Transformers & Sexism
Image via Wikipedia There is an embarrassing, unfortunate moment in “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” that reveals what is perhaps the most troubling aspect of this critically reviled, audience-beloved franchise. As a few characters are getting a tour of a collection of vintage automobiles, the collector ( Patrick Dempsey ) points out, in a drooling tone, the seductive curves and lines of the vehicles. Meanwhile, the camera ignores the cars completely and instead slowly pans up the body of the series’ new, designated babe ( Rosie Huntington-Whiteley ). Herein lies the real problem with the “ Transformers ” movies . It’s not the idiocy of the plots. It’s not the incompetence of the action sequences. It’s not the increasingly brutal violence. It’s the sexism . As that scene makes all too clear, series director Michael Bay can barely distinguish between a woman and a vehicle. This has been the case for all of the movies (in the second installment, a villa...