tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21772340073542599.post243916194502992518..comments2024-03-24T19:43:16.277-07:00Comments on All Things Fangirl: Brief Sucker Punch Thoughts...LoquaciousMusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915505540153733746noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21772340073542599.post-27838151958974560892011-03-26T22:47:11.871-07:002011-03-26T22:47:11.871-07:00Matt, it's not that you can't offer femini...Matt, it's not that you can't offer feminist perspectives due to your maleness, it's the reviewers out there who claim to understand feminism, and then completely fail to miss this film's point. Arguing feminism from an ignorant stance (whether male or female) is what garners criticism of those male reviewers... well, criticism. They are free to criticize, and guess what? Feminists are free to counter-criticize. <br /><br />LoquaciousMuse, if you're interested in another fangirl's analysis of the movie, please visit my blog. <br /><br />http://www.lunalindsey.com/2011/03/analysis-of-sucker-punch-feminist.htmlLuna Corbdenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00248755241861752232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21772340073542599.post-41735079753745751502011-03-26T18:11:00.625-07:002011-03-26T18:11:00.625-07:00@Matt - Hi, welcome, yay!
First off, sorry if I o...@Matt - Hi, welcome, yay!<br /><br />First off, sorry if I offended you in any way, it just gets a little trying when every other tweet is an essay by a men telling me Sucker Punch is bad for me. It reeks of disingenuity, of wanting to prove something, of missing the point to make an unrelated point that somehow classifies themselves as the "male defenders of the Female", when in fact, it's just insulting. I don't need defending. The movie didn't hurt me. I'm not saying "don't write a review, Man" I'm saying I'm sick of these attempts at some sort of feminist manifesto that are mostly baffling because they COMPLETELY miss the point of the movie. It's creating an issue from where there is none in some sort of misguided attempt to perhaps excuse their own behavior. I'm not saying you are personally guilty of it, but the tweet after tweet was just getting to a breaking point.<br /><br />The fantasy sequences are not when we are supposed to feel empowered or guilty. The subversion happens in the third act, as does the revelation for the meaning behind it all. Seeing it a second time certainly helped me understand things more clearly, which is most definitely Snyder's fault, I'm not arguing that he nailed the storytelling here, but there *is* a story that tried to be told and a message that meant something to me.<br /><br />The Sweet Pea in Baby Doll's head is as much realty as the 1st plane - it's what Sweet Pea was to BD, what BD feels for her is what we are designed to feel for her, no matter what the actual plane of reality. Her escape was not only a victory for Sweet Pea, but yes, of course, a victory for Baby Doll, she was doing the most she could under the circumstances, which was giving Sweet Pea the chance she herself never had (and taking down the whole asylum in the process.)<br /><br />I also LOVED the action, I'm confused by people not being into it, I think Snyder directs action brilliantly and I loved every moment of it.<br /><br />I think at the end of the day, the film either connects to you or it doesn't. And there is a difference between justifying and defending. It sucks to be told AHEAD OF TIME that liking this movie means we're dumb. It sucks that we are automatically put in a position to defend it because people are so outwardly hating on it. And this is the thing - the movie IS far from perfect, it had a hard time telling its story, criticize it for that, sure, but it *did* have a story, and a damn good one, as clumsily as it was told.LoquaciousMusehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10915505540153733746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21772340073542599.post-67856631783753258622011-03-26T16:42:17.872-07:002011-03-26T16:42:17.872-07:00Muse, no offense, but I resent the notion that I c...Muse, no offense, but I resent the notion that I can't be engaged in feminism because I'm male. That's like saying I can't think something's racist because I'm white. No, I can't personally peak from a feminine perspective and would never presume to. Nor would I say that this film is "hurtful" to women because women are comprised of individuals and this movie clearly isn't for them. But I think it's wrong for you to try and shutdown my criticism of the film simply because I'm a man. I don't think Sucker Punch is "bad for you". You're an adult who can make her own decisions. I simply think that Sucker Punch is bad for people, both men and women, in that it's a tedious waste of two hours and however much money your local theater charges. <br /><br />But let's assume that Sucker Punch is actually a big j'accuse to its male audience and that shoving the viewer's face in the masculine gaze is what Snyder intended. Then why does he seem to enjoy the ride? The film never dares to actually sicken its audience and it's too slickly produced to be parody. I seriously doubt Snyder put all of the effort into design and fight choreography because he wanted the audience to feel guilty or conflicted about his protagonists.