Save us
O white man!
Seen the movie have you.
shareCourse we have: Pocahontas, Avatar etc etc ad infinatum, ad nauseum.
A military type White guy comes to native lands - tick
to obtain something from the Natives - tick
against their wishes - tick
his bosses are morally corrupt compared to the cautious, but virtuous natives - tick
the natives honesty and bravery causes moral crisis - tick
he convinces the natives of his prowess - tick
and wins their trust leading them in battle against their enemies - tick
and somewhere along the way gives their most beautiful princess syphilis - looks strong for a big hard tick.
So yeah, I think we have.
White man's burden we have been trying to civilize you heathens for centuries. LOL
shareBy civilize you mean enslave, extort, and exterminate?
shareNo one said civilizing non-white savages would be easy or pleasant. LOL
shareHow do you define savage if extorting, killing, raping and stealing doesn't qualify? My white neighbors walk around outside barefoot stepping in rat poop, etc. Then they walk back into their homes and get on their beds without washing their feet. Yeah so civilized.
shareGuitarman, I am going out on a limb here and saying Imtopeka is being facetious.
shareI thought that was obvious smokey-T. Just having a little fun with old stereotypes from colonial days where white people believed that "civilizing" non-white was their duty, I was just seeing if anyone would take the bait and think I was being serious for giggles I swear sometimes people need to just lighten up a tad. I figured the LOL at the end gave it away that I was just trying to be a little absurd and now I got some guy talking about how his white neighbors walk around in rat poop LOL
shareThey got brung out of de wood work.
shareAnd it was obvious - my out-on-a-limb comment was tinged with sarcasm.
share[deleted]
I don't see Damon's character being anything more than part of the army, a POV for the audience.
"I'm not arguing that with you. I know he can get the job, but can he do the job?"
Well he isn't Chinese, and he convinces them of his impossible awesomeness, and he appears to be doing his best to get himself a hot female warrior princess, and he has a change of heart and joins them, so I'm going to go out on a limb and say I doubt he is just a footsoldier.
shareI didn't see him trying to get that warrior princess. But then again, wouldn't you, if you could?
"I'm not arguing that with you. I know he can get the job, but can he do the job?"
Of course, that doesn't diminish a claim this is the pocahontas narrative.
shareThe warrior princess certainly doesn't seem to be some impressionable young girl. If they hook up (and I don't think it's going to be something significant, even if it does happen), it'll be because she decides to. Nothing wrong with interracial relationships in general.
"I'm not arguing that with you. I know he can get the job, but can he do the job?"
Nothing wrong with interracial relationships at all.
Are we still talking about this film?
How do you define "the Pocahontas narrative"? And how does it relate to a warrior princess who will surely be the equal of, or better than, the white man protagonist, in every aspect?
"I'm not arguing that with you. I know he can get the job, but can he do the job?"
Never mind that such an opinion of her defeats the purpose of Matt Damon.
shareThe purpose you're assuming.
And I fully expect her to be awesome on every level, and be above his station. She is one of the leads, after all (if I'm not very much mistaken), and it's just that kind of movie.
"I'm not arguing that with you. I know he can get the job, but can he do the job?"
How do you define "the Pocahontas narrative"? And how does it relate to a warrior princess who will surely be the equal of, or better than, the white man protagonist, in every aspect?
You aren't making sense.
I didn't say what Matt Damon's purpose is, I just presumed he had one, whatever it is. So I made an assumption that he had one...in this film... which would be made pointless if this Asian chick was so much more awesome than he is!
So, again, is your assumption that Matt Damon serves no purpose in this film? share
There are 5 leads. I'm sure each has a role to play. Why exactly would Damon's character need to be the most awesome?
"I'm not arguing that with you. I know he can get the job, but can he do the job?"
Well, you already said that she was the most awesome. I don't know what lead you to make that assumption. Especially given the trailer shows Matt Damon's character giving them a demonstration of his skills being so implausibly great, that it looks frankly stupid.
I'm curious what lead you to make that assumption... What isn't an assumption is the actor that plays her doesn't have her name on the poster in large letters, and it isn't her face that is all over it. So it seems a little more reasonable to assume that Matt Damon's character is more skilled, and more important, than she is.
I didn't say she would be the most awesome. But I do think she'll be pretty damn awesome - it's just that kind of movie. In fact, I think all the other, Chinese, leads will be at least equally as awesome as Damon's character, or more. Because I'm sure the filmmakers weren't interested in showing those characters as anything less than awesome. And I doubt they wanted to give the impression that the white guy is more awesome than any of the Chinese.
And Damon being on the poster is for the obvious reason - he's the international A-list movie star. Which is, of course, the main reason he was cast in this part.
"I'm not arguing that with you. I know he can get the job, but can he do the job?"