ryuu-from-the-grave

[ryuu-from-the-grave]

Something I appreciate about Monkey Man is how doesn't try to frame revenge as just a pointlessly violent, self-destructive pursuit the way many films do. I think it's because Dev Patel was unafraid of adding a political element to the story. The kid wants to avenge his mother, but he also doesn't want what happened to them to keep happening to others. The presence of the hijras really drives this idea home. They fight with him not only because he's their friend, but because Baba and the nationalist party will bring violence literally to their door even if they don't fight back. I often roll my eyes at anti-revenge narratives. I think Dev Patel gets what it's like to be a victim of systematic violence in a way most filmmakers seem not to. Revenge isn't just a selfish pursuit that perpetuates the ~cycle of violence~, it can also be a desperate desire for the violence to end.

[ryuu-from-the-grave]

spoiler warning for monkey man?

i'm probably never going to be able to stop talking about monkey man but let's just start with the ending.

Characters who can't outlive their narrative destroy me. But here's the thing – I think traditionally we do a poor job conveying the point of the trope. It'll read more like this character, who's only ever wanted to accomplish one thing, dies immediately after they accomplish it – and what's left is a story with a character-sized hole in it. It feels mostly like despair and hopelessness because it feels like the character never got to experience peace. The character, so wrapped up in anger, fear, sadness, etc – never experiences just being on the other side of this chasm they built for themselves.

There's a critical difference between characters who can't outlive their narrative and characters who won't. Characters who won't outlive their narrative can still have dreams, plans – the heartbreak is real because they saw a life for themselves on the other side and they'll never get to experience it. But most of the time we treat characters who can't outlive their narrative in the same way, and filmmakers trust that we as the audience suspend our disbelief and hope for the characters to have an epilogue.

Bobby/Kid/Dev Patel never had plans for what's next. We saw barely-there flashes of who he must be outside of his avenging mission, enough to cobble together this idea that yes, he deserves so much more. But it was evident from the first second of this film that there was nothing waiting for him on the other side. Bobby/Kid/Dev Patel could have never survived the narrative. There was no reality of an after for him after he avenged his mother – no practical way for him to build a new life. But in those last seconds, when he turned to the mural depicting the carnage of Hanuman and he had the far-away thought that it was over, we saw Dev Patel channel this relief in this doomed character.

We as an audience exhale with the character, we feel the release from his duty the same way he does.

He falls, the camera follows his center of gravity, and the screen cuts to black. The narrative begins and ends with him. He begins and ends with this narrative.

[ryuu-from-the-grave]

Me, talkign to my friends: yeah theres this neat action film coming out soon that dev patel stars in/wrote/directed, i hope its fun

Me, going into the theater: im ready to have a good time, hopefully this will be like bullet train and have some cool visuals and fun acting :)))

Me, exiting the theater:

IN THAT ORDER

[ryuu-from-the-grave]

a SPARKLY heeled shoe, cannot be understated

no because the more i think about it the more monkey man was GOOD………. the sociopolitical commentary on ethnonationalism, police brutality and misogyny, the intersectional feminism, the religious allegory & hindu mythology, trans women slaying [literally], dev patel beating the shit out of a corrupt policeman with a heeled shoe

[ryuu-from-the-grave]

Just watched Monkey Man and I can't recall the last time I've seen an action movie that was that overtly political. Like, it's set in India (the movie is in American/Canadian coproduction) and so it's somewhat distanced from the NorthAmerican context, but it's still very much a movie with a major plot point of the hero organizing an army of Hijras to murder the shit out of the chief of police, a corrupt conservative religious leader, and a bunch of transparent stand-ins for the BJP.

Also, it's really good.

[ryuu-from-the-grave]

see dev patel just gets it. he’s aware that we yearn for sweaty curls and a tight black suit and beating the shit out of corrupt politicians

[ryuu-from-the-grave]

I hope everyone is aware Dev Patel has a movie in theaters right now where he guts a bunch of Hindutva fascists with an army of hijra to a heavy metal soundtrack about killing rapists ok good thanks

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My round food art

[ryuu-from-the-grave]

#songofthesummer

[ryuu-from-the-grave]

"The Big Dipper as it is today (left) and as it will look in 50,000 years." Dream of stars. 1940.

Internet Archive

[ryuu-from-the-grave]

[ryuu-from-the-grave]

see 0 note flop posts aren't that bad when they're personal but 0 note fandom posts feel literally so bad. like if you don't wanna play toys with me anymore just say that. i'll pack up my super cool awesome things and go and i'll sit on the other side of the playground by myself and i won't even look at you. fuck

[ryuu-from-the-grave]

A brief moment of rationality from the bird place.

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Diversity win! Ancestral curse recognises non-biological parenthood!

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*examines your pdf folder* have you read them all?

[ryuu-from-the-grave]

my 8 year old has some emotional regulation difficulties, and I've done my best to help him with those.

unrelated, I gave him a shovel a couple of days ago and told him to go have fun in the field because I was tired.

He suddenly seemed happier, having less trouble breathing through disappointment and just being generally all around more cheerful and able to focus in school better. Sure, my partner had to pull him out of a six foot by three foot hole today, but he was stoked about it!