Turning Red

[MoonSong]

Spoiler: Out of context, First impressions in order

Ok. First impressions in order. I'll add to this as I watch.

Not a fan of first person narrative and post-modern fiction in movies. It gives me flashbacks of Lizzie McGuire and Clarissa Explains it all.

Mei Lee is an overachiever and hypocritical to herself. I'm liking her character arc as it is being set up. .

How can she be forced to act like an adult and at the same time so infantilized at the same time?

Of course Mei Lee's Mom is a Tiger Mom... and she is over the top. It seems the inciting incident is an innocent act going horribly wrong and overblown by the mother.

14.-It seems Mei Lee has been properly educated, I mean conditioned.

15.- And we finally the moment we've been waiting for.

22.- I hate Tyler already

23.- Ok, Mei Lee's mom is acting creepy. Helicopter mom much?

25.- Disaster dominoes.

27.- The explanation is very D&D-like. I think I want a red panda sorcerer bloodline

29.- Ok, the disaster could have been prevented. Why not explain this to her before the fact instead of awaiting until the last moment?

33.- What awful parenting. Mei's mom doesn't dare to look at her?

38.- Mei's mom is very prejudiced and old fashioned. Not to mention a hypocrite.

40.- And back to being creepy.

41.- And a rebellion sparks...

43.- Technology is oddly late nineties early oughts. Curious choice, I wouldn't have expected it to be a period piece.

47. Did I mention I hate Tyler? If this story follows formula, I expect him to become a love interest?

51. I expect some shenanigans and chaos to come. Ominous grandma is ominous when she gives ominous omens.

56. The gig is up!

57. Hadn't noticed the tamagotchi!

59. I expected a more impressive end of second act.

61. The conditioning comes back.

62. I hope that car is automatic.

63. Ohh number four! I hadn't noticed the significance of the number.

64. Mom bad, Daddy good. It's been a while since I've seen this dynamic in media.

66. I'm half expecting the ritual to fail and half expecting Mei to run away in the middle of it.

70. Her mother is angry...

72. Reality ensues, and actions have consequences. Easily forgiven in the end.

73. Momzilla arrives.

74. Is 4Twon the second coming of Nsync? I would have wanted to hear a bit more of the song.

75. "I brought you into this world and can take you out of it".

78. Intergenerational trauma and the cycle of abuse. For a given definition of abuse. That bump to the head hurt.

79. An impromptu henshin sequence. For some reason I find all of Mei's aunts and cousins to be rather indistinguishable from each other.

80. Oh now I get to hear the song!

82. Now we get to the heartwarming climax. That explains the scar.

86. And Mei's character arc is complete.

87. Oh the tamagotchi is back! again! And it keeps Mom's panda! n_n

88 They are stuck with the bill! How funny! Tyler is part of the friend group! Not exactly up to the prediction, but close enough.


Credit sequence. On hindsight 4Town sounds more like Westlife.

The stinger. Awkward joke, with Dads that somehow doesn't count as a Dad joke.

Ok, Conclusion, the movie is fine. It has its moments, but it is like the third or fourth recent Disney/Pixar movie which features strong mommy/maternal issues as motifs. I find it conspicuously odd.
I don't have any evidence to support it, but I wouldn't be surprised if this movie had some autobiographical elements.

Honestly, I can see why some might not like it due to its elements and themes, but I think it may be a mistake to see it as strictly "Chinese". This story is closer to being "universal" with an emphasis on the mother/daughter relationship. I'm not sure if this movie will be popular with children, as it handles themes that speak more to preteens. I hope it finds an audience, because it is fun and just right in depth. Not a masterpiece, but far from being bad.

 

[Voadam]

People can feel differently about cultural assimilation. It is ok for people in the same situation (two siblings say) to feel differently. It is also ok to feel differently (pride, warmth, support, cringe, hurt, betrayal) about different depictions. Populations and experiences and feelings are not going to be uniform. In general I would stick to a high bar for telling someone they were doing it wrong for what they feel or value. I would look askance about claims of uniformity and one right way.

For someone who wants to fully assimilate into the mainstream culture, highlighting cultural differences can be painful. For someone who embraces the multicultural aspects, it can be celebratory and supportive and assimilative to mainstream depictions of different cultures.

