ONLINE FIRST
published on October 31, 2021
C. A. York

https://doi.org/10.5840/filmphil2021102711
Fennell's Promising Young Woman and Furious Women in Film
Emerald Fennell¡¯s debut feature Promising Young Woman (2020) incisively examines sexual assault, misogyny, and the culture of complicity that continues to perpetuate `violence against women. This article will estab?lish Fennell¡¯s aptitude as a filmmaker in condemning the pervasive forces of patriarchal social order in harmony with Kate Manne¡¯s account of structural misogyny analyzed in Down Girl (2017) and Entitled (2020). Fennell¡¯s subver?sion of genre standards demonstrates how the actions of individuals, sepa?rate from the perpetrator, lead to additional acts of harm, and addresses the ever-present reality of male violence which the feminist-hero is, ultimately, unable to surmount. Despite arguments that Promising Young Woman has not met the expectations for change the me-too movement inspired, Fennell chal?lenges conventions to expose misogyny and male violence asking that future feminist filmgoers consider a new way forward.