<p>We kick off Sex Month on&nbsp;<em>The Problematic Gaze</em>&nbsp;by diving headfirst into&nbsp;Alfie, the swaggering, unsettling snapshot of 1960s masculinity that still raises eyebrows today. </p><br><p>We explore how&nbsp;Michael Caine’s charismatic performance—paired with that infamous fourth-wall-breaking narration—pulls us into Alfie’s world, even as his misogyny and emotional detachment push us away. We unpack the film’s origins in&nbsp;Bill Naughton’s play and&nbsp;Lewis Gilbert’s direction, while confronting its most jarring elements: the casual disposability of women, the cutting language, and the harrowing illegal abortion sequence that still lands with force.</p><br><p>But we don’t stop at the screen. We place&nbsp;<em>Alfie</em>&nbsp;squarely in the contradictions of 1966 Britain—Swinging London’s promise of liberation colliding with the realities of&nbsp;Harold Wilson’s Britain, economic uncertainty, the shadow of the&nbsp;Aberfan disaster, and the ongoing shifts of decolonization. Against a backdrop of chart-topping music and cultural change, we ask whether&nbsp;<em>Alfie</em>&nbsp;reflects this moment in time—or critiques it.</p><br><p>By the end, we’re left wrestling with a film that is as compelling as it is uncomfortable: bold, bleak, and still deeply problematic.</p><br><p>You can watch Alfie on YouTube. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzQTF--oQ-U&amp;list=PLbD6vM9jvwIBrqfhYxJDY23uwxpzZitwP&amp;index=1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Click here</a></p><br><p>GAZER HOMEWORK: Next week we turn our lens to 1974's sec comedy 'Confessions Of A Window Cleaner'. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPeYlGYhU3U" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Click here to watch on YouTube</a></p><p><a href="https://linktr.ee/theproblematicgaze" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Click here to follow us on all our socials</a></p><br><p>Don't forget to hit that FOLLOW button to get every episode of The Problematic Gaze downloaded and ready to listen!</p><br><p>Please leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts. They really help to spread the word of The Problematic Gaze.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><a href="mailto:[email protected]" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">And if our fellow Gazers want to comment on what they've heard in our episodes, or to suggest future topics, please email us at [email protected]. We love hearing from you!</a></p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>