10 Questions with Priyanka Moodley
By Micaela Krishnan
Priyanka Moodley, director of the new blockbuster film, “Warrior”, talks of her childhood inspiration and her thoughts behind the making of this new take on superheroes.
“Warrior” is your first superhero movie. Why did you choose Warrior in particular, despite the comic series’ lack of success, to be your first?
PM: Something about her always appealed to me as a kid. I think growing up as an immigrant Indian in America it was really easy to relate to Warrior, Genna Higashi, who also an immigrant. While the comics certainly didn’t do so well, she was always my favourite when I was a child and I guess that’s why I wanted her to be my first.
Do you think that your background as an immigrant
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I didn’t want “Warrior” to be like most superhero movies, where it’s all about the amazing superhero using his superpowers to defeat the bad guy. I wanted this movie to really focus on Warrior’s story. I wanted the audience to relate to her as a person and see her more as an equal than some powerful being and I felt the best way to achieve that would be to remove some of her powers. But, don’t worry; “Warrior” still does have the amazing fight scenes.
In “Warrior” you deal a lot with gender bias. Even after all these years of change and women empowerment why do think that it is still important to showcase sexism and gender bias.
PM: It honestly is so important that we keep showing sexism and gender bias and showing the effect it has on women. I think that even though it’s been years, like you said, the concept of gender bias is so ingrained in society that, despite all this change, there is still an undertone of sexism. I mean, whether it is a woman’s success or the treatment of women there is still that line. We need to get to the point where it isn’t, “Wow, it’s a successful female director” but just “Wow, a successful director”.
Do you think that Warrior being a female effected how you portrayed her in the film with regards to film
... warriors allowed the English to relate to Indian tribes. Also, the Indians also used many gender metaphors to insult their opposition. They compared nations looking for peace to women. For example, the Delaware Indians were dressed as women during their negotiations for peace. The gender metaphors helped characterize the fighting spirit of many Indian tribes. The view that men were warriors and did not give in easily during a fight allowed many young men to grow and helped establish a patriarchal system in many Indian tribes.
I personally feel like the subtle forms of sexism that are especially prevalent in the media are far more dangerous to women. I find that I struggle far more with this kind of sexism that some douchey guy calling out “nice tits” as I pass him on the subway. I struggle more with subtle sexism, because I fall more easily into it’s traps. I find myself actively putting woman down in my mind without meaning to. In fact, just the other day I went to see a movie with my friends, when the movie was over we researched the director. It turns out it was directed by a woman. One of my male stated this information with excitement, and I simply responded with “so?”. I honestly didn’t see why that was something to get excited about. Women directed movies right? My friend then asked me to name five female directors off the top of my head. I could name two. Defiantly I stated that it was only because I didn’t have great grasp on directors as it was. I asserted that I probably couldn’t name five male directors. I could name seven. I am telling this story because to me this illustrates perfectly how I put down my own gender by just assuming that the problem isn’t so bad, instead of educating myself on the reality of sexism in film. I let myself stay ignorant to a problem by choice. I have seen enough interviews with directors and
What components make a movie successful in cinema? Filmmakers have crafted a formula to successfully deliver the hero narrative. This formula consists of the hero’s journey and archetypes. Hero films typically follow a ten-step sequence to properly set up and execute the hero’s journey. These movies range from stories of transformations, searches, or a journey back home. Archetypes are used to employ character profile as well as add variety and depth to these stories. Ridley Scott directed Alien, in which Ellen Ripley embarks on a journey where she must survive an alien who is out on a murderous rampage and return back to Earth. Alien adds originality to its storyline by choosing a female lead instead of a male, but the film still incorporates the same heroic attributes that make a story successful. In this “going home journey” film, Scott is able to incorporate the hero’s journey and the official hero archetype towards the heroine Ellen Ripley.
There have been major changes to the superhero archetype in comics in these recent years as compared to the past. Along with that arises controversy on the subjects like the new female Thor or a black kid as Spiderman. Many are zealously against such changes for reasons like sexism or racism. While many others are fervently behind such changes because they use it to empower their own political views on today’s topics. These topics are important to today’s society however they should not be so important in comic books because comic books should be value-neutral and gender, ethnicity, sexuality and things of this nature should not matter.
Defiance is a movie based on a true story of four Polish Jewish Bielski brothers that were trying to survive from Nazi Army during World War II. The movie started with Hitler ordering his army to kill Poland’s Jewish Citizen. During that time, the Polish Police worked closely with Nazis and they gave the whereabout of Bielski’s location. The Nazis successful found and murdered the parents of Bielski brothers. After this event, the two older brothers, Tuvia and Zus, took the two younger siblings, Aasel and Aron, in Belorussian forest to hide and find a shelter. While they were settling in the forest, they invited several other Jews who are escaping from Nazis and create a little community in the forest. As a result, group norms were formed
Good afternoon all, Jai here again with the First Friday Film Club and today we are talking quintessential journey films. In past weeks we have explored and reviewed popular movies such as The Wolf of Wall Street and The Hunger Games. Today we are going to be discussing on old classic, Once Were Warriors (1994) which in my opinion fits the description of a quintessential journey perfectly due to its extremely emotive and relatable plot involving many intense emotional journeys. In today’s show I will be investigating and responding to reviews given on the movie at the conclusion of last week’s show and giving my own personal opinion as to why the movie Once Were Warriors is indeed a quintessential journey film.
