tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post5049521170581992460..comments2023-11-05T02:01:53.847-06:00Comments on Antagony & Ecstasy: GIRLS WITH LOW SELF ESTEEMTimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09491952893581644049noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-79691147297144950112013-04-05T15:54:30.326-05:002013-04-05T15:54:30.326-05:00Thanks for checking back in! Too bad that the samp...Thanks for checking back in! Too bad that the sample size isn't larger, but that's about what I'd have expected to hear.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09491952893581644049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-75289155586643467582013-04-05T12:26:16.421-05:002013-04-05T12:26:16.421-05:00Alright, Tim, I'm back. Here's what I foun...Alright, Tim, I'm back. Here's what I found out from my students:<br /><br />1. I asked around, and about 10 students ended up seeing the movie (there's around 80 students in my program). Out of those 10, only three of them found the movie was worth seeing while the others either walked out, complained and asked the manager for admittance into a different movie, or stuck it out until the bitter end so that they could complain to their friends about how stupid the movie was. <br /><br />2. Okay, so they all felt like the movie was different than what was being advertised. Even the students that kind of liked it, implored their friends on Twitter and Facebook not to wast their time with the movie. The students that really hated it told their friends that it was nothing like what they thought it was going to be, and that they did, indeed, feel duped. <br /><br />3. "Fucking stupid" was a phrase uttered by a few. Oh, teenagers. <br /><br />4. When I pressed them why they thought the movie was so stupid, essentially what they said was that it was nothing like the kind of movie they're used to watching. I asked if they thought that was a good thing, despite their hatred of it. They didn't know what to think of that. I tried to get them to see that maybe having a different movie experience -- love or hate the movie itself -- may not be a terrible thing. They agreed somewhat. But they mostly felt like the movie was a big 'ol ball of false advertising, promising them a time at the movies that they were denied after they had paid to see it. <br /><br />5. The students that liked didn't surprise me at all. They're always talking about movies they watch on Netflix, and they have pretty broad tastes for their age. One of them knew that it was the same director as <i>Gummo</i>. Although, when pressed, they couldn't come up with a good summation of the film or even multiple reasons why they liked it. They just know that they liked the weird trip it took them on. <br /><br />6. Something I found interesting was their reactions to James Franco's character. Having not seen the film, I don't know if the character was meant to be seen as "cool" by teenagers, but my students found him either funny, disgusting, or just plain stupid. None of them used the word "cool" to describe him. <br /><br /><br />So, the three students that liked the film seemed to somewhat get what was going on, but the others seemed to be put off immediately by how the movie was something so far away from what the studio was selling them. <br /><br />Anyway, I thought more students would have seen the film. So I only have limited data to go of. There ya have it. Kevin J. Olsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17275402809912728035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-76212480477274749382013-04-01T14:20:27.381-05:002013-04-01T14:20:27.381-05:00Excellent review. I was really hoping you would in...Excellent review. I was really hoping you would include your take on this hot mess. I find it astonishing the divide between critics who think this movie is an example of excellent, pointed satire, a scathing commentary of commercialism and sexual exploitation of youth, and those that just find it to be a shallow, empty, vapid mess. <br /><br />While I can concede it is satire, it does not justify making something so horribly reductive and pointless. Maybe it is just me, but I feel that satire is most effective when it is subtle. Subtlety is more incisive and cutting. The satire in Spring Breakers is sooooo ham-fisted and obvious. The selection of Disney princesses, the juxtaposition of the messages to grandma with shots of sexual acts and drug use, and the girls in bikinis with guns and pink ski masks. Seriously? It lacks any effort. It is just intent to throw breasts and ass in an attempt to pass as a message, I guess. Too much shock and not enough of an effort to make a point to justify so much love from so many viewers.Surly Duffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12847807145926996504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-28016570514484693072013-03-29T18:20:19.802-05:002013-03-29T18:20:19.802-05:00@ Monday,
Classic trolling. Yawn.
