Movie Review: Tangled (with a note on Megamind)

This review is for parents worried about what messages this movie may send to our daughters and sons. As a feminist parent, I wish I could pre-screen every movie and TV show before my daughter views it, but I just can't. Thus this review is more for that purpose as opposed to whether or not it is a good movie. In otherwords, if you kid is begging you to see this movie, but scream at the thought of another princess movie, this is for you. AKA THERE WILL BE SPOILERS!


Disclaimer: I was given a sneak preview pass through Klout because I'm a Klout influencer. I was under no obligation to receive the sample or talk about this company. I get no additional benefits for talking about the product or company.

Plot: Rapunzel's mom (the Queen) is dying in child birth, saved by magic flower that Mother Gothel was hiding. The flower kept Gothel youngish for centuries. Without it she turned old. Flower was turned into a drink that saved Mom. Rapunzel was born with the power of the flower - in her hair. Gothel tried to clip some hair for the power. Alas the power only works when attached to Rapunzel AND can't be cut. Magic blond hair turns brunette after being cut. Gothel kidnaps Rapunzel. On the eve of Rapunzel's birthday, she wants to travel to see the "magic lights" that go up each year on her birthday. Gothel tells her she's too fragile & weak to be outside the tower. Selfish evil people would want to use her for her magic hair. Thief Flynn Ryder has just stolen something from the King (Rapunzel's dad) decides to hide in the tower. Rapunzel blackmails Flynn into taking her to the kingdom to see the lights. On their journey they have to keep Flynn from being caught, fall in love and all sorts of adventure.

Feminist parent analysis:

• Earlier this year word got out that Disney changed the title of the movie to "Tangled" to attract boys. I don't think that the movie was overly boy'd out. The adventure (boy parts) were similar to the chase scenes in "Aladdin." There was a lot of discussion about what this meant...I think those criticisms are fair and totally valid.
• I don't think Rapunzel is saved. She wanted to get out of that tower despite her love for Gothel. Flynn was merely her guide to freedom. Rapunzel knew nothing of the outside world. Had no idea where to go. Plus she swings a mean cast iron skillet.
• Yes, they fall in love, get married & live happily ever after. Can't get away from this ending. Although Flynn, who narrates the movie, does make it clear that they don't get married right away. 
• Flynn narrates the movie. Her story is told through his voice. 
• The mother-daughter conflict is crystal clear. Her "mom" kidnaps her and keeps her 'safe' in a tower. *gag*
• Flynn is transformed by Rapunzel's love. *gag*
• There's a throw-a-way line about Rapunzel being physically strong since she pulls up Gothel. This is proven over and over by the way Rapunzel slings her hair around like a whip, saving Flynn and herself. Not to mention her mean swinging of the cast iron skillet.     
• Can't believe I forgot this one!  Flynn dies for Rapunzel! But since I told you that they live happily ever after, Rapunzel does save him. Flynn goes to save Rapunzel from Gothel, but Gothel stabs him in the gut. As he lays dying Rapunzel goes to save him with her hair. Instead he cuts it all off, thus cutting off Gothel from her reason to want to take Rapunzel away. Rapunzel heals him with her tears. Gothel dies in a great scene.

I didn't like the songs. My favorite Disney movie is "The Little Mermaid." I felt a few of the songs were trying to be too much like TLM.

Overall is was a good movie. I cringed move over the bad songs than any gender issues. Maybe someone without love of a good Disney song can help point out issues I missed. I liked Rapunzel's Revenge better.

Apparently this is going to be Disney's last princess movie for some time. They are going to go hard after the boy market. Hopefully this means our girls can be girls again and not perpetual princesses. But parents with boys...be warned! When Disney sets its aim at a population it doesn't let go until it's been bleed dry. And while it might look cute, there's a dark underbelly.

