(May 10, 2022 at 5:59 am)h311inac311 Wrote: Evil only knows how to kill steal and destroy that which righteousness creates. We're seeing this now in Hollywood as it is endlessly remaking and retelling old stories which resonated with millions across the world. Only now these stories have mary-sue type women who are handed everything (Mulan, Rey) because Hollywood is trying to appeal to a new kind of feminist virtue which insists that women are special for existing, rather than that they are special for overcoming difficulty (or sexism in the case of Mulan). The result is bad stories which teach no good morals, a fireworks show at best that is here today and forgotten tomorrow.
I haven't seen Mulan, but I did see one of the Star Wars movies with Rey in it. I've read enough on Twitter to know what a Mary Sue is.
But I don't think we can blame bad storytelling and unoriginal plots on women's rights. Both of the movies you name are Disney products, and Disney makes every choice it makes for one and only one reason: money. They have calculated that selling a certain image to a certain set of consumers will be profitable. Parents who pay money for those DVDs, which they put on to keep their kids quiet, feel good about themselves if they think their consumer products are up to date morally. Anti-sexist, pro-woman, etc.
The point is that these are consumer products, and the anti-sexist messages they teach (or pretend to teach) are calculated to ship product. If you want honest morality, clear thinking, and truly good morals, you have to read good stuff -- and that's not going to be calculated for greatest sales.
Probably you know the story about Edward Bernays, who was Freud's nephew. He moved to the US and became the first great ad man. One of his main coups was to persuade women who were working for the right to vote that cigarettes were a symbol of women's freedom. By connecting the two totally unrelated issues -- smoking and voting -- he opened up the market to millions of new consumers.
That's America. Money is so deeply involved in everything, that even the very best moral issues are compromised.
Better rights for women, gay people, trans people, etc., is a great cause, and every improvement is a wonderful step in the right direction. But it's not going to be pure, because nothing that gets widespread retail distribution is pure.