Anyhoo, I real...@ Monday,<br /><br />Classic trolling. Yawn.<br /><br />Anyhoo, I really dislike Korine for the reasons Tim gets into in the review about him being a pointless provocateur and his movies, while trying to push the envelope, really are hysterical moral screeds in exploitation clothing. I'm going to give this a miss. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04634087887519608773noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-63263460493364999052013-03-29T11:21:48.111-05:002013-03-29T11:21:48.111-05:00Mondays - "What a bunch of pretentious snivel...Mondays - "What a bunch of pretentious sniveling little emos you pc lefties are :) "<br /><br />Nice smiley. Are you just joshing us or something?David Greenwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03666205737413060006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-88342362599502954302013-03-29T10:34:13.096-05:002013-03-29T10:34:13.096-05:00Mondays- I am 100% sure that Harmony Korine is the...Mondays- I am 100% sure that Harmony Korine is the opposite of the sort of person you think that I think of as being a "hick". Which doesn't make <i>Spring Breakers</i> any less racist. Also, I have no idea what part of anything that anybody's said here reads as "paternalistic".Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09491952893581644049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-30796132687004040802013-03-29T10:29:15.456-05:002013-03-29T10:29:15.456-05:00Brian- Typo fixed, thanks.
I appreciate the very ...Brian- Typo fixed, thanks.<br /><br />I appreciate the very well thought-out counterpoint, but I'm just not seeing it. If Faith were the protagonist of the movie, I'd agree with a lot of what you say, but she gets ushered off so early that we're only left with three characters who have consistently been presented without any depth of characterisation at all - how far into the film is it that we're even given their names? - and I truly don't see where any of them have the same kind of spiritual growth or rejection of small-town mores that Faith expresses.<br /><br />As for the theme of using hedonism to get out of stultifying small-town life, that easily could be in there somewhere, but Korine simply doesn't do the work of establishing that their college town *is* stultifying; other than the church scene (which is clearly not meant to be representative of the other three), there's not much we see of the "normal" life. Anyway, the scene where Faith goes back on a bus reads, to me, as unambiguously the right choice, and it suggests that her town is more of a haven than a prison, and that's as close to a character arc as we get: a darkly ironic Dorothy-in-Oz journey where the characters individually learn that home was best all along.<br /><br />But I also see zero tenderness in any moment of this movie, so like you said, it's all ultimately subjective.<br /><br />Ajay- What can I say, I've had AD on the brain.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09491952893581644049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-34270590708134498912013-03-29T10:20:02.962-05:002013-03-29T10:20:02.962-05:00What a bunch of pretentious sniveling little emos ...What a bunch of pretentious sniveling little emos you pc lefties are:) <br /><br />And you're ultimately just as racist as the hicks you think you're so much better than. You just mask it by being paternalistic and patronizing. Mondayshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17791209035588887104noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-90781998337345538282013-03-29T07:13:31.595-05:002013-03-29T07:13:31.595-05:00What a deliciously appropriate tittle for this rev...What a deliciously appropriate tittle for this review.Ajayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02721558439452521638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-59714763095722081922013-03-29T05:55:23.565-05:002013-03-29T05:55:23.565-05:00yikes, i wrote a lot in response. yikes, i wrote a lot in response. Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16668934967831939609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-28146084145675953522013-03-29T05:54:37.178-05:002013-03-29T05:54:37.178-05:00Normally I'm fairly on board with your takes o...Normally I'm fairly on board with your takes on films, or at the least I'm in understanding disagreement, but I think you have near totally misread Spring Breakers.<br /><br />Korine treats his characters with almost no contempt here, and frankly I think you're projecting your own hate for their vacuousness onto what the film portrays. Franco's performance as Alien pretty much singularly dispels this idea that these are characters to be ridiculed: Al's a contentious mix of old fashioned capitalism, thuggery and genuine tenderness. He's caring and loving towards the girls, and when he says that he loves them it comes off as having genuine care for Brit and Candy. In general, Korine is interested in looking for the humanity lying under the dark edges of society. His reputation as a purveyor of shock feels like a misinterpretation of his interest in the grotesque and totally ignores the rather frank sentimentality apparent in his films, including this one.