Imagine if they made a family movie about a guy getting his first erection
Hell it would never get made
shareor wet dream. he would turn into a white slimy ghost
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MovieChat Forums > Turning Red (2022) Discussion > Imagine if they made a family movie abou...
Of course they wouldn't.
A girl getting her first period is completely different.
Also, the main character doesn't actually menstruate in the film. Pads are shown and mentioned, but the film itself doesn't revolve around that and the mother misunderstands the main character changing into something else as the "red peony blooming."
The whole film is a metaphor for a girl "coming of age," the first signs of which, as the title suggests, are when she starts "turning red," or having her period. The male equivalent would absolutely be something akin to a boy's first ejaculation, but of course such a thing would be disgusting and not a good basis for the plot of a children's film, even if wrapped in metaphor. Yet it's appropriate from a female perspective because in Hollywood's eyes, uh, women = beautiful and empowered no matter what they do and men = gross and slimy pervs? Something like that, I'm sure.
The future is female indeed, especially when you force stories like this down our throats in the name of "empowerment."
It was admittedly a TV show rather than a movie, but "Lloyd in Space" did something interesting.
It is revealed that in Lloyd's species, boys will project their thoughts for everyone to see during puberty.
Which is treated as just as awkward and embarassing as having an erection in public would be to a human.
Unfortunately, Lloyd is the only male of his species at the space station (his father is presumably dead).
Which makes it even harder for him even if he feels a bit better after he has a conversation with his grandfather.
So yeah, it is not like describing male puberty in fantastical ways in family-friendly entertainment is impossible.
I don't see how anybody has pushed "Turning Red" down your throat either...
Are you kidding me? Feminist anti-male stories are seeped into just about every piece of media you're exposed to today. It's not so much shoved down your throat as it is jammed into your eyeballs whenever you want to watch just about anything mainstream that was made in the last 8 years or so.
shareThere aren't enough boy coming of age films for you ya big baby?
shareI honestly can't think of a single one that's come out in the last decade, you dismissive twat.
shareThere are two times more coming age films for boys than girls and yet you are here crying about feminists lol
shareTwo times more, really? Where are you getting this information from? Your ass?
Also, how many of these primarily male-centric coming of age films have been big budget CGI extravaganzas like what Pixar's made here? What is the male equivalent of something like this film, please tell me, something that's as blatantly male focused as this film is to women.
I never understand this "force down our throats" crap when "victims" complain about it. Since no one is required to watch this film and there are ways to learn about the plot prior to watching, it is obvious to the most casual observer that anyone complaining about it being forced down their throats is dishonest to say the least.
Moviehcatter2526, why do you think people reading your post are stupid enough to believe that you're the victim here?
Honestly, people just love to bitch about everything 🙄
shareOh, I completely agree with you that the whole film is a metaphor for puberty. However, I completely disagree with you about everything else. The puberty plot is really secondary, while generational conflict is the main center of the story. As I said, she is never ACTUALLY stated to have her first period. What is wrong with a metaphor exactly? You're bringing something into this that isn't related to the movie. I'm not saying they couldn't make a film revolving around a boy going through puberty. It would just be different. It doesn't have to be graphic or gross to get the point across.
shareThe inciting incident is the metaphor of her getting her first period and starting her journey toward becoming a woman via turning into a big red monster. It's front and center from almost the very beginning, and everything else that happens revolves around it in some way or another. The film is also not so much about generational conflict as it is about girls outgrowing the "repressive mentality" of their mothers (which was of course forced on them by the EVIL PATRIARCHY (tm)) and becoming independent women of their own, and the struggles such transitions can sometimes entail. It's a feminist fairy tale for little girls, essentially, which is another matter entirely, but whatever. At least they had the father, the only significant male lead and who "coincidentally" speaks like only 3 lines in the entire film, be the voice of reason at the end of the second act.
And there's nothing "wrong" with the period metaphor, it's just, again, as OP points out, not something you'd ever in a million years see the male equivalent of in a family film, or any film really save a raunchy comedy because, in today's society, male sexuality = wrong and disgusting and something to be suppressed and condemned at all costs and female sexuality = beautiful and amazing and something to be celebrated.
I personally enjoyed the film for the most part, but the whole period metaphor was unnecessary and inappropriate given its a family film aimed at children. It was uncomfortable and off-putting, just like a family film about a little boy's metaphorical first erection (or ejaculation, or whatever) and the hilarious hijinks it creates would be. I'm sure the creative folks at Pixar could have figured out some other way to tell this same story without including the period stuff, but they didn't for very deliberate reasons that turned off a vast swath of people, even people like me who otherwise enjoyed the film but aren't particularly keen on stuff involving the sexual anatomy of little girls.
Like I said, "Lloyd in Space" had an episode about a boy getting what clearly is a metaphor for erections.
But it was directly stated that it was something, that happened to boys of Lloyd's species during puberty.
As a matter of fact, he started to project his thoughts when he thought about girls.
So it hardly even was like they were subtle about what it represented.
Yes, it is true that it was a TV show rather than a movie, and yes, this was like two decades ago.
It is clear though that portraying male puberty in metaphors in family-friendly entertainment is possible too.
Thus, I don't see why "Turning Red" should bother you this much...
The difference is that nobody knows what the hell Lloyd in Space is. It was likely a one off episode of an obscure show a fraction of a fraction the size, budget, and exposure of this film. You can't compare the two.
"Lloyd in Space" was on Disney Channel, so I would think that many kids watched it in its heyday.
Yes, it is yet again true that it was a TV show and not a movie.
That is really not important though to the point, that I was trying to make here.
It is that male and female puberty both can be portrayed in fantastical ways in family-friendly entertainment.
The budget or the exposure makes no difference here, since what I'm talking about is the content.
And sure, "Lloyd in Space" only did a one-off episode about this subject.
"Turning Red" is not only about puberty either though, but deals with family conflicts and honoring your roots too.
Thus I don't feel that your complaints about this movie are fair.
Thanks for explaining the title.
shareOh, it's coming. They'll just make a movie based on one of the books in schools that are being foisted upon children these days. And it'll be about a kid getting his first erection over another male. It won't be a kid getting an erection over a female.
shareAll these years later and the Right is still banning books. Sad.
shareHave you SEEN Big Mouth?
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