Zoë Kravitz’s feature directorial debut, Blink Twice, opens in August. She co-wrote the script and while she had previously been adamant about not changing the name of the film, originally called Pussy Island, we learned earlier this year when the trailer was released that the title has indeed changed and is now Blink Twice. Pretty sure we all know why. And Zoë, for the first time, is talking about coming to the decision.
In an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly, Zoë explains:
"It was made very clear to me that 'p---y' is a word that we, our society, are not ready to embrace yet," she says. "There were a lot of roadblocks along the way, whether it be the MPAA not wanting to put it on a poster, or a billboard, or a kiosk; movie theaters not wanting to put it on a ticket."
We’ll accept sexism and misogyny on screen; platform and vote for men who degrade and abuse and assault women, even put them in the White House, possibly twice; and glorify aging male stars who will not even consider dating women who are older than their mid-20s… but a tiny five-letter word? It’s too much for these businesses, it’s too scary, it’s too threatening, it’s too improper.
Zoë, however, isn’t angry, she’s thoughtful. And I appreciate this part of her response so much:
"Interestingly enough, after researching it, women were offended by the word, and women seeing the title were saying, 'I don't want to see that movie,' which is part of the reason I wanted to try and use the word, which is trying to reclaim the word, and not make it something that we're so uncomfortable using," Kravitz says. "But we're not there yet. And I think that's something I have the responsibility as a filmmaker to listen to. I care about people seeing the film, and I care about how it makes people feel."
Personally, I love the word, I love using it, it’s so much fun to say – the strong P off the top, the soft hiss on the end. When I say pussy, almost all the time it’s joyous, it’s glory and delight. But I understand why some women are offended by the word, because it has been used offensively, weaponised against us. But I’m also frustrated that in 2024 the process of reclaiming it is so slow. In part it’s because of its usage – using the word pussy, in the past, has implied weakness, weakness related to the feminine. As opposed to cunt which is still feminine, but specifically, historically as an insult, cunt was less about strength than about attitude, a hard attitude, a cunt is not someone to be taken advantage of. Which is likely why its reclamation has been so readily embraced on social media by a younger generation of speakers. Serving cunt is one of the highest compliments you can give a person these days. We should all aspire to be serving cunt all day and every day.
Still… it’s not like you can throw cunt into the title of a film and get it on the poster. And I should mention while we’re here that this post, because of its liberal use of cunt and pussy, will probably not be highly trafficked by the algorithm and likely limited and even blocked for advertising since no advertisers will want to run these words next to their products – which means I’m losing money from talking about it so much. A site that avoids problematic words but promotes harmful ideas? No problem!
Zoë’s compromise, then? It’s often what female and BIPOC artists have to do all the time. So as not to alienate the status quo. In weighing the purpose of her film against the choice of the title, of course the point she is trying to make overall with the story it was the classic case of winning the war and not just one battle. But war is a series of battles – that has always been the reality for creatives like Zoë who’ve been fighting for opportunity. It’s almost a miracle that she was able to get her film made at all, let alone being able to leave pussy in the title. Certainly not when people are getting books banned from libraries with what they consider to be immoral language and characters who love themselves and others freely. Like The Color Purple is STILL one of those books! And, yes, one of the reasons is the pussy count.
Anyway, here’s Zoë last night at the Fly Me to the Moon after party after the premiere. She did not walk the carpet with Channing Tatum but Colin Jost did pose with Scarlett Johansson. This is not the best look, on Scarjo or Colin. Her skirt fits weird, bunchy and crunchy, right? And he is not cool enough to be wearing his lapels like that.
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