MovieChat Forums > Sucker Punch (2011) Discussion > Is Sucker Punch sexist?

Is Sucker Punch sexist?

posted 11 years ago by Burnoutsss
80 replies | jump to latest

I remember seeing the film and being entertained by it, but not at one point did I say, "this is offensive towards women.". Then, to my surprise, I found many articles stating it was sexist to exploit women that way. To me, all I saw were a lot of action scenes where girls do stuff while wearing various outfits.

The thing is, the sex appeal completely flew over my head: I didn't find Emily Browning or any of the girls that attractive so I just focused on the action scenes and anime fights. Does this mean I'm sexist? Do you find Sucker Punch sexist? Is there an underlying subtext that I'm missing?

[–] guccipix 9 years ago

no

http://letterboxd.com/guccipix/list/my-top-100-favorite-films/

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] DianaLis 9 years ago

When I first saw the movie, I considered it plain stupid, maybe a little sexist.
But after years, and reading about women empowerment and feminism, I think it's very pro-women movie.

It's because society forced upon us that women dressed in a particular way, acting in a particular way, cannot be taken seriously or have some serious dilemmas on her head to solve.
We are forced (mostly women, but from time to time it happens to guys too) to judge people upon their appearance.

 http://diandianusfilmovus.blogspot.com/

[–] RockerJohnny 9 years ago

Sucker Punch is sexualized. People need to stop confusing sexualization with sexism.

[–] yurenchu 9 years ago

Sucker Punch is sexualized. People need to stop confusing sexualization with sexism.

OP's question is legitimate, and your reply is merely trying to distract from the issue.

Two things:
- A movie is not sexualized. People (women/men/girls/boys) are sexualized. In the case of Sucker Punch, the characters who are girls are sexualized. (And the male characters were not sexualized.)
- Sexualization and sexism are not mutually exclusive things.

______
Joe Satriani - "Always With Me, Always With You"
http://youtu.be/VI57QHL6ge0

[–] RockerJohnny 9 years ago

Sure the women in the movie are sexualized in almost all scenes. Personally I do not see the problem with that, its a stylistic choice.

Sexualization ain't sexist in itself, but in some cases it can be.

Just cause someone strut around in lingerie doesn't mean its sexist. Some feminists got that all wrong. And women who bash other women for their choice of how to dress or act are actually the ones being sexist. So yeah some of the so called self proclaimed feminists are sexist. The movie contains sexist elements for sure but it is "within the movie" if you get what I mean. Like abusing and controlling women that is sexist and this movie has a lot of that. However a movie that handles sexist issues in a way that clearly takes distance from them cannot be said to be sexist, quite opposite really.

If the movie glorified abuse of women then it would be sexist. I find it troublesome if that is what people see when watching this movie. In my view the women here are portrayed as both victim and heroes and most of the men are portrayed as despicable swines. So no it ain't sexist. If someone wanna argue that it is sexist then it is more so towards men actually as all men (but the one in their fantasy) are cruel and abusive. And portraying a gender in such a narrow stereotype is exactly what sexism is defined as.

[–] yurenchu 9 years ago

The movie glorifies sexy, athletic girls doing martial arts action-stuff in skimpy outfits. Who do you think constitute the main target audience for this film? Would the movie have garnered the same amount of interest if it had showed the girls having more common realistic body types and fighting in more realistic, practical-for-fighting clothing?

The movie was designed, created and marketed primarily as a teen boy's fantasy.

______
Joe Satriani - "Always With Me, Always With You"
http://youtu.be/VI57QHL6ge0

[–] RockerJohnny 9 years ago

What is wrong with glorifying athletic/sexy bodies? It is an ideal for a reason.

Do you mean in difference to all other hollywood movies? When people watch hollywood movies they expect to see over the top reality if we wanna call it that. If we wanna see ordinary people fight over trivial things like who *beep* whom's husband we can watch Jerry Springer. So no if the movie was totally realistic very few would probably be interested in watching it. Since when did it became wrong for movies to give an escape/alternative from reality for a while, isn't that in large part why we watch movies to start with?

Is there something negative with a teen boys fantasy? BTW my GF loved this movie.

And what the F is a realistic body? One that is subjected to bad foods, alcohol and cigarettes? It ain't even hard sporting a body like that when you are 18-25 if you have a decently good life style, that 90% have a *beep* lifestyle and have no concept of what healthy really is has no say over what we think is sexy, athletic, pleasing to watch whatever.

