tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post6081469326470104488..comments2024-03-05T21:05:36.848-05:00Comments on CommentaramaFilms: The Feminism of Ghosts of MarsAndrewPricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-41578629320869333782016-08-27T20:47:52.188-04:002016-08-27T20:47:52.188-04:00Turds, yes. Mold...eh.
The Others was decent. Nic...Turds, yes. Mold...eh.<br /><br />The Others was decent. Nice twist. Generally speaking, I'm going to have some issues with ghost stories due to my theological views on the afterlife, but that movie was good for what it was.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-42992806348418128192016-08-27T00:00:36.341-04:002016-08-27T00:00:36.341-04:00When I first watched this film, in the cinema, I w...When I first watched this film, in the cinema, I was surprised at the approaching-Hellraiser level of nastiness re the body piercing and mutilation perpetrated by the Martians.<br /><br />It was also painfully obviously a Western, I just couldn't really place which one.<br /><br />Ice whoever saying "the only difference between you and me is that you have The Woman backing up your bullshit" is the full extent of the coherence of its feminism.<br /><br />It also features one of the all time classic acting moments where Revenge of the Nerds alumni bit player in this film says "the WAY youlikeyourcoffee" - a Shatneresque attempt to make the most of one line. :)<br /><br />I like the premise, I like the nastiness of the Martians, I appreciate the effort to make a (typically false color red) Mars that seems like a real place.<br /><br />It's a zombie western basically.<br /><br />On the making-of / behind the scenes it's obvious Carpenter is absolutely pissed off 24/7, snarling at the videographers, yelling at the extras and generally being an ogre.<br /><br />On the commentary with Henstridge (who had her husband cast as one of the cops) he is extremely complimentary of her but there is none of the warmth you hear in the Big Trouble commentary with his amigo and compadre Russell.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04355521785297533930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-91544098872141994582016-08-26T08:56:21.965-04:002016-08-26T08:56:21.965-04:00Anon, Sometimes the turds make the best discussion...Anon, Sometimes the turds make the best discussions.<br /><br />You should give <i>The Others</i> a try. It's different and really good. Kind of like <i>The Sixth Sense</i> in that it's a puzzle.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-88990360490566064682016-08-26T04:34:13.943-04:002016-08-26T04:34:13.943-04:00Thanks for the thoughts...but it's kind of lik...Thanks for the thoughts...but it's kind of like criticizing a turd burger for its moldy bun.<br /><br />Ultimately, I hate horror films that are just an exercise in futility (e.g., The Ring, The Grudge, Night of the Living Dead). Give me my money & 2 hours of my life back.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-50074312350217649122016-08-25T14:16:29.696-04:002016-08-25T14:16:29.696-04:00Scott, If we knew nothing of Carpenter's views...Scott, If we knew nothing of Carpenter's views, I would assume that the film was either (1) done exactly as I say, i.e. premised on the idea of a feminist world but the director had no idea how to represent that except for a handful of lines of dialog and casting women in the leadership roles, which lines reveal how confused he was, or (2) that this was essentially the director's attempt to make a science fiction S&M/Female Domination fantasy but almost all of those scenes ended up on the cutting room floor when the producers saw the mess he created.<br /><br />I would not assume he was making the point that women can be just as bad as men. That doesn't come across as his intent at all.<br /><br />To give you a sense of how poorly this film was done, the last two lines in the film have Ice Cube breaking the blonde chick out of jail and telling her that the ghosts have arrived in the main city. He says, "Let's go kick some ass." She responds, "That's what we do best." Only, they got their asses kicked. They did not win, they only escaped. Moreover, they learned they can't kill the ghosts. So basically, those two lines nullified the whole prior adventure. That's how poorly this thing is written.<br /><br />I like <i>They Live</i> a lot, despite its politics.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-92010475843791265102016-08-25T14:08:46.776-04:002016-08-25T14:08:46.776-04:00tryanmax, I think that's absolutely right. Li...tryanmax, I think that's absolutely right. Liberals make films using conservative ideas because those are the human default and then they try to make them appear liberal by tinkering with the facade. Carpenter does this a lot.