Dicktatorship (2019)

Directed by: Gustav Hofer, Luca Ragazzi | 90 minutes | documentary

Luca wants to propose to Gustav, but it seems like there’s something else between them that needs to be resolved first. According to Gustav, Luca is a typical male chauvinist. In ‘Dicktatorship’ the two directors go in search of the origins of the macho culture in Italy. How deeply rooted is this issue and are they guilty of it themselves?

“You can’t see men and women as equals,” Erdogan’s words in the first shot of Dicktatorship. The tone is set. Then we see Luca and Gustav sitting opposite each other at the kitchen table. Luca calls Angela Merkel a ‘woman with balls’. A well-intentioned, but sexist comment, which immediately sparks discussion.
It is undeniable that the two men have both taken on different roles in order to be able to spar in this way. However, the game is placed a bit thick on top of it, making it seem too staged. They are somewhat repetitive as Luca keeps making comments and Gustav keeps snapping.

In the meantime, they speak with various researchers and go to the so-called Phallus Festival, among other things. We see a procession in which a huge wooden penis is carried instead of a Jesus statue. It’s a comical sight, but therein lies one of the causes of the problem. People often view the subject as something funny and something that can be easily laughed off. It’s such a big part of the culture, it’s hard to break this old-fashioned convention. Even outside Italy people contribute to this macho image, because everyone secretly dreams of the ‘Latin Lover’, right? Have you ever heard about the Dutch lover?

Sexism is of course a very topical subject that can no longer be laughed off. It is therefore difficult to make a very innovative documentary about it. What makes ‘Dicktatorship’ interesting is that they try to make it clear from man to man that this subtle form of sexism, which makes women fit into a certain role, is not normal. Often this is not even seen as sexism and that is precisely why you should address each other about it. It’s a deeply rooted cultural problem, and somehow Luca and Gustav manage to come up with a serious issue in a comical way, but perhaps they could have gone a step further. There is no confrontation, which makes the ‘feel good’ content seem more important than looking the real monster in the eye.