SeekerofJoy

Re: shower scene, I think instead of hysterical, you can say traumatized. It’s a natural response to getting publicly assaulted.

Re: Google Play $ You might talk to teachers, or parents of school kids. Lots of schools are strapped for cash. Maybe a teacher could use some of the money on educational films or something.

I think this character raises interesting questions. Has he fully internalized society’s racism? Is he saying one thing to white plantation owners—but possibly saying something else to his friends and family? Is he perhaps like a recovering abuse survivor who may change his views over time? Obviously, the film does not intend to raise these questions. But to me, it invites comparison to all the ways someone might identify with their abuser / oppressor. Or, at least, act as if they do.

I have to admit, I really wrestle with this film. I understand why people might hate it, yet I kinda still love it. I think Amy over-defends it. But I understand where she’s coming from. Yeah, the film criticizing the rush to war — but mostly for pragmatic reasons. As Rhett says, the South is simply not well equipped. Aside from that, the film obviously romanticizes the antebellum South. The film is absolutely from the POV of a spoiled rich Southern white woman. Rhett and Scarlett are a couple of narcissists. You can see the film as an extension of that narcissism — both portraying it and exemplifying it. The film’s pro-confederate rhetoric echoes the main characters’ self-centeredness. GWTW isn’t really about the Civil War though. The protagonists don’t even care about the war. Scarlett just wants to dance and flirt. Rhett — for the most part— only cares about saving his own skin. Rhett and Scarlett ultimately represent the unheroic, narcissistic, pleasure-seeking side of America. America First, can’t find other countries on a map, speak English! Rather watch Avengers than watch the news? Yup, that’s America too. This is America’s shadow side. We can embrace it, challenge it, and engage with it — but we can’t just repress it and pretend it isn’t there.

Absolutely. I can enjoy films about movie star and gunslingers, but I don’t always see myself in those films. This film quietly honors all the bookkeepers and secretaries and people who spend their days typing at a keyboard and poring through documents. After eight hours of staring at a screen, transferring documents from this email to that database, over and over again...it’s kind of nice to see people like me, represented onscreen. It’s like, you don’t have to be a rockstar for your life to have meaning and purpose.

I think people are judging this film as a story—when really it’s a tale. That’s a bit like criticizing a poem for not being a novel. Here’s an article that explains the difference: http://soulofyourstory.org/the-difference-between-a-story-and-a-tale/ “Observing a ‘tale’ is like watching someone float downstream with no specific goal, carried at the whim of the river currents....” I think that explains why the main character can seem passive or underwritten. She’s not meant to have the complexity or agency of a story character. She’s meant to appeal to more primitive, childlike emotions. If you think about it, children don’t have a lot of agency in their own lives. They live at the mercy of other people’s choices. I’m not saying it’s a perfect film. I just think maybe we need to look at it through a different lens.

Sorry, I picked the wrong icon, thinking it was a smiley face. I like Cinderella too.

My kid just pointed out that Jack Frost looks a lot like live action Cat in the Hat.

Maybe the skull on Potter’s desk alludes to memento mori, latin for “remember death.” Medieval Christian artists often used skulls and skeletons to remind viewers of their mortality. These symbols prompted viewers to turn away from worldly things, and live a life deserving of heaven. In the film, Henry Potter grasps at worldly possessions, while George Bailey attracts some heavenly assistance. Sure, Potter appears to succeed in this life. But where will he go in the afterlife? Maybe we don’t need to see him punished onscreen. We just trust that Old Man Potter will meet his maker soon. I’m not sure if the filmmakers intended this interpretation, but it appears to fit the underlying themes. P.S, I just read about another symbol of death: a flower losing its petals. Didn’t his daughter complain about this? https://en.m.wikipedia.torg/wiki/Memento_mori