HEY, YOU GUYS, LET'S TALK ABOUT HOW MUCH THIS YEAR'S OSCAR NOMS SUCK!

[bookshop]

*Best Picture 2010 nominations list*
- Avatar <-- racist, imperialist white liberal guilt fantasy (everyone, native peoples, mountains, animals, trees and tree-nerve-endings, get exploited by white people, awesome!!)

- The Blind Side <-- i haven't seen this, but true story notwithstanding the trailer just me cringe. It really, really seemed

Comments

[glitterati]

I'll admit that I'm not going to get into the endless slippery slope of Racefail here (I'm not good enough to talk about it), but I must point out that Inglourious Basterds boasted one of the best original female characters in "popcorn cinema" this year. Shoshanna Dreyfus not only had control of her own fucking life, she was not a plot device, and before you knew what was happening the film was, essentially, about her. Not Shoshanna as a secondary love interest - in fact, her love interest is a POC who manages to be one of the most mysteriously brilliant characters in the film - and is played as coolly intelligent and conscientiously objector to his lover's designs on revenge. But, and I hasten to add that the gender roles are often reversed in this cliche, he ends up supporting her because he loves her. She is the one in charge. And yet, when you think Shoshanna is all hard-hearted, it ends up being her compassion that is her downfall

[bookshop]

No, I'm glad you did! Thank you for pointing out Shoshanna, because I do agree she's important and her agency is extremely significant in a film where the overall message is, well, typical Tarantino, where women don't usually have much space. (I know, the Bride, I know. I WILL DEBATE VIOLENCE AS THE ONLY VALID FORM OF AGENY IN TARANTINO FILMS WITH YOU AT SOME POINT.)

[glitterati]

*ahem* Also 'Death Proof'.

Violence is Tarantino's raison d'etre, much as America's heartland was Ford's or crime/punishment is Scorsese's

[glitterati]

Also, I feel really fucking uncomfortable in any discussions about Racefail or even Genderfail, because, I suppose I should feel guilty now for enjoying my favorite genres of all entertainment.

I'm not going to do that.

I respectfully step down from this conversation. Please no one flood my PM's.

[bookshop]

well, i am mostly focusing on genderfail here because it is NOT within my power to educate anyone on Racefail at this point.

but i don't think you should ever feel guilty for enjoying your favorite genres of entertainment. I really really want to stress the idea that you can both love something to death and find it problematic. I mean look at romance novels for god's sake. They're so often patently anti-feminist but women LOVE them, and that has value. You loving Tarantino, me loving Hitchcock, both of us loving The Usual Fucking Suspects--those things are important, and I do not, in any way, want to give the impression that I'm judging you or anyone else for enjoying these films. I did invite you to defend them, and you have very eloquently. So thank you. <3

[glitterati]

Hahaha, now I'm laying in bed and I can't sleep without pointing out that, with the exceptions of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, Tarantino has always found a top-of-the-bill place for his strong female characters. I urge you to watch Jackie Brown (which is more heist than violence - and not only that, the titular Jackie is an over 40 POC!! Rockthefuckon) if you have not.

We're all entitled to opinions, and bless ya for being very up-front about yours. :D

SPOILERS IN HERE FOR INGLORIOUS BASTERDS, OKAY?

[laura47]

i've been wondering a lot about tarantino and his female characters since i read this: http://www.vogue.com/voguedaily/2009/08/pulp-goddesses-tarantino-and-his-women/... )

[terribilita]

I agree with you that Shosanna was an amazing, fully-realized character, one that is rare in media. But I must admit that her characterization fell apart for me at the end. She died because she sympathized with a Nazi? Really? I'm not saying that it's unrealistic that she had feelings for Fredrick. I just think it really sucks that one of the two kickass females in the movie gave in to her emotions at the end. All the Basterds were unflappable--they killed Nazis and had no second thoughts. The same can be said for all the SS soldiers. But not Shosanna.

Now that I've typed this, I guess I realize my problem is more with TV and movies in general. I'm just sick of women being portrayed as weak, as too emotional. I love Shosanna for what she did. I'm glad she's unique in this because she was the only real human character in a movie full of monsters. But my general feelings really colored the way I processed that scene.

[glitterati]

I wish I could respond to an entire thread. XD

You and several others have made this point, and even I sort-of made it when I said her compassion did her in. Then I rewatched the scene. And talked about it with my dad (who is a feminist, as if that needs to be said, but it helps to know I guess. IDEK). We couldn't see an iota of remorse or sympathy in what she did when she went to "check" on Zoller. If anything, what we saw was the classic Sergio Leone spaghetti Western trope of the nearly-victorious anti-hero parting the desert dust to make sure his arch-nemesis is dead...and it turns out the bastard was only playing possum. That's what we saw. Actually, before we rewatched it, I asked him, "Do you think Shoshanna showed sympathy to Zoller before he shot her?" and he replied immediately and firmly: "To a NAZI? HELL NO

[tangledtale]

Was Zoller a nazi? I mean, he was obviously loved by and given access to the highest echelon of Nazi command so he's not exactly Oskar Schindler and this question isn't angling for a pardon of that culpability but do we know if before his 'heroism' he was SS or wehrmacht? I honestly can't remember and I don't have a copy of the movie on me but I feel like if he was SS, then it plays well into these sprawling complicated feelings I have about this movie and its charismatic Nazi characters and the branding of Landa at the end and how that's meant to elicit a big 'fuck yeah!' from the audience.