yay home.
made it home from Toronto just after 8.30. it was a great trip, and, of course, I got to see both nafs and "Boondock Saints 2" again, so that made it all the more awesome. it's funny, Fiona told me about a review of the movie that she'd read, and I thought about it all the way home. apparently, the reviewer described it as ultra-violent, racist, homophobic and offensive. now, I will agree with hir on the first and last points - it is definitely ultra-violent, and on some levels it is offensive. but I take great exception to the racist and homophobic tags. frankly, I think "Boondock Saints" as a whole may be one of _the_ most inclusive action-movie franchises specifically marketed to men on the planet. hell, in terms of queer-acceptance, I'm pretty sure it ranks right up there with any given movie I can think of, and far, far outranks most "queer" cinema. *koff*"Brokeback"*koff*
okay, so, the charge of racism the reviewer made _must_ have to do with the use of language in the film, which, hi, is not at all politically correct. however, it _is_ correct for the status (and social rank) of the characters portrayed. the people who populate the film, almost to a character, are working-class people. they're people who live and work and socialize on the street, with other people of similar standing and social understandings of the world. the language that is used is _authentic_, even though it might be offensive or uncomfortable to hear if you come from a different social standing, or if you're unused to growing up with and/or socializing with mixed-race/multi-ethnic groups of people. also, if you're unused to the regular use of this kind of language, it's shocking, I understand that.
but, in this world, that "racist" language is not used in a racist fashion by anyone. the twins are Micks, Rocco's a wop, the Russians are made fun of (Checkov! they need a Spock for an away team!), Romeo is a greasy spic - but that language, rather than being offensive, is actually _inclusive_. you have to be close to the person speaking to use it, because it's used affectionately. (in thinky-people talk, it's about diffusing, diluting, and destroying offensive intent by reclaiming language.) nobody is ever called a "name" offensively, because if that was done, the person who did so would be knocked on his ass or shot in the face, because nobody who is being derided is incapable of defending themselves. nobody is a victim, which is probably a completely new concept. if you take offense to something, you kick _ass_ (as Rosengurtle does very effectively, but I'll talk about that later).
this use of language holds true throughout the films - except in the scene where Rocco has to tell Papa Joe a joke. he's fine telling the joke (relatively) clean, but Papa Joe insists that he change "african-American" to "nigger" - and Rocco is clearly uncomfortable with that. it's not inclusive, it _is_ offensive in this context. he isn't talking about a specific character (because there are no black characters in this particular world), so using that word, even in the context of a joke, is not something that comes naturally. it also paints another layer onto Papa Joe's evilness. he's an Other, we don't root for him, and this is another reason why. he is a bad guy, and this is a bad use of language.
so, in the second movie, when Connor tells Romeo that he cannot be part of the Saints, and that it has nothing to do with the fact that he's a "greasy spic," rather than being offensive, this instantly gives Romeo an entry into the group. we assume that he's going to be a replacement for Rocco in this film, and this affectionate language is a sign of that. and the fact that he doesn't in any way take offense to it - as well as the trash-talking he does to the French guy he fights in the earlier scene on the boat - proves that he is "their sort" of people. he's come from the same place that they have, he understands who they are and what they do, and he's down with their "code."
the "homophobia," of course, is even worse. I couldn't even count the number of ass-fucking jokes that were made, or the number of "not that I'm queer" or "does this make me look gay" references. it's shocking the homophobia! they hate gay people! kill them all!
except, of course, that Paul Maximillian Smecker just happens to be, quite possibly, _the_ most kick-ass character in this series. he's definitely the smartest, the most clever, and he's the character that has the most interesting journey to take, once he realizes that the vigilantes he's supposed to stop are actually doing what he wishes he could - taking care of the scum who make a living ruining people's lives by blowing their heads off. and, once he's on board, he's on board, doing whatever he can to help, and not once is his sexuality ever mocked, held against him, or even brought up. the person who uses the most homophobic language is Smecker himself; other than Duffy's accidental "the fag man" during the investigation into the mass shooting in the hotel, it's never really brought up.
and, this is no closeted character - he's openly gay, and not only that, he's not in any way anything other than proud of it. he's no self-loathing pansy or straight-acting g-man; he's exactly what you see. he goes to a gay bar to get trashed and think, he picks up a twink for a roll in the hay, and not only is that gayness not just implied, we see him in bed with his pickup. and then, when he decides to go for it and join the Saints in their job, he dresses up as a woman to be part of the final solution at Papa Joe's house. and, while it is hilarious to see Willem Dafoe in drag, his "female" character isn't a point of derision or played for a cheap laugh, either - the dons call him "primo box," and he's just as lethal in a skirt and high heels as any of the boys in their peacoats and leather.
