Under the Bridge was powerful. Having worked in a juvenile facility I am too familiar with the predatory behaviors of youth, especially when there is a scapegoat.
Such a sad story. I went down a rabbit hole and watched some clips from an MSNBC special called Bloodlust Under The Bridge that interviewed a couple of the people who were responsible for her death, and it’s wild to see how lacking in remorse they were.
Ma'am! As ALWAYS, you came through on the watch + playlist! Looking forward to both lists! Stay AWESOME + keep sharing with us...+ I'm definitely adding Baby Reindeer to my list!
Okk but now I need to know more of your thoughts about Baby Reindeer, Ramy and Poor Things cause I agree and disagree and I wanna know more!!
I really liked Poor Things, it was a fun watch and the sex scenes didn't seem that problematic to me (I actually think that we have a problem with sex scenes, but it's a matter of taste maybe). And maybe it should be treated like that, a fun watch, idk maybe not.
Baby Reindeer was a shock but a needed one, and I know that it's easy to compare it with I May Destroy You but should we? Lol I'm a fierce defender of this show (these shows) because this is vulnerability at it's purest form and we need that.
Ramy, the character is insufferable, but Ramy the show is so so good!! Have to re-watch the whole thing.
Ok that was long, sorry. Anyway subscribed cause like I said, I want moooooore.
I think what made Poor Things a fun watch was some of the dialogue and the world building, which was heavily dependent on production design and cinematography choices, not story. I don’t mind sex scenes but I do feel like some of them were gratuitous and made it feel like bodily autonomy and self-empowerment were being conflated with sex. I think the story would’ve landed better for me if the last act played out differently. It didn’t make a ton of sense that she had this transformative experience in Europe, doing sex work and becoming financially independent just for her to abandon Max again to go live with her former husband and then turn right back around to the same castle she was used as an experiment in.
We don’t have to compare Baby Reindeer and I May Destroy You but I think the parallels are interesting. I May Destroy You was also a show created by someone who endured SA and then wrote and starred in the show. Michaela was able to convey vulnerability without being as graphic as BR. I think the masochism in BR felt self-indulgent at times, the ending with him going back to Damien really underscored that. I don’t think audiences would receive that vulnerability the same way if it was a woman going back to her abuser, because there’s already so much victim blaming that happens with women. Not to say men don’t get victim blamed but it’s very different.
I’m in the Uk, there’s a lot of controversy around Baby Reindeer because the real life “Martha” is clearly mentally ill, but Piers Morgan being the dirtbag that he is, had her on his show and it was cringeworthy and exploitative. She claims none of it is true and that she’s suing Netflix. I watched all of Baby Reindeer and it was a hard watch, especially episode 4. Now everyone’s trying to figure out who Damien is.
Yeaaa that episode was deeply disturbing, I can't believe he had the strength to reenact that. I saw a couple of clips of "Martha" on Piers Morgan. What I don't understand is why she would out herself if it's not true, didn't the show conceal her identity? Or did people find out who she was anyway?
Added so many of these to my watch list! Tysmm. I started Ramy some time ago but never finished for whatever reason, gotta revisit. Excited to go down my own Pam Grier rabbit hole.
Was excited to see your thoughts on 'Days Of Being Wild' and 'Before Sunrise', can't wait to see your opinion on the other instalments in both trilogies. 'Ramy' is a great recommendation as well. I specifically love the religious / spiritual aspect of it as it's not often a topic that you regularly see explored on TV and film. If you haven't seen it yet, I would recommend 'Mo' on Netflix as it has a similar vibe.
Funny enough, I had also seen Pam Grier's classic movies during the same month ('Coffy' and 'Foxy Brown') and, you're right, 'Jackie Brown' hits a lot harder having that context in mind. Didn't understand when people said that it was QT's best movie but I get it now. If you're interested, there's a really amazing piece that dropped during the early years of the pandemic that I think you might appreciate / enjoy: https://www.thebeliever.net/logger/long-time-woman/
I might have to knock out 2046 and Before Sunset/Midnight next month. I'll have to check out Mo, I've never heard of it! Thank you for sharing the Long Time Woman piece, that feeling of burnout really resonates. I love what she said about Jackie singing along to the songs, those moments were so subtle but said so much, this part in particular nailed it: "These musical cues suggest that she is truly a long time woman. She may have avoided prison, but she is still contained: by fear, by time, by the emotion welled within."
Under the Bridge was powerful. Having worked in a juvenile facility I am too familiar with the predatory behaviors of youth, especially when there is a scapegoat.
Such a sad story. I went down a rabbit hole and watched some clips from an MSNBC special called Bloodlust Under The Bridge that interviewed a couple of the people who were responsible for her death, and it’s wild to see how lacking in remorse they were.