Edited to add: We also saw "Megamind" last weekend. If I had to choose between "Tangled" and "Megamind" I would have to say "Tangled" hands down. Megamind is a total "boy" movie with super hero, villains and a damsel in distress. But the take home message in this movie is directed towards boys. On one hand, Megamind learns that he can change his evil ways and be good (good message)...in order to get the girl, Roxanne (bad message!). This is of course after Megamind's creation Titan turns bad due to greed AND being dissed by a girl. Of course it's the same woman since these types of movies only have one woman. After getting dissed, Titan kidnaps Roxanne and tries to kill her. SUPER BAD MESSAGE! While we laughed a lot at this movie, but the violence against Roxanne based on her not reciprocating Hal/Titan's love puts this movie in the "HELL NO" pile.

By the way, when showing 3D movies, the theater should make sure the glasses are clean. The kid spent almost half the movie with smudged glasses. We never go to 3D movies cause I think it's unnecessary. 2D is just fine.

Questions?

Women's History Month: Why I love Ariel & Belle

Today's Women's History Tidbit:
1990: Dr. Antonia Novello was sworn in as both the first Hispanic and woman to be U.S. surgeon general.*

When Nobel Savage tweeted that Disney was renaming and reframing the Rapunzel story in a way that "allows" more boys to enjoy it, I thought, BULLSHIT! But as I read the LA Times piece, I started to laugh:

After the less-than-fairy-tale results for its most recent animated release, "The Princess and the Frog," executives at the Burbank studio believe they know why the acclaimed movie came up short at the box office....Brace yourself: Boys didn't want to see a movie with "princess" in the title...Disney can ill afford a moniker that alienates half the potential audience, young boys, who are needed to make an expensive family film a success.

"We did not want to be put in a box," said Ed Catmull, president of Pixar and Disney Animation Studios, explaining the reason for the name change. "Some people might assume it's a fairy tale for girls when it's not. We make movies to be appreciated and loved by everybody."

My first laugh was because "AHA! Princess backlash!" Perhaps it's not just parents of boys who are keeping their girls from princess movies. Then I got serious and thought, "Shit, I hope the princess takes the fall and not the fact that it was a Black princess!" Then I laughed again at how Disney might have just marketed themselves out of money by playing the princess card over and over.

Princesses and other female protagonists helped lead the 1980s and '90s revival of the animation unit with "The Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast" and "Mulan." The difference between those releases and "Princess and the Frog" is that those earlier films weren't marketed as princess movies.

Back in the time of Ariel and Belle, I was in high school. Not the target audience, I know, but still I was a kid. What I loved about Ariel was not just that it was a telling of one my favorite fairy tales, but that Ariel was portrayed as a headstrong teen who was curious and adventurous. I prefer mermaid-Ariel to princess-Ariel any day. Then Belle came along. Oh Belle! We bonded as bookworms. Again, when I think of Belle, I think of her sitting in that mega-library with a cuppa tea and her nose in a book. Now that's my fairy tale.

Oh yes, I know all the feminist critiques of both characters and movies, but for me, I fell in love with them for other reasons. The critiques are valid mind you. But Disney...Disney, oh how I do love you! Correction: I love Disney movies, not Disney the company that seems to be playing hard ball with the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood.^ You must understand that I didn't fall in love with the princess aspect of the tale, but rather the adventurousness and the intellect of the leads. Don't scrap Rapunzel, scrap the princess-centric tale and marketing plan.

While you're at it, scrap the lazy dude theme too.

If I had a boy, I would have tweeted as I walked out of "Princess and the Frog." We don't need a movie about how a woman has to kick a guy in the ass to work. Yes, the prince is lazy and he learns otherwise, but lately the media is all about telling our boys that they are lazy, they don't work as hard and yes, a lot of us joke about it. But you, Disney, have no need to wallow in that pool. Telling tales of girls and their dreams doesn't mean that the boys in the movie can't also dream big.

Cause really, in my fairy tale, my guy and I share the same big dreams of adventure and intellectual intercourse.

^ I know it is hard to split the company from the movies from the theme park. In fact it is impossible. My heart of fond childhood memories of the Big Mouse, trips to Orlando and the movies keeps me coming back for more. But my head keeps me focused on the fight. Please read CCFC's response to the latest showdown with Disney.

