In Defence of Frank Miller

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userwhoquitthesite

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SaneAmongInsane said:
8-Bit_Jack said:
SaneAmongInsane said:
8-Bit_Jack said:
SaneAmongInsane said:
Let everyman be their own judge, but the school girl outfit did bother me... so did that one kid that was like "I wanna marry her!" and his friend was all "but dude she's 8!" and the guy was all "I don't care, I'll wait!"
See, I didn't see this as sexual in any way. You know why you SHOULD be bothered? Because a sweet little girl just shot a man's face off. Not because there are people out there who think uniforms are sexy.

And the line about marrying her doesn't seem to stem from any fetishes, but rather from awe at her abilities. The line about "waiting" for her is precisely WHY it isn't creepy and pedophilic
He is a nerd who idolizes people who are capable of committing acts of violence beyond any level he could achieve, and wants to attach himself to this perpetrator of violence because she meets this idealized form of carnage he craves

IT SHOULD BE DISTURBING HE LOVES VIOLENCE THIS MUCH
Which is kind of the point of Kick-Ass in the first place. It serves to MOCK violence and shame us for seeing it as entertainment
If that was ever the intended theme, the movie didn't do the job well at all at making the audience feel uncomfortable with the violence. the movie did a much better job with that movie SUPER.
That's the point. It shouldn't need to be lampshaded, the idea is that you should consider this wrong on your own, you sick demented lunatic. Note, I do not believe you are a sick demented lunatic, I am merely using colorful phrase to illustrate the movie's point. So please don't feel I am insulting you. Kick-Ass is insulting you. And everyone who read or watched it.
Eh... I'm not buying it. Theres no turning point where the same violence we love turns on us and makes us feel uncomfortable. Maybe that is the overall theme, but the movie didn't make that point across.

Super had loads a violence too put in for gags and violence sake.... then you have the scene where a guy cuts in line and gets bashed in the head with a wrench incredibly graphically... and it's still sorta funny but disturbing.... Then by the time Bolty dies the violence is pretty hard to watch.
you werent paying attention, it is supposed to NOT need lampshading. And either way, you're wrong. In the film, we have Big Daddy in the chair.
 

Helmholtz Watson

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JimB said:
Doesn't negate the underlying act, though.
True, I'm just saying that she isn't 2D.
JimB said:
Eh. Taking revenge on a rapist doesn't imply much in the way of a personality...but yeah, it's more than a lot of Miller's female characters get. I do have to grant that much.
-_- I just pointed out that he isn't a rapist....

JimB said:
Hold on, let me dig up a link...

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/14/14567.phtml

There. If you ever want to laugh yourself sick, enjoy that review of F.A.T.A.L. It's comedy gold.
*Starts reaming summary* Well lets look at thi-

JimB said:
Sorry, I got distracted by my baffled hate of that game and lost the point I was trying to make. My point was that Hall claims it is to depict all women in the medieval setting of his game as prostitutes and rapebait because it is "historically accurate," yet his love of historical accuracy is clearly a lie if he won't spend one bloody word on the topic of STDs.
...Who ever created FATAL seems "special".
Like I said, I'll give you that Miller likes to pick an choose what historical points he uses, but i still think its going to bit far to call them misogynistic. How about we agree that he is a sexist writer that can't seem to do anything but make the same female character over and over again and only changes their face and name?

JimB said:
Couldn't tell you. I've never watched the movies nor read the books.
It was rhetorical, but I'll save you the effort by answering "no".

JimB said:
Miho is a Japanese name, so I'm making an assumption as to her nationality. As to the specific time frame and location: That's absurd and I think you know it. If someone follows the practices of a given sect, it is perfectly fair to describe that person as a member of that sect.
Her name might be Japanese, but you don't know if she is American or not. Nationality=/=Ethnicity.

I'm just making the point that is seems silly to call her a ninja because if the justification is that she uses a sword while other people use guns, I go back to my point about Violet Song being a ninja. If I was to point out what could be considered a modern version of a Ninja, I guess I would go with Ryu Hayabusa.
 

