{"id":2621021,"date":"2019-10-07T10:55:37","date_gmt":"2019-10-07T17:55:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dostoevsky-bts.com\/blog\/?p=2621021"},"modified":"2019-10-07T10:55:37","modified_gmt":"2019-10-07T17:55:37","slug":"2621021-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dostoevsky-bts.com\/blog\/2621021-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Dostoyevsky and \u201cHustlers\u201d: The Feminist \u201cCrime and Punishment\u201d."},"content":{"rendered":"

Women in Dostoyevsky: Brave and Beautiful<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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An Unknown Lady (1883), oil painting by Ivan Kramskoy<\/p><\/div>\n

Sonya from Crime and Punishment<\/em>, Nastasya Filippovna from The Idiot<\/em>, and Grushenka from The Brothers Karamazov<\/em>… Written as women of beauty, readers see their struggles in\u00a0 Dostoyevsky’s novels. But, in the words of J-Lo, these women would probably tell the world, \u201cYa lips talkin’ bout I play too much\/ Can’t a woman take advantage of what she wants\u201d. Heroines of Dostoyevsky are often noted for their compassion and strength despite their lack of power in their social status.<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s empathizing with the scorn idiot or turning towards prostitution to support her family, women do not have control of their own fates. This strength is Dostoyevsky comment on the great amount of risks women take in upholding responsibility. In other words, Dostoyevsky has a feminist perspective where his female characters are just as strong and brave as their male counterparts when it comes to making decisions despite<\/strong> the tragedy society throws at them.<\/p>\n

Cut to our age of film where it\u2019s not men dealing with the cruelties of finance (Wolf of Wall Street, The Big Short, American Psycho, <\/em>etc. ) Hustlers<\/strong> <\/a><\/em>is a film based on a New York Magazine’s\u00a0 Article <\/strong><\/a>about a group of women who conned or \u201cfished\u201d men who spent thousands of dollars at strip clubs. Their scapegoat for their extortion? Men\u2019s pride, fear, and toxic masculinity. The film follows the rags-to-riches story of Destiny: a single-mother and exotic dancer who calculated, commanded, and executed Operation \u201cSteal from Wall Street Guys\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Recession: A Villain<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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For every hero, there is a villain. And for the women in Hustlers<\/strong><\/em> or any Russian novel involving a lad struggling to feed themselves, it\u2019s poverty. Being poor is not what drives the hero, but negative impacts from it makes the hero\u00a0fight\u00a0financial injustice. As social\u00a0issues are a common enemy in Dostoyevsky\u2019s novels, the effects of the 2008 Financial Crisis drives the women to fight the recession.<\/p>\n

Recession films have a common theme. Desperation for financial freedom is a call to action! \u00a0Wealth is a driving force to survive in our world of capitalism and free-market economy! Well, in the stripper world, where the effects of free-market competition involves people dropping hundreds and thousands for dance, sex, glitz, and glamor IT\u2019S STILL DOG EAT DOG. In Hustlers<\/strong>,<\/em> we root for Destiny when she finally brandishes her calculator and heels for her family as she takes back what Wall\u00a0 Street’s men spent. We empathize with these actions because we\u2019ve had our ways of struggling with financial hardships as well.<\/p>\n

“Look, there\u2019s nothing I can really say to make sense of what went down. But everybody\u2019s hustling. This city, this whole country, is a strip club. You’ve got people tossing the money, and people doing the dance.”(Hustlers<\/em><\/strong>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Drugs, Sex, Booze and Wall Street, Oh My!..<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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What makes Hustlers<\/strong> <\/em>unique for a crime and punishment tale is\u00a0its form of corruption. Not only is it undertaken by women of color but undertaken by a disenfranchised sector of employment outside of the typical blue-collar\/ white-collar binary. To simply put,<\/p>\n

\u201cThese Wall Street guys, you see what they did to this country? They stole from everybody. Hard-working people lost everything, and not one of these douchebags went to jail.\u201d\u00a0 (Hustlers<\/em><\/strong>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One could argue that the corruption of the free-market economy justifies the use of prostitution, drugs, and intoxication. In other words, the destitute surroundings were an obstacle. Destiny and her posse had the right to extort the 1%.\u00a0We may not have walked in a stripper’s heels, but we’ve been stepped on by the rich folks. The stripper sisterhood also challenged toxic masculinity (harmful\u00a0attributes derived from ideal male characteristics) and took advantage of Wall Street men\u2019s\u2019 financial superiority. As one officer said in the article, \u201cMen don\u2019t want to admit to being victimized by women. It came with humiliation telling their partners about their night with strippers.” Like a double edge sword of scandal, Destiny\u2019s operation kept most men from coming forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd says what? \u2018I spent $5,000 at a strip club, send help?\u2019\u201d (Hustlers<\/em>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The\u00a0Remorse of Destiny and Raskolnikov<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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If you picture a murderer and a homewrecker, would the image of two young students trying to provide for their family come to mind? Crime and Punishment<\/em> readers know that Raskolnikov, the protagonist, ultimately recognizes his crime and turns himself in. Similarly, we see Destiny feel the remorse of her actions as she relays her story to the journalist.<\/p>\n

Although Destiny\u2019s journey of sex work parallels to Sonya (Raskolnikov\u2019s friend forced into prostitution) from the novel, Destiny’s characteristics and philosophy align with Raskolnikov. As a criminal, Destiny commits extortion beyond her family and morals. \u00a0From the beginning of the film, she states that her ultimate goal was to not be dependent on anyone- financially and personally.<\/p>\n

They\u00a0were extraordinary beings who believed going above the rule of law was justified.<\/p>\n

Because of this, both characters followed their conscience saying that they have the right to harm those who harm society. Both suffered from the flaws of their plans. Both have crossed the lines of morality. Both admit that they were responsible for their crimes.<\/p>\n