The Lego Movie Ending (Spoilers, duh)

[Liv's Runaway Snail]

So I saw The Lego Movie today and although I quite liked it (the animation was awesome), I left the film feeling disappointed.

Why? Well, I was enjoying the film right up to the point when an idea is put forth that the little sister can play with the lego. And of course everyone (including the lego) are horrified.

And I was annoyed. But probably more so because the whole cinema erupted in laughter at that very moment, including my own dad and brother.

I'm annoyed because it only reinforces "this berlin wall" of dividing the genders and what toys they can play or not play. And if a girl wants to play with lego, or a boy with dolls they are ostracized and mocked.

This film has great messages, one being that creativity is valuable. But the notion that girls cannot play with lego (be creative) is disappointing to say the least. There were little girls in the cinema watching this film, what message does this send them? What message is it sending the boys?

Sorry for the rant but I had to get that off my chest.

So what do you think? And how do you think we can combat this problem?

Edit: I may have misjudged, the horror towards the sister's lego creations could be due to her age. But again, the underlying point I'm trying to make with this topic is the divide between girls and boys when it comes to toys.

 

[JoJo]

I'm pretty sure the lego were horrified because it was a small child who said she was going to destroy their world or something, not because it was a girl. That's how I interpreted it, anyway.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

What?

That isn't why they're getting worked up, it's because the sister is a toddler playing with Duplo.

As far as missing the point goes, this one is pretty funny.

 

[Zhukov]

Wut?

It wasn't about her being a girl. It was about her being very young. I'm sure I'm not the only eldest sibling here who remembers the childish annoyance of having to share my things with the little ones, only to have them break my pencils and lose my lego pieces. It would have had the same effect if it had ending with the kid's baby brother showing up.

The fact that it contradicts the movie's message is half the joke.
"So you see, the joy of creativity should be free for all!"
"Yes, including your little sister!"
"Whoa, whoa! Steady on!"

 

[Elfgore]

Yeah, that was more a joke about her age. But moving on to the other issue.

If guys want to play with barbies, they should be able to. If girls want to play with action figure, they should be able to. All without any kind of judgement. Too bad it is one of the many things that should be, but run a high risk of not being. People judge a lot on first impressions. A boy playing with a barbie might have some people think they might be *gasp* gay or gender confused. Because that's the most terrible thing that can happen to a child.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Err I'm pretty sure that gender has nothing to do with the boy/ god being horrify by the recent announcement from his dad.

It has something to do with having someone else cramping your played style (or rather that the boy control over the Lego universe is now shared by his sister) like if you're the GM of some game and someone in the party is not playing your game correctly.

 

[Robot Number V]

For the following gif to be relevant, imagine that you are the man standing on the runway, and the jet is the joke about the kid's little sister.

The reason they're horrified is because she's a little kid, not because she's a girl. Words cannot accurately convey how obvious that should be.

 

[Lil_Rimmy]

GASP!

Guys and Gals and GuyGals! And Tumblr, but not anything else because all other sites are terri-bad lols.

I recently discovered that a woman was the only one on the bottle of my laundry powder, and on the sign next to it! What message does this send to our children and younger woman?! That they should only use laundry powder and remain in the laundry? I demand that this sexist crap be removed, and any who disagree with me is CLEARLY an evil cisgender atheist white guy who is also a sexist misogynist bigot and we will hound him day and night because he supports this laundry powder!

...

Ahem. I feel dirty now. I legitimately need a shower.

Also, on that note, when did cisgender even become a thing? What does it even stand for? Is it a legit word, or a word Tumblrites made up for people who don't whine about everything? Oh the sweet irony if it is.

 

[karloss01]

Snip

others have already said it, but you entirely missed the joke. she's a toddler, toddlers don't build lego; they chew it and swallow it and destroy it.

 

[Hazy992]

Hey look, someone else trying to add a gender controversy where there isn't one.

Tell me about it. This has nothing to do with her being a girl, and everything to do with her playing with Duplo.

I honestly don't know how you took it at that way, OP. I mean talk about a nontroversy.

