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  1. Yes, it was the lobotomy. There’s several things that fit together there that make it a complete horror for me.

    I think that it needed to be there – even probably needed to be on-screen – for the dramatic impact and the story… but I really, really didn’t want to see it.

    I kept hoping it wasn’t going to happen. If I wasn’t enjoying the rest of it as much as I did, and didn’t really want to see the end, I’d have left. As I said, nightmare-inducing. The idea of being trapped within myself has always been a particular horror, and having it forcibly done is truly awful.

    It says something for my wanting to see the completion and the end of the film that I did stay. And I think I need to go think about other things now.

  2. Well put! That’s sort of my point in this review: effectively, we see what we bring to the metaphoric table, and we can choose whether we are disgusted or delighted. I wanted the latter; to be inspired. :)

    If you can say: was it the disturbing imagery at the end — the one that squicked you — that was the “powerful images in the film that bothered [you], and made [you] unwilling to think too deeply about parts of it”?

  3. Hmm. I admit, while watching the film, I didn’t get any of these symbols. I won’t deny they were there, but I have a hard time concluding that this is what something means or why it was put in. I’d have to ask the director and/or writer, and that might ruin it.

    Highly symbolic subjects like this are interesting because they can be interpreted by each viewer as different things and having different importances.

    For instance, I didn’t place much emphasis on the death of the mother and/or child; I saw the important message there as the warning to listen and follow directions. I didn’t see the bomb exploding the city as relevant (I thought they saved the city, that the bomb blew up too soon), but the loss of a team member as the key aspect.

    As I said, it’s almost better not to know what was planned, and to find your own meaning and strength from what you see. If you ask “what did you mean?” it might lessen or contradict the meaning you found, and for no reason. Each viewer brings their own perspective and can get their own messages.

    That may be a reason some didn’t like the film; they didn’t understand what they were “supposed” to get, and have little experience bringing their own views to something.

    Others might have been disturbed by the concepts and unwilling to find anything good about an infanticide – even if it is a dragon – or about the girls deaths.

    Others might be offended or upset to see pretty girls “used” this way, and be unable to see past the idea that this is just cheesecake or action-porn. (I feel sorry for these people.)

    There’s a set of powerful images in the film that bothered me, and made me unwilling to think too deeply about parts of it, but I still found it a very good movie and appreciated the incredible effort that went into it. Even if I don’t want to see it again.

  4. Well, you certainly got a lot more out of the film than I did. I’m glad of that. I wish I could have seen the movie through your eyes, but I guess that’s what makes us all individuals. I don’t know if you listen to my podcast, but we did a show about objectification with a guest who does pin-up art and burlesque shows, and we talked a bit about Sucker Punch and the things that bothered me about it. http://www.simplysyndicated.com/sb66_86objectification/ I’d be interested in your take on the subject.

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