Not seeing the start of this "contraversy," perhaps because I don't have a television or because I watch little entertainment-driven promotional content beyond trailers, I haven't been able to find an exact quote of what Larson actually said. I was able to find a second hand comment that she, apparently, doesn't care what a 40-year-old white man thinks about her movie or her being the lead in it.
Naturally, this is more than enough reason for thousands of white man-boys to rush forward in a sexist backlash that claims Larson is being racist. Apparently, I am also racist, since I don't care what a 40-year-old man-boy at his computer also thinks.
Now, to be fair, there are a great many who would classify me as a "man-boy." I play games, I write games, I'm obsessed with a game, I'm not exactly a "man" in what would be my father's definition of the word, so when I trash man-boys I think it's fair to say I'm on the inside.
But this ridiculous crap disgusts me.
Frankly, I'm looking forward to Captain Marvel. And I'm not going to pretend here: I'm looking forward to watching a manificently-clad woman kick the living shit out of whatever gets in her way, with (if the trailers can be trusted) both sarcasm and matter-of-fact pragmatism. I think that is fucking sexy. I would be happy to help pay for the machine that crushes woman-hating man-boys into pulp so that it can be sold as dog food to raise money to make more movies like this one. I hope it is good, and not like the filmatic dog-vomit that Black Panther gave us last year.
Yes, the oscars happened last night and sooooo many people thought that Black Panther was going to win ... which baffles me because we've all seen the oscars crabble along like an old man with the gout being eaten from the ankles up by a snake taking it's time. The oscars love to taunt-bait its audience with popular films that can then be handed out the shit awards of "costume design" and "best achievement in production design," with apparently includes making films where the trains in the distance are model fucking trains and look like they are. But that is so the oscars can say, "see, we recognized the film; it's inclusion in our bullshit film factory farce was totally justified."
Last night I participated in my yearly ritual of re-grouting the bathroom tiles because I want to look at attractive, productive work, something totally unlike the oscars.
Where was I? Oh yes, sexually abusive whiny white men and their hurt feelings because a recently successful woman got herself put into the lead role of a picture that's bound to make a shit-ton of money these white men will never see. Never mind that these white men complaining about Larson's racism are the same white men bitching about football players kneeling or defending cops shooting black kids. Fuck all that. A woman has a movie part and ... we ... are ... angry.
And she doesn't care. Wow, the indifference of attractive women, eh? That same brutal indifference that makes every attractive woman think that, like, she's a person, and that she owes it to herself not to consort with, say, man-boys.
The sheer GALL of this woman who spent a year preparing physically and mentally for a grueling part, whose life is now quintessentially hinged on whatever the critics and internet write about her efforts come March 7, to not kowtow to every man-boy online in pre-gratitude for their willing approval. How dare she not do so immediately? We have computers! Doesn't she know we could ruin her life ... just ... like ... that?
I think maybe she's gambling on people with more power to make the final decision.
Assuming she ever said anything at all. I have no proof of it. I can't find the original interview where she supposedly said this thing. And the internet lies, lies, lies all the time when it can't find a reason to hate someone.
WELL,
I feel better. This has been bugging me for three days. If anyone is still around, I'll try to write a real post later today. Meanwhile, I'll let my 15-year-old teenage self splash up a big goddamn poster, the kind I would have definitely bought amidst my raging puberty.
(see, I'm the real sexist; I like girls, pretty much for the reason I'm biologically supposed to like them)
 |
| She can beat the hell out of me anytime. |
I love your aside at the end, I'll have to quote it in my signature or something.
ReplyDelete"I like girls, pretty much for the reason I'm biologically supposed to like them"
I love me some superheroes, and would love more heroines kicking ass in the leading roles, I just wish the trailers for this movie gave me as much optimism about it as it does you. The trailers I saw had her looking relatively bored most of the time while a youngified Samuel Jackson does all the talking and laughing and emoting while not using the short time to give a hint about why I should go see this other than the fact that its a female led superhero movie with Sam Jackson in it. I could very well be hoping for too much out of a trailer, but the ones I saw didn't speak to me. Though I do hope it's good and the people that go to see it enjoy the hell out of it.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I agree with the rest of the post whole heartily and pretty much avoid comment threads on most things because the anonymity of internet makes people say the stupid shit that normally stays in their brain holes and it makes me kinda hate humanity. A lot.