 

[Grach]

Wow.

Wooooooooow.

Holy shit.

You probably missed the part where the Duplo people swore to destroy the Lego world.

Y'know. Cos Duplo is like the cheaper Lego and... It's funny?

I'm frankly flabbergasted. This gasts my flab.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

Pretty much what everyone else has said. I always dreaded my cousins' visits because they always fucked up my stuff horrifically, it's something that a lot of Lego-owners can relate to. I'd bet someone would have a massive crank about there not being any girls interested in Lego at all if the kid was a boy as well.

 

[Lionsfan]

Soooo....now that this thread has been solved. How about some pictures of cool Lego sets?

I have no idea what the hell this is, but I love it and want it:

 

[Grach]

Soooo....now that this thread has been solved. How about some pictures of cool Lego sets?

I have no idea what the hell this is, but I love it and want it:

I wish I made something so cool when I was little with my Lego sets :c

 

[BanicRhys]

If it was because of her gender it would have been this bullshit that came to destroy their world:

Not Duplo.

 

[Battenberg]

So I saw The Lego Movie today and although I quite liked it (the animation was awesome), I left the film feeling disappointed.

Why? Well, I was enjoying the film right up to the point when an idea is put forth that the little sister can play with the lego. And of course everyone (including the lego) are horrified.

And I was annoyed. But probably more so because the whole cinema erupted in laughter at that very moment, including my own dad and brother.

I'm annoyed because it only reinforces "this berlin wall" of dividing the genders and what toys they can play or not play. And if a girl wants to play with lego, or a boy with dolls they are ostracized and mocked.

This film has great messages, one being that creativity is valuable. But the notion that girls cannot play with lego (be creative) is disappointing to say the least. There were little girls in the cinema watching this film, what message does this send them? What message is it sending the boys?

Sorry for the rant but I had to get that off my chest.

So what do you think? And how do you think we can combat this problem?

Edit: I may have misjudged, the horror towards the sister's lego creations could be due to her age. But again, the underlying point I'm trying to make with this topic is the divide between girls and boys when it comes to toys.

Your 'underlying point' is invalid unless you present any actual evidence of the boy/girl divide you desperately want to be seen heroicly combatting here; your Lego Movie example doesn't count for obvious reasons.

Not that I don't think there are toys aimed exclusively at one gender but it doesn't strike me as an issue having any kind of serious negative impact on a societal level. If anything I think we're in more danger of going to far in the opposite direction and homogenising genders (not just in children's toys but gender issues in general) with far too many people desperate to jump on the political correctness bandwagon with all the other white knights. Gender equality is something we should strive for, browbeating males and females into acting the same is not.

Of course that's a pretty dull conversation and the whole gender thing gets dragged out far too often, I'd rather just talk about the awesomeness that is the Lego movie. Anyone have any thoughts what Lego movie 2 will be about/which characters will be back (if any)?

 

[Rellik San]

Edit: I may have misjudged, the horror towards the sister's lego creations could be due to her age. But again, the underlying point I'm trying to make with this topic is the divide between girls and boys when it comes to toys.

I have never ever seen for one instant a child being forced to play with toys they don't want too because; "Gender"... but I will say this, I have limited experience with children so can't say for certain.

My nephew is just as happy to pew nerf guns and play videogames with me, as he is happy to play house and pretend to cook with pink plastic mixers. He likes to watch Batman as much as My Little Pony and enjoys cuddling his toys as much as playing in mud.

If a divide exists it's only on an artificial level because the children in the advert are a specific gender and so kids want to emulate those around them, grown ups or older kids, so if they see girls with dolls it's more likely girls will want dolls, if they see boys with cars, it's more likely boys will want cars. But gradually all the old advertisers are dying off and we're entering a stage where people in advertising are more open to the idea of non-gender specific play methods. The internet supplanting TV in a lot of homes as a main source of media consumption has meant many advertisers have had too seriously rethink their demographics and as a result, we see a broader range advertised. Parents are also gradually realising this themselves.