i find it incredibly interesting (read: predictable) that when i read negative reviews about sharp objects that it’s either too slow, or the ending felt cheap, i see that they’re written by men. in turn, every positive article i’ve seen has been written by a woman — and those reviews take it a step beyond positive, calling the finale “the best hour of television” or praising the show as a masterpiece. and i think there’s something so fascinating about how a show about women’s pain and trauma and the violence they commit against themselves and each other is so easily dismissed by men. we are always invited to stand in a male character’s shoes, to slip into his skin and understand why he rages or kills or cries. but with women, and especially the women of sharp objects, there seems to be no desire to do so. there’s criticism of camille’s journalistic integrity, of how she responds to a lifetime of abuse, of every choice she makes. in a strange way, the reaction to the show has held up a mirror to the work itself: the idea of a violent woman is easily dismissed and written off; she is an anomaly, and one not worth empathizing with. in a world full of television and movie violence, men seem to only care about violence committed against women, not violence women inflict themselves.
Diana from Portugal.