DudeistBelieve

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Sep 9, 2010
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8-Bit_Jack said:
SaneAmongInsane said:
8-Bit_Jack said:
SaneAmongInsane said:
8-Bit_Jack said:
SaneAmongInsane said:
Let everyman be their own judge, but the school girl outfit did bother me... so did that one kid that was like "I wanna marry her!" and his friend was all "but dude she's 8!" and the guy was all "I don't care, I'll wait!"
See, I didn't see this as sexual in any way. You know why you SHOULD be bothered? Because a sweet little girl just shot a man's face off. Not because there are people out there who think uniforms are sexy.

And the line about marrying her doesn't seem to stem from any fetishes, but rather from awe at her abilities. The line about "waiting" for her is precisely WHY it isn't creepy and pedophilic
He is a nerd who idolizes people who are capable of committing acts of violence beyond any level he could achieve, and wants to attach himself to this perpetrator of violence because she meets this idealized form of carnage he craves

IT SHOULD BE DISTURBING HE LOVES VIOLENCE THIS MUCH
Which is kind of the point of Kick-Ass in the first place. It serves to MOCK violence and shame us for seeing it as entertainment
If that was ever the intended theme, the movie didn't do the job well at all at making the audience feel uncomfortable with the violence. the movie did a much better job with that movie SUPER.
That's the point. It shouldn't need to be lampshaded, the idea is that you should consider this wrong on your own, you sick demented lunatic. Note, I do not believe you are a sick demented lunatic, I am merely using colorful phrase to illustrate the movie's point. So please don't feel I am insulting you. Kick-Ass is insulting you. And everyone who read or watched it.
Eh... I'm not buying it. Theres no turning point where the same violence we love turns on us and makes us feel uncomfortable. Maybe that is the overall theme, but the movie didn't make that point across.

Super had loads a violence too put in for gags and violence sake.... then you have the scene where a guy cuts in line and gets bashed in the head with a wrench incredibly graphically... and it's still sorta funny but disturbing.... Then by the time Bolty dies the violence is pretty hard to watch.
you werent paying attention, it is supposed to NOT need lampshading. And either way, you're wrong. In the film, we have Big Daddy in the chair.
It wasn't lampshaded in super, there isn't a moment where it's addressed, the violence just gradually grows and grows till reaches a point where it's more horror then humor.

Couldn't sympathize with Big Daddy. He was a pyschopath too and killed people just the same.... Though truth be told now that I remember it, I do recall being disturbed by the scene where he raids the warehouse. Something about Batman using a gun is unsettling.

 

II2

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I enjoy Miller's work, mostly, both in film adaptation and the original graphic novel format. He's (done) a lot of good work, though his more recent entries have left me ambivalent to cold.

There's a very traditional damsels-in-distress + voluptuous vixen story beat from the kinda hyper - noire delivery he's made a career out of. I don't feel I can speak on Miller's personal outlook other than to say that like most other comic writers, he's an unsual fellow. Most comic authors tend to be politically left leaning to varying degrees, whereas Miller seems to have more of a right wing "America the Brave" neo-conservative outlook. I don't know if it directly influences his writing in obvious ways, but it could explain some of the stereotyped gender roles.

But does he hate women? No, I don't think so. I think writing more full female characters, or from a female perceptive might be a particular ability that eludes him as a writer, standing in contrast to his proficiency with snappy dialogue, pacing and gritty art. Like most creators, he's got some especial strengths that he plays to and his handling of female characters along with the tone of his stories could well just be the byproduct of an earnest but mishandled attempt at crafting compelling female characters. Whatever agenda he has, I don't think women really have a big part in it and consequently end up out of focus, in the background of his stories... Admittedly, in which he pours the pain on ALL his characters, something fierce.

I could be completely wrong about everything, but that's my take.

Also, whether it's done to be provocative or for genuine feeling, worrying about the subtext of Miller's work kinda takes a back seat when I hear real, blood chilling misogyny like this:
 

ProtonGuy

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Actually my problem with Frank Miller was when he turned Batman into a Punisher/Alex from Clockwork orange hybrid in his All Star Batman series. I took after Linkara and just said "Crazy Steve" in my head whenever Batman was referenced.
 