which leads me to the pro-feminist stance of the films. there aren't many women in this series, but the ones who show up, are completely fucking BADASS. from Rosengurtle Baumgartener, the openly butch lesbian who not only socks Connor in the nuts, but, most importantly, is treated exactly the same as any man at the meat-packing plant, to the twins' ma, who unfortunately only makes it to the deleted scenes but spends that awesome exchange completely and hilariously fucking with her boys, to Eunice Bloom, who is every inch Smecker's equal, and who the boys instantly and completely accept as his "replacement" in their lives, and who is also not only beautiful, but smart and adept with her gun. she is not eye-candy to be drooled over, she is not a chick to be fucked or fucked with, and, most importantly, she is _not_ a damsel to be rescued; she's an integral part of the movie, and the one who does the rescuing at a crucial point (and, hopefully, continues on in the next film).
the violence, of course, is one of the major points of the film, and I _loved_ what they did with it in the sequel. at the end, when Daddy McManus and the Roman finally come face-to-face and have things out, Louie makes an amazing point: destruction is in the McManus blood. even though Da didn't spend any time with his boys (having gone to jail for 25-life when they were infants), they still followed in their father's footsteps, and became him. Da said himself, of the violence, that "he couldn't stop." he's a sociopath, but he's one who, like Dexter, channels his anger and rage and violent tendencies towards destroying evil. has he become evil by killing so many "bad guys?" at least partially, yes, and the legacy is his boys', too. but we can still root for them, because their underlying code of ethics lets us do so. they kill murderers and drug dealers and rapists and scum; they make the streets safer by being ruthlessly vigilant. but they are also separated from society by what they do, and what they have become; like Sam and Dean Winchester, they're not going to have wives and children and normal suburban lives. they might have kids, at some point, but they're not going to settle down with picket fences, because they have made the promise to Rocco and to themselves that they cannot "ever stop" doing what they do. that promise is part of their code; there are bad men, and they have to be stopped. Smecker, especially, talks about taking things to the next level, because it's necessary, and because the boys will do it. the fact that they stopped for ten years had less to do with them wanting to stop and more to do with not wanting to _be_ stopped (locked up). they had to lay low, but they did so only until they were needed again.
the violence in the film _is_ gratuitious (and it's admitted in Murphy's awesome line), but it's underlying the point that it is necessary only because it already exists; you have to fight (evil) violence with (good) violence. yes, it's a self-defeating point, but there's no better way to get where the film needs to go than to kill a fuckload of people, and to do a shitload of gratuitious violence. and that the point is self-defeating is, ultimately, the entire point.
and, yeah, I do think about things like this too much. why do you ask?
and now, because anyone who cares about the Geminis will have seen them already, HOLY CRAP ENRICO KISSED HUGH! AND HE WAS THE FIRST SHOUT-OUT! AND THERE WAS MUCHO HUGGING AND HANGING ON. BECAUSE THIS SHOW LOVES ME AS MUCH AS I LOVE IT! ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
okay, so, the charge of racism the reviewer made _must_ have to do with the use of language in the film, which, hi, is not at all politically correct. however, it _is_ correct for the status (and social rank) of the characters portrayed. the people who populate the film, almost to a character, are working-class people. they're people who live and work and socialize on the street, with other people of similar standing and social understandings of the world. the language that is used is _authentic_, even though it might be offensive or uncomfortable to hear if you come from a different social standing, or if you're unused to growing up with and/or socializing with mixed-race/multi-ethnic groups of people. also, if you're unused to the regular use of this kind of language, it's shocking, I understand that.
but, in this world, that "racist" language is not used in a racist fashion by anyone. the twins are Micks, Rocco's a wop, the Russians are made fun of (Checkov! they need a Spock for an away team!), Romeo is a greasy spic - but that language, rather than being offensive, is actually _inclusive_. you have to be close to the person speaking to use it, because it's used affectionately. (in thinky-people talk, it's about diffusing, diluting, and destroying offensive intent by reclaiming language.) nobody is ever called a "name" offensively, because if that was done, the person who did so would be knocked on his ass or shot in the face, because nobody who is being derided is incapable of defending themselves. nobody is a victim, which is probably a completely new concept. if you take offense to something, you kick _ass_ (as Rosengurtle does very effectively, but I'll talk about that later).
this use of language holds true throughout the films - except in the scene where Rocco has to tell Papa Joe a joke. he's fine telling the joke (relatively) clean, but Papa Joe insists that he change "african-American" to "nigger" - and Rocco is clearly uncomfortable with that. it's not inclusive, it _is_ offensive in this context. he isn't talking about a specific character (because there are no black characters in this particular world), so using that word, even in the context of a joke, is not something that comes naturally. it also paints another layer onto Papa Joe's evilness. he's an Other, we don't root for him, and this is another reason why. he is a bad guy, and this is a bad use of language.
