“The Mummy” star Sofia Boutella says her version of the monster is a feminist, and we’re intrigued
The Mummy starring Tom Cruise and Sofia Boutella comes out this weekend, and the stars have been doing plenty of press to promote the film. Sofia Boutella, who plays the titular character, has an unconventional view on the menacing villain. Basically, Boutella believes the mummy is actually a feminist, and we really didn’t see that angle coming (but obviously, we’re here for that).
In an interview with LA Times, Sofia Boutella spoke at length about her central role in the reboot. But we were particularly interested in her statements about how the character of the mummy is a feminist.
“Ahmanet is the ultimate feminist, I think. What happened to her is something that’s always existed and, weirdly, still does, being prevented from ever becoming Pharaoh because her father has a child and the child is a boy. She’s not OK with that. She doesn’t victimize herself. And the movie also does not victimize her."
Cool, we hear that. It isn’t fair that a woman can’t be Pharaoh and damn right, this would-be she-Pharaoh should be mad!
She did add this, “Why aren’t monsters being played by women? If you piss off a woman she’s far more brutal than a man. How come they didn’t think about that before?”
On one hand, we see where Boutella is coming. It’s great to see women in roles where they aren’t victimized, and we’re all for powerful women (onscreen and off). But at the same time, we’re not quite sure “women are brutal” is what feminists have fought for. But word choice aside, we hear her sentiment of “women can play just as terrifying a villain as a man.”
Still, it’s great to see women cast in horror movies as more than the helpless victims, right?
