Basically, the statement of the movie seems to be against coercive conformity and for human nature, pluralism and our potential to change over time. As the world is insidiously invaded by this alien virus, Kidman fights to avoid being “changed,” fighting sleep, and working to find a cure. The end of the movie, when all is obviously brought back to “normal” has Kidman remembering the words of her Russian friend, who says that a world without such destructive violence would cease to be human. Kidman’s character adheres to the new version of female gender—the new female is strong, brave, independent, and intelligent. Kidman’s character is, as she says, made possible thanks to the feminist movement that took 500 years to develop to its current state.
McKee describes Trivialization as the transfer of private, mostly “feminine” issues into the public sphere. Habermas argues that bringing any private issues into the public sphere destroys the development of individual identities because it debates things which should be left up to nature and the private sphere to decide. What he does not consider is that his opinion is highly influenced by the fact that he is a white male from the intellectual elite—so his theories are already highly influenced by his socio-cultural and economic status. He also fails to realize that the public sphere does and always has already influenced the development of identities, and that if anything, the public sphere is the means through which the status quo is propagated. Therefore, social movements and the trivialization of media have been key in reshaping identities and offering new options to many downtrodden and disgruntled individuals. Trivialization and the bringing of private issues into the public sphere has changed the world for the better, making such strong female characters as Kidman’s possible, and allowing for freedom and choice in the development of an identity.
The only downside I possibly see in the publication of such private issues is the major hit that the patriarchal family structure has taken. The working father and domestic mother duo has been criticized to bits, just as the catholic church was after the protestant reformation. The pluralization of our society has made everything chaotically open to decision. Such wide open possibilities can be overwhelming to the population as a whole. When deciding what kind of family to have, should it be heterosexual, bisexual, or homosexual? Should one parent work, should both parents work, and if only one, the male or the female? The masculine partner or the feminine partner? Should all financial, child-rearing, household and other responsibilities be evenly split or divided up according to preference and talent? Some of these decisions are obviously easier to make than others, but it makes for a difficult parenting experience. When, for instance, a parent believes in a loving patriarchal structure for a household, and school systems preach alternative lifestyles to five-year-olds, life becomes an increasingly problematic headache. Should every possibility be preached just because it exists? I think some things should be brought back into the private sphere, at least until an individual is at high school age, or maybe older.