This has been bugging me.
I frequent Shakespeare's Sister, a progressive feminist blog partially because I've met a fair number of the contributors to the site (thank you B-Fest) and second because it's a pretty awesome sight full of commentary I agree with, by and large. It's one of those places where you can build a community, even though the site has gotten a lot more caddy as of late, and I find myself taking it from the "everyday" list and putting it on the "whenever I get there" list.
I read something on the site that pissed me off a bit, but I can't explain why they're argument is wrong. Maybe that's what's pissing me off - I don't like what's said but can't reconcile it to fit my own beliefs. Here's the quandary:
Editor Melissa McEwan heaped some hate on "Kung-Fu" Panda:
"My second reaction is that this movie also appears to be one long fun-filled adventure in fat hating. Ha ha—the fat panda can't climb the stairs without getting winded. Ha ha—the fat panda is so inflexible and graceless. Ha ha—the fat panda is fat!"
I saw the flick on Friday and absolutely loved it, over the top loved it. From a film geek perspective, it kills because it's to marijuana to the Shaw Brothers Kung Fu flicks is to crack cocaine, in other words a beautiful child appropriate and wonderment filled flick that happens to kick unholy kung-fu ass in a number of ways. The kung-fu is great, if animated and the beats are all classic kung-fu. Hell, Jackie Chan voices the monkey. How much cooler can you get.
I'm also not a big fan of the argument that overweight people (myself included) are widely discriminated against. I agree that the media pushes unrealistic body types and I agree that everyone is pressured to look a certain way to an unhealthy degree and I agree that girls are victimized to a criminal degree by this society's version of beauty and we should all do what we can to fight body image issues wide and small.
But. The central argument among many folks (whom I like and respect) like Melissa and Kate Harding (who's a hell of a writer) is that this media image of beauty and the way it manifests itself constitutes discrimination along the lines of race or sex. We need to not only fight the media on body image issues, but make people aware of the discrimination that the overweight endure. I'm not shut off to this argument, but at this point in my own personal evolution, it seems a bit extreme to contrast weight with gender or ethnicity, even though the symptoms are almost the same. Like I said, my mind's not shut off to the idea, but I'm simply not there.
The diatribe against Kung-Fu Panda gets under my skin, though, because it's a very good natured kids movie and a hell of a lot of fun on just about every other level. It's easily Dreamworks best flick to date and I had an absolute blast at the flick. I'll write a review later, if I get around to it.
Yet, I don't necessarily disagree that the flick makes fun of fat people. Even though the morale is really enlightened (you can't change what you are, but you can shape how you are nurtured), and rooted in eastern mysticism, you cannot get around the fact that the fat jokes are a touch mean spirited. Yet, when watching it, it didn't register with me or the full theater guffawing at the humor and beauty of the film.
Like I said, I have a weak argument because I can't reconcile this issue other to say that the film worked from the first minute to the last and I wouldn't have given this issue another thought had it not been for the post on Shakespeares Sister. And, I would have brought it up there, but the forum community doesn't take kindly to those who disagree with them (or who support Obama, by and large).
If someone can reconcile this without going "what a dumb argument, enjoy the flick," I'd love to hear it.
I frequent Shakespeare's Sister, a progressive feminist blog partially because I've met a fair number of the contributors to the site (thank you B-Fest) and second because it's a pretty awesome sight full of commentary I agree with, by and large. It's one of those places where you can build a community, even though the site has gotten a lot more caddy as of late, and I find myself taking it from the "everyday" list and putting it on the "whenever I get there" list.
I read something on the site that pissed me off a bit, but I can't explain why they're argument is wrong. Maybe that's what's pissing me off - I don't like what's said but can't reconcile it to fit my own beliefs. Here's the quandary:
Editor Melissa McEwan heaped some hate on "Kung-Fu" Panda:
"My second reaction is that this movie also appears to be one long fun-filled adventure in fat hating. Ha ha—the fat panda can't climb the stairs without getting winded. Ha ha—the fat panda is so inflexible and graceless. Ha ha—the fat panda is fat!"
