tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79723819638700739.post1505939263326485416..comments2023-12-19T08:12:59.428-08:00Comments on Post-Punk Cinema Club: The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)a ppcc representativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03533616493105736109noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79723819638700739.post-35878590049612344212017-06-25T04:19:42.003-07:002017-06-25T04:19:42.003-07:00I think Henry's role in the film was perhaps t...I think Henry's role in the film was perhaps the most vital of all. He is the character that is smart enough to realize Royal's lies. He comes across as the only character we don't have any issue with because he's so intelligent and organized. And as for Royal's comments - this is cinema. A writer writes from experience, they create characters based on people. Wes Anderson based this film on his parents' marriage, and therefore one can only assume that Anderson saw such a character in his father. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79723819638700739.post-5200919523945364242009-07-12T13:38:02.848-07:002009-07-12T13:38:02.848-07:00I love this movie, but never thought Royal's r...I love this movie, but never thought Royal's racist comments toward Henry were funny (nor have I thought they were intended to be). They show conflict between the characters where there was previously just wariness. They also establish a purely cruel streak in Royal, the same as when he shot his own son in the hand. He sees Henry as weak but can't effectively analyze why Etheline likes him yet, so he attacks the differences between them: their skin color.<br /><br />It is cringe-worthy how, in Wes Anderson movies, non-white people are almost always second-rate characters incapable of their own original thought.Jeremyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09117896432653125563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79723819638700739.post-69497570651412298222009-05-20T05:16:22.212-07:002009-05-20T05:16:22.212-07:00Having watched and liked Darjeeling Limited (but I...Having watched and liked Darjeeling Limited (but I like Anderson films, his films have that clean cinematography and choice of colours with an interesting script combo that I usually fall for) I didn't detect any latent racism (but like Amrita I usually don't notice it). <br /><br />I didn't notice it in Tenenbaums either.eliza bennethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01997101330508195099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79723819638700739.post-43315853539772250252009-05-19T13:24:00.000-07:002009-05-19T13:24:00.000-07:00Amrita - I think it's not so much that writing "ou...Amrita - I think it's not so much that writing "outside" your ethnic heritage is not okay... just that the way you write about your respective "Other" is important. And if you only use different-heritage characters as "the Other", or if you're different-heritage characters are suspiciously flat and one-dimensional, I think that merits some criticism. <br /><br />For example, the beef I had with the latent racism, or at least ethnocentrism, in The Royal Tenenbaums, was (1) the lack of depth of the two non-white characters (all the other characters seem to have these very vivid quirks, but Henry and Pagoda are just "the black guy" and "the Indian servant") and, related, (2) the tired way their non-whiteness was used for laughs. (Royal's racism towards Henry, while not condoned, is played for laughs.)<br /><br />It's the same way I noticed both Margot in this, and Uhura in Star Trek were used only as a sex/romance object for the men, rather than having personalities independent of the men. Big fail on <A HREF="http://www.amptoons.com/blog/the-mo-movie-measure/" REL="nofollow">The Bechdel Test</A>!a ppcc representativehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03533616493105736109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79723819638700739.post-75887446048887233522009-05-19T13:08:00.000-07:002009-05-19T13:08:00.000-07:00You know, I really don't get the whole latent raci...You know, I really don't get the whole latent racism thing. Maybe I'm just duh or perhaps I'm so inured to it, I don't even know what the hell people are talking about - but I don't get it. And I still haven't read anyone make a comprehensive case for it so I'd like to know. My personal feeling is that it's simply indicative of us moving to a place where it's no longer ok for us to write about anyone or anything that we can't claim as our heritage. Which is pretty sad. <br /><br />Tell me I'm wrong, please.Amritahttp://indiequill.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com