<br /><br />Also, to your point that it's empowering because Babydoll was able to help just one person because she never stopped fighting--Snyder failed his own script by never showing that reality level. He saved all of those reveals until the end. And when he does reveal that Babydoll actually freed Sweet Pea, it's a hollow victory for a couple reasons:<br /><br />1) We never get to know the real Sweet Pea. She, like all of the other women in the film, is merely an object. Babydoll can free Sweet Pea to the point of idyllically freeing Sweet Pea. Of course, I don't think she's actually "saving" an inmate. She's dealing with guilt. In Babydoll's mind, Sweet Pea is a big sister who failed to protect Rocket just like Babydoll failed to protect her own little sister. Babydoll IS Sweet Pea and so the action of "saving her" doesn't feel particularly selfless or heroic. <br /><br />It actually reminded me of the sickening ending to Atonement where the old lady wants a pat on the back because even though she ruined Keira Knightley and James McAvoy's lives, she "imagined" that they came together and isn't that really good enough? (Answer: No. Not even close.)<br /><br />2) The film has no explanation to other corresponding incidents. Does that mean Blue murdered Amber and Blondie? I doubt it. Maybe if the film set up that those inmates were due to be lobotomized as well, but it didn't. <br /><br />I'm trying to understand the positive takes on the film, but it feels like people are doing mental gymnastics to justify the movie as something that speaks to noble themes of sisterhood and determination and social commentary. If I saw that in the film, I would happily cheer it on. But it's not there because he does such a shoddy job structuring the premise and spending far too much on soulless action scenes.Matt Goldberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06679521100863563655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21772340073542599.post-81875096389549416642011-03-25T18:10:06.442-07:002011-03-25T18:10:06.442-07:00I am actually looking forward to watching it and m...I am actually looking forward to watching it and my teen daughter wants to see it.<br />I am still debating whether or not to take her, hubby is on the fence about it too. That being said something tells me that I would not mind watching it twice, once to review it to see if she will be able to cope with it and then the second time with her if it passes.<br />I promise to do a review of it and will send you a url of where I place it if you like. :)<br /><br />ChesFranchesca Havashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02177010127387176561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21772340073542599.post-50702327001189231552011-03-25T14:52:03.573-07:002011-03-25T14:52:03.573-07:00I am tired of men writing "strong female char...I am tired of men writing "strong female characters" whose strength is illustrated largely if not solely by their sexual power. I am tired of being sold the sexualization of immaturity, or the infantilization of sexually empowered women. I am tired of rape and assault on women being played for plot devices. <br /><br />I won't be paying money to see Sucker Punch, and not just because I think it looks like a misogynistic 14-year-old's algebra folder. I won't see it because I think Snyder values style over substance and I think this movie looks like a glossy, noisy mess.stellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08811250143467189565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21772340073542599.post-82216497072682752482011-03-25T14:33:06.190-07:002011-03-25T14:33:06.190-07:00Well, I can't comment to its accuracy, due to ...Well, I can't comment to its accuracy, due to my not having seen the movie, but yeah...it is a little problematic to get a good sense of a movie when it's all about the movie's feminism (or lack thereof) and the review is written by a man.braakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12398019441440530133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21772340073542599.post-31507910931027563072011-03-25T14:00:52.919-07:002011-03-25T14:00:52.919-07:00I still disagree with just about everything in tha...I still disagree with just about everything in that review, haha, but I was just reading ones from only men talking about feminism and it was getting old, so thanks for the link!LoquaciousMusehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10915505540153733746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21772340073542599.post-53173159751061848492011-03-25T13:58:05.433-07:002011-03-25T13:58:05.433-07:00Thank you!!Thank you!!LoquaciousMusehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10915505540153733746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21772340073542599.post-88144914648349943252011-03-25T13:53:43.091-07:002011-03-25T13:53:43.091-07:00Oh, hm. Annalee at io9 did a review of it:
http:...Oh, hm. Annalee at io9 did a review of it:<br /><br />http://io9.com/#!moviereview/5785590<br /><br />She didn't much care for it, though I don't think that can fairly be laid at the feet of either a failure or understand or sublimated male guilt.braakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12398019441440530133noreply@blogger.com