14 Moments From Popular Movies That Were 100% Problematic And Disturbing

Dissect and dissent is the new rise and shine.

1. Knox and Chris' “romance” in Dead Poets Society:

Touchstone Pictures / Via giphy.com

If Knox’s girl (who isn’t technically his girl) is having a bad day, he will be sure to make it worse. In the poetry, he writes for Chris, she sounds like a string of Pinterest platitudes woven together. “The heavens made a girl named Chris / with hair and skin of gold ”— is he describing a jaundiced Barbie doll or an actual person? Also, in which universe is kissing a girl without her consent considered okay and who made Knox its king?

2. When Raj violates Simran’s boundaries in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge:

@bypriyashah on GIPHY / Yash Raj Films / Via giphy.com

In DDLJ, poor Simran has to microdose hell by accidentally getting stuck with Raj in a train compartment. Raj is really unbothered about her personal space, moisturised in his sense of entitlement, happy in his lane when the lane in question is breaching her boundaries, focused on depicting harassment as romance, and flourishing as a harasser.  

3. When Kabir slaps Preeti in Kabir Singh:

T-Series / Via giphy.com

Kabir be like, "I know a spot", and then takes Preeti to the lowest point in her life. The way he slaps her, it’s evident that he thinks of her as nothing but his emotional support punching bag. We need a new show called Indian Matchbreaking where we free our sisters from the shackles of abusive men. Kabir Singh, the film, was a giant red flag, tbh.

4. Chatur’s speech in 3 Idiots:

Vinod Chopra Films / Via giphy.com

Rancho (misguidedly) thinks peppering Chatur’s speech with rape jokes will fly and whoever has written this part of the film has hit peak cringe levels by making light of rape culture. Going by how women are shown laughing in the background during the speech, it’s obvious that they will partake in their own dehumanisation only in a misogynistic man’s fantasy.  

5. Aman’s dating advice to Rohit in Kal Ho Naa Ho:

Dharma Productions / @bypriyashah on GIPHY / Via giphy.com

Scam alert: If A-man tells you that “6 din, ladki in ” is a thing, don’t trust him. Women are people and not Amazon packages. If there had been a section on the Guinness Book of World Records for the worst dating advisor ever, Aman would have taken the trophy for suggesting Rohit send mixed signals Naina’s way. I hate to break it to you, Aman, but Naina deserves someone who has better communication skills than Alexa.

6. When Rama smears Rajni's face with talcum powder in Vivah:

Rajshri Productions

Lathering her daughter's face with talcum powder will not lighten her skin tone and Rama can really use a lesson in basic science (or common sense). Rajni is an acquired taste. So, whoever finds fault with her for her skin tone, should just acquire some taste. All I have to say to Rama is, “Jal lijiye, thak gaye honge Eurocentric beauty standards promote karte karte ”.

7. When Kundan stalks Zoya in Raanjhanaa:

Colour Yellow Productions / @ErosNow on GIPHY / Via giphy.com

Hard to believe that once upon a time, men like Kundan used to hunt, gather, and do other cool stuff like aid the discovery of fire. But now, all they do is stalk women and call it a day. I know Bollywood is not too concerned about being on the right side of history, but depicting Kundan’s criminal offences as certified lover boy behaviour is stooping to a new low. I mean, he literally follows Zoya every day, hoping her "no" will turn into a "yes" and even drops her in a river…  

8. When Viraj forcibly kisses Simrita in Kambakkht Ishq:

Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment

Nobody:

Absolutely nobody:

Viraj: Let me kiss Simrita without her consent and traumatise her for life. Let me be a man-child and start throwing tantrums every time someone happens to have an opinion different from mine. Let me affirm my existence by being a big threat to the women around me.

9. Sanju’s makeover in Main Hoon Na:

Red Chillies Entertainment / @bypriyashah on GIPHY / Via giphy.com

Please save your “I can fix her” energy because Sanju literally doesn’t need fixing. She is a GOAT, with or without a makeover. In an ideal world, Sanju ghosts Lucky, a man who has the same number of brain cells as a crushed soda bottle. Instead, she is happy with Percy, who appreciates her OG self and doesn’t expect her to become a caricature of hyper-femininity.  

10. The constant body shaming of Natalie in Love Actually:

StudioCanal / Via giphy.com

Making a conscious effort to be respectful towards all body sizes is apparently hard. Maybe, that’s why mature and sensible individuals like Natalie’s ex-boyfriend and father (along with a few of her other acquaintances), choose to subject her to intense body shaming. Being a jerk is an easy business, after all. More importantly, unlike other hobbies, perpetuating nonsensical ideas about body types doesn’t cost a penny!

11. When Gloria forces herself on Jeremy in Wedding Crashers:

Tapestry Films / Via giphy.com

Gloria’s body is not a temple; it’s actually a crime machine that sneaks into Jeremy’s bedroom and assaults him. Gloria needs to wear her big girl pants, understand the severity of the offence she has committed, and take accountability, which, of course, never happens.  Despite what this movie tells us, we can’t treat rape as something insignificant.

12. When Noah manipulates Allison to go out with him in The Notebook:

Gran Via / Via giphy.com

“I know what I want and I’m gonna get it ”— the Blair Waldorf mindset is all well and good as long as someone isn’t doing what Noah does to Allison. Why are you, as a self-respecting man, dangling off a Ferris wheel to manipulate Allison into going out with you? What happened to good old romantic gestures like flowers, heart-shaped lockets, and….not letting your self-absorption ruin your crush’s date? Yes, Noah, I’m talking to you.  

13. Jake trading his unconscious girlfriend for another woman’s underwear in Sixteen Candles:

Universal Pictures / Via giphy.com

After getting bored of his girlfriend and falling for Sam, Jake wants to pursue her the old-fashioned way. So, he takes the next logical step — trading his unconscious girlfriend, an actual person, for Sam’s underwear. Just a regular teen doing regular teen stuff, no big deal! Right? This is where we are supposed to glorify his extremely problematic behaviour as romance. Sorry, we, as women, don’t get to make the rules; rather, popular culture benefitting from our objectification does.

14. And finally, Bender’s not-so-subtle way of harassing Claire in The Breakfast Club:

A&M Films / @ifc on GIPHY / Via giphy.com

Bender may or may not be good at sit-ups and push-ups, but he surely has mastered the art of mess-ups. He peeks up Claire’s skirt and makes her visibly uncomfortable throughout. You guessed it right — perversion is his full-time job. I mean, why be an ordinary person with ordinary accomplishments when you can leave a creep-dom as your legacy! In a normal world, Bender is serving jail time. But in ours, he gets celebrated as a Romeo by mainstream media.