*Source: This Day in History and  the National Women's Hall of Fame

Blog Action Day: Our Kids Are Turning Green - From Awearness

Originally posted at AWEARNESS

And I love it!

I have a six-year-old daughter and she's been quite the green cop for the past couple of years. It started off innocently enough when recycling was implemented in her day care. The teachers always included the kids in their activities. It really is a hoot to see 2-year-olds toddling down the hall pulling a garbage bag. So when recycling came to daycare, the kids were asked to rinse out plastic items and told why they were doing it. Soon the kid started to tell us to rinse our plastic and ask why we didn't recycle at home.*

Then came Happy Feet with its tale of overfishing. A peek at viewer comments and you see that some people thought that Happy Feet went overboard with the environmental message.

I can only imagine what they thought of Wall-E and its literal message that we're throwing Earth away as we sit on our La-Z-Boys getting fat. Last weekend my husband took our daughter to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs which has its own climate change message.

Don't think that kid's movies are the only place where they are getting the "Go Green!" message. In the past week we have read Judy Moody Saves the World and Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew - Earth Day Escapade, both obviously with green plots.

Last night as we read Nancy Drew, the mystery partly unraveled in the girls restroom when a character flushed the toilet three times, used a wad of paper towels and left the faucet running. The horror!! And for a six-year-old with a budding sense of the environmental justice it was a horror. Her face got that "OMG" look. It was pretty cute.

I know there are people out there who will complain that we are allowing schools and entertainment to brainwash our kids about climate change. But you know what? Climate change is real, it is happening and they will be the ones who will have to truly deal with the ramifications. I do worry that by teaching her so young, she'll come to me one day and ask why i didn't do more to stop it all. Keeping her ignorant might buy me a few years, but that's not how I want to raise her.

The best part of the greening of my daughter? Each time she leaves her bedroom light on, I get to say, "If you're going to be green, you need to turn off your light!" It's a twist on the old "You're wasting energy" line. She still keeps us on our greening toes by reminding us to rinse out plastic and asking if this or that is recyclable. And I really love that.

For a list of great environmental websites for kids, check out more4kids.info.

*We live in Chicago and didn't have any real home recycling programs until this past February. We did paper recycling because we had a collection site nearby, but not much for glass and plastic.

[Image: Moreforkids.info]

Movie Review: Sunshine Cleaning

WARNING: This is a chick flick.

But the good kind! So dudes, forget what I just said.

This is a movie about relationships, mostly between sisters, but also between a dad and his girls, a mom and her son and between a missing mom and the girls she left behind.

It's a chick flick in the best sense of the term.

It's also a movie about expectations...one we have for ourselves, ones we think others have for us and how we react to those.

It's hard to review this movie without giving too much away.

What I can say is that this movie made me laugh as much, if not more, than it made me cry.

The film was released in NY and LA two weeks ago then in San Diego; Phoenix; San Francisco; Seattle; Portland; Denver; Minneapolis; Chicago; Detroit; Washington, D.C; Boston; Philadelphia; Atlanta; Dallas; and Houston last weekend. It opens everywhere on March 27.

If you care about women-made movies (two women has leads, woman screenwriter and a woman director) then go see this movie. Hell, even if you don't but want to see a movie that doesn't blow everything up, go see Sunshine Cleaning.

EVENT:: Quinceanera FREE Screening

Metro would like to invite all Viva la Feminista readers to a free screening of the highly acclaimed movie Quinceanera this Monday. Click on the images for the full invite.

WHERE: Metro (3730 N. Clark Street)
WHEN: Monday, October 13, 2008
TIME: 8 PM - 12 AM
WHO: You must be 21+ to enter...sorry
RSVP: You must RSVP to enter. Click on second image for RSVP information.

Metro is thrilled to be offering a free special screening of the critically acclaimed independent movie Quinceanera. This is an wonderful movie about underage pregnancy, gay identity, gentrification, Echo Park and Latinas. VLF is currently negotiating child care, so we can't say if we'll be there or not yet. But if you do go, get there early as there is limited space. Click on the invites to learn more about the sponsors who will also be there.

