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Mar. 28th, 2011 12:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
liptonrm_backupI saw Sucker Punch over the weekend and I really kind of loved it. I knew from the trailers that it would hit a lot of my go-to narrative buttons (That Place, Sekrit Pretend Worlds, dragons, steampunk zombies, shit blows up) but I was also nervous that all of that would be wrapped in an exploitative visual narrative.
I was happy to find out that wasn't the case. In fact, even with all of the skimpy outfits it was way less pornographic than your average Michael Bay movie. Or even your average genre movie (be that genre science fiction, action, comic book, or horror).
The real theme of this movie, beyond the mental institutions and the superimposed fantasy worlds, was that of agency. The characters have no agency, it's all been taken away from them, and yet they still find a way to tell their own narrative and choose their own paths.
Ugh, I have so many thoughts and it's so hard to pare them all down into palatable chunks. I think it did a great job commenting on the destructive nature of male gaze and the force of the patriarchy. I think it had awesome fight scenes where shit blew up put good and there were robots and dragons and orcs and zombie steampunk WWI-era German soldiers. I think it was spot on in its observations about the effects of trauma and the ability of the mind to help you heal and regain your own strength. And I loved that it showed that just because you're not in a position of power or privilege that doesn't mean you're weak.
Most of all I loved how sometimes moving on is the greatest kind of revenge you could ever possibly have.
It's not a movie for everyone. And it's triggery as all get out. There's attempted rape and exploitation and the sex trade. But it really worked for me, so much so that I've already seen it twice.
One of the more fascinating things to me, especially on the second viewing, was the way it was filmed. The camera did not linger over tits and ass, it didn't make attempted rape sexy. In the opening there's a moment where the step-father is grabbing at Babydoll and a button on her pyjama comes off. Usually when that happens in a movie you'd see her heaving breast, but here you merely saw a little more of the upper chest and the camera focused on the button itself. And during the fight scenes were shot the same way they would have been if it had been a bunch of men shooting monsters and beating the shit out of the bad guys. It focused the audience on kinetic movement and damage done, not on things bouncing or clothing being ripped.
The use of clothing was also interesting. I was reminded of how clothing can be armor, the kind of clothes we choose to wear can both send a message about the way we want to be perceived and a deception, letting people see what they want. Make up is the same way. There are times when I've stood in front of the bathroom mirror, applying things to my face, when I feel like I'm girding up for battle, that I can be braver and more competent becaue I look a certain way, because I present a certain image. There's a reason why we call it "putting on our face."
In sum: It was awesome, I loved it, it made me think lots of thinky thoughts that I'm still trying to process, and shit blew up but good.
Plus, the soundtrack is seriously great.
comments at http://liptonrm.dreamwidth.org/27131.html.
I was happy to find out that wasn't the case. In fact, even with all of the skimpy outfits it was way less pornographic than your average Michael Bay movie. Or even your average genre movie (be that genre science fiction, action, comic book, or horror).
The real theme of this movie, beyond the mental institutions and the superimposed fantasy worlds, was that of agency. The characters have no agency, it's all been taken away from them, and yet they still find a way to tell their own narrative and choose their own paths.
Ugh, I have so many thoughts and it's so hard to pare them all down into palatable chunks. I think it did a great job commenting on the destructive nature of male gaze and the force of the patriarchy. I think it had awesome fight scenes where shit blew up put good and there were robots and dragons and orcs and zombie steampunk WWI-era German soldiers. I think it was spot on in its observations about the effects of trauma and the ability of the mind to help you heal and regain your own strength. And I loved that it showed that just because you're not in a position of power or privilege that doesn't mean you're weak.
Most of all I loved how sometimes moving on is the greatest kind of revenge you could ever possibly have.
It's not a movie for everyone. And it's triggery as all get out. There's attempted rape and exploitation and the sex trade. But it really worked for me, so much so that I've already seen it twice.
One of the more fascinating things to me, especially on the second viewing, was the way it was filmed. The camera did not linger over tits and ass, it didn't make attempted rape sexy. In the opening there's a moment where the step-father is grabbing at Babydoll and a button on her pyjama comes off. Usually when that happens in a movie you'd see her heaving breast, but here you merely saw a little more of the upper chest and the camera focused on the button itself. And during the fight scenes were shot the same way they would have been if it had been a bunch of men shooting monsters and beating the shit out of the bad guys. It focused the audience on kinetic movement and damage done, not on things bouncing or clothing being ripped.
The use of clothing was also interesting. I was reminded of how clothing can be armor, the kind of clothes we choose to wear can both send a message about the way we want to be perceived and a deception, letting people see what they want. Make up is the same way. There are times when I've stood in front of the bathroom mirror, applying things to my face, when I feel like I'm girding up for battle, that I can be braver and more competent becaue I look a certain way, because I present a certain image. There's a reason why we call it "putting on our face."
In sum: It was awesome, I loved it, it made me think lots of thinky thoughts that I'm still trying to process, and shit blew up but good.
Plus, the soundtrack is seriously great.
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Date: 2011-03-30 06:14 am (UTC)The characters have no agency, it's all been taken away from them, and yet they still find a way to tell their own narrative and choose their own paths.
See, this is why I related to this movie. I don't have to tell you why that hit my buttons. Crafting that person in my own storytelling brain has probably had a bigger impact on my confidence than anyone could think.
ZOMBIE NAZIS!! CHARLIE IS SO IN LOVE WITH THIS MOVIE!
I think it was spot on in its observations about the effects of trauma and the ability of the mind to help you heal and regain your own strength. And I loved that it showed that just because you're not in a position of power or privilege that doesn't mean you're weak.
Someday we really need to haul the VCR into the living and watch "I Am The Cheese" together. This is such a good movie and this kid uses empowerment to overcome a trauma and it is brilliant.
The thing about the clothing - it is true. Like yes okay we made the joke about how I am an anime hooker, but really, that's the thing is that you get empowerment from the clothes too (Stacey and Clinton would agree - though not with my skirts). And maybe I shouldn't aspire to be an anime hooker, but I feel like I could slay a dragon when I put on certain clothes. I also feel like I could operate a flamethrower but that is neither here nor there. My Dean tshirts give me a different feel. My salsa dress a whole different feel. It really is arming myself for what I need to accomplish.
Plus, I could totally SPN AU up that movie. What? Oh yeah, I could SPN AU up any movie. We can talk about that tomorrow (yes, I know we talked for an hour today but now I have things to tell you about this movie I discovered and about Craig Ferguson with hearts!)
Your thoughts were so much better than, "I want her clothes? Could I pull that off for Halloween? I want to kill Nazi Zombies. With Charlie." Sometimes I wish my brain worked on a higher level than Squee-setting. Your thinky-thoughts are always so good.