[–] yurenchu 9 years ago

I hadn't written anything yet that sexism, or sexist movies, are by definition wrong. Many movies, such as classic movies like Charade (1963) and North By Northwest (1959), or the James Bond movies, or Pretty Woman (1990), are quite sexist. But I didn't say that I, you, or your GF can't enjoy them. They are indeed just escapist fantasies, and Sucker Punch isn't much different in that aspect. (However, Charade, North By Northwest and Pretty Woman aren't much sexualized.)

If you'd look at real-life women who really kick ass (literally, as a profession), such as female soldiers, female kickboxers, or female cops, then you'd notice that their body types are usually much different from the Barbie ballerina bodies that are depicted in Sucker Punch; as much as their practical outfits also differ from the skimpy, curves-accentuating nothingnesses that Baby Doll, Sweet Pea, Blondie, Rocket and Amber wear while they're fighting. I didn't say that not looking like ballerinas automatically means having a bad, unhealthy lifestyle. Not every woman has a 70% waist-to-hip ratio, and that has nothing to do with being fit, it's just a different body type due to (among others) a different skeletal build. Furthermore, I just don't see, for example, those fragile-bodied Sucker Punch girls march 10 miles with heavy backpacks such as the average female soldier is used to doing.

Indeed, it's a fantasy, catering first and foremost to the teenage boys' mindset. And it is sexist, not just sexualization.

By the way, what's with the multiple repeat postings?

______
Joe Satriani - "Always With Me, Always With You"
http://youtu.be/VI57QHL6ge0

[–] RockerJohnny 9 years ago

I edited my post and refreshed the page or smth, didn't notice until just now.

Nothing weird that body type doesn't match performance as it is a fantasy even in the movie. Their body types further solidifies their vulnerability and it further solidifies that the impossible is possible. The against the odds thing wouldn't be the same if it had a well trained army character in it.

I feel like saying a certain body type and clothes is sexist is troublesome. What if a girl in question chose her clothes and are happy with her body as it is. You can't call her sexist then. If a man impose that ideal against her will it is sexist by we have no evidence that is the case here.

[–] yurenchu 9 years ago

No, the use of certain body type and clothing in this movie was sexualization. And the sexualization, in this particular case, was done to make the movie cater primarily to a target audience with a teenage boy's mindset; that's why the male characters weren't sexualized. And therefore, as a whole, the movie is (arguably) sexist.

You can't call her sexist then. If a man impose that ideal against her will it is sexist by we have no evidence that is the case here.

The male director (Snyder) imposed that ideal on all female main characters in the movie.

______
Joe Satriani - "Always With Me, Always With You"
http://youtu.be/VI57QHL6ge0

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[–] DianaLis 9 years ago

Ekhm, you do know there are also gay people here? And teenage girls who might like those characters a lot ;)
Besides, I'm considered to be skinny and I find those girls, standing each by the side, fighting together, very appealing.

Yes, most people, hetero guys will fap so hard watching this movie, but as they say "beauty is in the eye of beholder" and I see, now, more than sexy girls in skimpy outfits (tho it is way WAY better than D.O.A. which is plain stupid. Adorable but stupid ;))

 http://diandianusfilmovus.blogspot.com/

[–] GGuser 9 years ago

When I saw it, I found it disturbing and if you've seen it, you know why.

The protagonist, Emily Browning's character gets lobotomized and it's like, that's it. Sure she was only even put in there because she *tried* to help save her sister which even then only resulted in devastating consequences, if I remember correctly, for her sister and herself, and sure if I'm remembering it right, as the end she helped save someone else and that's why she was still stuck there, which reminds me: was the whole thing at the institution involving the other women/girls there and what was going on all imagined or not?

Isn't the movie, mainly because of the ending, just negative, dark, and depressing? There is nothing redeeming about it, is there?

So sad. I don't care if the last line was some bs about being free or happy or whatever because the truth is it was f.cking sad and I don't know why because I know it's fictional but it bothers me

Maybe because of the way that it brings and beats women down, and even if it does seem as if it is a virtual reality at times, it bothers me because I know that in a way, that is a truth and reality for some women around the world, so it just makes me sad.

The film just seems dark in that these women are in a hopeless situation and are confined there.

Of course, it's sexist when (only) women are abused, have no say or are unable to defend and protect themselves, are imprisoned, and finally lobotomized which is just as well as putting a f.cking bullet in their head- how did you miss that, OP?

[–] jackson2415 8 years ago

Maybe we all missed the point...

Listen to this perspective starting at approximately 10:00. The whole video is pretty well done in explaining everything great about the movie (ha!).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEKsTY8vuC0

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] ortega_juanpaolo 8 years ago

Nope, I love Sucker Punch, its much better than that awful Ghostbusters remake, the girls in Sucker Punch are much better and stronger and don't make stupid sexist jokes