Alice
The idea of a post-feminist version of Alice in Wonderland, as the newly rebranded and prolific SyFy channel recently produced, is pretty much a non-starter for two reasons. First, and most obvious, because it is high time that the archaic idea that the mere act of slapping a butt kicking female (in this case she's a martial arts instructor) into an old fable automatically equates to modernization goes on hiatus. Second, there is also the rather unfortunate fact that if you look close enough at Lewis Carroll's original tale the lessons of feminism are already there.
Still, that female demographic remains highly desirable for producer types so here they have taken Alice and equipped her with some serious commitment phobia, a sprinkling of daddy issues, and placed her at the heart of a miniseries that is serviceable but fails to thrill. Caterina Scorsone injects a lot of spunk and energy into a role that was undoubtedly a challenge but it is not quite enough to lift this rendition above the rest of the pedestrian made for TV films out there.
After a full-on marriage press from her boyfriend Jack (Philip Winchester) that she flatly rejects, and a run in with a group of street hoods who take a particular interest in her engagement ring, Alice falls through the looking glass into a Wonderland that doubles as critique of our own world and points a stern finger at us for just how enslaved we are by the pharmaceutical industry. Here humans from our world are lured into Wonderland so that they can be drained of their emotions which, in turn, are sold to the masses as miracle drugs.
The look of the film is about what you would expect - high gloss/low budget - with the green screens used are a tad more impressive than typically seen on SyFy. When used properly they give the viewer the distinct feeling that they are experiencing somebody else's bad acid trip. Also Harry Dean Stanton, while not a special effect per se, deserves praise for both his performance and the bizarre, thrift store purchased wardrobe choices gifted him.
In charge of this mess is the Queen of Hearts (Kathy Bates) who is none to pleased when Alice finds some wiggle room in her evil scheme and escapes the whole emotion draining process, and sets off on a journey to return to her own world. Bates seems to be relishing the opportunity to play bad in an inconsequential role and fits the part perfectly. The Queen does not take kindly to Alice and sicks her hitman, The White Rabbit, who happens to be a resurrected thug with a giant plaster rabbit head, on her.
The plot functions well enough but is just stretched too thin. Even if you fast forward through the commercials it clocks in at an intimidating three hours. To make matters worse writer director Nick Willing is addicted to old-fashioned cliff-hangers leading into every commercial break, including one that literally has Alice hanging off a cliff. The dialogue here is also outdated and represents what some might say is the opposite of the Mumblecore movement; rigid, choppy and feeling as though it was written by a computer program. The characters say what they need to say to advance the story, with nobody ever interrupting, and that is it.
If you do feel the need to watch this series, which will doubtless be repeated, and you could do a lot worse, then it is recommended that you read Carroll's story first, or at the bare minimum check out Disney's 1951 classic as a refresher course. But we would urge you to skip this one altogether as it is really nothing more than a lot of bells and whistles being banged very loudly in an attempt to distract away from just how generic it is. If only Willing had thrown his back into the project a little bit more there could have been something here. Instead he attacked the idea with something less than a killer instinct and ultimately found himself hawking simple platitudes, like "Don't blindly whore yourself out to the powers that be." It's a nice lesson for the kids and people who have never thought for themselves before, but everybody else will be bored by the ideas and images presented here.
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Comments
Part 2 of 2
The Decline of Dominance and Re-establishment of Equality -
The timing of the 1960âs pill and ten years later, the recognition of the feminist movement is an incident that supports the view that they are connected in a cause and effect relationship, but via a third factor.
I would argue that the dominance by women is not a result of feminism, but of the 1960âs pill. Feminism developed out of this dominance. Once the dominance is removed, feminism will dwindle and demise.
The 1960âs pill does give an advantage and dominance via the reward of sex to men. But with an equivalent male contraceptive pill, men can make it quite clear that they are not prepared to have children unless they want to, and are offered a satisfactory position in the family group and society - enforced by law. This would equalise the womanâs power over menâs sex drive with the manâs power over the maternal instinct; and the need to breed. Hence the counter balancing of the power given to women - ironically by male scientists! - by the 1960âs female contraceptive pill.
