MovieChat Forums > Barbarian (2022) Discussion > Slightly "woke" (Spoilers)

Slightly "woke" (Spoilers)

posted 2 years ago by [deleted]
56 replies | jump to latest

This is a great example of a movie that doesn't need to wear its politics on its sleeve. The bare-bones skeleton of the story makes for great horror. Save all the speeches (the girl telling the guy how awful it is to be a woman in America [Really, American women, shut up already. You're the most powerful people on the planet at this point. Stop pretending the U.S. is some kind of third world country where women have to cover their faces, etc.] and the guy in the end pretending to be ashamed of himself for, apparently, having raped his co-star). When Romero made Night of the Living Dead, he was just making a horror movie. The politics came out on their own. Barbarian is ALMOST a great movie. The on-the-nose politics nearly ruins it.

[–] imatosser182 (341) 2 years ago

There were no racial themes so they shoe horned feminism and #metoo in instead. 2 out of 3 isn't bad

[–] acidraindrop (3055) 2 years ago

It's not "shoe-horned" when it's the driving point of the movie.

[–] imatosser182 (341) 2 years ago

Is it? I thought that was the monster in the basement. Maybe I saw Promising Young Woman or Bombshell by mistake

[–] acidraindrop (3055) 2 years ago

The whole point of the movie was to include as many warning signs as possible that women face. Everything else was added around that.

So yeah, if you actually liked this movie, you liked a woke, feminist movie.

[–] imatosser182 (341) 2 years ago

The whole point of the movie was to include as many warning signs as possible that women face. Everything else was added around that.

Cool story. But yes the message for all women who have a mutated serial killing monster in their basement is clear - RUN

if you actually liked this movie, you liked a woke, feminist movie.

Oh well, no-one's perfect

[–] woodenbird (167) 2 years ago

You guys talk as if (men) killers focused on torturing and raping women were a Hollywood invention and not an actual thing

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

Think you are going too deep here.

For one thing, the purpose of her talking about being a woman was probably related to how comfortable she was becoming with Keith (what a great red herring he was) when she started thinking he was a caring individual.

Next, I think people are missing the usage of Justin Long as the jerk. Over the years he has portrayed a lot of decent characters, in a way, he too was a red herring because he was playing against his typecast as it was revealed what an asshole he actually was.

In other words, several of these non-woke, woke moments were just ways to propel the story forward.

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

In my opinion, AJ's sexual assault accusation propelled absolutely nothing forward. The character by itself was obnoxious. The scenario would end up being the same even if he didn't coax that girl to sleep with him.

Agreed, it gave AJ more substance as "the jerk" but that's it. The unfolding could stay the same. The ending too. If anything, we would just have been more surprised when he threw Tess down at the end, I think.

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

It's a sign of our era, I guess. Looks like more and more filmmakers will insert unnecessary(for the movie) progressive social elements in their works. I agree that its annoying. Especially when it's not even a drama or inherent to the plot to start with. It's obvious that it's put in there for the sheer purpose of lecturing us.

I guess it's too much to ask to enjoy our entertainments without having to put up with that crap.

Maybe I'm wrong for thinking this but I think that if filmmakers started thinking their movies like "conservatives are gonna be able to enjoy this movie just as much as progressists will", everybody would win. But the urge to preach is too strong, it seems.

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

It's time to admit what we call the left is a religion. This religion (call it Wokism for now, I suppose), is at that stage where its believers are convinced they are morally superior to anyone who questions ANY aspect of the religion. In such a state of mind, the drive to convert or eliminate dissenters becomes more important than even life itself. The Wokists today are no different than Islamofascists blowing themselves up in public places or Christians during the Inquisition. It makes sense, thus, that they would infuse their "art" with their self-righteous moral certitude.

[–] Aries (847) 2 years ago

Religion implies a certain basic level of decency and dignity. The Left is a cult, not a religion - a cult full of low IQ, mentally ill & uninformed/ill-informed people with tribal mentalities, whose Kryptonite is facts and logic.

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

True. But it has so much support from powerful corporations and rich people that I'm afraid it's here to stay. Any cult that has longevity, I think, is a religion (even if it's not benevolent, as is the case with wokism).

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

Well everyone in this movie was an idiot so this speech just underlined that. Was not out of character.

[–] Uriel (246) 2 years ago

Shut the fuck up.

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

No.

[–] Kowalski (77019) 2 years ago

"When Romero made Night of the Living Dead, he was just making a horror movie. The politics came out on their own."

THAT IS PATENTLY FALSE.

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. KEEP UNINFORMED COMMENTS TO YOURSELF.

[–] Kowalski (77019) 2 years ago

I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT...YOU HOWEVER APPEAR TO BE TALKING OUT OF YOUR ASS.🙂

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

No, Kowalksi. I've studied NotLD quite a bit and Romero made it clear in multiple interviews the political aspects of the film were never intended. Duane Jones was hired because he was the best actor for the job. The fact that he was black accidentally made the movie political (or, to put it another way, because Americans are obsessed with skin color, the movie became political because the protagonist had a skin pigmentation many Americans weren't used to seeing in lead roles in movies at the time).

[–] Kowalski (77019) 2 years ago

AWW...YOU KNOW ABOUT THE CASTING...THAT'S CUTE...THEN SURELY YOU MUST KNOW THAT AFTER BEING CAST BASED ON HIS AUDITION...ROMERO REWORKED NUMEROUS CHARACTER MOMENTS AND THE FILM'S FINALE.🙂

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

Never once read that in all my research. But keep trying. Your foot obviously tastes great to you!

[–] Kowalski (77019) 2 years ago

AWW...NOT SO HOT AT READING COMPREHENSION,HUH?...IT'S COOL...NOT EVERYONE IS.🙂