 

[Fifth Element]

because they cannot accept that they are not really Chinese even if they have elements of it's culture within them.

How is this not a Scotsman fallacy exactly? Who gets to determine who is and is not "really Chinese?" What standards are being used to make this determination?

 

[Grendel_Khan]

Alright, time to take a big sip of coffee and click on the main menu for "Digit," the site that posted the Turning Red review highlighted in the OP.

Say, what does that first header in the pop-out menu on the left read, the one with the big red bar?

Oh. Cool.

 

[GreyLord]

Alright, time to take a big sip of coffee and click on the main menu for "Digit," the site that posted the Turning Red review highlighted in the OP.

Say, what does that first header in the pop-out menu on the left read, the one with the big red bar?

View attachment 155045

Oh. Cool.

I don't know a ton about the site itself.

I was trying to find authentic opinions held by those who were actually of Chinese heritage and not cherry picked by a bunch of non-Chinese (happens a LOT these days when trying to form opinions). Found it via google (went direct to the review of it).

I admit, it was a quick google search though.

I found two reviews of it (in actuality), one behind a paywall, and the one I posted. The one behind the paywall was actually an opinion piece and a little odd in that it castigated the movie for the same thing, but then also said it was a good thing as it brought attention to minorities and seemed to say that anything that put Chinese Canadians or americans in spots that could be recognizeable or put them in positions of power was a step up and a positive.

I found some forums (in Chinese, translated to English via translation program, so, figured that wouldn't be appropriate) but, without going into it, also had comments and opinions that I felt I shouldn't go into or post here. Most of what they said was already summed up in what I said without going into what they actually said. Plus, who wants commentary from another forum on a forum when they aren't even RPG commentaries.

There were some specifics on the film itself, but then again, the big picture of the various points of view were already presented in what I wrote, so, really no point in talking about what their conversations on the film were when I could address it in a much more congenial and probably appropriate manner.

The only thing that I didn't bring up is that they had a VERY DIFFERENT approach in regards to the film and what it was about in their thoughts which I really don't know how to address, and haven't seen on any English speaking sites.

I did the Google search after seeing the film and thinking to myself how I should approach this. I felt I should include my friends thoughts and warnings on it, but my own (NON-Chinese heritage) views had turned out much more positive about the film. I wanted to make sure their warnings were expressed respectfully, while at the same time expressing my own views. It's something where I knowingly had friends warning about it, but watched it anyways and had my own more positive reaction. On my own, I would have probably focused more on the latter half with the positive commentary regarding ENworld and us all being together. ON the otherhand, I didn't want to seem as if I just callously disregarded the views of my friends who actually have Chinese-heritage as that is done all too often to minorities and their views on a whole. Hard spot to be in, mixed feelings about it. I tried to strike a balance to be respectful and point out their warnings, but also expressing my thoughts as well. It could that I failed completely in trying to strike that balance, if so, I am sorry.

I used that review for multiple reasons, (As listed above), but also because it was one that I found via a quick google search. I apologize I didn't actually look at the rest of the site in using it.

 

[Grendel_Khan]

I used that review for multiple reasons, (As listed above), but also because it was one that I found via a quick google search. I apologize I didn't actually look at the rest of the site in using it.

I didn't mean it as an attack on you, honestly. I just think there are critics who either have experience with this kind of analysis--sometimes with a proven track record of interesting perspectives--or else if its a newcomer you can sometimes gauge things by looking at which outlet assigned the article.

I'm admittedly a little snobby about this sort of thing, but only because there are about a billion takes posted on the internet about any movie, and that reviewer's writing was (imo) so flat and beginner-ish that I had to know what sort of editor had either let it run like that, or edited it into mush (I've definitely had those editors). That it came from a rudderless SEO clickbait site vaguely appealing to tech dudes just seemed too funny to not point out.

I don't mean to dismiss the opinions of non-professional or non-experienced critics, though. I just feel like I can tell when someone doesn't have a history of critical analysis, and mostly wants to talk about a movie in a way that's really just talking about themselves. Or, more specifically, they want to deliver the hottest and spiciest of takes, without having the skills or receipts to back them up.