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Don't forget that VLF is participating in the DonorsChoose Blogger Challenge. We already have one class funded, let's get that second one funded!

The Last Unicorn

Just because I was in the mood. Enjoy!

The Princess & the Frog

The teaser is out! What do you think?



h/t to Lauren at Feministe

Read bfp's take on the movie, who also links to others thoughts.

Mama Mia - Feminist Movie Madness?

First, I'm soooo glad that I wasn't the only person traumatized by "The Dark Knight." My husband still wants to debate it with me, but I still am unsure of how I feel. And dear goddess, why did you have to take Heath!?

Anywho, go read Sarah Seltzer's take on Mama Mia - warning - chock full of spoilers. The Mr. is a huge ABBA fan, so we'll end up seeing this...perhaps once it is a $5 movie. And I can't wait!!

Sarah Conner

Brutal Women had an awesome post about Sarah Conner & other women who kick ass. This is even more interesting in light of Joss' recent Dr. Horrible series and the lack of a strong woman. Damn...lost the link to someone's good critique. If you know of one, please leave in the comments!

I don't have much else to add...just giving ya all a good things to mull over.

Maybe I'll name my new laptop Ripley. Sarah reminds me of the girls I went to high school with and well...

Movies By Women

Are you tired of movies that treat women as accessories? That our stories aren't being told? Or just tired of year after year seeing old white dudes win the Best Director award?

Sign up for Movies By Women's weekly newsletter that let's you know when a woman directed movie opens up.

Movies By Women.com is an organization dedicated to “spreading the word” about movies directed by women. The main Movies By Women.com website includes information on historical women directors, current and past statistics on women directors, and also includes female director interviews.

They even advocate buying tickets to movies even if you can't make it - especially helped for those of us not in NYC and LA! Here is what is out and directed by women:

++ American Zombie directed by Grace Lee

++ Beyond Belief directed by Beth Murphy

++ Blindsight directed by Lucy Walker

++ Body of War directed by Ellen Spiro & Phil Donahue

++ Caramel directed by Nadine Labaki

++ The Cool School directed by Kristine McKenna & Morgan Neville

++ Dhamma Brothers directed by Jenny Phillips

++ Extra Ordinary Barry directed by Vivi Stafford

++ The Favor directed by Eva Aridjis

++ Flow directed by Irena Salina

++ Forever directed by Heddy Honigmann

++ Hats Off directed by Jyll Johnstone

++ How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer
directed by Georgina Garcia Reidel

++ I for India directed by Sandhya Suri

++ Jack and Jill vs. The World directed by Vanessa Parise

++ Jellyfish directed by Shira Geffen & Etgar Keret

++ Just Sex and Nothing Else directed by Krisztina Goda

++ Little Chenier directed by Bethany Ashton

++ Never Forever directed by Gina Kim

++ Nim's Island directed by Jennifer Flackett & Mark Levin

++ Paraguayan Hammock directed by Paz Encina

++ Persepolis directed by Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Payrounnaud

++ A Plumm Summer directed by Caroline Zelder

++ A Previous Engagement directed by Joan Carr-Wiggin

++ Refusenik directed by Laura Bialis

++ Remember the Daze directed by Jess Manafort

++ Stop-Loss directed by Kimberly Peirce

++ Then She Found Me directed by Helen Hunt

++ Under the Same Moon directed by Patricia Riggen

++ The Unforeseen directed by Laura Dunne

++ Viva directed by Anna Biller

++ Vivere directed by Angelina Maccarone

++ A Walk into the Sea directed by Esther Robinson

++ War Made Easy directed by Loretta Alper & Jeremy Earp

++ Water directed by Saida Medvedeva

++ Water Lilies directed by Celine Sciamma

++ XXY directed by Lucia Puenzo

++ Young and Restless in China directed by Sue Williams

Latin@s in Hollywood - Bad & Good

When I first saw the trailer for Beverly Hills Chihuahua, I was floored and fearful. I was floored because of the total racist portrayal that I felt was on display. Aztec chihuahuas? For reals? I was fearful because my daughter is obsessed with chihuahauas. If she sees this trailer, she's gonna want to see it and well, I'm not.

