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I am disappoint. :(

munchkinott
2011-03-29 03:16 pm UTC (link)

Will it be possible to, one day, have a movie where the girls run the show, blast the crap out of dragons n' mechanical oddities n' suchlike, and the twist ISN'T that the girls are helpless, abused, raped and butchered?

Yeah, I saw the trailer, and thought 'OOH SHINY! Nice girls! Serious weaponry! Huge dragons! YAY!' then winced over the asylum clips in the same trailer. Why must there be a nasty mouthful of rape-abuse culture medicine with female-driven fantasy? It's not like there isn't a market for fantasy without the abuse-survivor connotations. *points at MLP:FiM*

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	Re: I am disappoint. :( caffeine_fairy 2011-03-29 04:08 pm UTC (link)
	This! Thank you for summing up my mish mash of "Do not want" thoughts. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	Re: I am disappoint. :( zumie_ashlen 2011-03-29 04:29 pm UTC (link)
	God yes. Women can never really win in fantasy/action. Like, fastest way to give a male character a dark and angsty backstory? Kill his GIRLFRIEND! Fastest way to give a FEMALE character a dark and angsty backstory? Rape her! Why must badass ladies always be victimized in fiction? Is it a bizarre belief that this 'toughens them up?' ARGHH. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

Re: I am disappoint. :(

munchkinott
2011-03-29 06:32 pm UTC (link)

Can I direct you to The A-Team Movie? Specifically Charissa Sosa - a sterling example of wholesale badass, independent, self-aware, professional woman WITHOUT a victim-centric backstory or plot relevance. She's a JOY. (Jessica Biel's a bloody awful actor, but the character is a GEM)

I don't think for a second that victim-heroines undergo trial by rape to toughen them up. I think it's more to instantly expose them for the vulnerable, precious, things in need of protection that they are. YUCK. :(

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	Re: I am disappoint. :( zumie_ashlen 2011-03-29 10:01 pm UTC (link)
	Oooh! scribbles down rec True, it does seem to be a host of things, all exploitative. :( I just want more women with agency in movies. ...that are not relegated to the role of "girlfriend," or "fridging material." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

Another rec

munchkinott
2011-03-31 07:26 pm UTC (link)

Doomsday (it's a bit gory)

Maj. Eden Sinclair - I've never seen a female character like her. She's a soldier - it's her job, she's good at it, she likes it, and her choice of profession is never called into question. It's difficult to sum her up completely without spoiling the whole damned movie, but just imagine a law-enforcing, female Snake Plisskin, who loves her mum, and that's Sinclair. ♥

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	Re: Another rec zumie_ashlen 2011-03-31 10:05 pm UTC (link)
	I actually heard about that a few weeks ago, and have been searching for a copy ever since! So many excellent suggestions. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

Re: Another rec

munchkinott
2011-03-31 11:46 pm UTC (link)

iTunes have it for rent. But I don't know if that's UK-only. (Amazon.com have it too! :D $2.99 rental or $11 hard copy) I saw it after I'd had a really awful couple of weeks, and it cheered me up no end. :D The Bentley chase is stunning.

I love the Resident Evil films, too. But other than those, I'm out of recs. And I'm disappointed that I'm out of recs. IT SHOULDN'T BE LIKE THIS, DAMMIT!

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	Re: I am disappoint. :( alcesx2 2011-03-29 10:54 pm UTC (link)
	I second the rec, especially the scene where she nailes Patrick Wilson's character on the phone. I hate Biel as an actress, but I love me some Sosa. Bring her back with a different actress and I'll build a temple in her honor. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: I am disappoint. :( munchkinott 2011-03-30 12:32 am UTC (link)
	I'm still quite fond of her Iraq scenes. She reduced Face to the level of Bridget Jones with one cold smirk. <3 Tbh, I could stand more Biel!Sosa. Her delivery was terribly wooden, but she GOT IT, and didn't try to make Sosa into an emotionally insecure mess. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: I am disappoint. :( alcesx2 2011-03-30 01:21 am UTC (link)
	Oh those are good ones too. She's not even one iota sorry she kicked Face to the curb to get ahead. Glorious. sighs a dreamy sigh And I'll give you Biel!Sosa, I can't think of anyone else for the role off the top of my head. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

Re: I am disappoint. :(

munchkinott
2011-03-31 07:40 pm UTC (link)

I had a little 'Oh god, noooo!' moment at the end when she kissed him, which melted to an 'OMG YAY!' when Face produced the key she'd slipped him. *happy sigh*

Milla Jovovitch would be awesome. But I'd like to see Mary Elisabeth Mastrantonio in a kind of senior investigator role. 'Cause I can't think of anyone else who doesn't have to say ANYTHING to pwn, she just has to alight from a helicopter.