Lieju

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Vault101 said:
Aprilgold said:
Just Plain Lazy said:
"Lucille's my parole officer. She's a dyke, but God knows why. With that body of hers she could have any man she wants." Lovely writing right there... How does this person have fans again?
Many straight guys think they can "Cure a woman of being a lesbian" despite this being not-true. So they will empathize with the hero in the comic on the basis of "Yeah I don't get any from that hot lesbian chick."

.
really?...many?

I find that pretty disturbing on some levels...like "a girl would only turn lesbian just to spite guys right?"...*sigh*
It's very common for people who argue that homosexuality can (and should) be cured to claim gays are gay because they have had 'bad experiences' with the opposite sex, or haven't met the right heterosexual partner.

Add hatred in the mix, and you have a pretty disturbing power-fantasy there...

It's also among the most common insults to lesbians by heterosexual men; that they need a dick. But that might be because the kind of people who would say/yell something like that to lesbians are the kind of people who would say similar things to heterosexual women as well, because they see the threat(or suggestion) of a rape as a way to speak to women...

As for the OP, it's okay to have sexy female characters, it's okay to have sex in comics, but you should do that right.

Also, I don't find the common body-type of women in the US comics sexy. I also dislike how most artists seem to draw the men ridiculously muscular. That just looks silly to me most of the time.
 

Vault101

I'm in your mind fuzz
Sep 26, 2010
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Lieju said:
It's very common for people who argue that homosexuality can (and should) be cured to claim gays are gay because they have had 'bad experiences' with the opposite sex, or haven't met the right heterosexual partner.

Add hatred in the mix, and you have a pretty disturbing power-fantasy there...

It's also among the most common insults to lesbians by heterosexual men; that they need a dick. But that might be because the kind of people who would say/yell something like that to lesbians are the kind of people who would say similar things to heterosexual women as well, because they see the threat(or suggestion) of a rape as a way to speak to women...
.
I get that..more or less....though "many" implies....well that this attitude is as common as "I like boobs" amoungst hetero men

but then I'm probably reading into it too much
 

Skipper zammo

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Moonlight Butterfly said:
I've seen you bring up that Tom of Finland guys work before in one of the many other threads on this topic before and I really don't think it;s a fair comparison.

Women in comics are drawn with insane figures, huge gravity defying breasts and twisted into impossible positions.

But unless it's a porn comic they usually don't draw them with huge pronounced nipples and the outline of their genitalia showing through their trousers like most of that guys pictures do (the ones that aren't full on sex).
 

Moonlight Butterfly

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Skipper zammo said:
Moonlight Butterfly said:
I've seen you bring up that Tom of Finland guys work before in one of the many other threads on this topic before and I really don't think it;s a fair comparison.

Women in comics are drawn with insane figures, huge gravity defying breasts and twisted into impossible positions.

But unless it's a porn comic they usually don't draw them with huge pronounced nipples and the outline of their genitalia showing like most of that guys pictures do (the ones that aren't full on sex).
It wasn't me it was someone else. I just thought it was a good comparison.

Women are very often portrayed with pronounced nipples and crotch in normal comics especially cat woman.

There are many examples of metal armour cameltoe for example.

It's exactly the same but most men can't see it because they are happy with the way things are for obvious reasons.

Just look at that Escher girls blog for how ridiculous things can get.
 

darlarosa

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May 4, 2011
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Frank Miller has some great work. I won't call him misogynst or sexist, as people forget he wrote Martha Washington. I refuse to make any sort of judgement until I've read that.

I will say Miller's writing hints towards a troubled relationship with how he visualizes and internalizes the female sex. He just tends to use female characters in the same ways and it's boring. After awhile the females stop being people and become some sort of window dressing. Worst yet he seems to apply the same style again and again, so we get window dressing everywhere. His style tends to kind of come across as a variation of the whole Maddonna-Whore complex. He writes pretty crap filled worlds, but at this point Frank Miller is a parody of himself, where gritty equals profanity, women will be tortured, women will be whores, and the hero either is or becomes an anti-hero.

The problem is not that society hates sex. No it's that people are becoming tired of every female character being broken, dependent on a man, or about sex. It's fine to enjoy sex, but often its a weapon against females. If you enjoy sex, particularly casual sex, you're a whore, and if you don't you're killed, or you're raped.

