The recent Disney / Pixar film Turning Red has been widely celebrated not only for being enjoyable, but for showcasing a touching and realistic portrayal of teenage girlhood, with all its joys and sorrows. However, it also sparked an immediate negative response from a wide variety of critics saying they felt the intended audience was "too narrow" or "not relatable enough."
Women and racialized people have had to watch films intended for white men for as long as the medium has existed, and still enjoy movies without being the exact target audience. What is it about movies intended for other audiences that make otherwise enjoyable movies, such as the delightful Turning Red, so uncomfortable for the white male audience?
Could also add queer / LGBTQ+ folks to the list of people who rarely have targeted media for them, though queer media has become much more popular in the past few years. – SBee3 years ago
Great topic. Basically, the answer is, "If a film is not intended for a 'majority' audience, it makes them uncomfortable." As SBee said, you could broaden this to include LGBTQ+ audiences, as well as others. I'd also suggest talking about the ways in which majority actors and directors try to make these "uncomfortable" films "acceptable" to the majority. Examples include, not discussing or showing female-centric issues such as periods, defining LGBTQ+ people by sexuality only, using inspiration porn to make disability palatable, etc. – Stephanie M.3 years ago
I spent some time recently on this topic, the oppositional gaze was coined and created by the lack of representation experienced by black women in movies as main characters. Perhaps it is something similar in regards to white men being left out of a movie, although it would be drastically different given the centuries of privilege's and expectancies that have developed. – Mhanley10223 years ago
I wish I still had the article that summed up this experience a lot more eloquently than I can, but essentially it talked about how a viewer from a minority group is conditioned to empathetically putting themselves in the role of the white male protagonist since the straight white man is the centralized experience of our society so we're all knowledgeable of that story. Whereas a straight white man watching Turning Red or anything else has had far less experience thinking beyond the scope of himself, so he can only assume that films like that aren't very good at all because the media he consumes has never asked him to step into the shoes of a young Asian girl, etc. It's pretty obvious stuff, but it's all exposure effect, y'know? – clemenkind3 years ago
Can authors and auteurs play with the past without perpetuating ignorance and false narratives within our history. Take the lack of political stance in Marie Antoinette (2005) for example and the films dismissal of Marie's involvement in the French Revolution.
This is pretty much already done with the Nasu verse/Type Moon series. Characters in this anime series have their gender changed from what it was historically. This is usually done for entertainment purposes. So, being inaccurate in a retelling does not matter unless you are presenting your information as accurate. If you are trying to be accurate then one should do their research and try and get to as close to the truth as possible. Ultimately it really just comes down the authors intentions. (Which we may not always privy to.) – Blackcat1303 years ago
I found this topic interesting from the viewpoint of invulnerability and ethical closure of the reader. Although authors and auteurs use a certain amount of truth and fiction when writing history, history should be written from the standpoint of knowledge and responsibility. For example, the author's lack of political stance in Marie Antoinette (2005) doesn't clarify Marie's role in the French Revolution; this leaves the audience vulnerable and perpetuates ignorance by interpreting history inaccurately. I find this extremely important from an epistemic perspective; writers need to work towards truthful narratives. – Richard3 years ago
Or, to think about it the other way, is a story ever retold that is an accurate portrayal? Nostalgia overtakes fact and memory very quickly. It's why we see memes that talk about how great the 80's was compared to today and 20 years from now, we will say how great things were in the '20's (2020's) because as things change, we view change as a loss and that perceived loss leads us to reflecting on that past through rose colored glasses. – Amie7093 years ago
A musica-ficta? “Immersive Sound” is presenting an artistic creation, an out-of-body and strongly emotional experience, but far from our "sense of place" within reality. How do you feel about this move to “immersive” musical experiences and how does it navigate successfully within traditional 2-channel, and even, surround sound?
Why is it that Marvel and other action-based franchises such as DC tend to ascribe at least one distinct social cause to each film? Is it a return to the overly simplistic style of prescriptive storytelling that was popularised in fairytales? Films such as Captain Marvel or series like the Falcon and the Winter soldier directly focus on social issues that are in current discourse (broadly feminism and anti-war sentiments). Though there seems to be more focus upon grey areas between the black and white, good guy bad guy format that originated in the comic series there is still very little complexity given to such large issues. Is it important for films such as Black Panther, which has had a great impact on the Black Lives Matter movement and provided much needed diversity in representation, to be released? Or are they simplifying complex issues, fitting them into a three act structure that has the potential for sequels, to market them to a specific demographic? Though both sides can easily be argued, it remains important to consider how prescriptive binary morality of good and bad can affect social movements, especially when displayed in films that have an immense global reach.
This topic has a lot to cover, but it is interesting to think about. – Cetrias3 years ago
I think the more pressing issue with marvel is their handling of villains. Due to their need for the heroes to always be perceived as upstandingly moral, villains who would otherwise champion the various social causes Marvel uses are written to be inexplicably monsterous. It sends the message that its more damaging to be passionate about a cause that affects you than maintaining the system that causes suffering. The Flag smashers from The Falcon series were a great example of this, along with the new captain being a viable candidate for representing everything they were justifiably against. – SunnyAgo2 years ago
In the world of movie musicals and musical episodes of TV shows, characters process their emotions and make decisions through song-and-dance numbers. The protagonists of these stories often seem to have an uncanny ability to influence people around them and make them break into song and dance.