so, in the second movie, when Connor tells Romeo that he cannot be part of the Saints, and that it has nothing to do with the fact that he's a "greasy spic," rather than being offensive, this instantly gives Romeo an entry into the group. we assume that he's going to be a replacement for Rocco in this film, and this affectionate language is a sign of that. and the fact that he doesn't in any way take offense to it - as well as the trash-talking he does to the French guy he fights in the earlier scene on the boat - proves that he is "their sort" of people. he's come from the same place that they have, he understands who they are and what they do, and he's down with their "code."
the "homophobia," of course, is even worse. I couldn't even count the number of ass-fucking jokes that were made, or the number of "not that I'm queer" or "does this make me look gay" references. it's shocking the homophobia! they hate gay people! kill them all!
except, of course, that Paul Maximillian Smecker just happens to be, quite possibly, _the_ most kick-ass character in this series. he's definitely the smartest, the most clever, and he's the character that has the most interesting journey to take, once he realizes that the vigilantes he's supposed to stop are actually doing what he wishes he could - taking care of the scum who make a living ruining people's lives by blowing their heads off. and, once he's on board, he's on board, doing whatever he can to help, and not once is his sexuality ever mocked, held against him, or even brought up. the person who uses the most homophobic language is Smecker himself; other than Duffy's accidental "the fag man" during the investigation into the mass shooting in the hotel, it's never really brought up.
and, this is no closeted character - he's openly gay, and not only that, he's not in any way anything other than proud of it. he's no self-loathing pansy or straight-acting g-man; he's exactly what you see. he goes to a gay bar to get trashed and think, he picks up a twink for a roll in the hay, and not only is that gayness not just implied, we see him in bed with his pickup. and then, when he decides to go for it and join the Saints in their job, he dresses up as a woman to be part of the final solution at Papa Joe's house. and, while it is hilarious to see Willem Dafoe in drag, his "female" character isn't a point of derision or played for a cheap laugh, either - the dons call him "primo box," and he's just as lethal in a skirt and high heels as any of the boys in their peacoats and leather.
which leads me to the pro-feminist stance of the films. there aren't many women in this series, but the ones who show up, are completely fucking BADASS. from Rosengurtle Baumgartener, the openly butch lesbian who not only socks Connor in the nuts, but, most importantly, is treated exactly the same as any man at the meat-packing plant, to the twins' ma, who unfortunately only makes it to the deleted scenes but spends that awesome exchange completely and hilariously fucking with her boys, to Eunice Bloom, who is every inch Smecker's equal, and who the boys instantly and completely accept as his "replacement" in their lives, and who is also not only beautiful, but smart and adept with her gun. she is not eye-candy to be drooled over, she is not a chick to be fucked or fucked with, and, most importantly, she is _not_ a damsel to be rescued; she's an integral part of the movie, and the one who does the rescuing at a crucial point (and, hopefully, continues on in the next film).
the violence, of course, is one of the major points of the film, and I _loved_ what they did with it in the sequel. at the end, when Daddy McManus and the Roman finally come face-to-face and have things out, Louie makes an amazing point: destruction is in the McManus blood. even though Da didn't spend any time with his boys (having gone to jail for 25-life when they were infants), they still followed in their father's footsteps, and became him. Da said himself, of the violence, that "he couldn't stop." he's a sociopath, but he's one who, like Dexter, channels his anger and rage and violent tendencies towards destroying evil. has he become evil by killing so many "bad guys?" at least partially, yes, and the legacy is his boys', too. but we can still root for them, because their underlying code of ethics lets us do so. they kill murderers and drug dealers and rapists and scum; they make the streets safer by being ruthlessly vigilant. but they are also separated from society by what they do, and what they have become; like Sam and Dean Winchester, they're not going to have wives and children and normal suburban lives. they might have kids, at some point, but they're not going to settle down with picket fences, because they have made the promise to Rocco and to themselves that they cannot "ever stop" doing what they do. that promise is part of their code; there are bad men, and they have to be stopped. Smecker, especially, talks about taking things to the next level, because it's necessary, and because the boys will do it. the fact that they stopped for ten years had less to do with them wanting to stop and more to do with not wanting to _be_ stopped (locked up). they had to lay low, but they did so only until they were needed again.
the violence in the film _is_ gratuitious (and it's admitted in Murphy's awesome line), but it's underlying the point that it is necessary only because it already exists; you have to fight (evil) violence with (good) violence. yes, it's a self-defeating point, but there's no better way to get where the film needs to go than to kill a fuckload of people, and to do a shitload of gratuitious violence. and that the point is self-defeating is, ultimately, the entire point.
and, yeah, I do think about things like this too much. why do you ask?
and now, because anyone who cares about the Geminis will have seen them already, HOLY CRAP ENRICO KISSED HUGH! AND HE WAS THE FIRST SHOUT-OUT! AND THERE WAS MUCHO HUGGING AND HANGING ON. BECAUSE THIS SHOW LOVES ME AS MUCH AS I LOVE IT! ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