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	Re: I am disappoint. :( alcesx2 2011-03-31 11:55 pm UTC (link)
	I felt the same way! I was like all of this and you're sucking his face off what are you doing? Ohhhhhh. . . Bradley Cooper and Liam Neeson are so hot in that film. Makes me melt. And after seeing the shit fest that was "Clash of the Titans," I forgave Liam and continued my crush on him. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	Re: I am disappoint. :( floriatosca 2011-03-29 09:55 pm UTC (link)
	Well, there's Toph, although she's in a kids' show. Her traumatic backstory is "my ablist parents refused to see me for what I am, so I developed a secret life as a superpowered pro wrestler." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: I am disappoint. :( zumie_ashlen 2011-03-29 09:58 pm UTC (link)
	And that is why I am MADLY in love with Mike and Brian. Strong ladies, some with tragic backstories, some without, all in control of their agency? swoon (Reply to this)(Parent)

Re: I am disappoint. :(

ihateyouall
2011-03-29 05:46 pm UTC (link)

... and the twist ISN'T that the girls are helpless,...?

No not possible.

I call them roadkill, the female plot device that gives the male protagonist his tragic backstory, or reason for going berserk in an action flick, and can usually spot them from the trailer and certainly in the first few minutes of the movie.

Anyway, I'm glad to have seen this discussion so I won't see SuckerPunch at all ever.

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	Re: I am disappoint. :( ihateyouall 2011-03-29 05:47 pm UTC (link)
	It's also why I stopped buying popular fiction and sci-fi and fantasy. Too many female characters are raped to give them ... whatever it is the author is trying to give them. What it gives me is nausea. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	Re: I am disappoint. :( munchkinott 2011-03-29 06:51 pm UTC (link)
	I call them roadkill, I do the same. The problem with Sucker Punch is they're ALL roadkill. I was on the fence about going to see it 'cause, imo, the trailer promised a Return to Oz-like situation I figured I'd be ok with. Then the reviews came out and... I've been grinding my teeth since the weekend. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	Re: I am disappoint. :( the_sun_is_up 2011-03-29 07:35 pm UTC (link)
	This. This is exactly what pissed me off when I read the plot summary for this thing. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	Re: I am disappoint. :( kitt_in_socks 2011-03-29 07:42 pm UTC (link)
	This this this this so much. The fight scenes? Awesome, despite the outfits still being impractically revealing. The sound track was great. But the 'plot' was disgusting. Thanks for reminding me of MLP, may go watch more when I get the time. >__> (Reply to this)(Parent)

	Re: I am disappoint. :( reovu 2011-03-29 10:33 pm UTC (link)
	what else can I say? I agree so much with this (Reply to this)(Parent)

Re: I am disappoint. :(

cinnamonical
2011-03-30 03:01 am UTC (link)

Will it be possible to, one day, have a movie where the girls run the show, blast the crap out of dragons n' mechanical oddities n' suchlike, and the twist ISN'T that the girls are helpless, abused, raped and butchered?

Co-signed so, so hard. I'll probably end up seeing Sucker Punch eventually just for the action scenes, but I'll probably just rent it from somewhere later.

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	Re: I am disappoint. :( were_lemur 2011-03-31 05:22 pm UTC (link)
	I'll just wait until someone posts the action scenes on YouTube. Skip the triggery stuff completely. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	Re: I am disappoint. :( ashacrone 2011-03-30 12:21 pm UTC (link)
	Yeah. As soon as I heard about the threat of the lobotomy I started getting iffy- if the girls has been able to fight, had the chance to escape and be truly victorious, it would be awesome. Yet, dear lord, it kills the fun. I want to see some awesome kick-ass chicks win, with perfect victory. Grr. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	Re: I am disappoint. :( chikane 2011-03-31 07:57 am UTC (link)
	This right there is why I like so few stories. So many authors feel the need to subvert female strength - look, she seems powerful, but in reality, she is just (insert crappy reason to make her weak so insecure male watchers don't whine about strong women). (Reply to this)(Parent)

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