Ma'am! As ALWAYS, you came through on the watch + playlist! Looking forward to both lists! Stay AWESOME + keep sharing with us...+ I'm definitely adding Baby Reindeer to my list!
Thank you, darling!
Okk but now I need to know more of your thoughts about Baby Reindeer, Ramy and Poor Things cause I agree and disagree and I wanna know more!!
I really liked Poor Things, it was a fun watch and the sex scenes didn't seem that problematic to me (I actually think that we have a problem with sex scenes, but it's a matter of taste maybe). And maybe it should be treated like that, a fun watch, idk maybe not.
Baby Reindeer was a shock but a needed one, and I know that it's easy to compare it with I May Destroy You but should we? Lol I'm a fierce defender of this show (these shows) because this is vulnerability at it's purest form and we need that.
Ramy, the character is insufferable, but Ramy the show is so so good!! Have to re-watch the whole thing.
Ok that was long, sorry. Anyway subscribed cause like I said, I want moooooore.
Thank you for reading!
I think what made Poor Things a fun watch was some of the dialogue and the world building, which was heavily dependent on production design and cinematography choices, not story. I don’t mind sex scenes but I do feel like some of them were gratuitous and made it feel like bodily autonomy and self-empowerment were being conflated with sex. I think the story would’ve landed better for me if the last act played out differently. It didn’t make a ton of sense that she had this transformative experience in Europe, doing sex work and becoming financially independent just for her to abandon Max again to go live with her former husband and then turn right back around to the same castle she was used as an experiment in.
We don’t have to compare Baby Reindeer and I May Destroy You but I think the parallels are interesting. I May Destroy You was also a show created by someone who endured SA and then wrote and starred in the show. Michaela was able to convey vulnerability without being as graphic as BR. I think the masochism in BR felt self-indulgent at times, the ending with him going back to Damien really underscored that. I don’t think audiences would receive that vulnerability the same way if it was a woman going back to her abuser, because there’s already so much victim blaming that happens with women. Not to say men don’t get victim blamed but it’s very different.
Ok I see thank you for this! That's funny how depending on our experiences we read things differently. But I love to see different points of views.
Eager to read more!
Yesss that’s the beautiful thing about art!
I’m in the Uk, there’s a lot of controversy around Baby Reindeer because the real life “Martha” is clearly mentally ill, but Piers Morgan being the dirtbag that he is, had her on his show and it was cringeworthy and exploitative. She claims none of it is true and that she’s suing Netflix. I watched all of Baby Reindeer and it was a hard watch, especially episode 4. Now everyone’s trying to figure out who Damien is.
Yeaaa that episode was deeply disturbing, I can't believe he had the strength to reenact that. I saw a couple of clips of "Martha" on Piers Morgan. What I don't understand is why she would out herself if it's not true, didn't the show conceal her identity? Or did people find out who she was anyway?
People found out, she didn’t out herself
You just pushed me down a Pam Grier rabbit hole! And, yes, Hasan Minaj as a hot Dad! I am seriously feeling this post.
Hasan is FOINE.
Yes indeed
Added so many of these to my watch list! Tysmm. I started Ramy some time ago but never finished for whatever reason, gotta revisit. Excited to go down my own Pam Grier rabbit hole.
Thanks for reading! That last season of Ramy was probably my favorite so far but the show overall is a bit of a slow burn.
Was excited to see your thoughts on 'Days Of Being Wild' and 'Before Sunrise', can't wait to see your opinion on the other instalments in both trilogies. 'Ramy' is a great recommendation as well. I specifically love the religious / spiritual aspect of it as it's not often a topic that you regularly see explored on TV and film. If you haven't seen it yet, I would recommend 'Mo' on Netflix as it has a similar vibe.
Funny enough, I had also seen Pam Grier's classic movies during the same month ('Coffy' and 'Foxy Brown') and, you're right, 'Jackie Brown' hits a lot harder having that context in mind. Didn't understand when people said that it was QT's best movie but I get it now. If you're interested, there's a really amazing piece that dropped during the early years of the pandemic that I think you might appreciate / enjoy: https://www.thebeliever.net/logger/long-time-woman/
I might have to knock out 2046 and Before Sunset/Midnight next month. I'll have to check out Mo, I've never heard of it! Thank you for sharing the Long Time Woman piece, that feeling of burnout really resonates. I love what she said about Jackie singing along to the songs, those moments were so subtle but said so much, this part in particular nailed it: "These musical cues suggest that she is truly a long time woman. She may have avoided prison, but she is still contained: by fear, by time, by the emotion welled within."