I like to say that you can't have a female Seth Rogan unless she's fat and funny. There are not any average female characters or not sexy females, and it's unrealistic. Part of the problem is related to artists who can't do bodily variation. Not every female has HUGE breasts, or a perfect figure. Not every female is going to dress provocatively once she becomes a hero.

Male heroes are power fantasies. The perfect physique, the personality, the heroes journey, etc.
Female heroes are often sexual fantasies. The perfect body...umm...tight clothes
Male Villians are varied in appearance
Most female villians are equated with sexuality or being old(which is a thing thats always been around, but should change)
 

Skipper zammo

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Moonlight Butterfly said:
It wasn't me it was someone else. I just thought it was a good comparison.

Women are very often portrayed with pronounced nipples and crotch in normal comics especially cat woman.

There are many examples of metal armour cameltoe for example.

It's exactly the same but most men can't see it because they are happy with the way things
are.
Well I can honestly say I don't remember ever seeing it and I read quite a lot of comics.

And the comparison is there, I just think that particular artists stuff goes much too far.

That one mock up of the avengers poster were all the characters are posed in ways similar to Black Widow is a better example.

Personally I think the best thing to do would be to tone down the worse offenders in this regard to the way women are drawn and start doing it more with male character.

They already do it some with Nightwing. there was that one issue where the cover was basically just a close up of his arse.
 

Moonlight Butterfly

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Skipper zammo said:
Moonlight Butterfly said:
It wasn't me it was someone else. I just thought it was a good comparison.

Women are very often portrayed with pronounced nipples and crotch in normal comics especially cat woman.

There are many examples of metal armour cameltoe for example.

It's exactly the same but most men can't see it because they are happy with the way things
are.
Well I can honestly say I don't remember ever seeing it and I read quite a lot of comics.

And the comparison is there, I just think that particular artists stuff goes much too far.

That one mock up of the avengers poster were all the characters are posed in ways similar to Black Widow is a better example.

Personally I think the best thing to do would be to tone down the worse offenders in this regard to the way women are drawn and start doing it more with male character.

They already do it some with Nightwing. there was that one issue where the cover was basically just a close up of his arse.
I think the best thing would be to start drawing women more realistically and with a bit more respect also with a spine and internal organs.

There is no reason to do it to male characters that just seems a silly way to deal with it.
 

Skipper zammo

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Oct 11, 2011
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Moonlight Butterfly said:
Skipper zammo said:
Moonlight Butterfly said:
It wasn't me it was someone else. I just thought it was a good comparison.

Women are very often portrayed with pronounced nipples and crotch in normal comics especially cat woman.

There are many examples of metal armour cameltoe for example.

It's exactly the same but most men can't see it because they are happy with the way things
are.
Well I can honestly say I don't remember ever seeing it and I read quite a lot of comics.

And the comparison is there, I just think that particular artists stuff goes much too far.

That one mock up of the avengers poster were all the characters are posed in ways similar to Black Widow is a better example.

Personally I think the best thing to do would be to tone down the worse offenders in this regard to the way women are drawn and start doing it more with male character.

They already do it some with Nightwing. there was that one issue where the cover was basically just a close up of his arse.
I think the best thing would be to start drawing women more realistically and with a bit more respect also with a spine and internal organs.

There is no reason to do it to male characters that just seems a silly way to deal with it.
Because physiques in comics aren't always realistic whether they're male or female. Some artists are just very stylised. So instead of making every one draw the same way, why not to balance out the way people are drawn so it's less sexist. Instead of just drawing men in unrealistic pose that make them look powerful and threatening and women in poses that display their rockin' bods why not mix it up a bit. have both genders have some of column A and some of Column B.
 

Vault101

I'm in your mind fuzz
Sep 26, 2010
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II2 said:
Also, whether it's done to be provocative or for genuine feeling, worrying about the subtext of Miller's work kinda takes a back seat when I hear real, blood chilling misogyny like this:
what is that?..some kind of performance poetry? I could only get to 2:50....to me mabye it isnt geniunly promoting violence against women...but made to make us feel disturbed/shock (I usually have a high tolerance for things but this really did make me feel uncomfortable)