Also, I agree with Lance and love the aside at the end and the caption for the final image.
Okay, a theory.
ReplyDeleteI made myself watch not one thing before seeing Black Panther, keeping myself completely untouched by the promos, which really wasn't easy. Then I saw the film and was unaccountably angry at the wishy-washiness of the project, the lack of depth, the wide swing of amazing special F/X mixed with purely bad F/X, the overwhelming use of phlebotinum and that awful, awful cheesy end to the thing which was a shout out to blaxploitation films of the 1970s.
So this one, I have watched very moment of every trailer several times. I see what people are saying when you say, "relatively bored." I didn't take her expression that way, but rather as "neutral." But you're right, there's something there.
Look at it from a marketing perspective. Jackson is a known quantity, and we know what the audience likes about him, the man who ruined the word "motherfucker" for EVERYONE. If you don't say it the way that Jackson says it, you ain't sayin' it right.
Larson is NOT a known quantity. And she's a woman. If we present her like Thor, she's a bitch. If she shows emotion, she's whiny. If we show her punching a man in the face like she does the old woman on the bus, she's a manhater.
I'll remind you that Iron Man 2 hardly MENTIONS Black Widow in that trailer, gives her practically no lines, she has the same neutral face ... and IM2 is the one that EVERYONE on the internet absolutely hates. Jeez. The whole film is worth it for the scene where she rips up 8 men in a hallway, but NOOOOoooooo ... that Iron Man sucked. For reasons.
Marvel knows what it is doing. I hope. Marvel is keeping it neutral and letting the film decide. I hope. If I'm wrong, well, it is a big disappointment. But I'm going to trust Mr. Jackson here, and believe he made the film because it wasn't crap. You will note how gawddamned far he stayed away from the great black film of last year.
True enough.
ReplyDeleteThat hallway fight with Black Widow was bad ass, but I think I preferred her in Captain America 2...possibly cause she was Black Widow the whole time vs undercover for a good chunk of the movie. But it's been a while since I've seen either movie.
Like I said, I probably won't end up seeing it in theaters, especially not right away, but I'll probably enjoy it when I end up seeing it eventually and hope it will be great.
I also can't wait till we can discuss upcoming movies based purely on whether they look good or not vice whether people think a minority/homosexual/woman/whatever is the lead role and how that's destroying the character/subject/movie/the youths watching it or if it's revolutionary and amazing that they're *finally* giving them those type of roles/movies. I just want it to be a normal thing. I know we're not there, and I don't know if we will be by the time I die (I'm only 30 something) because we keep seeming to find new reasons to hate ourselves as a species.
...sorry, may have gotten a little carried away towards the end and I'm not sure if it's coherent.
Listen to your old grandpa and I'll tell you a thing or to. In my day, there weren't female action stars; in my day, we had to wait until Sigourney Weaver came along, and believe me there was none of that before. In my day, we never saw any content about homosexuals except awful exploitive jokes. In my day, blacks made movies about themselves, or were blaxploited by white dudes. I seen a lot of changes and I'm jes' happy them friendlies is getting some of the 'tention they've been deserving for the last century.
ReplyDeleteYer gonna see a lot of changes, young'un, and you ain't gonna like most of 'em. You gotta trust that there's people out there with a lot of money, you think just like you, and are willing to make art that you're gonna talk about way too much in the retirement home. Don't you worry none. All this talk-talk on the net don't amount to a damned thing. You'll see.
[answering 'fuck you grandpa' is an acceptable response]
Lol!
ReplyDeleteI forget how much has changed in a relatively short amount of time until it's pointed out cause I'm a moron and get focused on the negative a bit too much when it comes to this stuff and want us to be even better faster.
As an aside, I can't really see me saying 'fuck you grandpa' to you for just about anything short of attacking my wife or children. Your site is basically the only D&D site I check multiple times a day because of your insights about the game, especially when they differ from mine, because they make me think. I'm usually too busy thinking to actually comment most times though.