In today’s technological society it is hard to imagine that trivial things from the past like discrimination or prejudice are still present, but they are. Yes we still have racism, but for the most part this is only a problem of the less educated and vocal minority. There is a different prejudice that is deep rooted in this land of freedom and prosperity. This prejudice is sexism.
When American Sniper opened in theaters January 2015, the world was shocked and excited that a film about a war has finally shown the emotional and psychological pain a soldier goes through. To many this was a new concept but, what the public did not realize, was in 2014, a World War II film, Fury was released. Fury is an insightful film about a tank crew surviving through World War II through the emotional and psychological hardships. The film takes place in April 1945, five months before WWII ends (Fury, IMDb). There are many key points to which makes Fury a modern war film from the extent of backstory each character has, to the prescreening prep and training, to the research of the props. Though American Sniper and Fury differ in wars and
Even in the first civilizations sexsim was very prevalent, women were not included in democracy, they were not allowed to vote, and in some earlier civilizations women were not even allowed to have a job or go outside the home. Even as a 16 year old girl in America, the supposed land of dreams, I see sexism everyday. I see it when I watch the news, I see it when I’m walking down the halls at my school, I even see it when I read novels and articles or watch a movie online. Over 60% of serious journalism roles are given to males, while the women are left with the less important, or less popular sections. In school I see boys calling girls stupid, or girls getting a pass to go to their locker because they forgot something, even though a boy was just denied. I notice sexism the most in literature and movies, I see female characters being “airheads” or acting dumb and helpless, their main role in the piece is to wait for the male character to save them, or to be a comic relief. Not only are women’s jobs and dignity at stake but our sexuality, education and rights are too.
Women are usually targeted because they are seen as the inferior gender in society. They are often displayed as sexual objects in the media, such as in porn and video games. Because of the way women are portrayed in society, they do not have the same opportunities as men. Many people may think that sexism is not an important issue anymore because women are making their way to the top. For instance, Mary Berara, the CEO of General Motors says “There are more women in more senior roles than in 1980 when I started. But from my career perspective, I don 't go into a room and take count. I want to be recognized for my contribution and for what I do” (nymag). Women are pushing themselves to work in higher positions, to prove that they have the same ability as men. Although women are becoming more and more powerful, sexism is still a huge issue today. Women may have higher positions, but they are paid less than men. According to a news article, “In 2012, the median earnings of American women working full time year-round were $37,791. American men earned a median income of $49,398. The gender wage gap has hovered at about 77 cents on the dollar since 2007” (huffington). This proves that sexism is present today since women working in the same jobs as men are paid a lower
One thousand years go by and an abundant amount of people still view women in a stereotypical type of way. On the opposing view, if women did not overstretch the slightest of things, this wouldn’t be such an enormous issue. Women may be overreacting to what the media has to say about them. It is not affecting everybody but a vast majority of successful women from continuing to moving forward said Marianne Schnall. Important to realize, women are capable of doing jobs men can do. Such jobs as being an engineer, physician, mechanic, lawyer and even top notch business women! Up to the present time there is an ongoing public debate on women suffering from double standards. If it makes a female feel threatened or belittled than it may be sexist. A very interesting article this came to be because the writer had numerous accountants to keep her argument steady. A worthy writer brings up present time activities, statistics, and people being affected by the scenario and provides the reader some closure. With a devastatingly crucial issue such as women being shunned by the media, it’s not okay to have the ideas of other people in your work. In the article, “Controversial Hillary Cover of Time Illuminates Sexism in the Media” by Marianne Schnall, implies that the media is negatively affecting the chances of women becoming successful with all the sexism it is portraying. Marianne Schnall is a published writer and professional interviewer with many influential credentials that she in not afraid to use.
This documentary brings into sharp relief the fact that sexism is not getting better but in so...
For the past few weeks in class we have been focusing on the topic of gender and sexism. Gender is what traits an individual identifies with. Sexism is prejudice, stereotyping or discrimination that is typically against women. Through the films Boys Don’t Cry and Courage under Fire we explored how gender and sexism can be a reality and struggle for some every day. The films did a respectable job of showing different versions of sexism. In Boys Don’t Cry we saw sexism against an individual who is transgender and in Courage under Fire we saw a female officer in the military that experienced sexism.
Women – beautiful, strong matriarchal forces that drive and define a portion of the society in which we live – are poised and confident individuals who embody the essence of determination, ambition, beauty, and character. Incomprehensible and extraordinary, women are persons who possess an immense amount of depth, culture, and sophistication. Society’s incapability of understanding the frame of mind and diversity that exists within the female population has created a need to condemn the method in which women think and feel, therefore causing the rise of “male-over-female” domination – sexism. Sexism is society’s most common form of discrimination; the need to have gender based separation reveals our culture’s reluctance to embrace new ideas, people, and concepts. This is common in various aspects of human life – jobs, households, sports, and the most widespread – the media. In the media, sexism is revealed through the various submissive, sometimes foolish, and powerless roles played by female models; because of these roles women have become overlooked, ignored, disregarded – easy to look at, but so hard to see.
In multiple instances throughout the film, female characters violate gender norms by acting as both warriors and leaders because they are adapting typically masculine traits. In the film, women are the majority of the labor force in Iron Town. Men are merely there to do the labor that needs the most physical power. “Americans oversimplify Japanese women as demure, submissive, and oppressed” (Kyu Hyun, 2002, 38). This quote shows that the stereotype of women in Japanese culture was just like the western perspective where they were below men.