Feminists Attack Quentin Tarantino over ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’

Feminists have their knives out for director Quentin Tarantino, claiming that his Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood is a sexist and misogynistic movie that revels in violence against women.

The Hollywood Reporter ran a scathing attack on Tarantino on Sunday, claiming that the filmmaker has used violence against women as a humorous punchline throughout his career.

“Violence against women is generally played for laughs in a Tarantino picture,” wrote columnist Joelle Monique. She cites the mauling and incineration of two female killers in “Once Upon a Time,” noting that audiences were “double over in hysterics.”

The columnist also cited the violent deaths of characters played by Jennifer Jason Leigh in The Hateful Eight and Bridget Fonda in “Jackie Brown” as evidence of Tarantino’s sexist views.

“When the shots ring out, there is a relief because the agitating factor has been eliminated. A woman’s life has ended,” she wrote. “But, when men are in pain, or their lives are in danger, it isn’t played for laughs.”

Jezebel, which has previously criticized Tarantino for his long working relationship with Harvey Weinstein, published an article claiming that Once Upon a Time reduces the character of Sharon Tate (played by Margot Robbie) to a cypher who is defined primarily by the men looking at her.

“The audience learns about as much about Tate from these male characters as we do from Tate herself,” writes essayist Rich Juzwiak. “[Tate] is just a rough outline.”

Jezebel also questions why Tarantino cast actor Emile Hirsch (who plays Manson cult victim Jay Sebring). In 2015 Hirsch plead guilty to assaulting Paramount executive Daniele Bernfeld, and was sentenced to 15 days in jail.

“Is there any reason for Tarantino to have cast Emile Hirsch?” the article asks.

The feminist attacks on “Once Upon a Time” began in May when the movie debuted in May at the Cannes Film Festival. A New York Times reporter confronted Tarantino at a press conference, arguing that the filmmaker didn’t give Sharon Tate that many lines of dialogue. The director rejected her claims.

Since then, some prominent film critics have jumped on the bandwagon. New Yorker critic Anthony Lane noted in his review that the movie climaxes with an “insane burst of brutality that is inflicted by men upon women.” He added that the audience “laughed and clapped. No one was surprised. The jitters have become a joke.”

But other critics have pushed back on the feminist attacks. When The Hateful Eight was released four years ago, The Hollywood Reporter ran a column defending the movie from criticism that it was sexist.

“There’s more than a touch of chauvinism in the labeling of ‘The Hateful Eight’ as misogynistic,” wrote critic Sheri Linden. “The implication is that female characters need to be protected or coddled and can’t occupy the same moral void as the males.”