by Alexander Jin
Alexander's movie review is a response to a field trip to see the new movie, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016), as part of our Spring 2016 seminar, Languages of Fear, Racism, and Zombies at Swarthmore College.
Alexander's movie review is a response to a field trip to see the new movie, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016), as part of our Spring 2016 seminar, Languages of Fear, Racism, and Zombies at Swarthmore College.
Preparing for Bingley's ball: Equal parts well-placed daggers, and signature empire waist.
In essence, I found this movie to be eh. Overall, the film struggles to find the appropriate balance between the aristocratic romance presented by Jane Austen's original novel and the absurd (somewhat comedic) zombie motif.
The film does a relatively good job in creating the alternative history setting but fell short when it attempts to provide additional information surrounding the rise of the zombies. For example, a little bit of 'pride and prejudice' may have affected the decision to convey that the zombie infection originated from overseas territories, when ironically the opposite was true. In reality, White explorers brought all sorts of diseases that ravaged indigenous populations through their expeditions. Additionally, the description of the sisters' training unnecessarily eroticizes 'The Orient' and the knowledge of faraway lands. Even if one is to disregard the fact that having specialized training in East Asia makes absolutely no socioeconomic sense, the manner in which all of the characters fight in the movie is distinctly Western.
The film does a relatively good job in creating the alternative history setting but fell short when it attempts to provide additional information surrounding the rise of the zombies. For example, a little bit of 'pride and prejudice' may have affected the decision to convey that the zombie infection originated from overseas territories, when ironically the opposite was true. In reality, White explorers brought all sorts of diseases that ravaged indigenous populations through their expeditions. Additionally, the description of the sisters' training unnecessarily eroticizes 'The Orient' and the knowledge of faraway lands. Even if one is to disregard the fact that having specialized training in East Asia makes absolutely no socioeconomic sense, the manner in which all of the characters fight in the movie is distinctly Western.
Alexander (L) and classmate Romeo (R) pose for a selfie in the movie theater after our seminar field trip. In fact, it seems as if the moviemakers have never heard of Google Translate, considering that when they had their characters communicate in Chinese, the only sound that was produced was incomprehensible sharp tones that one may actually liken to the mumblings of a incomprehensible zombie-like figure.
Let us also not forget about the unnecessary sexualization of the sisters. The audience is fed with these absurd scenes of the sisters dressing up in an Amazonian-woman-like fashion, where the camera focuses on the weaponry attached to their corsets and stockings. This is a brilliant reminder of how it is perfectly fine to have strong, independent female characters in movies so long as they are attractive and sexualized so that their external appearance is the crux of their character.
I give this movie a 10 out of 42. I refuse to have my rating make sense because this movie made absolutely no sense, and therefore I shall no longer talk about this movie and move on with my life.
Let us also not forget about the unnecessary sexualization of the sisters. The audience is fed with these absurd scenes of the sisters dressing up in an Amazonian-woman-like fashion, where the camera focuses on the weaponry attached to their corsets and stockings. This is a brilliant reminder of how it is perfectly fine to have strong, independent female characters in movies so long as they are attractive and sexualized so that their external appearance is the crux of their character.
I give this movie a 10 out of 42. I refuse to have my rating make sense because this movie made absolutely no sense, and therefore I shall no longer talk about this movie and move on with my life.
About the Author.
Alexander Jin is an Asian student at Swarthmore College, identifying as male. He is an awesome freshman who grew up in China, and is interested in studying the humanities and social sciences.
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