Oz, The Great And Powerful: A Review

[teaberryblue]

So, I don’t do this as often as I used to, but this one has really given me some food for thought. Eug and I went to see Oz: The Great and Powerful on Friday night.  And while overall, I liked it, and thought it was a well-made movie, there were a few things about it that distressed me.

Elizabeth Rappe over at Jezebel already wrote quite a lovely

Comments

[kid_lit_fan]

I...liked-is-a-strong-word-ed it, but I had a lot of trouble with one of the main plot drivers being, essentially "Bitches are cray-cray." (Also, the romance felt sour for the same reasons you stated AND that I hate movies where people are in love with someone then fall in love with another person who looks just the same because they are played by the same actor. I GET that they were doing the MGM movie "Counterparts from Kansas thing"--I found the China Girl arc really touching and well done, they caught PTSD without making it REALLY frightening.--but the Oz loves Glinda who looks like Dorothy's Future Mom thing equated a sweet but essentially strong, smart ruler with a simple country girl and huh?

I am so proud that my 15-year-old daughter said "I thought it was...good, I...liked it, but I think the the girl who plays Jackie* should get better parts than that, there should have been something between "I'm stupid and know nothing and now I'm EEEEVIL!!!"

I wish there was a way to show her Ms. Kunis' excellent acting in Black Swan without the whole age-inappropriate movie and the Bitches Are TOTALLY OMG RAMPAGING Cray-Cray thing.

*Mila Kunis, the kiddo sometimes watches reruns of That 70's Show, and we've talked about its sexism, both "look at our funny 70's sexism" and unwitting 90's sexism) and I've told her how Mila Kunis said at her audition "I'll be 18 on my birthday" and didn't mention that that birthday was over 3 years away.

[teaberryblue]

Yeah, oh, god, The Black Swan with its message of "lesbian fantasies about your friends will turn you into a murderer." That's one of those movies I just have so many issues with, even though it's beautifully made and acted. I thought we were beyond the virgin/whore dichotomy, you know?

But, yes, that's it entirely. I didn't mind the "in love with the doppelganger" thing soooo much because they were doing the Ozian doppelganger thing, but I did take issue with the "in love at all" part.

[kid_lit_fan]

I should know better. Whenever I hear that movies are "provocative" and have "strong female characters," I should think "there's(incredibly mild) lesbian sex and/or BD/SM and it really follows the same old tropes about women," then I won't be disappointed.

I'd've loved an Oz: The Great and Powerful with witches who just WERE wicked and powerful (or good and powerful) without getting James Franco's admittedly adorable lips mixed up in it. Of course, I'd like to see a Sixteen Candles with JUST the Molly Ringwald really realistic teenager and none of the horrifying sexism and racism, and also a Black Swan that really was provocative, the fulfilled the brief shining promise of strong women (but the other alternative is Joe Ezstherhas bad, with the women beating their director while topless.).

[teaberryblue]

That's why I felt like Evanora/East was the one character of the witches I could stomach-- because she was a character who WAS just wicked and powerful, and used the other characters' weaknesses against each other to her own ends. You never got the feeling that she actually was attracted to Oz, just that she knew he expected it and she could act the part. She worked for me. The fact that it happened to be at the expense of her own younger sister was a bit sad and frustrating because it started to veer into "catty bitch" territory for me. If there's one thing I do appreciate about Wicked (and there isn't much), it's that it's a story about a young woman who is protective and loving toward her sister, and we don't have enough of those-- it's one of the best things for me about The Hunger Games

[kid_lit_fan]

I agree about the Hunger Games. Overall, it was about responsibility,something women are very rarely allowed (except for their own children, and even then, finding a male breadwinner is often their "reward" for being responsible Katniss marries at the end, but I felt that it made sense with the characters). Also, she was indebted to people not as a helpless girl, but as a responsible adult. Debt and owing were big parts of her life, a VERY realistic part of being poor (people who say "It's only money" have usually always had plenty!).

And yeah, I got irritated when Evanora brought Oz the Cute and Adorable into the conversation.I'd like to see a traditionally attractive woman NOT use her femine wiles.