I saw the flick on Friday and absolutely loved it, over the top loved it. From a film geek perspective, it kills because it's to marijuana to the Shaw Brothers Kung Fu flicks is to crack cocaine, in other words a beautiful child appropriate and wonderment filled flick that happens to kick unholy kung-fu ass in a number of ways. The kung-fu is great, if animated and the beats are all classic kung-fu. Hell, Jackie Chan voices the monkey. How much cooler can you get.
I'm also not a big fan of the argument that overweight people (myself included) are widely discriminated against. I agree that the media pushes unrealistic body types and I agree that everyone is pressured to look a certain way to an unhealthy degree and I agree that girls are victimized to a criminal degree by this society's version of beauty and we should all do what we can to fight body image issues wide and small.
But. The central argument among many folks (whom I like and respect) like Melissa and Kate Harding (who's a hell of a writer) is that this media image of beauty and the way it manifests itself constitutes discrimination along the lines of race or sex. We need to not only fight the media on body image issues, but make people aware of the discrimination that the overweight endure. I'm not shut off to this argument, but at this point in my own personal evolution, it seems a bit extreme to contrast weight with gender or ethnicity, even though the symptoms are almost the same. Like I said, my mind's not shut off to the idea, but I'm simply not there.
The diatribe against Kung-Fu Panda gets under my skin, though, because it's a very good natured kids movie and a hell of a lot of fun on just about every other level. It's easily Dreamworks best flick to date and I had an absolute blast at the flick. I'll write a review later, if I get around to it.
Yet, I don't necessarily disagree that the flick makes fun of fat people. Even though the morale is really enlightened (you can't change what you are, but you can shape how you are nurtured), and rooted in eastern mysticism, you cannot get around the fact that the fat jokes are a touch mean spirited. Yet, when watching it, it didn't register with me or the full theater guffawing at the humor and beauty of the film.
Like I said, I have a weak argument because I can't reconcile this issue other to say that the film worked from the first minute to the last and I wouldn't have given this issue another thought had it not been for the post on Shakespeares Sister. And, I would have brought it up there, but the forum community doesn't take kindly to those who disagree with them (or who support Obama, by and large).
If someone can reconcile this without going "what a dumb argument, enjoy the flick," I'd love to hear it.
I loved a movie full of fat jokes and don't feel bad about it. Does that make me a bad person?
2 comments:
I saw Kung Fu Panda this weekend. I liked it, and I did not think the jokes about Po the Panda's weight were inappropriate.
I believe the intention of the insults used in the story were not to mock Po's weight or bulk for the sake of putting down fat people; rather the Panda received taunts because his size and bodily condition largely contrasted the physical expectation of a revered martial arts warrior, both for characters in the story and the audience itself. With respect to Kung Fu, Po's lack of physical prowess makes achieving his destiny all the more difficult, and yields a greater sense of victory when he succeeds.
It should be understood that a certain degree of physical fitness will come to a seasoned martial arts expert. The other Kung Fu heroes were not ultimately expressing, "You're fat, so you're bad." No. They expressed their inner assumptions with respect to Kung Fu. For example, "Your body is bulky, and we think martial arts experts should be trim, so we do not believe in you." "You can not touch your toes, and martial arts masters are flexible, so you have our disdain as a chosen warrior."
Needless to say, the Panda proved himself as a Kung Fu warrior, and you did not hear one more fat joke from the Furious Five (if I remember correctly, that is; at the least, any jokes about Po's body were not mean spirited near the end of the movie). His ability was no longer doubted, not by his friends or by the viewers. Although he still retained his shape, Po the Panda met the challenges he faced and was definitely a martial arts hero.
I agree with you that the intent of the movie was sweet to it's ooey gooey center, and none of it was meant to offend. MM's point, I think, and she elaborates on it today, is the fat kid in the audience won't make the distinction between mean spirited jokes and something like KFP.
I thought the ending could be spun as very positive toward overweight people, though I'm sure not everyone agrees.
The Furious Five seemed to be mad because of skills, but it's the huffing and puffing up the stairs joke that I think gets on the nerves of people who hold this position.
Personally, I would argue the moment where Po and his master begin Kung-Fu training would fill me with hope as a young, overweight person (which I was, coincidentally). Struggling for answers but at the end of the day having someone believe in you and doing great things with that is a pretty positive message.
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