Viva Filmmaker Anna Biller Critiques Critical Women Review

Dear Linda,

Your blog about my film VIVA was really strange and illogical. You are right that I have a fascination with glamour images of women, but that does not come from an obsession with Barbie dolls, but with classic cinema and photography. On the one hand you complain that I idolize Barbie dolls for their figures, and on the other hand you complain that I include body types you don't want to see (meaning, regular people who don't look like Barbie dolls). Which is it, sister?

And who are you to call me a "fat Barbie doll?" Do you have a problem with women who are above a size six? (I wore a size eight in the movie). Have you considered the visual and ethnic differences between myself and a Barbie doll? Do you think I'm like a doll because I'm wearing period makeup and clothing? Do you object to self-adornment, or is it just that you don't like clothing and makeup from that period? Does your dislike of this type of look constitute a critical film review?

I thought women's communities were supposed to support other women. Your "review" of my film is not a review, it's a mirror reflecting your own narcissistic likes and dislikes. This is the type of uncritical and emotional writing that gives women a bad name.

Respectfully yours,
-Anna Biller