kiasante

very interesting deconstruction of the modern expressions of misogyny. everyone is familiar w the "nice guy" complex, the idea that if a man is quiet, polite, and "invests" (whether it be effort, money, or infatuation) in a woman, he is owed romantic or sexual compliance. Bear is a less overt, shadow expression of this, as, rather than the more direct reasoning of "oh, I like this girl so much, she should fw me," it's more of him, viewing himself as a victim in this situation, simply because Nikki didn't naturally choose him DESPITE his efforts. so, when he used the willow, he views himself as correcting a wrong in the world rather than a violent, cruel act; decoupling his actions from reducing this woman that he allegedly loves into a hunk of meat only to be utilized as a vehicle for his desire. It's unsettling to me that he regards himself with pity throughout the entire movie, and that other people pity him as well. to me, bear lost all sympathy the moment he chose to continue after the first "glitch" happened. other nikki was also a pretty on-the-nose concept, too. no boundaries, no outside life, complete devotion, only existing to validate her partner, in other words, the distilled idea of "the perfect woman" #they are trying to push heavily into young minds. there is a deep discomfort with female agency these days- I know everyone has seen those tiktoks/reels where "if she's doing x she's cheating" or "if she at y, wrap it up." Currently that stuff is being viewed as minimal and jokey, but in reality they are still affecting the minds and thought processes of those that watch them. great movie; really enjoyed it.

There is so much to be said, man. First off, this movie is insanely succinct with the points that it wants to make without ever having to explicitly express them. For one, Mookie had to break that window, fulfilling Da Mayor’s injunction. Until then, Mookie spends the film floating between different factions and bearing witness; throwing the trash can is the first time he truly acts and asserts his own agency. Mookie, despite being the protagonist of the movie, doesn’t actually directly contribute any action to move the plot or narrative forward. He is there to bear witness, playing the role of the mediator and floating between each faction on the block up until the climax, when the community finally reaches its boiling point (the summer heat being analogous to the rising tensions in the neighborhood ending up in a literal fire, Lee the goat). By breaking the window, Mookie was doing quite literally the only thing he could have done to prevent Sal from dying. If Sal had died that night, the community would have lost more than Radio Raheem. Mayor knew this, and he prevented Sal’s murder because, being as old and wise as he is, he has likely witnessed other communities suffer a similar fate. He, along with Mother Sister, who sees all, function as the community’s memory. They are the archives of the generational trauma that Black Americans have experienced throughout history, and they know and understand that the punishment for Black expression in America is often death. That’s why Mother Sister’s breakdown at the end hurt me the most to see. The entire movie, she demands order and truly believes that, if she can keep the peace, she can stop such a traumatic event from hurting the community. Yet, in the end, she is powerless to stop it and shatters from her lack of agency. Sal, for damn sure, got insurance. He didn’t lose shit. The community lost someone they had watched grow up; Their brother, a son. Sal saying that it would be even hotter tomorrow means that the cycle will only continue. I also want to speak on the themes of the Civil Rights Movement, how they were used here, and how they were the most direct message the movie had to share. For one, Buggin’ Out wasn’t wrong at all; he was a young kid expressing an inequality in his community. I don’t understand why people say he was an instigator. He’s a teenager; he’s not going to be as eloquent about his demands as Malcolm or Martin Luther. There is space on the wall for both Italian and Black individuals, and if you are actively living off the Black community, you, for damn sure, should be inclusive of them. I read one of the top reviews on here that focused on the fact that a lot of people try to sympathize with Sal, when, in reality, just because he’s not a “fangs-out” racist, they try to ignore the fact that every aspect of his interaction with the community was purely transactional. He never viewed himself as a part of the community and genuinely only kept the peace because it was good for business. He threw the money at Mookie because he thought he could buy him out; he thought that money bought Mookie’s ultimate and undying loyalty. In the photo of Malcolm and Martin, it’s clear that the reason it is shown at the beginning and the end of the film is that it represents the exact thing Spike wants us to reckon with. There is no right or wrong method toward progress; both violence and peace are necessary; love and hate.