Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power

Released Oct 21, 2022

1 hr. 47 min.

Documentary

TRAILER

for Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power: Trailer 1

List

70%

54 Reviews

Tomatometer

88%

50+ Ratings

Audience Score

Brainwashed is based on director Nina Menkes's cinematic presentation, Sex and Power, the Visual Language of Cinema, that uses film clips by A-list directors from 1896 to the present, to show how the visual grammar of cinema contributes to conditions that create discriminatory hiring practice, pay inequity and a pervasive environment of sexual harassment in the film industry and beyond.

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Premiered Dec 21

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Apple TV

Rent Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

Critics Consensus

Although its subject calls for a more incisive treatment, Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power is a worthy primer on the male gaze in cinema.

Read Critics Reviews

Gwyn V

This is easily one of, if not the most, important documentary about filmmaking. This film truly deprogrammed my brain. It opened my eyes to how films enter our psyche and perpetuate ideas about the world. Watching this should be a prerequisite for all people entering the industry.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/14/24

Full Review

Steph G

I think this documentary (which is more like a recording of TED-like talk with interviews interspersed) is one of the most important documentaries of our time for women and their push for equality. Why? Because the way women are represented in the media and film has to change. And Menkes makes a convincing argument of how that current, sexist lens creates real-world chaos for women. You can read more at my blog here: https://stephaniewest.org/2023/03/06/one-of-the-most-important-documentaries-of-our-time-if-the-camera-is-predatory-then-the-culture-is-predatory-as-well/

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/13/23

Full Review

Brian Scott M

Finally got to see "Brainwashed". On the big screen. With a fantastic Q&A that included the filmmakers. (Live in LA) See it - the documentary is a critical and unflinching mirror to cinema's sexist past, and some keys to a better future on the page, on set, and on film. It's not a man-bashing, woke fest. It insightfully and clearly illustrates the objectification culture present in film today, as well as the historic and current employment discrimination against women. #consciousnessistransformative

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

gina k

warning: this film may take you on a rollercoaster of anger-grief-hope. BRAINWASHED: SEX-CAMERA-POWER is striking in its simple, straightforward demonstration of power dynamics at play in the visual language of cinema, the impact of those dynamics on culture, and solutions for moving forward in a new way. filmmaker nina menkes treats the subject in a calm and measured manner, walking the audience through the topic like they're attending a graduate film studies class. the audience is given a multitude of examples which demonstrate a visual pattern that is - whether intentionally or unintentionally - reinforced throughout a century of filmmaking, a pattern that most often objectifies women and minorities. the film links this pattern to the wider, societal implications, its role in contributing to the everyday objectification of women and minorities in workplaces and interpersonal interactions, and the inequitable economics of filmmaking. then, rather than condemning the visual pattern, or shaming those who use it, the film plainly asks, "is this style of visual language effectively communicating the narrative?" and/or "is there another way to accomplish the goal that may be even more effective?" here, examples of alternatives are provided. by bringing the pattern into conscious awareness without any shame or retribution, the film allows the audience an opportunity to choose to heal the collective trauma wrought by the normalization of on-screen dehumanization, and to be free of the unconscious visual language so that it can be transformed into an entirely new system.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Leyi D

I went for a movie, not for a lecture, and certainly not for the director's narcissist plug-ins of her own films.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

12/08/23

Full Review

Lynne M

An eye-opening look at the subtle techniques of cinema language perpetuate ideas about men and women that seep into everyone's subconscious in harmful ways. A must-see for anyone making creative content.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/12/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Nina Menkes

Director

Julie Dash

Self

Penelope Spheeris

Self

Charlyne Yi

Self

Joey Soloway

Self

Catherine Hardwicke

Self

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

100%

%

My Name is Alfred Hitchcock

88%

%

We Kill for Love

100%

%

Fragments of Paradise

92%

62%

Black Art: In the Absence of Light

88%

%

So Unreal

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power: Trailer 1

1:45

View more videos

View more photos

Linda Marric

The Jewish Chronicle

Menkes delves deep into Hollywood’s obsession with the female body and its continued sexist representation of young women as objects of desire.

Rated: 4/5

May 12, 2023

Full Review

Kevin Maher

Times (UK)

Political, economic and social factors are all conveniently, outrageously, ignored while movies such as Vertigo, Raging Bull and Blade Runner are blamed for everything from body fascism to rape culture.

Rated: 1/5

May 12, 2023

Full Review

Lillian Crawford

Little White Lies

Menkes’ accusations against other women directors border on misogyny.

Rated: 2/5

May 10, 2023

Full Review

Serena Seghedoni

Loud and Clear Reviews

Will be genuinely educational to some viewers – the key word being “some“.

Rated: 3/5

Jul 23, 2023

Full Review

David Bax

Battleship Pretension

Concluding with opposing examples, films where the images pass Menkes’ muster, the film’s lasting impression is one of condescension and distrust toward its audience.

Jun 14, 2023

Full Review

Rosalynn Try-Hane

Liquid Marmalade

It will make you see the way women are portrayed on screen differently.

May 18, 2023

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

Brainwashed is based on director Nina Menkes's cinematic presentation, Sex and Power, the Visual Language of Cinema, that uses film clips by A-list directors from 1896 to the present, to show how the visual grammar of cinema contributes to conditions that create discriminatory hiring practice, pay inequity and a pervasive environment of sexual harassment in the film industry and beyond.

Director: Nina Menkes
Executive Producer: Tim Disney, Susan Disney Lord, Abigail Disney
Distributor: Kino Lorber
Production Co: Menkesfilm, Eos World Fund
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 21, 2022, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 6, 2022
Box Office (Gross USA): $28.8K

Most Popular at Home Now