What we love about KATSEYE, aside from their killer stage presence and performance abilities, is that they also aren’t afraid to speak up when they have to. The young ladies don’t just keep to themselves with their growing platform. Just look at KATSEYE Manon and her penchant for calling out rumors, gossip, and other problematic aspects of the industry. The 23-year-old Swiss-Ghanaian pop star stands on business. It’s a trait that also influences her artistry, as seen in her recent short film, which delves into how women are often expected to be and do their best with little care given back in return.
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The Trials and Tribulations of Being a Woman
Directed by Sophie Hall-Mochikatel and starring Manon, the short movie, which is titled Not Bad, centers on Manon’s character doing household chores. In one scene, she’s cleaning a window in heels, light blue leggings, a corset, and a chin strap. In another, she’s cooking a meal in a lace top. There are also shots of her trying to clean the living room with a vacuum cleaner and getting ready for what looks to be a night out. In the middle of this is a man playing the drums, whose sound provides the soundtrack for most of the short.
As her day goes on, though, Manon’s unnamed character is visibly struggling with her tasks and is underappreciated for the work she does. From difficulty in cooking to frustrations with finding an outfit to wear, which reminds us of the scene from The Substance where Elisabeth keeps on reapplying her lipstick in increasing frustration after she saw herself in the reflection of the doorknob, it is becoming demanding for her to balance it all. It culminates in the character having a meal, and she utters the only words of the short after tasting her cooking, “not bad.”
On the surface, Not Bad might just be an aesthetic look into someone’s bad day, but it goes beyond that to be a commentary on what society expects women to be. For decades, women were expected to be homemakers and do everything while their husbands went to work or pursued their aspirations. Women are expected, and oftentimes forced, to carry men’s dreams on their backs while their own agency is ignored. From cooking to cleaning, the movie’s protagonist is supposed to sacrifice and juggle it all despite how difficult and tiring it can be.
On top of it all, women are expected to look perfect and pretty while doing it, and still look good for men. The fact that the film ends with “not bad” after Manon’s character does all that speaks to how even when women give their best, it’s still not enough to match male mediocrity. The “not bad” line could also touch upon how women, especially young women, judge themselves based on rigid societal standards that are reinforced upon them at an early age.
Adding to the film’s commentary are its styling and visuals. Not Bad leans towards a vintage, ‘60s and ‘70s-inspired styling from colored tights and corsets to lace tops. The clothing, lighting, and framing pop in color thanks to Violet Smith, who served as the project’s Director of Photography. It’s a visually striking movie that uses clothes to symbolize the wide divide between men and women. Manon’s character is dressed and dolled up to do house chores, yet the man is just wearing a ripped white t-shirt and jeans. Manon’s character looks great, but that’s not the point. Men get a free pass to give little effort, but women have to be at their best all the time.
Perfection is often expected of women, but at the end of the day, as difficult as it already is for women to carry that burden, many would still dismiss those efforts as never enough. Manon’s acting brings this conundrum to life as she non-verbally communicates through her movement and facial expressions the desire to do well, but also the physical, mental, and emotional strain and exhaustion of it. In trying to keep up with the facade of being the “perfect woman”,she ends up being drained and tired.
Meanwhile, the man playing the drums gets to pursue his passions freely and just surrounds himself with the noise of his music while ignoring the work his female partner does for him. It also helps that Manon, an idol herself, knows how female public figures are often expected to act a certain way, rarely, if at all, given a free pass to just be themselves, and are frequently criticized for falling out of line.
With Not Bad, Manon uses her art to remind us that, while there has been and continues to be progress made, society still has its ways to go to unburden women from unrealistic expectations.
Photos: MANON (via Instagram), VIOLET SMITH (via Instagram)
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