So I was very happy to see Latinitasoyme rip the trailer apart with both a Latin@ and a gender viewpoint:

Not to mention the perpetration of male domination from having the leading characters in these films being males (What about all the Disney Princesses? What kind of portrayal of women is being displayed? Just think about that.) As well as having Papi, the Chihuahua, being in the forefront of the film's poster rather than Chloe, the Chihuahua, who the plot is said to surround.

For some better reading on Latinas in Hollywood, the Chicago Sun-times has a cute profile on America Ferrera (my girl crush) because she's got two movies this summer. Movies by Women alerted me to the fact that America's first movie this summer, How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer, is directed by a woman. It's too late for all of us to run out for opening weekend, but sign up for their alerts so you'll be able to support women-lead movies in the future. And go see Garcia Girls...it looks good!

Technorati tags: Latina, Hollywood, movies, America Ferrera

I wanted to be Pat Benatar....I think she wants to be Natalie Maines

I'm a child of the '80s and thus grew up in the hey day of MTV. You know, when they actually showed music videos and the non-music shows were related to music (Remote Control 4EVER). So I logged more than my fair of time watching, acting out music videos and yes one of my favorites is "Love is a Battlefield."A few years ago I heard of a new summer camp for girls - Girls Rock! How freakin' kewl is that? One week learning the ins and outs of an instrument, writing music, and forming your own band? Hell yes! Can I be 10 again?

So when I received an email about a Girls Rock! movie, I was so all over it. Watch it. I'll wait for ya...

Yeah, now you want to be 10 again too, eh?

I have to admit that I cried like a baby watching the trailer.

While I grew up post-Title IX, it was also pre-Girl Power. I hung out with the boys during recess because I liked playing sports, I liked getting dirty and honestly kicking their butt (seriously, no matter how many times I would tackle them, they still thought they could take me). I rejected all things pink, hated wearing skirts, and fought the nail polish & make-up thing all through grammar school. I lived in a place and time where a girl needed to choose. Tomboy or girly girl. Skirts or jeans. To see girls today, especially my 4 1/2 daughter, float effortlessly between rugged grrrrl and pretty princess, well, it is pretty overwhelming for me. To see them rock out and find and USE their voice as seen in the trailer, you get a big pile of ooze that was me. Joan Jett, Pat Benatar, Heart, and Lita Ford were the rockers I wanted to be. Oh, yeah, and Leather Tuscadero.

My daughter is more interested in soccer and dance class (see, I didn't think you could balance those two in my day!) right now, but I'm pretty sure that by the time she is 9, she's gonna want to attend camp. She already does a good air guitar and air fiddle & banjo to the Dixie Chicks.

There is a Girls Rock! camp in Chicago, but doesn't seem to be affiliated with the Girls Rock! from the movie. But hey, we're in Chicago and we gotta rock with it. If your girl will be nine by the summer, check 'em out. They take girls on a sliding scale, so don't fret if your fave punk rock girl isn't flush with cash. If you are, you can donate to the cause.

H/T to Kim at Hormone Colored Days & Momformation for sending me the trailer link!

Technorati tags: Pat Benatar, Natalie Maines, rock & roll, guitar, Girls Rock!, movie, feminism

Update on Who Owns Jane?

Way back in August I blogged about a lawsuit between Geena Davis and Dads & Daughters about the ownership of See Jane. Well they have settled the lawsuit and on my birthday! woot! Here is a snippet of the press release:

OSCAR®-winning actress and producer Geena Davis and the charitable organization Dads & Daughters (DADs) today formally announced the transition of the SEE JANE™ program from the Minnesota-based DADs to a new life as an independent, Los Angeles-based nonprofit. In order to have more direct influence in Hollywood, See Jane will now be part of Community Partners, the Los Angeles incubator for growing nonprofit organizations and social entrepreneurs with innovative ideas for building communities.

