An ugly earnest himbo of a movie

[minoanmiss]

Tongiht WD let me[1] watch a dumb, dumb movie called Bright, which he described accurately as "Tolkien's peoples in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas". I think it was written by a White 14 year old who listened to his nerdy Black friend complain about the [quite real] pain of being called an "Oreo" and a "house slave" for being nerdy. Its central metaphor of Orcs as even more despised than Black people was so stupid and so heavy handed and sooooooo earnest. I couldn't even be mad. Occasionally grossed out but often entertained and not mad.

[1] the Netflix account and entertainment system belong to him, so it was indeed by his permission.

I will say, though, Joel Edgerton deserves some kind of kudos. His earnest and fully inhabited performance was the best thing about this movie by far, especially from under a slathering of prosthetic makeup.

Comments

[sovay]

I couldn't even be mad. Occasionally grossed out but often entertained and not mad.

Mel Brooks once famously claimed that his movies rose below vulgarity. This one sounds like it fell below suck.

[minoanmiss]

That is a brilliant phrasing. D: Yeah, for some viewers this fell below suck. For others... WD, who requires more intelligence from his entertainment, was very kind to sit through the whole thing with his only reward being me bouncing with laughter beside him.

[anna_wing]

What's the significance of"Oreo"? Is it a reference to the biscuit?

[minoanmiss]

It's a reference to the biscuit. In the US, Black people (often kids) who don't "act Black" as defined by other Black people are often disparagingly called "oreos", as in Black outside, White inside. To completely oversimplify, this was a common childhood experience of mine, and it was often depressing to be stuck between White kids who thought I was beneath them, Black kids who thought I was trying to "act White" because I was interested in things they weren't, and kids of other races who would not befriend me because they were trying to prove they were not as despicable as Black people so White people would treat them better.

This movie tried in a very heavy handed way to discuss such experiences, and Joel Edgerton took the concept and dealt with it very adeptly in his performance.

[anna_wing]

Ah I see. How absolutely awful for you! I hope that things are better now. Education is still the best path to social mobility in a non-war scenario.

I came across something like that attitude in the UK back in the 1980s but in terms of class, not race. Working-class girls being told by their own families (!) not to "get above themselves" and to "know their place", and not even dream about taking up that scholarship to Cambridge that they had been offered, and earned by their own efforts, and if they did it anyway, being simultaneously accused of class betrayal by their families and looked down on by the middle+ classese... .

It was definitely a factor in my decision to leave the UK and go back home as soon as I could, after getting my degree and my professional qualifications. I couldn't see myself ever being content in such a caste-based society, even if my own position would probably have been acceptable ('posh foreigner' being in that era a recognised and accepted social category in the UK).

[minoanmiss]

That is exactly the same thing yeah. But about class and sex ( to an extent the US interleaved race and class) all these bogotries are the same hydra headed monster

( thank you. This is definitely one of h th e things that imporoved with being an adult. My fellow grown Black people latgely do not have time for such nonsense )

[bikergeek]

I want that two hours of my life back. Your company was delightful. The pizza was acceptable. The movie sucked goat wang.

[minoanmiss]

ahahahhahhahaahahah I am sorry sweetie, next time we'll watch the one about the gay love affair in WWI.

[conuly]

wait what one is that?

[minoanmiss]

Firebird

Description: "Firebird is a 2021 romantic war drama film directed, co-written, and co-produced by Peeter Rebane (in his feature directorial debut), based on Sergey Fetisov's memoir The Story of Roman.[3] The film stars Tom Prior (who also co-wrote and co-produced), Oleg Zagorodnii, and Diana Pozharskaya. Set in the Soviet Air Force during the Cold War, it tells the true story of forbidden love between a private and a fighter pilot.[4]"

oh huh I thought the Amazon Prime description said WWI. Oh well, I have bad eyesight.

[sabotabby]

I've heard so many bad things about this movie that it's almost tempting to watch it, except I value my time too much.

[minoanmiss]

you have beter things to do, trust me. It didn't know it wanted to be Shadowrun, let me put it that way.

[lokifan]

I liked Lindsay Ellis' video about it, that might work?

[minoanmiss]

Oh my goodness. Link plz?

[sabotabby]

Yes! I enjoyed that one a lot.