<br /><br />The superficial voiceovers given by the girls are drawn in ironic contrast to their behavior, but there's no reason to believe that this isn't their spiritual journey they talk about. They're seeking some form of meaningful existence away from their small town lives, something Korine can surely relate to, and in their hedonistic spring break pursuits they've found it. When Faith laments that she wish she could freeze time in this moment forever, it's a genuine sentiment only mocked by the other two girls who realize how fruitless it is. Spring break is an escape from the painful doldrums of small town life, and those faced with mindless repetition can easily find escape through anything exciting. Korine's depiction of spring break is that of pure excess and stimulation, how could a small town college ever compare?<br /><br />The film's racial elements are where I started to take some umbrage, in particular with the climactic action. However, as was pointed out to me, Faith's departure from Saint P is set off by the creepy white guy with dreads that isn't Franco, and her, frankly fantastic, scene with Alien takes place in a room with all Black people present. This is one area where Korine has either not thought out the implications or ignored those implications completely. It is here where the film loses me a bit, and as a result I can't fully embrace it.<br /><br />Finally, I have to approach the idea of "moral panic" as you present it. I find it <i>incredibly</i> hard to believe that someone with Korine's past, history of drug problems and friends with ODB just to start, is trying to make this a tale of moral panic. Whether or not the film functions this way is ultimately a subjective claim, but I saw both the disgust and beauty with the excess from his eye here. It seems incredibly reductive to try and make this a movie that moralizes.<br /><br />(Also you used here instead of hear in the fourth paragraph.)Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16668934967831939609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-43658059201331681962013-03-29T00:56:06.885-05:002013-03-29T00:56:06.885-05:00Will do. Will do. Kevin J. Olsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17275402809912728035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-79856649352780680232013-03-29T00:42:55.362-05:002013-03-29T00:42:55.362-05:00YOU MUST CHECK BACK IN. Or at least put something ...YOU MUST CHECK BACK IN. Or at least put something on your own blog about it. I find this film's reception endlessly fascinating.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09491952893581644049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-22408886378703507922013-03-29T00:29:26.571-05:002013-03-29T00:29:26.571-05:00I cannot wait to get back to work on Monday and he...I cannot wait to get back to work on Monday and hear my students' reactions to seeing this over spring break. I will probably waste 20 minutes of class time asking them about it, but it will be worth it to hear their reactions on what you touch on here and in your piece for Film Experience: did they feel duped. <br /><br />The day before spring break last week I heard a lot of them talking about how they couldn't wait to see it, so it will be interesting to see what they have to say about the film itself versus the film they thought they were going to see. Kevin J. Olsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17275402809912728035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-75145546850473836322013-03-29T00:15:52.052-05:002013-03-29T00:15:52.052-05:00McAlister- I still feel bad about punting on Zero ...McAlister- I still feel bad about punting on <i>Zero Dark Thirty</i> back in December, and I think I've been looking for someplace to plant my Morally Upright Progressive flag.<br /><br />I've thought about reviewing those two movies, by themselves, <i>many</i> times. A whole series of it would just make me grumpy, but I'd say at this point that if this blog and I still exist when <i>Birth of a Nation</i> turns 100, I will absolutely review it then.<br /><br />Kevin- There's this weird thing where intellectuals have to like Harmony Korine. I truly do not understand where it comes from, but it seems like the more media theory education somebody has - thus, usually, the better taste - the more they're taken with him. I find it, personally, much more aggravating than anything in the movies themselves.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09491952893581644049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-53831554901059935342013-03-28T23:49:38.666-05:002013-03-28T23:49:38.666-05:00Oh, good. All of my social media feeds have been b...Oh, good. All of my social media feeds have been brimming over with people—very smart people whose taste I generally respect—going gaga over this film. I was beginning to feel like I was taking crazy pills for thinking Spring Breakers looked like a trashy smear of pop-nihilism. This review explains exactly what I found so offputting about the whole concept, so I'm going to happily avoid this, secure in the knowledge that it would just be wasting my time.kevinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09791884010747001360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-38696477277889891452013-03-28T23:22:25.374-05:002013-03-28T23:22:25.374-05:00Great review—I am endlessly fascinated by the tens...Great review—I am endlessly fascinated by the tension between your progressive ethical values as a person and your passionately formalist ideology as an artistic critic. I would be interested in seeing you do a piece (or series of reviews) about Morally Reprehensible Cinematic Masterpieces as a broader phenomenon (e.g. Birth of a Nation and Triumph of the Will), if ever such a project struck your fancy.McAlisterGranthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02752505154375213651noreply@blogger.com