Things We Still Don't Understand About Sucker Punch
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Date: 2020-11-13
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Comments and reviews: 10
Sanford
It is a very layered movie about female empowerment and their power that is exhibited in ways men cannot match. There are many who have explained what the movie was actually about (story from SweetPea s POV) and there are threads of how the four who died (I consider BabyDoll as dying) are just constructs within SweetPea s mind.
I take a different thread - which you allude to here: Snyder wanted to make a movie in the vein of Heavy Metal. The original HM movie was a crazy animated character of a film that spoke to the fantastical, but did not draw people in with the kind of imagery that Snyder wanted to bring. The story was always about the fantasy set pieces) and unlike other exploitative movies, his film presented the female protagonists and other characters in their preferred manner. My favourite snippet regarding this was when the actress who plays Rocket answered an interviewers question about the fantasy scenes and the outfits. Her answer was along the lines of Umm what are you talking about? Who wouldn t want to be in those bad-ass costumes fighting? Do you think we would be wearing bathrobes and slippers while shooting guns?
It is a complex movie that many take as exploitative - and many will say should not exist because of the way the female characters are portrayed. I believe Snyder was experimenting and, like 80s movies treating women badly, it is a product of its time. But I would challenge others with this thought: if you were doing D&D or some other fantasy fighting, what would you be wearing? What would you WANT to wear? A big onesie like Superman? Or an outfit like Batman? Look at how the Amazonians dressed in Wonder Woman. See anything different?
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It is a very layered movie about female empowerment and their power that is exhibited in ways men cannot match. There are many who have explained what the movie was actually about (story from SweetPea s POV) and there are threads of how the four who died (I consider BabyDoll as dying) are just constructs within SweetPea s mind.
I take a different thread - which you allude to here: Snyder wanted to make a movie in the vein of Heavy Metal. The original HM movie was a crazy animated character of a film that spoke to the fantastical, but did not draw people in with the kind of imagery that Snyder wanted to bring. The story was always about the fantasy set pieces) and unlike other exploitative movies, his film presented the female protagonists and other characters in their preferred manner. My favourite snippet regarding this was when the actress who plays Rocket answered an interviewers question about the fantasy scenes and the outfits. Her answer was along the lines of Umm what are you talking about? Who wouldn t want to be in those bad-ass costumes fighting? Do you think we would be wearing bathrobes and slippers while shooting guns?
It is a complex movie that many take as exploitative - and many will say should not exist because of the way the female characters are portrayed. I believe Snyder was experimenting and, like 80s movies treating women badly, it is a product of its time. But I would challenge others with this thought: if you were doing D&D or some other fantasy fighting, what would you be wearing? What would you WANT to wear? A big onesie like Superman? Or an outfit like Batman? Look at how the Amazonians dressed in Wonder Woman. See anything different?
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Pat
They weren't Babydoll's fantasy, they were Sweet Pea's the whole time. The dirty, grey, depressing mental asylum. that's reality, Babydoll never leaves there mentally. The rest is all Sweet Pea's delusion. When they're dancers in a brothel. that's how Sweet Pea is mentally projecting the mental asylum on a day-to-day basis. Those fantastical action sequences? That's the sucker punch because the reality is that's when she's being forcibly raped by either the staff or it's clients. So her mind escapes to these crazy adventures where the women are actually strong and in charge. It's also these episodes where Babydoll and the others are gathering the supplies they need to attempt an escape.
The thing is, Babydoll never expected to escape herself, she just wanted to free the other girls. She willingly lets herself be lobotomized to forget accidentally murdering her sister. That's why this was always Sweet Pea's story, the majority of the movie is from her perspective the entire time. The movie is actually way darker than most people realize.
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They weren't Babydoll's fantasy, they were Sweet Pea's the whole time. The dirty, grey, depressing mental asylum. that's reality, Babydoll never leaves there mentally. The rest is all Sweet Pea's delusion. When they're dancers in a brothel. that's how Sweet Pea is mentally projecting the mental asylum on a day-to-day basis. Those fantastical action sequences? That's the sucker punch because the reality is that's when she's being forcibly raped by either the staff or it's clients. So her mind escapes to these crazy adventures where the women are actually strong and in charge. It's also these episodes where Babydoll and the others are gathering the supplies they need to attempt an escape.
