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dreamer_easyIn the past week we've seen the new Trek and the Wolverine flick and I've enjoyed them both: well-made, well-acted movies with plenty of pace and laughs. And yet I find myself oddly unmoved by either of them. Is it the brain chemicals? I've been having depression symptoms - terminal insomnia (fantastic name for waking up at 4 am) and teariness - so my shrink and I are inching up my dose. Is it a jaded palate? Is it the recycling of increasingly threadbare ideas - mad widower with superweapon bent on revenge, time travel paradox, mutant oppression, etc? Or is it that the only roles for women in both films are Mom and Girlfriend?
I enjoy all the What It Is To Be A Man stuff the boys get to do - struggle with their Feelings, their Daddy Issues, their Propensity for Violence, their wardrobes, etc. But despite the grafting of Skillz and Tude onto Uhura, her role is to amusingly prefer Spock to Kirk, provide emotional support to the former, and take her clothes off in front of the latter. The job of Spock and Kirk's mums, and wossname's missus, Mrs Romulan, whatever, is to die tragically. Even if changing the sex of, say, Chekov or Sulu would've caused a fannish uproar which might've split the Earth's crust, there's no reason the mad widower couldn't have been a mad widow, or that Sarek could've fallen off a cliff instead of Amanda.
Similarly, the long history of epically powerful women in the X-Men is forgotten in the Wolverine flick, which is overwhelmingly male. The few women are almost entirely passive victims: his cipher mother, his they-made-me-do-it girlfriend with her wimpy power and pointless self-sacrifice. Even the mean Queen herself, Emma Frost, is reduced to a human shield.
These are very outdated Hollywood ideas: chicks are there as love interests, to look pretty and motivate their menfolk, generally by dropping dead. It's distancing, alienating, like you're watching a movie which has nothing do with you. There's always the danger of SPFX-and-action-packed movies to turn into video games someone else is playing: marginalising the female characters only leads in that my-eyes-glaze-over direction.
I enjoy all the What It Is To Be A Man stuff the boys get to do - struggle with their Feelings, their Daddy Issues, their Propensity for Violence, their wardrobes, etc. But despite the grafting of Skillz and Tude onto Uhura, her role is to amusingly prefer Spock to Kirk, provide emotional support to the former, and take her clothes off in front of the latter. The job of Spock and Kirk's mums, and wossname's missus, Mrs Romulan, whatever, is to die tragically. Even if changing the sex of, say, Chekov or Sulu would've caused a fannish uproar which might've split the Earth's crust, there's no reason the mad widower couldn't have been a mad widow, or that Sarek could've fallen off a cliff instead of Amanda.
Similarly, the long history of epically powerful women in the X-Men is forgotten in the Wolverine flick, which is overwhelmingly male. The few women are almost entirely passive victims: his cipher mother, his they-made-me-do-it girlfriend with her wimpy power and pointless self-sacrifice. Even the mean Queen herself, Emma Frost, is reduced to a human shield.
These are very outdated Hollywood ideas: chicks are there as love interests, to look pretty and motivate their menfolk, generally by dropping dead. It's distancing, alienating, like you're watching a movie which has nothing do with you. There's always the danger of SPFX-and-action-packed movies to turn into video games someone else is playing: marginalising the female characters only leads in that my-eyes-glaze-over direction.
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no subject
Date: 2009-05-13 03:13 am (UTC)I think that she herself behaved just fine given the circumstances, but I HATE that so many of her scenes revolved around her being something for Kirk or Spock. Yes, she was shown to be competent and snarky and self-confident, which I dig, and she was shown to care about people, which I also dig.
But many of her scenes were there to show that Kirk's a womaniser, and Spock has a softer side and needs mothering, and she used her relationship with Spock to get her the Enterprise, FFS! This is not a huge deal given the kinds of things she could've tried to pressure him into; she obviously had the competence to go to the Enterprise. But still, she used her personal relationship with him to get an assignment.
Kirk was defined by his sexuality to some degree, but it was never much of an issue. More just that he likes women and would hit on anything female. With the others, their sexuality wasn't in question. They all (even Scotty, who only appeared a LONG way into it) got fun character moments, showing humour and competence, that had absolutely nothing to do with their gender.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-13 03:30 am (UTC)Hi! Completely random person response here.
Spock initially refused to assign her to the Enterprise to "avoid the appearance of favouritism". Spock used their relationship to not assign her to the Enterprise; she protested based on her academic results and job competence. So I would tend to argue entirely the other way on this one.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-13 03:35 am (UTC)Oh, I saw it a bit differently. I know that's basically what was said, and most likely if they weren't involved he would've assigned her to the Enterprise. So yeah, NOT a huge deal. Not like she's incredibly incompetent and didn't deserve any kind of assignment whatsoever.
Yeah, if they weren't involved she probably would've gotten the Enterprise anyway. But she pressured him based on their relationship. I found that incredibly icky, and I found it icky that he caved, too. He's her teacher, and her superior (which is also icky in terms of them having a relationship).
If it'd been more explicit that it was purely to avoid the appearance of favouritism, and she pointed out the flaw in his logic that she would've gotten it without them being involved, and he agreed that his logic was flawed and she was right about that, then I would have less of a problem with it. But basically she told him what to do and he caved.
I don't have a HUGE problem with it; I have way more of a problem with Winona Ryder being cast as Zachary Quinto's mother when she doesn't look anywhere near old enough!!! But I still don't like it.
I can totally see how you see it that way, though. :) Which isn't that far from how I see it.
(I have a nasty feeling I'm failing at the internet. You disagreed with me VERY politely and respectfully and gave reasons, and I haven't responded with flames! And I don't hate you! What's wrong with me!!)
no subject
Date: 2009-05-13 03:42 am (UTC)He caved way too quickly, though. I agree.
Potentially we are both failing at the internet. We disagreed and I'm not even in tears yet. :)
no subject
Date: 2009-05-13 03:48 am (UTC)Yes! Which cracked me up but also made me go bzuh. I know his different portrayal of Spock/Vulcans has been a big seller for some people, and I liked LOTS of what he did, but that was one of the things that made me scratch my head at this Spock.
HA. Neither am I! <3!
no subject
Date: 2009-05-13 09:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-13 10:43 pm (UTC)/completely fails at the internet
no subject
Date: 2009-05-26 03:44 am (UTC)What I've heard is that originally they were planning to have a scene with boy!Spock and his mother, so they cast an actress who would look the right age in that scene (because it's generally easier to convincingly age a young actor than to convincingly youth on older actor); and then that scene didn't make it into the final cut, leaving Spock's mother being played by a young actress for no immediately obvious reason.