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Is Snyder’s “Sucker Punch” Actually a Feminist Film?
When director Zack Snyder first started showing previews of his new film Sucker Punch back in 2011, there was a certain amount of public skepticism. To be sure, a section of the internet lit up with geeky glee at the sight of Suicide Girl-esque figures dispensing robots, monsters, and giant samurai via swords and bazookas…and looking fantastic while doing it. Similarly, there was a different section of society that had already started rolling their eyes at the film, fueled no doubt in part by that first internet section’s reaction. It was one thing when Snyder had half-naked men engaging in untold amounts of visually visceral slo-mo slaughter in his earlier film, 300. But when you switch your main eye candy characters to all young women, wasn’t there something…icky…about it?
Oh yeah, buckle up true believers, because yet another straight white dude is here to lay down the wisdom! After all, who better to talk about a female-led film and weigh its merits as feminist iconography?
Okay, you’re right. Nobody asked for this, and few people want it. As one of those boring, cis-gendered heteronormative dudes, it would be very easy to just enjoy this movie on the surface and not think anything more of it. As such, I fully realize it’s not for me to answer the question in the headline. And I’m not going to wade too deep into the waters…
