Barbarella
June 13th 2010 21:45
I've always seen the opening sequence of this film and been convinced it's simply an excuse to explore the inner space of Jane Fonda's legs. So wehn my husband recommended we watch it I thought it must be payback for when I ogled over those bare-chested vampire boys in Eclipse.
To my surprise I was won over by Barbarella's metaphorical journey through sex, politics and women's loss of place in the world. This all makes sense when you remember the era in which it was made. In the wake of the sexual revolution we gained autonomy, political responsibility and sexual freedom at the price of being placed at the front line of society and making men feel they are no longer valued.
Of course if I were a guy I might simply sit back and tally up how many times Jane Fonda's nipples fail to be disguised by the opening credits. And that is completely ok by me because Jane Fonda gives this eye-candy role surprising depth and subtlety. She portrays Barbarella as a naive beauty who is bravely optimistic about being able to accomplish her earth-saving mission. She is devoid of ego without being devoid of brains and so even though it hurts to look at her sleek body and compare it to your own, you can't help but love this character. You even feel some sort of affinity with her as she stumbles through the galaxy with a ray gun and some very impractical outfits.
Our beautiful and innocent heroine charged with the task of saving Earth from a man called Duran-Duran. She journeys from alien planet to the next encountering the various male metatypes (ooh, I haven't used that word since university). The first introduces her to physical love which earth has long traded in for the much less "distracting" act of simply sharing rapport.
Her diplomatic mission isn't all a bed of roses though, she is constantly finding herself under attack from little girl aliens, an evil queen and finally, the elusive enemy with his dreaded pleasure machine. He attempts to destroy Barbarella using a pleasure-inducing massage device but being so sexually developed at this point, Barbarella burns out the circuits and consequently saves the world.
Ridiculous set decorating aside, Barbarella reassures us that we can celebrate women's sexual power alongside hard-won political, social and economic independences. In other words, we can wear a bra and save the world simultaneously (though if not wearing a bra helps, that's ok too).
Watch this one on DVD with a sense of humour and lots of of dry, salty snacks to help keep the drool of your partner's mouth under control.
To my surprise I was won over by Barbarella's metaphorical journey through sex, politics and women's loss of place in the world. This all makes sense when you remember the era in which it was made. In the wake of the sexual revolution we gained autonomy, political responsibility and sexual freedom at the price of being placed at the front line of society and making men feel they are no longer valued.
Of course if I were a guy I might simply sit back and tally up how many times Jane Fonda's nipples fail to be disguised by the opening credits. And that is completely ok by me because Jane Fonda gives this eye-candy role surprising depth and subtlety. She portrays Barbarella as a naive beauty who is bravely optimistic about being able to accomplish her earth-saving mission. She is devoid of ego without being devoid of brains and so even though it hurts to look at her sleek body and compare it to your own, you can't help but love this character. You even feel some sort of affinity with her as she stumbles through the galaxy with a ray gun and some very impractical outfits.
Our beautiful and innocent heroine charged with the task of saving Earth from a man called Duran-Duran. She journeys from alien planet to the next encountering the various male metatypes (ooh, I haven't used that word since university). The first introduces her to physical love which earth has long traded in for the much less "distracting" act of simply sharing rapport.
Her diplomatic mission isn't all a bed of roses though, she is constantly finding herself under attack from little girl aliens, an evil queen and finally, the elusive enemy with his dreaded pleasure machine. He attempts to destroy Barbarella using a pleasure-inducing massage device but being so sexually developed at this point, Barbarella burns out the circuits and consequently saves the world.
Ridiculous set decorating aside, Barbarella reassures us that we can celebrate women's sexual power alongside hard-won political, social and economic independences. In other words, we can wear a bra and save the world simultaneously (though if not wearing a bra helps, that's ok too).
Watch this one on DVD with a sense of humour and lots of of dry, salty snacks to help keep the drool of your partner's mouth under control.
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