Post by gillian on Nov 13, 2012 0:30:42 GMT -5
One of my least favorite movies of all time is House of Cards (1993), an overwrought melodrama about a woman trying to understand her special needs daughter. The daughter, Sally, is stricken with the symptoms of a severely autistic child: silence, *lack of eye contact, strong focus on a particular subject (playing cards), and makes what Ebert describes as “loud, ugly noises” (http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19930702/REVIEWS/307020301/1023) when she’s upset. Apparently, this is not something she was born with, but a “disease” that is contracted, proves temporary, and is miraculously cured by the end of the film.
It’s a troubling movie for me. It perpetuates a very Hollywood idea, that a disorder that affects or disables an individual deeply can vanish overnight. I prefer a story about someone triumphing over adversity with effort or even learning to live with a major inconvenience. Fiction doesn’t need to be factual — escapism is important, too — but I do enjoy some honesty in fantasy.
Wreck-It Ralph prides itself on being honest. Just because the titular arcade video game protagonist (John C. Reilly) considers himself a good guy doesn't mean he actually is one. He's impatient, obsessive, and short-tempered. He has to work to overcome obstacles to become "good" over the course of the film. Even then
Just because Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) says she's like the other racers in the arcade game Sugar Rush doesn't mean she is one until she works to keep her glitch under control.
Much like someone with a disability or recurring medical issue, Vanellope's character undergoes periodic "glitching" in which she, and anything she's in contact with in her environment, momentarily dissolves into code. It's the sort of problem for which other characters tease and ostracize Vanellope. Even King Candy (Alan Tudyk), instead of working with her on this issue, uses it as justification to keep her from racing.
Vanellope's glitch eerily mirrors the ways in which a disabled person may be treated socially. Living alone in an "unfinished level"/mentos and Coke volcano, Vanellope shows how she uses scraps and leftover junk to thrive. She describes herself as curling up to sleep under her blankets like a "cute little homeless lady." Silverman, with her usual uncomfortable humor, is in fact describing why many homeless people live the way they do: recurring health issues, mental and physical, that cause them to be discounted or ignored.
My favorite part about this analogy is how Vanellope's glitching problem is "fixed." Her issue doesn't disappear when it's revealed King Candy is the villain and that she has to defeat him. Instead, Vanellope uses what she knows about her problem — that it's triggered by heightened emotional state — and learns to control it. The idea that it's a sort of "super power" is a bit cheesy, but I like that it's not an issue that disappears over night.
This sort of narrative, I think, is much more honest than the one in House of Cards. Unlike Sally, Vanellope must continue to live with her "glitch" regardless of its cause. Wreck-It Ralph is a narrative where characters continue to live with ongoing issues. Much like Ralph still attending Bad Anonymous at the end of the game, Vanellope's issues are a work in progress.
((Feels unfinished. Any input at this point is appreciated!))
It’s a troubling movie for me. It perpetuates a very Hollywood idea, that a disorder that affects or disables an individual deeply can vanish overnight. I prefer a story about someone triumphing over adversity with effort or even learning to live with a major inconvenience. Fiction doesn’t need to be factual — escapism is important, too — but I do enjoy some honesty in fantasy.
Wreck-It Ralph prides itself on being honest. Just because the titular arcade video game protagonist (John C. Reilly) considers himself a good guy doesn't mean he actually is one. He's impatient, obsessive, and short-tempered. He has to work to overcome obstacles to become "good" over the course of the film. Even then
Just because Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) says she's like the other racers in the arcade game Sugar Rush doesn't mean she is one until she works to keep her glitch under control.
Much like someone with a disability or recurring medical issue, Vanellope's character undergoes periodic "glitching" in which she, and anything she's in contact with in her environment, momentarily dissolves into code. It's the sort of problem for which other characters tease and ostracize Vanellope. Even King Candy (Alan Tudyk), instead of working with her on this issue, uses it as justification to keep her from racing.
Vanellope's glitch eerily mirrors the ways in which a disabled person may be treated socially. Living alone in an "unfinished level"/mentos and Coke volcano, Vanellope shows how she uses scraps and leftover junk to thrive. She describes herself as curling up to sleep under her blankets like a "cute little homeless lady." Silverman, with her usual uncomfortable humor, is in fact describing why many homeless people live the way they do: recurring health issues, mental and physical, that cause them to be discounted or ignored.
My favorite part about this analogy is how Vanellope's glitching problem is "fixed." Her issue doesn't disappear when it's revealed King Candy is the villain and that she has to defeat him. Instead, Vanellope uses what she knows about her problem — that it's triggered by heightened emotional state — and learns to control it. The idea that it's a sort of "super power" is a bit cheesy, but I like that it's not an issue that disappears over night.
This sort of narrative, I think, is much more honest than the one in House of Cards. Unlike Sally, Vanellope must continue to live with her "glitch" regardless of its cause. Wreck-It Ralph is a narrative where characters continue to live with ongoing issues. Much like Ralph still attending Bad Anonymous at the end of the game, Vanellope's issues are a work in progress.
((Feels unfinished. Any input at this point is appreciated!))
