Wow, three posts in a day!
Guess I'm making up for lost time, but I just followed a link to a Grindhouse discussion thread over at Brian Wood's blog and thought I'd share it.
Am I the only one that remembers Brian Wood as the whiny, heavy-handed, emo comics guy?
I'll be up front about his work, I'm not a fan. I've given him a try several times - read Generation X, Fight for Tomorrow, Couscous Express, DEMO, Local, and tried DMZ and none of it was my thing. Didn't read his Vampirella/Witchblade story though, and I'm sure that's the one that would have probably sold me on him, but oh well...
My opinions of his comics work aside, I think he makes some pretty good points regarding Death Proof and enjoyed the discussion that it's seem to have sparked.
Still, we've all got our filters, and I can't help but wonder how much of what Wood says is said just to pander to his fan base. God, reading that just now, I realize that it sounds a lot harsher than I mean it too(and if you happen to find this and read it, Mr. Wood, don't start no shit, all right?).
I think it's real easy to zero in on Tarantino's misogyny, since it's kind of been at the forefront of his last 3 (4?) films, but let's not forget that his subject of choice is usually crime or revenge, and since most people understand that going in, what do they expect?
Several times in the above linked thread, posters throw Kill Bill to the man-eating/man-hating wolves due to the Bride's abuse (the bullet to the head, raped in a coma, etc...), but fail to mention the context in which that she and the film's other characters live - most of the cast are killers-for-hire... so are we supposed to ignore that since she turns over a new leaf.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not condoning Tarantino's violence towards women, just like I wouldn't feel comfortable 100% condoning his violence against men, African Americans, humans in general, dogs, cars, store windows, etc....
But I do feel like Wood's argument veers slightly too close to his own biases, and it seems like they're kind of choosing to ignore about 50% of the movie(s) they're talking about.
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I know what you mean about Kill Bill. For the longest time, I didn't care for it (other than how shiny and slick it was, and Michael Madsen) because I never could forget that Beatrix was a killer, too. I kind of hoped they'd all die, you know?
Though it does kind of floor me that people are suprised by that sort of thing in Tarentino's flicks. You have to ask, is it their first?
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