Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
Support the IDS in College Media Madness! Donate here March 24 - April 8.
Friday, March 29
The Indiana Daily Student

opinion

COLUMN: A feminist critique of 'Trainwreck'

How did femme-fave comic Amy Schumer's first flick fare?

If you haven’t seen the trailers for “Trainwreck,” you probably should unglue yourself from Netflix or whatever attention-sucking activity you participate in and come back to 
the real world.

“Trainwreck” is blowing up and for all the 
right reasons. Here we have a rom-com that doesn’t self-destruct because of bad acting, casting or plot development, and doesn’t send audiences home with unrealistic expectations of how relationships 
should pan out.

Amy Schumer plays modern-day New York girl Amy, who enjoys drinking all kinds of alcohol, critiquing her married sister as a 
singleton, indulges her habit of getting high and loves having sex. In a way, she’s meant to embody modern women — though with a bit more of an alcohol problem.

Amy then meets sports doctor Aaron Conners through her pursuit as an assistant editor at “Snuff,” the men’s magazine she works for. Just like any rom-com, they fall in love, despite 
a few setbacks.

While watching, I laughed. I had strange déjà vu from moments in my own life and my mother cried during all the emotional 
parts for me.

In my book, “Trainwreck” gets an easy A+. But recent stirrings in the feminist world have questioned whether “Trainwreck” and Schumer are truly feminist.

Recently, Schumer has been critiqued on social media for racist jokes she’s used in her stand-up.

The self-proclaimed and fan-designated feminist comic defends her comedy, stating most of her stand-up is an act as a clueless and offensive white girl. Schumer then goes on to validate these jokes by the laughter received when telling them.

To be honest, I’ve laughed at a joke about race more than once, but I’ve also come to terms that these jokes aren’t really politically correct, or decent for that matter. But even our idols can do or say things that aren’t appropriate. That doesn’t make them failures as role models — it makes them human.

Now, back to the question of “Is ‘Trainwreck’ feminist?” Yes, the main protagonist is a female who speaks her mind bluntly and indulges in 
her sexuality.

We see a side of the rom-com that’s almost completely overlooked, and it’s made into humor in “Trainwreck.”

However, there’s also a large lack of people of color cast in the film, and I’m not quite sure it passes the Bechdel test. But if you look at anything critically enough, you’re probably going to 
find flaws.

Asking questions like “Is this piece of media feminist?” is as irrelevant as 
asking, “Is this piece of media 
my friend?”

Yes, in the feminist manifesto, it’s important to consume media that is politically correct, and we all love praising celebrities who wear the f-word badge.

But I guarantee you, analyzing every nook and cranny of these movies, shows and idols will leave you disappointed. Nothing’s 100-percent feminist all the time, and people can be problematic.

Spending all this time searching for the ultimate feminist rom-com will ruin the enjoyment of 
all rom-coms.

It’s like digging for flaws on the first date. How can you really enjoy their 
company and get to know them if you’re trying to determine why they’ve been single for this long?

“Trainwreck” gives us true revelations about relationships and skips the typical rom-com route. So sit back, relax and enjoy the movie. You can critique its political correctness 
tomorrow.

Get stories like this in your inbox
Subscribe