Ms. Davis and DADs have previously been engaged in litigation over See Jane. However, Ms. Davis has recently withdrawn that litigation and retracted all claims against DADs as well as its President Joe Kelly and former Executive Director Nancy Gruver. Davis said, “I am very grateful for what DADs, Nancy and Joe have done for the See Jane program in bringing it to life, and I have great respect for the integrity and skill of their work.” Davis continued, “This is an exciting and strategic development for See Jane, and I will do everything I can to make See Jane reach its full potential as an independent nonprofit organization.”

Glad that this is settled and both parties can get back to being their kick ass selves.

Technorati tags: feminist, Dads and Daughters, Geena Davis, See Jane, movies

Blog for Choice Day 2008

Is it any different a day at Viva La Feminista? Nope. Just as the other 365 days of this year, we'll talk about freedom, justice, and abortion. But in honor of the 35th anniversary of the Roe decision, I finally saw "Juno" and in time to celebrate Ellen Page's Oscar nod and the picture's nomination for movie of the year.

A lot has been blogged about, op-ed'd about, and talked about this movie and whether or not is is pro-choice, anti-choice, or a very flawed fairy tale. Now that I finally saw the most talked about movie this season, I can weight in.

I think most of you are wrong. Spoilers ahead!

1. Yes, Juno chose to carry her pregnancy to term. This does not mean that she (or Diablo) made some pro-life statement. She was a scared kid in a clinic alone and the only information she seemed to listen to was a fellow classmate's note about finger nails. Which show up around 16 weeks not the 10-12 weeks Juno was at the time of her abortion appointment. I think that scene showed a scared kid, plain and simple. Her friend, Leah, talked nonchalantly about another friend's abortion during their phone call. But at the bottom of this scene is the idea, myth, that if you are pro-choice, you show an abortion. I know, I know, I wish more movies showed then as often as a miscarriage, but let's not get all pro-abortion just to be pro-choice.
   
2. The abortion clinic's receptionist wasn't any more rude than I've seen at the local ER or my doctor's office. Sure, I don't see pierced women at those places nor do they tell me about their blueberry pie boyfriend parts, but to compare the office to a tattoo parlor? Come on now. I've been in a few (no tats, yet) and they are far more friendly & clean than the office shown. Think brighter lights folks.
   
3. As someone who volunteered in a Planned Parenthood clinic, I know if any of the receptionists or myself welcomed a patient in that manner, we'd be out on our butts. Diablo Cody might had been going for quirky, instead she did women's health clinics a huge disservice.
   
4. The idea that this movie is pro-life is such an indictment on the conservative movement. Again, they close their eyes & ears to the rest of the movie and focus ONLY on the fact that Juno carried the pregnancy to term. They ignored Juno's step-moms' ripping of the ultrasound tech (score point for teenage moms), the teacher-lust exhibited by Leah, and the fact that Vanessa ends up a single mom when Mark leaves her and their expected baby. This movie would not be in my list of pro-life movies if I were running the other side.
   

As to the idea that this is a fairy tale. It think in some ways it is. But it also minimizes the bounce back of teenagers. Did we want a movie where Juno is depressed for years because she gave up her baby for adoption? Do we want her to suffer in some way? Why can't she be happy with her closed adoption and move on with her life? I've said it many times, I could never give up a baby for adoption, but if I did, it would be so closed, I might change my name. I'm just not strong enough to handle my child walking back into my life 15-30 years later. Selfish? Sure. I've seen teenage moms hand off their kids to their moms to raise and hit the club a few weeks later, checking in only to play mom for a few moments. Is this how we wanted Juno to end? I've also seen teenage moms who turn out to be some awesome moms.

In the end, it was fairy tale-ish that she figures out that she was in love with her boyfriend. But remember that his mom hated her. I know how that feels, what the looks like, and it ain't a fairy tale.

As we go out and celebrate 35 years of Roe, remember that what she stands for is that ideally we should all be able to choose to be a mom, relinquish a child, or terminate a pregnancy. In my head, it's all pro-choice...as long as it is done with full knowledge, support, and the economics that backs it all up.

Technorati tags: Blog for Choice, pro-choice, Roe v. Wade, abortion, reproductive justice