The thing is, Babydoll never expected to escape herself, she just wanted to free the other girls. She willingly lets herself be lobotomized to forget accidentally murdering her sister. That's why this was always Sweet Pea's story, the majority of the movie is from her perspective the entire time. The movie is actually way darker than most people realize.
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Nerdarella
It's important to understand symbolism in this film. The reason the brothel reality exists is because that's how the guards treat the girls - like prostitutes. It's basing itself off the saying 'treat this place like a brothel', that's exactly how the guards are treating the asylum, like their own pleasure house. As for the female characters being 'shallow' I think this is deliberate because again that's how they are seen by the guards, they don't have personalities to them, they are just objects, just barbie dolls to be played with. As for the action scenes, this film is heavily influenced by Japanese anime which notoriously flicks between realities - kill bill does the same thing. I personally love this film, I think it gets a bad review because people misunderstand the meanings of the realities, it is a way darker film than people give it credit for and dare I say a very clever depiction of abuse.
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It's important to understand symbolism in this film. The reason the brothel reality exists is because that's how the guards treat the girls - like prostitutes. It's basing itself off the saying 'treat this place like a brothel', that's exactly how the guards are treating the asylum, like their own pleasure house. As for the female characters being 'shallow' I think this is deliberate because again that's how they are seen by the guards, they don't have personalities to them, they are just objects, just barbie dolls to be played with. As for the action scenes, this film is heavily influenced by Japanese anime which notoriously flicks between realities - kill bill does the same thing. I personally love this film, I think it gets a bad review because people misunderstand the meanings of the realities, it is a way darker film than people give it credit for and dare I say a very clever depiction of abuse.
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cranshawmccaw
I think the nightclub is a representation of how she would see / explain what the asylum was like. The orderly was a pimp. The psychiatrist was just there to train them to be presentable to the public, sort of what the Joker said in one scene about people expecting mental patients to act normally. The Doctor was just there to collect the money.
The fantasy part only had the hint of what actually happened. Not sure if they missed the dragon on the lighter in this video, but to me it was about gaining control over the source of the fire in that example. The ending summarized it, but I think it makes more sense if you think about the power you feel as you complete each objective. They did have correlations from the real world.
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I think the nightclub is a representation of how she would see / explain what the asylum was like. The orderly was a pimp. The psychiatrist was just there to train them to be presentable to the public, sort of what the Joker said in one scene about people expecting mental patients to act normally. The Doctor was just there to collect the money.
The fantasy part only had the hint of what actually happened. Not sure if they missed the dragon on the lighter in this video, but to me it was about gaining control over the source of the fire in that example. The ending summarized it, but I think it makes more sense if you think about the power you feel as you complete each objective. They did have correlations from the real world.
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James
Perhaps the brothel reality corresponds to actions they take in the real world to moderate the worst excesses of the staff and the mental glamour they dress them up in to help them survive day to day and stay sane.
Another way to watch this movie is to look at all three phases not as real or not real, which isn't the most important thing. Maybe the phases work together and have equal value in the fight to survive. I was abused as a kid, so maybe it's easier for me to see it that way. To me, it looks like your agenda might be skewing what you are seeing in the movie in a heavy-handed (heh) way. But maybe it's good that you and most people don't have to understand and practice how to dissociate to survive.
I love this movie.
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Perhaps the brothel reality corresponds to actions they take in the real world to moderate the worst excesses of the staff and the mental glamour they dress them up in to help them survive day to day and stay sane.
Another way to watch this movie is to look at all three phases not as real or not real, which isn't the most important thing. Maybe the phases work together and have equal value in the fight to survive. I was abused as a kid, so maybe it's easier for me to see it that way. To me, it looks like your agenda might be skewing what you are seeing in the movie in a heavy-handed (heh) way. But maybe it's good that you and most people don't have to understand and practice how to dissociate to survive.
I love this movie.
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FaceKick17
The real reason is very sad. Baby Doll was already lobotomized from the moment she was in the asylum. She has Ptsd so the asylum footage is from the past or another delusion of reality. The club is what she feels like current reality is when she is going about her day as a lobotomized patient simply standing up, sitting down and doing nothing. The fantastical sequences are when she is being r ped as an already lobotomized patient. The entire theme is about a young woman being used, being full of life and having society completely destroy her but she retains her fighting soul. Vote this up so other people can understand. Thanks and take care.
