TV/Movies Megathread

[crazy canuck]

Watched Mad Max - very good, agree with all the high ratings.

I had been reading that it was being attacked as some sort of feminist movie, but I guess I don't have a problem with bad-ass female characters as well as male characters and I didn't see it as such.

Well, there is certainly nothing more feminist than a bunch of scantily-clad supermodels who need rescuing. 

[Iormlund]

I know.

But they shouldn't be more convenient than the legit way.

I used to be a very prolific downloader of music. Thanks to Spotify that has stopped completely.

It's always been more convenient. At least since high-speed internet became mainstream.

[celedhring]

Watched Mad Max - very good, agree with all the high ratings.

I had been reading that it was being attacked as some sort of feminist movie, but I guess I don't have a problem with bad-ass female characters as well as male characters and I didn't see it as such.

Well, there is certainly nothing more feminist than a bunch of scantily-clad supermodels who need rescuing. 

The movie has a pretty clear feminist message. [spoiler]Men destroy the world and build an oppressive society from its ashes, ruled by a cult of death; women escape from this world, where they are treated as objects, only to return, kill the alpha male that rules it, and rebuild a gentler civilization in its stead.[/spoiler]

[Admiral Yi]

I'm not going to bother spoilering anything about Mad Max.  So don't read my posts if you're a weirdo.

"You killed the world" makes more sense as a generational thing than a gender thing.  Women don't pollute?  Women don't drink water and eat food?

[celedhring]

I'm not going to bother spoilering anything about Mad Max.  So don't read my posts if you're a weirdo.

"You killed the world" makes more sense as a generational thing than a gender thing.  Women don't pollute?  Women don't drink water and eat food?

The movie presents it as men being about war and domination, while women being about life. That's why one of them is pregnant and a fuss is made about them being fertile, etc... Then you have all those scenes where the women ask "who killed the world", etc... I'm not saying it's accurate societal analysis, it's just how the movie is built. Movies by necessity are usually simplistic in their metaphors; one that features a 2 hour car chase and probably three or four pages of full dialogue moreso 

[Eddie Teach]

It makes sense in a nuclear winter scenario. Cause you know, if women ruled the world there would be no wars.  ()

[crazy canuck]

Watched Mad Max - very good, agree with all the high ratings.

I had been reading that it was being attacked as some sort of feminist movie, but I guess I don't have a problem with bad-ass female characters as well as male characters and I didn't see it as such.

Well, there is certainly nothing more feminist than a bunch of scantily-clad supermodels who need rescuing. 

The movie has a pretty clear feminist message. [spoiler]Men destroy the world and build an oppressive society from its ashes, ruled by a cult of death; women escape from this world, where they are treated as objects, only to return, kill the alpha male that rules it, and rebuild a gentler civilization in its stead.[/spoiler]

The story is more about genetically pure stock (ie not malformed) being used to breed genetically pure offspring and the attempt to rescue that scantily clad breeding stock.   There are some similarities with a Handmaid's tale.    But the other 99% is no exactly the story line from an Atwood book 

[Malthus]

Watched Mad Max - very good, agree with all the high ratings.

I had been reading that it was being attacked as some sort of feminist movie, but I guess I don't have a problem with bad-ass female characters as well as male characters and I didn't see it as such.

Well, there is certainly nothing more feminist than a bunch of scantily-clad supermodels who need rescuing. 

The movie has a pretty clear feminist message. [spoiler]Men destroy the world and build an oppressive society from its ashes, ruled by a cult of death; women escape from this world, where they are treated as objects, only to return, kill the alpha male that rules it, and rebuild a gentler civilization in its stead.[/spoiler]

Not so:

there is exactly zero evidence in-movie that the destruction of the world was by "men";

the movie is very clear that women participate fully in the cult of death (the lead character "Furiousa" was a high-ranking death-cultist before she betrayed them, right?);

the female tribe they flee to is revealed to be just another gang of vicious bikers, after their 'green place' became fouled up - albeit female ones;

both men and women turn against the death cultist dude (the 'war boy' who becomes a good guy exactly parallels Furiosa - not to mention, Mad Max himself).

Basically, the only feminist cred this movie gets is that Furiosa is a woman action-hero, and that the bad guys are viciously proprietal towards women and treat them as "things" - but then, they are viciously proprietal towards *everyone* and treat them as "things". They milk fat women for milk, but then, they milk Mad Max for his very blood.

I guess it is groundbreaking in having a female action hero - that's never happened before, particularly not in science fiction. 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078748/

[Admiral Yi]

The movie presents it as men being about war and domination, while women being about life. That's why one of them is pregnant and a fuss is made about them being fertile, etc... Then you have all those scenes where the women ask "who killed the world", etc... I'm not saying it's accurate societal analysis, it's just how the movie is built. Movies by necessity are usually simplistic in their metaphors; one that features a 2 hour car chase and probably three or four pages of full dialogue moreso 

I get all that.  My point is that the post-apocalyptic warlords didn't destroy the world, pre-apocalyptic society did.

Disagree with Malthus.  The granny biker gang is the only group not interested in oppressing others.

I really loved the aerosol meth and the way it blistered the lips.

[Malthus]

The movie presents it as men being about war and domination, while women being about life.

The name "Imperator Furiosa" sounds like it's "about war and domination" to me. 

[Malthus]

I get all that.  My point is that the post-apocalyptic warlords didn't destroy the world, pre-apocalyptic society did.

Disagree with Malthus.  The granny biker gang is the only group not interested in oppressing others.

I really loved the aerosol meth and the way it blistered the lips.

Agree about the aerosol thing, disagree about the grannies.

My recollection is that they indicate that they have basically been forced by circumstances into preying on others to survive because they can't farm anymore - all that 'one headshot' stuff. But as with everything in this movie, blink and you miss it.

[Admiral Yi]

My recollection is that they indicate that they have basically been forced by circumstances into preying on others to survive because they can't farm anymore - all that 'one headshot' stuff. But as with everything in this movie, blink and you miss it.

Self defense.

[celedhring]

The movie presents it as men being about war and domination, while women being about life.

The name "Imperator Furiosa" sounds like it's "about war and domination" to me. 

The idea about the Furiosa character is that she seeks redemption by helping those women escape. When she reaches the granny tribe we learn that she was one of them and a flowery powery girl until *something* happened. She's been damaged by the world of men and doesn't want the same to happen to those girls, that's why she tries to take them to the women tribe; this is also a way to get back to the innocent place before she became involved with Immortan Joe's tribe. Something she no longer can do since that ideal place has vanished.

[crazy canuck]

My recollection is that they indicate that they have basically been forced by circumstances into preying on others to survive because they can't farm anymore - all that 'one headshot' stuff. But as with everything in this movie, blink and you miss it.

Self defense.

They set a trap to lure people in so they can kill them and take their goods 

[Malthus]

My recollection is that they indicate that they have basically been forced by circumstances into preying on others to survive because they can't farm anymore - all that 'one headshot' stuff. But as with everything in this movie, blink and you miss it.

Self defense.

... and sustenance.