Maybe you'd prefer a maiden fair, isn't there a kitten stuck up a tree somewhere

[frabjouslinz]

Saturday, after Michelle's bridal shower and a lot of fun, girly times, Michelle, LuAnn, Scott and I went to a late showing of "Brave" at the Cinnebarre. They bring you food. This was helpful, as we'd eaten food at 3-4, and lots of sugar since then, but at 9:50 we'd yet to eat dinner.

"Brave" was fun, funny, and a great look at family dynamics as

Comments

[mcjulie]

This is a particular kind of sexism that makes me feel really, really, smashy, because it is so often perpetrated by people who think they're making some kind of feminist point. Like this article http://www.salon.com/2012/05/02/the_avengers_and_hollywoods_gender_wars/ which pretty much takes it as a given that "women don't like action movies" even though it talks about The Hunger Games. Dear critics: stop trying to tell me what I, as a woman, think about stuff, because you are wrong, and it's also really patronizing.

Whether Ebert realizes it or not, his statement is incredibly sexist.. Because he finds her actions insufficiently girly, they make her a fake boy, not a sex-neutral character -- which assumes a male default. And, unless all male characters have to be super-manly or else they're honorary girls, he's invoking a blatant double standard. And he's wrong anyway, because her story is extremely girly. It's about her relationship with her mother, and it's about escaping a forced marriage. THOSE ARE TOTALLY GIRL STORIES, DUDE, ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION?

Plus, major comprehension fail, because the resolution of the suitors problem is the acknowledgement that maybe the boys aren't so keen on marrying somebody they barely know either, and everyone agrees that maybe they should let the kids get to know each other and make their own romantic decisions. I thought the resolution seemed a little forced, mind you, but its point was absolutely clear. To me. Apparently not to Mr. Ebert, who has had a lot of medical troubles so I dunno, blame it on the medication? (Also, did he miss the bit where at first she and her mom seem really excited when they think the third suitor is going to be that big strapping handsome guy? And then the third apparent loser steps out and her face falls? That doesn't exactly say "confirmed lifetime bachelorette" to me.)

If I had a complaint about Brave, it was that Merida isn't enough of an action hero. For a movie called Brave, where the protagonist is iconically an archer, I didn't think the concept of bravery or her archery skills played a satisfying enough role in the climax. And I was a little worried that might be because she was female -- that there was some possibly unconscious sexism going on.

[frabjouslinz]

One of the many reasons I heart you is because you help me explore what I'm trying to say. Yes, thanks for clarifying some of that for me. I mean, even the fact that the ending with the suitors was a little abrupt, although I gave it a bit of a pass because hey, the queen was just a bear, everyone's a little tentative about the reality of life and all. I slightly disagree with your complaint, because I thought that part of Merida's bravery was facing up to her mistakes, realizing she had to fix them, working on fixing them, and then really, owning up to it right there at the end; that she had to not only atone, but mean it. That's true bravery without having to be all shooty and climby and ridey. Yes, she does those things, too, and she's good at them. But the bravery was all about personal responsibility. To me.

And I think Mr. Ebert needs to wake up to his own personal responsibility to not be a closet sexist and retract the ending of that review. Because it's disgusting, undermining, and entirely dismissive of all women everywhere. I feel entirely justified in calling him a sexist asshat.

[mcjulie]

thought that part of Merida's bravery was facing up to her mistakes

That's definitely there... sort of. I could almost make it be about a girl who already knows how to be brave in a physical way, then has to struggle to find the bravery to admit that she was wrong. She does go from denying that the whole bear thing is her fault, to admitting that it is. But to me it didn't feel like a significant story point -- maybe because she's already trying to help her mother, so it doesn't change the direction of the story?

Anyway, I enjoyed the movie, but found it a little unsatisfying -- like there was some crucial ingredient missing, and I've been trying to put my finger on what. But I guarantee you the missing ingredient was not "Merida is a fake boy."