Most people have a rough idea of what a Film Bro is – someone, usually a man, who identifies as a cinephile, defined by their sense of superiority over the average movie-goer, while actually having a pretty narrow view and taste in cinema, often more mainstream than they think it is. Film Girlies, the typically female category of Film Bro is a much more recent term and certainly not as frequently satirised as its counterpart – the only thing that truly separates the two is the filmmakers and films associated with them.
When did this categorisation emerge and why? When did our preferences in film become so culturally gendered ?
Specifically in many online spaces, films like The Godfather, Fight Club and pretty much Christopher Nolan’s entire filmography at some point became synonymous with Film Bros. Similarly films like Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird, and many of Sofia Coppola’s films are the stereotypical favourites of a Film Girlie.
So what makes a Film Bro film, a Film Bro film? What are Film Girlie films? For both it is usually films popularised in pop culture and online, but the difference is pretty clear. While we may say it has to do with a large cast of male or female characters or the filmmakers, these films are most likely categorised by the fact Film Bro films usually celebrate and assert the traditional Western ideals of masculinity, while the films that Film Girlies are criticised for over-engaging with are often pieces which focus on key parts of femininity. This doesn’t mean these films are inaccessible to other groups, but the examples most often used are films which fall on two extreme ends of a gendered spectrum, it is hypermasculinity against hyperfeminity.
While the basis of the stereotype seems similar, I don’t know if the two are fully comparable. The original term Film Bro was popularised in online spaces to call out men for having a shallow male-centric view of cinema. Considering the history of women being a minority in filmmaking, especially in the mainstream – despite being used against female film fans – the Film Girlies stereotype still seems to be punching up. If anything, a trope of female cinephiles engaging only in female centric films seems like a win.
Overall, as we culturally move away from traditional gender expression, maybe it’s time to retire these stereotypes and let people enjoy the films they want to enjoy without fear of labelling.
Illustration by Aneliya Stanislavova (@eclectic.by.heart.jpg)
