Dottie Gets Spanked

A resonant stroke of illumination brought to us in living color by none other, none more informed, than the gifted Todd Haynes. This Ma Vie en Rouge predates the French ROSE by five years and comes in at less than a third of the running time.

Haynes' is a lingering soul kiss, darker, individualistic, willful and startlingly relevant. Viva Sissy Power!

Perhaps I am missing something, but I just didn't get it. I mean, I myself am gay, yet I didn't see how this short film was some sort of triumph of homo cinema. I mean, this is one of those films that you don't understand at all, but you watch fascinated, and you know that in the end it will all come together and make sense. However, that didn't happen. After a half hour of bizarre, freaky dream sequences and lots and lots of spanking, I was no more enlightened than I was at the beginning. I mean, what was Todd Haynes trying to say? That a little 6 year old boy obsessed with an old "Lucy"-esque sitcom has a spanking fetish? I'm sorry, I saw "Velvet Goldmine" also, and I didn't get that either. Maybe Todd Haynes and I are just not clicking. Also, where was Harriet Sansom Harris? The credits state she plays Steven's mother... Well, I am sorry, but that is NOT Har.

Todd haynes writes and directs this thirty minute short film. Steven, a young boy, watches the dottie show each day, and seems extra obsessed with watching her get spanked. It seems steven doesn't really understand why he enjoys it, and his parents sure as heck don't understand. And they aren't sure how to handle it. Steven is quite lonely, and only his mother understands him... she seems to be his only friend. Kind of a cult film. Or maybe a coming of age story for a little boy. I wish it had been longer; maybe more things would have been explained. Although i'm sure many of us felt the same loneliness and shame that steven appears to feel. Without knowing why. I had seen many of haynes' other full length films; he wrote and directed some biggies! Good stuff! I look forward to seeing more from him. This one currently showing on kanopy streaming.

Every once in a while, I stumble across a video that just calls out to me, whether it be a funny title, a bizarre description, or a lesser known work of a much admired director. Todd Haynes' "Dottie Gets Spanked" is my latest acquisition of this type and was absolutely delightful.

This 30 minute short film was commissioned by the Independent Television Service, with funds from PBS, as one of a series of shows exploring the difference between "tv families" and "real families." In what Haynes call his most autobiographical piece to date, "Dottie Gets Spanked" tells the story of Stevie, a seven year old boy obsessed with a television star, Dottie Frank, star of the 1950s show, "The Dottie Show", an obvious allusion to Lucille Ball and "Here's Lucy". Stevie loves everything about Dottie, never misses a show, draws pictures of her, creates stories around her, even dreams of her. As the title suggests, he witnesses Dottie getting spanked, which opens up a whole new world of emotions for a young and impressionable boy.

Todd Haynes is one of the most recognized directors of the New Queer Cinema movement of the early 1990s. This little gem of a show is a brilliant representation of how one boy's gender identity blossoms, together with his awareness (and shame) of his differences from his peers. If you are over 40, loved the old sitcoms, even a little atypical, then there is a decent chance you will love this too.

This is a wonderful movie which takes the viewer back to the shame of those first childhood sexual fantasies that cannot be shared with anyone.

Steven Gale,like many young boys, is fascinated by the complex world of the women around him. He watches them,listens to them, and draws them endlessly. The film has him fixated on a Lucille-Ball-like TV star, but the undertones are deeply psychological as they track this young boy's attempt to understand why some things are branded "normal" and some things are quite definitely NOT.

The writing and casting are superb. Watch this film several times to appreciate the meticulous sets and costuming!