NY Mag’s The Cut is the absolute cutting edge in hand-wringing cultural criticism, as made evident by their latest video, “Lawrence of Arabia Is a Prime Example of Old Hollywood Sexism” — video so poignant they took it down after a few hours following a brutal storm of online mockery.
“We all know Hollywood (both old and new) is sexist, but this fact about the 1962 hit Lawrence of Arabia will blow your mind,” the text below the video reads. “And probably make you never want to watch the movie.”
And what is the one stunning fact that will literally blow your mind and make you want to sell all your possessions and spend the rest of your days fighting the patriarchy by tracking down and burning all remaining copies of Peter O’Toole’s classic film???!??
Lawrence of Arabia was, like, a huge sausage fest. There is no woman in a speaking role in a movie made 50 years ago about an incredibly patriarchal society in the middle of the desert. Thank god someone was brave enough to stoke the belated outrage.
Backlash to the video was swift and uncompromising. #LawrenceOfArabia trended on Twitter, filling NY Mag’s delicate mentions with ridicule.
What is ironic about the social justice criticism of Lawrence of Arabia is that some interpret O’Toole’s performance to intentionally have homosexual undertones and the film’s female editor won an academy award for her role in the film.
A spokesperson for NY Mag said the video was taken down because they “felt the topic could have been explored with more nuance.” The spokesperson also clarified that — despite some speculation online — the video was not satire.
Really sad to see this video snuffed out prematurely. But I’m certainly looking forward to their next installment, “One Overlooked Fact That Will Ruin The Bible for Christians. Hint: It’s Sexism.”