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The real reason is very sad. Baby Doll was already lobotomized from the moment she was in the asylum. She has Ptsd so the asylum footage is from the past or another delusion of reality. The club is what she feels like current reality is when she is going about her day as a lobotomized patient simply standing up, sitting down and doing nothing. The fantastical sequences are when she is being r ped as an already lobotomized patient. The entire theme is about a young woman being used, being full of life and having society completely destroy her but she retains her fighting soul. Vote this up so other people can understand. Thanks and take care.
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Tracy
I like the film. It was not a miss as most of this critic eludes to. I thought that it was dark and that anyone that had experienced any of these horrors in the film would not like it. But after talking to someone that is in this demographic (larger demographic than most want to admit, They said that it speaks to them in ways of empowerment and it makes sense in ways that someone who is fortunate not to go through any of the horrors would understand. The point being if you do not understand the film then maybe just take it at face value and move on, don't try to put a label on what you can't explain because it is not for you.
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I like the film. It was not a miss as most of this critic eludes to. I thought that it was dark and that anyone that had experienced any of these horrors in the film would not like it. But after talking to someone that is in this demographic (larger demographic than most want to admit, They said that it speaks to them in ways of empowerment and it makes sense in ways that someone who is fortunate not to go through any of the horrors would understand. The point being if you do not understand the film then maybe just take it at face value and move on, don't try to put a label on what you can't explain because it is not for you.
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Tobi
1: 50, because the Brothel isn't any level of fantasy, both the Asylum and the Brothel are both in reality, both could have probably even been in her mind, as she creates a fake memory in her mind that her sister died saving to get away from the pain and guilt of killing her sister, 3: 51, that's because as sweet pea said to Baby doll, All that gyrating and moaning, A dance should be about more than titillation. Mine is personal, it says who I am. What the heck does yours say? on her first dance, baby dolls dances are random and flamboyant without meaning, hence why her fantasies tend to have the same style as her dance
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1: 50, because the Brothel isn't any level of fantasy, both the Asylum and the Brothel are both in reality, both could have probably even been in her mind, as she creates a fake memory in her mind that her sister died saving to get away from the pain and guilt of killing her sister, 3: 51, that's because as sweet pea said to Baby doll, All that gyrating and moaning, A dance should be about more than titillation. Mine is personal, it says who I am. What the heck does yours say? on her first dance, baby dolls dances are random and flamboyant without meaning, hence why her fantasies tend to have the same style as her dance
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Reckless
I can understand this tho simply because I do have a slight mental issue and I too have 3 worlds. Being that the real world takes a toll on me with all my complications. My reality gets bad sometimes to the point my mind drifts off into the other 2 worlds. One where I m living all my dreams and everything is good but the other is full of traumatic experiences that are not too realistic just to take focus off actual pain but that world also helps me write scenarios for skits and potentially movies one day. So I can understand this to the fullest
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I can understand this tho simply because I do have a slight mental issue and I too have 3 worlds. Being that the real world takes a toll on me with all my complications. My reality gets bad sometimes to the point my mind drifts off into the other 2 worlds. One where I m living all my dreams and everything is good but the other is full of traumatic experiences that are not too realistic just to take focus off actual pain but that world also helps me write scenarios for skits and potentially movies one day. So I can understand this to the fullest
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e2ginfinity
In Baby Doll's asylum reality, Blue as an orderly has constant interaction and control of the girls day to day life and is pimping out the girls underneath Gorski's nose, that is why he is represented as a powerful mob boss in the second reality (the brothel/club. I think Gorski is represented as working for Blue in the second reality, because in the asylum reality she is simply a doctor doing her job, who thinks she is doing whats right or somehow helping them.
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In Baby Doll's asylum reality, Blue as an orderly has constant interaction and control of the girls day to day life and is pimping out the girls underneath Gorski's nose, that is why he is represented as a powerful mob boss in the second reality (the brothel/club. I think Gorski is represented as working for Blue in the second reality, because in the asylum reality she is simply a doctor doing her job, who thinks she is doing whats right or somehow helping them.
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