linkspam loves quoting Sondheim
I saw Brave this weekend. It was very fun, and funny, and gorgeous. I loved that the primary story was the relationship between a mother and daughter, about them fighting and coming back together with more appreciation for each other. I do have a few more critical thoughts, though.
For instance: Queen Elinor never really made it explicit what the purpose of Merida's marriage was; presumably it was to bind the groom's clan more tightly to the DunBroch (?) clan, and hold the newly-formed kingdom together. And I suppose at some point Merida's brothers would marry girls from the other clans. Except Elinor talked around and around the issue, and never did Merida or the audience the courtesy of saying precisely what the issue was. In fact, the movie never says whether Merida will rule the kingdom in the future as its queen, or whether the crown will go to one of her brothers (or to her husband). You would think someone would have said something about that. It's all very fuzzy, and I think eliding the issue makes Elinor's position look weak and based on gendered stereotypes (girls must marry!) rather than politics (we need alliances!).
Additionally, I was bothered by the way that, in the end, the compromising only went one direction. Elinor loosened up and got her own horse and even explicitly let her hair down, but Merida never seems to pick up the needle of her own accord, or show she understands the value in Elinor's teaching about etiquette, protocol, and tradition. And there is value--it's clear from the text that the three clans are held together in part by Elinor's diplomacy (while the other clans' wives and mothers are invisible, and the men are all boors ::sigh::). But Merida never appears to see this, except in the one scene in the hall where she conveys Elinor-the-bear's speech. The addition of one scene at the end, of Merida and Elinor, together, happily stitching the new tapestry, would have gone a long way to rectify this.
Finally, I was disappointed that there wasn't a final twist in the narrative. This is Pixar, after all: I really hadn't expected that Merida sewing up the rip in the tapestry was going to make a difference. I suppose one could argue that it didn't, that the repair of her relationship with Elinor was the key to Elinor's restoration, but the movie seemed to indicate not. And I definitely got the sense that Merida, bless her, was not reading enough fairy tales. She should have known better than to ask for such an open-ended wish.
And yet, despite those quibbles, I really enjoyed it a lot. It's not quite up to Pixar's best, but it was very entertaining: funny and moving.
Anyway, Alyssa Rosenberg lays the smack down on some brain-dead commentary about Brave: Sexuality and gender performance are not the same thing. And if a girl is defying the gendered norms laid out for her, that should be a sign that we question the adequacy of the norms in capturing the diversity of girls' experiences, rather than the girl herself.
Moving on:
It was not better in the old days. It was just a different set of pains. Jessa Crispin on Eva Illouz's Why Love Hurts.
Oh, here's a question that hadn't occurred to me: what happens to your ebooks when you die?
Today's A Softer World is an obligatory read for Narnia fans.
*
Noted for later reading/viewing:
Nike ad celebrating Title IX's 40th anniversary. Via the Mary Sue.
Rolling Stone on the Battle for the Soul of OWS.
An interview with the author of a new book about dishonesty.
An Ask Me Anything (a Reddit open interview, basically) by an estranged member of the Phelps family (of Westboro Baptist infame).
The truth about how terrorism doesn't work.
Transformative Works and Cultures has a new edition out, it's about fan activism.
The Awl on the sociological differences between Lacoste and Fred Perry polo shirts.
*
Oh, for pete's sake: Facebook apparently just changed everyone's email address to @facebook.com. Here's how to change it back.
And now I'm going to go buy Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, because the posts are popping up on my flist and I am lemming-like in my fondness for Ivan-related foolishness.
Crossposted from DW, where there are
comments; comment here or there.
For instance: Queen Elinor never really made it explicit what the purpose of Merida's marriage was; presumably it was to bind the groom's clan more tightly to the DunBroch (?) clan, and hold the newly-formed kingdom together. And I suppose at some point Merida's brothers would marry girls from the other clans. Except Elinor talked around and around the issue, and never did Merida or the audience the courtesy of saying precisely what the issue was. In fact, the movie never says whether Merida will rule the kingdom in the future as its queen, or whether the crown will go to one of her brothers (or to her husband). You would think someone would have said something about that. It's all very fuzzy, and I think eliding the issue makes Elinor's position look weak and based on gendered stereotypes (girls must marry!) rather than politics (we need alliances!).
Additionally, I was bothered by the way that, in the end, the compromising only went one direction. Elinor loosened up and got her own horse and even explicitly let her hair down, but Merida never seems to pick up the needle of her own accord, or show she understands the value in Elinor's teaching about etiquette, protocol, and tradition. And there is value--it's clear from the text that the three clans are held together in part by Elinor's diplomacy (while the other clans' wives and mothers are invisible, and the men are all boors ::sigh::). But Merida never appears to see this, except in the one scene in the hall where she conveys Elinor-the-bear's speech. The addition of one scene at the end, of Merida and Elinor, together, happily stitching the new tapestry, would have gone a long way to rectify this.
Finally, I was disappointed that there wasn't a final twist in the narrative. This is Pixar, after all: I really hadn't expected that Merida sewing up the rip in the tapestry was going to make a difference. I suppose one could argue that it didn't, that the repair of her relationship with Elinor was the key to Elinor's restoration, but the movie seemed to indicate not. And I definitely got the sense that Merida, bless her, was not reading enough fairy tales. She should have known better than to ask for such an open-ended wish.
And yet, despite those quibbles, I really enjoyed it a lot. It's not quite up to Pixar's best, but it was very entertaining: funny and moving.
Anyway, Alyssa Rosenberg lays the smack down on some brain-dead commentary about Brave: Sexuality and gender performance are not the same thing. And if a girl is defying the gendered norms laid out for her, that should be a sign that we question the adequacy of the norms in capturing the diversity of girls' experiences, rather than the girl herself.
Moving on:
It was not better in the old days. It was just a different set of pains. Jessa Crispin on Eva Illouz's Why Love Hurts.
Oh, here's a question that hadn't occurred to me: what happens to your ebooks when you die?
Today's A Softer World is an obligatory read for Narnia fans.
*
Noted for later reading/viewing:
Nike ad celebrating Title IX's 40th anniversary. Via the Mary Sue.
Rolling Stone on the Battle for the Soul of OWS.
An interview with the author of a new book about dishonesty.
An Ask Me Anything (a Reddit open interview, basically) by an estranged member of the Phelps family (of Westboro Baptist infame).
The truth about how terrorism doesn't work.
Transformative Works and Cultures has a new edition out, it's about fan activism.
The Awl on the sociological differences between Lacoste and Fred Perry polo shirts.
*
Oh, for pete's sake: Facebook apparently just changed everyone's email address to @facebook.com. Here's how to change it back.
And now I'm going to go buy Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, because the posts are popping up on my flist and I am lemming-like in my fondness for Ivan-related foolishness.
Crossposted from DW, where there are
comments; comment here or there.