Suckerpunch..pow

[08lightning]

I might be late to the party but the movie 'Suckerpunch' is now showing on UK tv..

[trigger warning - the film and potentially this thread may cover several forms of abuse inc. sexual]

before watching it I knew there was alot of criticism of it being sexist but also smaller voices defending it, so I went in with my snazzy feminist analytical lense on (its a monocle btw)...and pretty much really enjoyed it.

So i was surprised by the criticism (and general rating), I thought it was a creative conceptual film that held a mirror to a voyeuristic audience and asked it to question the male gaze, plus robots.

Its a little unsettling to find yourself disagreeing with feminist sentiments when you proclaim to be one, so if you've seen it what did you think? is my lense faulty?

If you have or haven't seen it this defence might offer an alternative perspective http://www.alternatetakes.co.uk/?2011,5,299

[lykin005]

I think it's definitely a movie which can be interpreted in a feminist way. I don't but it can be. My biggest problem's were the fact that the plan was come up with by a wise old man rather than themselves, not to mention it's an overly simple plan (Don't wanna confuse the poor lady's right?) then you have the way the movie kills of the characters. With the exception of rocket and... Baby doll? (I don't know the main girl) all the girls die cowering in fear and crying. If it was a male cast they would of died in a blaze of glory but because their women it's okay to kill them in a degrading manner. Also the only reason the women kick ass in the movie is because it's a fantasy world rather than reality. Not to mention the fact that the movie's plot has a fair amount of holes and questions left open.

[08lightning]

My biggest problem's were the fact that the plan was come up with by a wise old man rather than themselves, not to mention it's an overly simple plan

It's babydoll's plan she sees the objects and conceives of it entering the asylum, that the wise man manifests it in her supposed fantasy indicates even here the rules are defined by male authority, I don't see her 'dance' fantasies as escaping, rather the twisting of oppression into liberation, after all in reality when she's 'dancing' she's being raped and institutionalised there's no escaping from that but she finds a strength to use it to free her friends. It also asks are these dance fantasies less exploitative than if we as an audience just watched her dance.

I wouldn't neccesarily call it empowering, its fairly pessimistic about paternal/institutional/sexual oppression without illustrating solutions just the strength of those who endure it, its final voiceover asks of the audience to fight back because the film couldn't.

the only reason the women kick ass in the movie is because it's a fantasy world rather than reality

In reality Babydoll endures horrific abuse long enough to win freedom for others, she isn't so much a character as a metaphor for the experience of women.

[lykin005]

I have to say that article made me reconsider. I do see the point it makes, I just wish that the movie was more direct in saying "this is the problem, now lets do something about it!)

[BiggidyLooch]

I wonder if Mr. Snyder and Mr. Shibuya intended for this interpretation while writing the screenplay.

[mothx]

To me this film was more like a metaphor of a typical woman's life.

First she feels energetic and is allowed to do some of the normal stuff (typically done by men) like fighting, displaying her skills and intelligence (in real life - passing exams, things like that). Then when the time comes she gets married or "lobotomized" and then becomes passive and lifeless and also submits to the man's advances even if she does not really like him. And she does that because she "sacrifices herself for others" like a woman abandoning her career to raise children etc.

It can be interpreted as both feminist and anti-feminist depending on how you regard the ending. In a feminist way it shows: "hey, this is what is being done to women, it is disturbing, do something!" In a non-feminist way: "this is what will happen to all women and this is the way it "should" be :")

To me it is more of a feminist film still because it actually shows that women CAN be:

- intelligent
- succesful
- competitive
- strong physically
- assertive
- violent etc.