Kill Bill is, above all else, a story of vengeance.  Beatrix Kiddo, aka The Bride, is a woman out for revenge against Bill, the ringleader of the gang that shot down her wedding rehearsal, as well as the father of her unborn child.  Bill leaves Beatrix for dead, but after four years in a coma Beatrix miraculously wakes up and is devastated when she realizes her child is gone.  Grieving the loss of the new life she had hoped for, Beatrix makes a list of those who did her wrong and sets out to find her own form of justice.

Considering Kill Bill from a feminist perspective is an interesting task.  The film is chock full of strong and powerful female characters, working mothers (albeit hitwomen), and fierce fighters.  However, these women are united by their (one time) allegiance to Bill, who not entirely unlike a pimp sent his women out on dangerous jobs.  And as is all to often the case, these powerful women quickly turn on each other rather than uniting.

Although there is a great deal of violence against women in the film, women are never portrayed as simple victims.  Beatrix eventually overcomes all of the men (and women) who had hurt her, from a male nurse who molested and pimped her out when she was in a coma to Bill and his gang who destroyed her wedding and put her into the coma in the first place.  Combat scenes in the film are highly choreographed and as complex as dance, with women holding their own in battles against each other and men.  However, the film’s idealized fight scenes glorify the violence, not uncommon in the action genre.

It is refreshing to see powerful women on film, from Buffy to Beatrix, especially when the heroine comes out on top.  As empowering as it is, one has to wonder how a potentially feminist film could possibly be featured as part of a Spike TV marathon.  Could it be that such films might begin to change the macho/machismo action genre, or is it simply another example of women as objects in men’s entertainment?

Check out this awesome article at the Bitch magazine blog on whether or not Quentin Tarantino might be a feminist, and whether or not that matters.