The Red Pill

This film is by no means perfect. It was sort of cheaply made, with some awkward editing, and lack of sound in many parts. I think one could argue that it fails to debunk feminism, but I would suggest that such was never the goal of the documentary.

The Red Pill is so great because it makes its audience think and consider something that isn't so obvious. It's a film that challenges its audience, and brings to light not-so-visible issues. That's the main draw. It is important for both supporters and enemies of the Men's Rights movement, and I think anyone who has an interest in feminism should see this movie, even if they can guarantee that they won't agree with it.

Another complaint I could include is that the documentary fails to talk about the internet culture of Men's Rights, where most are anonymous, embittered, and often misogynistic men.

Despite its problems, I would endorse the film and again encourage all who are at all interested in the subject to watch.

Many people are starting to learn what happens when you debate with a feminist, or question feminism in public. Facts suddenly become morbidly offensive. Logic goes out of the window. Ironically, even the concept of 'equality' takes a back seat. This film takes a dispassionate and balanced look at the men's rights movement and it's struggle with the feminist narrative.

I saw the red pill during the first UK screening on October 30 and I was profoundly impressed with the elegantly simple approach to the topic. We follow Cassie Jay on a simple journey, starting with her describing her experiences of being objectified as a teenage actress and her decision to look into 'rape culture' after learning of two horrific rape cases. She stumbled across the controversial website 'a voice for men' and proceeded to fall down the proverbial rabbit hole.

All the men's rights movement has ever wanted was fair representation and a chance to be heard. Something the mainstream media has taken great pains to prevent. Thankfully to men all over the world, the red pill delivers a fair hearing in droves.

I implore EVERYONE to watch this film. It is arguably the most important documentary of our generation.

So I finally got round to watching The Red Pill last night and have been wondering what to say about it. I have my own personal reservations about parts of how it is made - the interviews are all far too brief and so often little more than soundbites, barely scratching the surface of complex issues and showing practically none of the mountain of evidence and reason the MRAs routinely use to back up their arguments. In my opinion the film could have used 20 or 30 percent more of that and 20 or 30 percent less shots of Cassie Jaye driving around the streets of America and looking thoughtfully into the distance. I also would have liked less two-sentence interviews with people we never get to see again, and more time spent with Erin Pizzey, Karen Straughan, Paul Elam and Warren Farrell, all of whom could easily fill a documentary of their own. She seemed a little indiscriminate in her choice of interviewees, and more than a little random in what she decided to have them say.

But on the other hand, no-one has ever done this before, taken the Men's Human Rights Movement and turned it into an entertaining and compelling movie fit to be shown in theatres, and that counts for a lot in itself. The bottom line is once I started watching I couldn't stop, really enjoyed the experience, and, all content aside, thought it looked amazing.

If you're wanting a one-stop guide to the many and varied arguments, beliefs and philosophical positions of the red-pilled world, well then this film may well leave you wanting. But if you go in with the understanding it is an outsider's view documentary about one individual woman's journey through the current state of gender politics in the 21st century, I can't see you having any good reason to complain.

As a Kickstarter backer, I received a pre-release digital copy. Overall, the documentary is nothing short of amazing. I follow the issues presented in the film with some regularity and I am the type of person who will seek out opinions of those I disagree with to learn where they're coming from. I feel that this is exactly what Cassie Jaye did in her film. She allowed both sides to make their arguments without putting in her own spin or bias...a rarity with documentary film makers and a very welcome surprise. Although I was already familiar with many of the issues presented, I still felt the heartbreak of some of the personal stories shared. For the uninitiated, some revelations will come as a shock. Imagine centuries ago when people thought the Earth was flat and the outrage that ensued when told it is actually round...in that time you were called a "heretic" or "blasphemer" for speaking truth to power while today it's overused terms like "misogynist" and "hate speech".

One small criticism I would have is that you could tell there is so much more to the stories presented but with the constraints of fitting everything into a 2 hour film, it is understandable that cuts and edits were done where they were. What I would advise anyone watching this documentary to do is to check out some of the interviews with Cassie Jaye (Youtube channels like The Rubin Report, Stefan Molyneux, etc.) and Q&A sessions done during the screenings of this film (can easily be found on Youtube by searching "The Red Pill Q&A") where you'll get to go a little deeper and more in-depth explanations on what both sides, the feminists and men's rights activists, believe and fight for. I can only hope that the special features included on DVD/Blu-Ray will fill in some of the minor gaps with more interview footage.

One of the most interesting things about this documentary is seeing filmmaker Cassie Jaye's personal struggle with having her feminist beliefs challenged through her video diaries which pop up here and there throughout the documentary. You can tell that she was genuinely having a hard time coping with having all of these statistics thrown at her that disprove what she believed in. At the end of it all, this is what makes this documentary more compelling, even more so than the heartbreaking stories and reality-shattering statistics from the men's rights activists.

If you're a feminist or simply believe women in the West don't get a fair shake compared to men, you owe it to yourself to have your views challenged and see if they stand up to scrutiny. What have you to lose? Your convictions will either be strengthened or you will come to terms with the fact that your beliefs were wrong and can take comfort in knowing that you now have the truth. Whether or not your beliefs remain the same, one thing is certain...you will be changed in some way.

Like Morpheus says to Neo in "The Matrix": I didn't say it would be easy, Neo. I just said it would be the truth...

Perhaps you believe that patriarchy is hegemonic, harmful to women, that it's still a man's world. After all, most CEOs and Congresspeople are still men. If you were my brother, sister, wife, etc., I'd urge you to see this film. Yes, you'll find support for your views---After all the filmmaker was a serious feminist. Also, the movie fair-mindedly interviews leading feminists, not just straw men/women. But your eyes will be opened to an enormous reality for 50 percent of the population that has been almost totally censored by the mainstream media. I'll admit that I found two hours a bit long. I wish it had been 90 minutes but then again, I'm impatient by nature. But even Type-A me feels it was well worth watching, no, essential watching.