I don’t think it’s a mark of naivety that a young Rothman didn’t realize that the young nurse was a common fantasy among men, but rather an indictment of the separation of the sexes, especially with her working not just in a male-dominated field, but a male-dominated genre. For Rothman to weave social commentary into exploitation the way she did is honestly admirable, having to balance the conventions of the genre and the expectations of the producers - namely Corman - with her own ideals. What we get as a result is a film that does titillate but gives their female lead characters a lot more agency, especially since they are all women working towards what is seen as a noble profession. The themes of abortion, racial injustice, hospice inequality, drug use, and the difference in quality of life even among fields of medicine are woven throughout the film. Rothman knows how to use the leering gaze of a camera to her advantage, offering up softcore with highbrow, and making her women all the more powerful for it
I don’t think it’s a mark of naivety that a young Rothman didn’t realize that the young nurse was a common fantasy among men, but rather an indictment of the separation of the sexes, especially with her working not just in a male-dominated field, but a male-dominated genre. For Rothman to weave social commentary into exploitation the way she did is honestly admirable, having to balance the conventions of the genre and the expectations of the producers - namely Corman - with her own ideals. What we get as a result is a film that does titillate but gives their female lead characters a lot more agency, especially since they are all women working towards what is seen as a noble profession. The themes of abortion, racial injustice, hospice inequality, drug use, and the difference in quality of life even among fields of medicine are woven throughout the film. Rothman knows how to use the leering gaze of a camera to her advantage, offering up softcore with highbrow, and making her women all the more powerful for it