Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Pirates...the new Aardman movie.

28 replies

PosiePaques · 13/04/2012 17:41

Anyone seen it, a feminist friend said it was boaksomely sexist. Women as huge breasted sidekicks to be gawped at and stuff. I was looking forward to taking the dcs, now I don't think I can.

OP posts:
PosiePaques · 13/04/2012 17:44

a review

OP posts:
Ambrosius · 13/04/2012 17:46

Didn't bother me, there was a female pirate with a spectacular bottom... But she wasn't a side kick. There is a female pirate (also well endowed in the rear dept) dressed as a male in Captain Pirates crew and Queen Victoria is the villain. Not many women at all. As you would expect from a Victorian pirate movie tbh.

festi · 13/04/2012 17:48

one pirate is, another is a woman dressed as a man so she can be a pirate, and then there is queen vic who is big breasted and big arsed powerfull woman.

sexist isnt the first thing I got from it. i suposse offence could be taken from anything, but maybe the prtrayel of pirates as something good and to aspire to would be stronger than the portyal of woman in the film, but I wasnt offended or worried by that either.

i enjoyed and my dd enjoyed it.

festi · 13/04/2012 17:50

yes that is true she was not a side kick she was a bonified pirate woman herself.

AlexanderSkarsgardIWould · 13/04/2012 17:51

It's not great from a feminist point of view, no. One of the scientists invents something for looking down women's tops. The only female pirate in the Pirate Captain's crew pretends to be a man (inexplicably, as this is never explored and she never reveals her true identity), and the only other female pirate is a rival femme-fatale (exaggerated curves Jessica Rabbit-stylee etc.).

tribpot · 13/04/2012 17:51

I think some of the points in the review are valid - the 'look down women's tops' thing was a bit jarring at the time, I think they intended that as a sort of joke for schoolboys like a fart gag. Only it didn't seem very Aardman-esque (if you compare it with, say, Flushed Away). My ds (aged 6) finds all boobies amusing, male and female.

I think Darwin was meant to be in love with Victoria, rather than just fancying her. And Cutlass Liz was indeed a bit of a disappointing stereotype - not least because they couldn't find anyone other than Salma Hayek to reprise the cat role from Puss in Boots! If I were the Shrek team I'd be thinking about suing I reckon.

But compare it with a film like TinTin that had no female characters in at all (that I can recall anyway) - or indeed Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked which failed on every possible level.

fuzzpig · 13/04/2012 17:53

One of the scientists invents something for looking down women's tops

Really?!? I haven't seen ads but I thought this was a kids film? Only because they have toys in Macdonalds

AlexanderSkarsgardIWould · 13/04/2012 17:53

I was Shock at the looking down women's tops thing in a U-rated kids film.

festi · 13/04/2012 17:53

I think that review is a load of crap to be honest, factually correct but the ofence taken I think was unessary. It was a sartirirical take on vicorian history and piracy nothin more nothing less, the message could certanly be reversed as far as I am conerned, laughing at the victorian and historical perspective of woman.

festi · 13/04/2012 17:56

not of woman about woman that error seems to change to tone of my post

WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes · 13/04/2012 17:57

I've seen worse, at least it wasn't all about a beautiful Princess who could only be fulfilled by marrying a handsome man, I do try and avoid those.

I thought Queen Victoria was portrayed mainly as a powerful villain rather than a love interest for Charles Darwin, he was portrayed as somewhat weak and feeble in character. The other females were only fairly minor characters.

I didn't come away worrying that it was giving the DCs the wrong message TBH, although I would have preferred the female rival pirate not to be dressed so suggestively, she was only on screen for a couple of minutes in total.

AlexanderSkarsgardIWould · 13/04/2012 17:57

Have just read that review - yeah, I'd say that pretty much sums it up.