Once the power of the 1960s female pill is counterbalanced - equalized - by the male pill this yoke of female dominance is likely to be flung off with surprising speed, and retribution and revenge on the British feminist female - and feminist male - is likely to be wreaked, as some wiser and more sensible women have been aware of for some time.
I am very surprised that a social event on par with the 1960s social revolution is within a few years, and the media and people in general have not noticed. I do not intent to attack women in general, but simply to describe - what appears to me - to be in the future.
It appears to me that the combination of -
1 a general grass roots resistance and resentment by modern men to the belligerents and unfairness of feminism,
2 the coming worsening economic decline and worsening male unemployment,
3 the problems of over population,
4 and the balancing of the 1960s female pill with an equivalent male pill
will result in a complete reversal of the present situation and the subjugation of western women into exploited work units with little or no rights at all - and given their attitude to Men over the last fifty years, I would have little sympathy for them; and I doubt if many Men would.
Today belongs to feminism, but tomorrow belongs to Men.
Sage1916
- Posted by Sage99 @ 01/05/10, 02:04 am
The Pill and Feminism's Future
Part 1 of 2
The Rise and Fall of Feminism/Female Domination
Dec 2009
The Male Contraceptive Pill; and Freedom For Men -
The male pill is on itâs way, and will be with us in less than 5 years, if not from the US or Britain, then from China and India.
The pill for men will be the biggest step for freedom that men have ever had - freedom from the serfdom imposed by fatherhood. So if the present tyrannical feminist British women want their babies, they will have to offer a far better deal to men than at present.
For example -
1
The present marriage laws, and the infamous and secret âfamily courtsâ will have to go, and quickly, and the dictatorial marriage and âcommon lawâ marriage expectations drastically changed.
2
The constant demeaning of masculinity, particularly on TV in programs such as âOne Foot in the Graveâ, âMen Behaving Badlyâ and the present âsoapsâ in general, where men habitually behave in an infantile manner, and are presented in an appalling way, will have to be recognised as highly offensive to men, and dispensed with.
3
The most powerful of the British feminist weapons - the wild and malicious accusations of ârapeâ and âchild sexâ - will have to be brought back under civilized law where the accuser will be required to have hard evidence and be held responsible for their actions, both in the making of the accusation, and their part in the incident. The male sex drive is an extremely powerful force, and a woman who provokes it to the point where a man loses his self-control that woman must accept some of the blame. The accused will have to be considered innocent until - and if - proven guilty.
The Rise of Woman's Dominance -
As far as I know never before in human history has woman obtained such a dominant position in society, and I have puzzled over this for many years. To reason this out I considered that the dominance must coincide with a recent new event, and the rise of science is the most noticeable over the last 100 years.
It seems that the science events most effecting womenâs position in society are the invention of domestic labour saving devices - making the âhousewifeâ redundant, the invention of mechanised work equipment - making the âmale upper bodyâ strength requirement redundant in the workplace, and - most significantly - the invention of the female contraception pill which gave a woman political power over men by either withholding sex, which she has always been able to do, or rewarding with sex, which for the fear of unwanted pregnancy, she has never been able to do before. It should be noted that recent social science research has found that giving rewards has far more impact on behaviour than giving punishments, which soon lose their effects altogether.
The female contraceptive pill in the 1960s Britain gave British women direct power over sex availability without fear of pregnancy for the first time in human history. There was a popular phrase in the 1960s - 'free love', but there was nothing 'free' about the 'free love' of the 1960s. It came at a price, a price controlled and set by women who seized upon this new 'pillow power' with vigour; and some have used this power - unwisely - to disadvantage men in every way possible, thus asserting a position of dominance over men in which she has reduced them to a level of disadvantaged cowed subservience - and infantile behaviour in an attempt to present themselves as children entitled to the protection of the maternal instinct.
The âMad Maternal Instinctâ - the all powerful evolutionary force in women that regards masculine Men as simple mating objects when in lust, and when not, as dangerous predators to be avoided or driven off and away from the precious family group.
Sage1916
Continued -
- Posted by Sage99 @ 01/05/10, 02:03 am
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