In Encanto, Mirabelle's gift seems to be making her family sing about their feelings, especially when they don't want to talk about them: she makes Luisa admit she's nervous about the Pressure, she gets the whole family to sing about Bruno, etc. In the High School Musical series, Troy Bolton turns a basketball practice into a song-and-dance number because he can't stop thinking about musical theatre. Then he convinces all of his friends to work at a country club even though it's hard.
In The Greatest Showman, P.T. Barnum uses the power of song-and-dance to turn his group of social outcasts into the greatest show on Earth and to convince Zac Efron's character to join his team.
If the songs are diegetic (the characters are aware they are singing and dancing), they are conscious choices by the characters, so they can be considered part of the characters' development. If the songs are non-diegetic (only the audience is aware of what's happening), they are mainly plot devices.
Other examples include Zooey's Extraordinary Playlist, The Flash/Supergirl crossover "Duet," and The Magicians' annual musical episodes.
Analyze the narrative impact of these characters and their musical influence. Does this phenomenon work better as character development, a plot device, or a combination of both?
You could also discuss Orpheus in Hadestown, who is both a musician and musical protagonst (with Eurydices). Singing is part of his identity in the show. – Sean Gadus3 years ago
'The Power of the Dog', directed by Jane Campion, has received numerous nominations and accolades, and is another example of a recent film in the Western genre made by a female director. Chloe Zhao's 'The Rider' and Kelly Reichardt's 'Meek's Cutoff' are other recent examples. Jordan Kisner's article 'The Western Rides Again' delves into some of these recent adaptations. I'm interested in the staying power of the genre and figuring what, if anything, the genre has left to give us in new iterations.
Really thoughtful question here. I wonder if these directors might push this genre to explore various avenues not gone down before. – alince3 years ago
Also interesting to note is that neither of the two female directors you mentioned are from the United States. The Old West has so many myths and symbols attached to it, including the machismo aspect, that maybe the genre needs more views through a non-American (and less biased) lens with that additional female/outsider perspective. – jwintersallen2 years ago
Star Wars is arguably one of the most influential sagas ever created-it's tales have touched countless lives over the past several decades. Explore what makes these stories so powerful, why they have stood the test of time and how have they grown to live through so many generations of fans. Is it the characters? The plots? Something else completely? What adaptations has Star Wars embodied to remain a timeless tale that so many have connected with?
Hello! I'm sorry for the extra note, though I just wanted to say that I have revised this topic, but my edits didn't save when I went to update it. This is the altered topic that I came up with as a result of the given notes. Thank you for your feedback! "Star Wars is arguably one of the most influential sagas ever created-it's tales have touched countless lives over the past several decades. My Dad grew up following the story of Luke Skywalker, and 30+ years later “Star Wars the Clone Wars” became a cornerstone of my brother’s childhood. Explore what makes these stories so powerful, but also how they have been able to grow to stand the test of time. Is it the characters? The plots? Something else completely? What differentiates and connects Luke and Rey as protagonists, how was “Star Wars the Force Awakens” able to successfully recycle the villain of the Death Star into the Starkiller Base? What adaptations has Star Wars embodied to remain a timeless tale-and in what ways have they evolved so that their stories exist in harmony without becoming over-repetitive or trite?" – mmclaughlin1023 years ago
I’m no star wars fan (only watched a few, tho none of them have been compelling enough for me to be become a fan who watches every thing in its entirety )
But I will say that perhaps it’s the fact that it created or popularized the hero’s journey. A writer’s structure that has made the films writing engaging? – Amelia Arrows3 years ago
star wars also uses Propp's 'spheres of action' model for characters so that every character is a recongisable and relatable figure which i think has made it stand the test of time – lizawood3 years ago
In all JRR Tolkien’s lore, the Elves and Dwarves are diametrically opposed races. However, in the filmed adaptations of his works, we see an emphasis on the developments their positive relationships. In The Lord of the Rings, the camaraderie between Gimli and Legolas is a core element of the films, and there’s a not-insignificant amount of fan content created about the possibility of a romantic relationship between them. In the more recent Hobbit trilogy, a romance was added between Tauriel the elf and Kíli the dwarf prince; one that didn’t exist at all in the book (as Tauriel herself was a new addition to the narrative). It seems likely that the new Amazon Rings of Power series will also explore dwarven-elven relations (if not relationships) as well. What about Tolkien’s stories and worldbuilding has people consistently drawing these two sides together? Is it just the appeal of an opposites-attract narrative?
I think this is an interesting discussion as it could also be examined for the dichotomous attitudes to racial representations present in both Tolkien's work and the interpretations of his work. – Sarai Mannolini-Winwood3 years ago
This is such an intersting aspect of this series to explore. I personally have not read Lord of the Rings, though my brothers are big fans and I know a bit about this compilation of stories from them. I feel like one of the most powerful things about Tolkein's stories is how they create such fantastical, adventurous tales with roots in very human emotions and ideals. In a way, I think the connection between dwarves and elves is a representation of how people from all walks of life can share the same path, share comrodery and stregnth and joy through trying times. One of the greatest gifts in life is good company, and there is something hopeful and endearing in these connections between dwarves and elves-that differences don't have to be a divider, they can open our eyes to new perspectives, and help us grow for the better. – mmclaughlin1023 years ago
