Comments | lithiumlaughter: You've got to manage, I won't sympathize anymore.

lithiumlaughter

You've got to manage, I won't sympathize anymore.

Apr 03, 2011 09:23

I went and saw "Sucker Punch" last night with the family.

You know, I initially had quite high hopes for the movie. Zack Snyder (at least in my mind) certainly can deliver the goods in terms of style and entertainment value. Both "300" and "Watchmen" -- the first two films that come to mind when I think of Snyder's work -- were certainly enjoyable ( Read more... )

omg she's a girl?, wankity wank wank, this is not toward, here we are now entertain us, some cheese with your whine?, to the bittermobile, shut up music is my boyfriend, pretentious much?

Comments 15

chalakchalak April 3 2011, 17:29:30 UTC

I agree with a lot of what you said though I didn't think the movie necessarily had a rape-y theme. Either that or I was ignorant about it. Nonetheless, what bothered me a little more was the fact that she decided, now that she's in an insane asylum, to create and live in a fantasy world...where she's a prostitute?
My take on it: I honestly thought that the whorehouse fantasy wasn't Babydoll's at all. I thought it was the girl who survived at the end who danced in the asylum and transported them to that world. But they're still prostitutes...?

lithiumlaughter April 4 2011, 00:57:47 UTC

Hey there girl! Long time no see ( ... )

asitiswhenitwas April 3 2011, 17:44:51 UTC

So I haven't seen the movie. And I likely won't. Not in theatres at least.

Is it odd that for me the 'third level' costuming is a gripe?

"Alright. My mind is my weapon and I can control everything I need to in order to complete this mission. Giant robots? This calls for a school girl outfit and four inch heels."

Ummm... What?

Not that I dislike the school girl outfit. Quite the opposite in fact. I'm just saying? Impractical? I guess. Especially if the first two levels are all rape fantasy.

I could listen to the argument that it's part of flipping the script and turning the sexuality that has been used against you into a weapon for you. But mostly I'm thinking that you could probably kill as many giant robots in a New Balance, jeans, and a hoodie. Or something.

If that makes any sense.

lithiumlaughter April 4 2011, 01:06:15 UTC

Eh. I'd say just stream it, if anything. It's not worth the money for a rental.

I don't think that the costuming thing as a gripe is odd at all. It's very cheesecake fanservice that's completely ridiculous. To be completely fair though, I've seen about the same and worse in comics. I get why it'd be a gripe, but it wasn't one of mine. Was too busy raging about rape and exploitation.I think you could indeed say that sexuality itself becomes a weapon. You can certainly extrapolate that from the film, since Baby Doll's dancing (which we never see, but based on what we know from dialogue and character reaction) is what distracts people, slows down time, and facilitates the shift between worlds. The problem there is that the characters only demonstrate what you might call the kind of emancipated sexuality (i.e. confidence, rather than the actual practice of sex acts) to pull off those costumes whenever they're in the third level. Anywhere else, they and their sexuality is simply exploited in rape fantasy everywhere else ( ... )

asitiswhenitwas April 4 2011, 05:38:43 UTC

I do find it just as annoying in comics as well. Hell. TV and video games too.

I complain about a lot of meaningless crap. Ah well.

... Now if cheesecake makes sense within context? Boom.

lithiumlaughter April 6 2011, 16:31:55 UTC

My lack of discomfort with it could stem from overexposure, seeing as my own tastes in film and the like run towards what's typically considered 'male'. I don't do chick flicks, "Fight Club" is among my favourite films, and I'd rather watch "Romeo Must Die" than "Love Actually". I think that makes me an anomaly, but the point still stands. That's the lens I look through.

You know, you mention video games and it reminds me of this.I don't think it's meaningless crap at all. This is all about gender issues are hugely important, and I think that we as a culture need to keep talking about them. They shouldn't, and can't be, swept under the rug ( ... )

Thread 7

moonys_autumn April 4 2011, 03:50:49 UTC

Thanks for the thoughtful review. I had been looking forward to this, hoping it would be campy with girls kicking ass in silly, impractical, but neat looking costumes, then the reviews came out and... from what I can tell it just takes itself way too seriously and the rape theme is really bothersome. It seems that the third level is like some kind of happy place to go to while they're being violated and that was... not something I wanted to see. That was what I got from the reviews at least, and your thoughts seem to confirm it and then some.

I love 300 because it's fun, it doesn't take itself too seriously, and, to me, it's campy. That's what I wanted for this one, but it seems it wasn't to be. :/

lithiumlaughter April 4 2011, 05:17:03 UTC

You're very welcome. The film is one that needs to be discussed and dissected, I think. Its content and the way it's presented is rather unhealthy, and even contradictory. I'm glad that this has confirmed what you were thinking; this movie isn't worth seeing. It's uncomfortable, frustrating, and just plain dumb.

That third level is indeed this supposed 'safe' place where they are strong, but its impact is minimized by the world of the upper two levels. Had Snyder pulled the rape stuff, and eliminated the second level, the movie might have worked. The environment of an asylum contrasted with this world of power and escape could have worked well. "Sucker Punch" just ended up falling flat on its ass, weighed down by rape fantasy and the failed use of sexuality.

Your comment about wanting it to be cheesy and campy and wonderful is spot on. I would have loved a movie like that. I would have seen it over and over and over and over and bought the DVD and everything. I know Snyder is capable of creating something like that too, so I fail to ( ... )

o_melody_nelson April 6 2011, 06:16:12 UTC

It was so incredibly rape-y, I couldn't even get my head around it. The "It was like she wanted me to do it" was so rape-apologist my head almost exploded ( ... )

lithiumlaughter April 6 2011, 16:14:12 UTC

The "It was like she wanted me to do it" was so rape-apologist my head almost exploded.
YES. THIS.
I sat there, watching that, my mouth hanging open, hardly believing that the script had actually gone there. I mean, as if all the rape crap wasn't bad enough, there had to be rape-apology commentary in there too. I don't even know what possessed Snyder to write that in. The question becomes (at least for me) if he's just an idiot, or a raging misogynist.

The music was indeed incredible! I adored that 'Sweet Dreams' cover at the beginning, and quite frankly, the Queen mash-up hit all my awesome buttons. Hence my purchase of the soundtrack. The film itself was pretty too. Snyder, to his limited credit, can make really, really good looking films. He's very stylish in his approach to cinematography, and it yields some really fantastic work on the visual front ( ... )

o_melody_nelson April 8 2011, 20:19:09 UTC

Have you seen the Feminist Frequency short on the subject of Sucker Punch? Scathing, and rightfully so, though I do think she actually misses a couple of the salient points.

Snyder definitely does know how to make a movie look good, which is why I wish now I had just bought the book of film art and left the movie itself well alone.

I would love to hear your theory in detail, yes. Percy, please teach me? I will bring you apples and you will be my favourite teacher ever.

I have not seen Red Riding Hood, but you definitely should share your commentary.

lithiumlaughter April 9 2011, 02:02:19 UTC

I haven't seen this, but I'd love a link.

As to my "Fight Club" theory, it stems from a conversation that my friend Red and I had a while back. Prepare yourself for a lot of quotation marks and over-analysis.

We were talking about conflict and gender roles -- i.e. how different genders are supposed to respond to conflict. Girls are encouraged to talk it out (though the occasional 'catfight' is expected/encouraged), whereas guys are encouraged to beat it out (though on occasion talking about it is okay). I don't intended to paint everyone with the same brush, but I'm sure you can understand and agree that these are the general approaches society accepts ( ... )