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Top woman conductor says Blanchett's 'Tar' is 'misogynistic'

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Rana Moussaoui, Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Actress Cate Blanchett stars as fictional composer and conductor Lydia Tár. Handout" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/life/01/13/tarcateblanchett.jpg"/><figcaption>Actress Cate Blanchett stars as fictional composer and conductor Lydia Tár. <em>Handout</em></figcaption></figure></div><p><br/>PARIS, France - &quot;Tar&quot; is tipped to win Cate Blanchett a third Oscar for her role as a power-hungry conductor, but for one real-life pioneer in the job, the film does a &quot;disservice to women.&quot;</p><p>Marin Alsop, 66, is chief conductor of the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and has frequently broken new ground for women in the field.</p><p>Born in the United States, she was the first woman named as musical director of a major orchestra there (in Baltimore) and the first to conduct London&#x27;s famous Last Night of the Proms.</p><p>&quot;Tar&quot; has been hailed by critics and already scooped several awards for Blanchett, including a Golden Globe this week, as well as one for writer-director Todd Field.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Na6gA1RehsU?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div><p>Alsop told AFP that while Blanchett&#x27;s performance was certainly &quot;marvellous,&quot; her concern was this was &quot;yet another misogynistic portrayal of a woman in a leadership role.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Historically, there have been very few opportunities for women at the top level (in classical music), so to assume that a woman would behave in an abusive, conceited manner similar to many men... does a real disservice to women,&quot; she said.</p><p>The film is currently being released around Europe and beyond.</p><div><strong>&#x27;Reinforcing stereotypes&#x27;</strong></div><p>Blanchett has previously dismissed the importance of having a woman at the center of the film, which charts the downfall of a fictional conductor following claims of abuse.</p><p>After its premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September, where she also won best actress, Blanchett told reporters she &quot;didn&#x27;t think about the character&#x27;s gender nor her sex at all&quot; during preparations. </p><p>&quot;It wasn&#x27;t until we started doing the press and they said, &#x27;You have women at the center of this&#x27; and I thought: &#x27;Oh s**t -- yeah, we do!&#x27; That didn&#x27;t cross my mind,&quot; Blanchett said.</p><p>Alsop objects that &quot;Tar&quot; repeats stereotypes about powerful women being abusive, hysterical and unhinged.</p><p>&quot;It is reinforcing the same stereotypes, without ever giving women the opportunity to grow into these roles,&quot; she said.</p><p>&quot;Of course, it is fiction, but it is a fiction that is trying very hard to be similar, if not identical, to reality,&quot; she added.</p><p>The film was a missed opportunity to inspire people about classical music and encourage more women to enter the profession, she said.</p><p>&quot;Through my fellowships for women conductors... I meet so many women who are using these positions to create future possibilities for their communities.</p><p>&quot;To have a star like Cate Blanchett -- it could have been so much more.&quot;</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2417429" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

 'Tar' is tipped to win Cate Blanchett a third Oscar for her role as a power-hungry conductor, but for one real-life pioneer in the job, the film does a 'disservice to women'.

Top woman conductor says Blanchett's 'Tar' is 'misogynistic'

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Top woman conductor says Blanchett's 'Tar' is 'misogynistic'

Rana Moussaoui,

Agence France-Presse

Published Jan 13, 2023 01:04 PM PHT

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cate blanchett

academy awards

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Marin Alsop

misogyny

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