team america world police
When i saw the passion of christ my viewing pleasure was somewhat disrupted by a wailing toddler. I know it's pretty common for parents to bring young children to movies that distrub them and make them cry, but the passion was such an extremely violent drug out movie that i felt pretty bad for the kid, especially with the parent's whispering "shhh, he died for your sins" as means of cold comfort.
Today at team ameica team america, i was sitting next to a family of 5. There's was a 4 year old who kept getting out of his chair. Also starring an approximate 10 year old, a young teenager and mom and dad. This movie is really, really violent. when the puppets get killed they bleed and are filled with gruesome meat. There's also tons of cursing but the parents didn't seem to mind. White americans killing nameless evil terrorists is obviously completely appropriate sunday viewing material for the whole family.
But as soon as the puppets got naked the family was up and gone. How stereotypical is that? No problem at all with the glorification of violence but at the first sign of sex they flee.
This movie was funny, mostly during musical numbers, but when it wasn't funny it was creepy. i've heard that Trey Parker and Matt stone say they made this movie with no stance in mind but it seems to me that you can't make a movie about things this powerful that are going on right now without taking some sort of a stance.
Team america is a parody, with a little bit of satire. It's a parody because this movie is made to be almost exactly like a bad 80's action movie. They take great pains to be as faithful to this type of movie and do a very good job. The americans are stupid, clumsy, shallow and violent and the villans are crudely drawn characatures of people from different parts of the globe. There's the obligatory training montage with a clever song called "montage" to drive home the point that they are making fun of bad 80's action movies.
It's a typical movie all the way through, the heroes stop the villans plan and kill the evil terrorists. anyone associated with peace is labeled a "fag" and secretly a co-conspiritor of a terrorist. If anything the movie seems to be saying we should go to war with north korea.
I know that may sound a bit crazy and people who saw this movie say "of course it's not realistic, that's why it's funny." The movie is not realistic in it's portrayal but it's portaying real things. cities are being destroyed. Kim jong is a real person. When you make a movie about kim jong aiding terrorists to blow up the world you are taking a stand whether you like it or not. In a time of terrible conflict, death and destruction of many many lives if you make fun of something like this, you are going to stir shit up and influence people. If your essential message to your audince is "dicks (america) have to fuck (kill) assholes (kim jong) or the pussies (peacefull people) and the dicks will be shit all over (weapons of mass destruciton activated) then that's the message. They aren't making fun of that idea they just say it and end the movie. I mean they might have some how been making fun of the message but i couldn't tell. they killed everyone, hollywood liberals, middleastern people, korean people, destroyed the louvre and at the end of the movie it was all ok cause they got the bad guy.
They don't subvert the story at all. Even though it makes fun of how bad 80's action movies are made, it's still a bad 80's action movie. americans kill whomever we want with no concequences and that's ok. The movie is really well done, the sets and puppets are elaborate and awesome. It bothers me that Team America World Police is at the forfront of our countries national conscisnious right now, right before a pretty important election. It's fucking creepy and hate mongering and bothered me.
It was exteremely well done, right on the money. In places it was hilarious. I didn't like the message and figure this movie should effectively cancel out farenheight 911 in the minds of undecided uneducated voters. it's almost shamefull, but i guess that's sort of the point. Maybe matt and trey are playing a big joke on america when they create the newest sensation that will represent the usa culturally to the rest of the world.
blech.
