bitches need it

 

One of the disturbing aspects within the film Space is the Place is the role of gender. As a film that portrays pimp ideology through the character of the Overseer, a consistent theme of the film is calling out the toxic masculinity that exists on earth in our society through the use of women as sexual objects and pawns in men’s performance of power. The Overseer is a domineering character who impresses and manipulates people, specifically Jimmy Fey, by describing his power through his control of women. Throughout the film, he is consistently surrounded by two sex workers that cater to his every desire, and whom he uses at any given time. This aspect of The Overseer’s power influences Jimmy Fey as he is jealous and hopes that a “perk” of listening to him would be to eventually have what he has, aka the women. In the film, a large group of The Overseer’s scenes are at a brothel. The sex workers are mistreated not only by him but massively by the NASA engineers who become embarrassed after not being able to get hard, eventually beating the sex workers until they were unresponsive and seemingly dead. This part of the film highlighted the intensity and danger of hegemonic masculine fragility, especially when provoked within societally more “powerful men.” To clarify just how disturbing this casual misogyny is within the film The Overseer says to Jimmy Fey and a manager at the brothel after this beating happens, “You’ve been around for long enough to know better, there’s lots more where she came from… Bertha get your fat ass over there and clean them up. I outta whoop their asses myself, bitches need it.”