Máthé Orsolya

Evaluation of the article Unbearable whiteness of gone girl

by Amanda Ann Klein

            Gone Girl is a recently released American adaptation directed by David Fincher from the book of Gillian Flynn of the same name. Amanda Ann Klein, who is the Associate Professor of Film Studies in the English Department at East Carolina University, wrote a critique about the film, titled: “Unbearable whiteness of gone girls.” In the article she focuses on the fact that in films, mostly white women are the ones who disappear, and in these cases all the close friends and family members  try to help in every possible way, such as gathering volunteers or holding a press conference. The main idea in the article is that the author draws a parallel between the films and real life: she declares that Gone Girl shows people the truth: that America is only interested in finding white people, especially women.

            Her first argument is that the missing person has to be a white woman or a child because they are weak and vulnerable, and only in this case will people take note. For this claim she gives some examples of the most famous films or series, all of them are about missing white women. I think it is fairly strong evidence because generally the white women are the ones who go missing. However, I can recall some counter examples from the Jackie Chan-films, such as Mr. Nice Guy or Rush Hour, where an Asian woman and an Asian child is missing, or the film Rendition, where a desperate wife searches for her husband.

            On the other hand, what she emphasis is that the case is very similar in the real world. She exemplifies two cases, both of which happened before the premiere of Gone Girl, where non-white people disappeared, hence the news did not deal with them as a serious tragedy. On September 18^th two dead teenage women were found, and on September 26^th 43 students disappeared in Mexico, practically with no information in the media. In the conclusion the author claims again that it is not possible to talk about gender without talking about whiteness. To support this claim, she uses a quote from a well-known director, Alfred Hitchcock, saying that blondes are the best victims.

            When I watched the film Gone Girl, I did not think about it as showcase of racism. However, the article did make me think about this problem and changed my view of the film. To sum up, in my opinion it is a fairly powerful and well-built article. She comes up with convincing arguments, supporting this with examples from the film industry and also from life. In the article, there are usually long sentences, which make her claim stronger and more impressive. She also uses hypothetical questions to make people think further about this affair. On the other hand, I think she is slightly biased; as I have mentioned before, there are films which are not about white women, and it is cannot be said that America deals only with missing white women and children.