AlexanderSkarsgardIWould · 13/04/2012 17:59

Also I thought it was a little bit violent for small children.

suburbandream · 13/04/2012 17:59

Went to see it today. I was surprised and disappointed by the sexy female pirate and the "looking down women's tops". Completely unnecessary IMO, it didn't really offend me, it was just juvenile - not clever and not funny. Which was a shame because other than that I thought the film was really good.

feelathome · 13/04/2012 18:20

Slightly off topic, but did I imagine the swearing? I am sure I heard "Arse" and "Crap", which shocked me in a U film. I went with my 8 year old and felt ashamed of the sexism in it, but mostly shocked with the swearing.

tribpot · 13/04/2012 19:14

There was an 'arse', yes - it's the sort of word you can get away with on American telly (like bollocks) because the audience doesn't really know what it means, but shouldn't have been in a U film.

WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes · 13/04/2012 19:25

I heard one arse and one crap, yes, I was surprised at those too. But I don't watch many children's films, so wasn't sure if that was normal.

PosiePaques · 13/04/2012 20:54

I really hate the message of looking down women's tops.

OP posts:
ArielThePiraticalMermaid · 13/04/2012 20:59

I watched it and I didn't remotely notice. I thought it was hilarious.

ArielThePiraticalMermaid · 13/04/2012 21:07

(though I am remarkably and happily undiscerning generally)

margoandjerry · 13/04/2012 21:16

I was surprised at the language in a U film. I thought it was ok although I agree that the cutlass Liz character was generally underwritten and that was probably a missed opportunity. I didn't have a problem with the Queen Victoria character because I just thought she was a villain and it was a novelty that she was a woman rather than it was because she was a woman iyswim.

I wondered if they'd originally written and animated the albino pirate part for Mackenzie Crook because the character looked like him (and Number 2 looked like Martin Freeman who voiced that character) but Mackenzie Crook didn't actually do the voice.

KRITIQ · 13/04/2012 21:24

Polly the dodo was female, too.

The context of the 'looking down ladies' tops,' was that a scientist was presenting his invention, an airship, and admitted, embarassed, that's why he'd made it. It wasn't a lofty scientific pursuit. He left the stage in shame and was ridiculed by the other characters.

Nearly all children's films are dominated by white, male characters or their proxies if characters aren't human. If they are based on existing, well known books, it may be harder to make them be more representative without irking the purists.

The cross dressing pirate, queen nor Polly were depicted in particularly worring ways. Cutlass Liz though was a cringeworthy 'hot Latina' and that was totally wrong. Apart from Liz, a brief appearance by Lenny Henry's Peg Leg and one mixed heritage member of the captain's crew, all the characters were white.

I like Aardman stuff although not as representative as it could be. Chicken Run passed Bechdel Test though.

What's worse is the films where the geek turned hero 'wins' a female who'd previously had no interest in him. It feeds into that idea of meen feeling entitled to a woman if the do such and such.

There were two previews of kids' films where this was the case. Gah. Oh, ans sexualised non human and child characters - not good.

Going to see pirates again next weekend so will have a closer look.

carocaro · 13/04/2012 21:27

I thought it was crap, too long, hard to understand what they were saying half the time and quite frankly Charles Darwin would never in a trillion years given up a dodo to be eaten, and I have read all about Darwin, kind of makes him an idiot and yes I know it's a cartoon, but still, weak/grasping at straws plot. Yes the looking down womens tops was just stupid, not even school boy humour, more like old perve man humour eg: film makers. I did manage to close my eyes several times and not miss much, as well as taking younger ds1 to the loo, which helped break up the time!

rosy71 · 13/04/2012 22:11

But compare it with a film like TinTin that had no female characters in at all (that I can recall anyway) - or indeed Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked which failed on every possible level.

We have just watched Alevin and the Chipmunks:Chipwrecks and ds1 said "Why do the girl chipmunks always sing and dance and nothing else?" Good question.

suburbandream · 15/04/2012 08:19

Yes - the swearing! I heard "crap" at least once which surprised me, but I don't think the DCs noticed they've probably heard me say worse