<br /><br />A great example is <i>Escape from LA</i>... a putrid followup to <i>Escape from New York</i>. The villain in this film is an evil "right wing" religious nut president who has taken over the US and turned LA into a sort of prison. His daughter has disappeared into LA and the president forces Snake Pliskin to go save her.<br /><br />Anyways, here is what makes the villain a villain: he wants to force everyone to conform to his view of behavior (could be Religious Right, but as we have noted, they fit on the socialist left), and that behavior involves banning the eating of meat, banning smoking, and banning guns and a few more things.<br /><br />So his views are socialist conformist combined with a strong dose of the current leftist PC culture, combined with the leftist hate of meat, smoking and guns. Yet, he's "right wing" because he's religious, even though he doesn't actually act like any known religion would dictate.<br /><br />Typical.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-48819986865645751892016-08-25T13:48:03.935-04:002016-08-25T13:48:03.935-04:00If Carpenter's politics were unknown, Hollywoi...If Carpenter's politics were unknown, Hollywoid's political atmosphere would still be inferred. Carpenter just happens to be an exemplar. tryanmaxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09881154741574720094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-16249800286354014902016-08-25T13:39:12.979-04:002016-08-25T13:39:12.979-04:00I've never seen this film but I have to ask......I've never seen this film but I have to ask... if Carpenter's politics were unknown, or if another filmmaker had made this film, what conclusions would you draw?<br /><br />The vibe I got from reading this was, "Oh, he's making the point that men and women are equal... i.e. women can be slobs and assholes, too!"<br /><br />Speaking of Carpenter, I finally FINALLY watched <i>They Live</i> for the first time. Not exactly subtle, but it is a silly, fun movie and it's easy to see why it's become a cult classic. :-)<br /><br />Also, Scream! Factory is releasing a new Blu-Ray of <i>The Thing</i> in a couple months. It <a href="https://www.shoutfactory.com/film/film-horror/the-thing-collector-s-edition" rel="nofollow">appears</a> to be one of the most comprehensive, jam-packed-full-of-extras release of a movie I have ever seen.ScottDShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09619078842202925064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-41204081906590504002016-08-24T12:37:07.580-04:002016-08-24T12:37:07.580-04:00I think I caught this on cable at some point. Didn...I think I caught this on cable at some point. Didn't leave an impression on me and I probably missed large chunks of it. <br /><br />To your larger point about liberal filmmakers basically slapping a liberal sticker on conservative plots and characters, absolutely. I think that's why you see, time and time again, conservatives flocking to certain films, raving about the conservative undertones, and speculating about an ideological shift in Hollywood, only for things to never change. tryanmaxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09881154741574720094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-70439585320130348712016-08-24T09:59:15.002-04:002016-08-24T09:59:15.002-04:00Anthony, I'm a big fan of Carpenter actually, ...Anthony, I'm a big fan of Carpenter actually, but this one is a turd. It's just a mess from start to finish and halfway through it's like Carpenter just gives up and hands the whole thing over to a running gun fight.<br /><br />I think the matriarchy could have worked, but I don't think they gave it any thought. There is literally nothing in the feminism that couldn't be undone by just dropping two lines of dialog and then no one would ever know of their intent.<br /><br />The not-Native American villains felt entirely like stock villains to me, but so did everything else about the film.<br /><br />Yeah, Grier certainly did her best to drive a stake through her career.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-557007900054507802016-08-24T04:39:11.726-04:002016-08-24T04:39:11.726-04:00The movie was written around Ice Cube, who was kin...The movie was written around Ice Cube, who was kind of a standard Carpenter badass. The hot blonde with whom he shared billing was only picked after every other woman in Hollywood turned down the role.<br /><br />I thought the dystopian matriarchy and murderous not Native Americans villains could have worked.<br /><br />Unfortunately everything about the movie (action, the characters, the plot, the setting and the cinematography) sucked. <br /><br />I was never a big Carpenter fan but watching some of his older films I could kind of get why he was a cult icon. Ghosts was just a mess.<br /><br />Pam Grier, the other cult hero in this film, effectively double tapped her film career (briefly resurrected by Tarantino) with this and Pluto Nash though she had better luck on the small screen.Anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16124128949343301445noreply@blogger.com