tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7877371347086447490.post227776559789757719..comments2024-03-28T20:37:08.491+11:00Comments on The Audient: Multiple reincarnationsDerek Armstronghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13750747272647975591noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7877371347086447490.post-39728633414289192672010-08-14T00:26:05.033+10:002010-08-14T00:26:05.033+10:00Simon,
I don't know about the TV show, but th...Simon,<br /><br />I don't know about the TV show, but they definitely kept the same background for Nikita (called Maggie in Bridget Fonda's hands) in Point of No Return. Which did not make it a good movie, by any stretch.Derek Armstronghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13750747272647975591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7877371347086447490.post-49972214610927981502010-08-13T08:44:03.042+10:002010-08-13T08:44:03.042+10:00What I liked about the original was that it didn&#...What I liked about the original was that it didn't present women in any of the neat little boxes they usually are--either terribly abused little things that need to be saved, some variation of the heart-of-gold, you know--and gave Nikita all these faults that weren't 'she's ditzy' or 'she's clumsy', they gave her a personality. The TV show and the remake got rid of the thing that made her transformation so miraculous, the junkie thing, and made her an atypical wronged government agent, y'know?Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08085105568601878075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7877371347086447490.post-10365187000778109412010-08-13T02:31:59.932+10:002010-08-13T02:31:59.932+10:00A glaring omission, Don. I was wracking my brain, ...A glaring omission, Don. I was wracking my brain, and included in my laundry list whatever I could think of in the time constraints that I allowed myself. That Buffy was missing was shameful. <br /><br />Okay, because a blog is a living entity, I'm going to go back and correct it for future readers of this post. However, let these comments remain as a record of the fact that I failed on the first go-around.<br /><br />Excellent observation about the male-controlled nature of the Nikita fantasy. I remember very well how hard to tame she was, almost like a wild animal. In a way, this functions an an excellent metaphor for how female-related male fantasies are created by men in general in the largely male-controlled Hollywood.Derek Armstronghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13750747272647975591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7877371347086447490.post-77744215292396031492010-08-13T02:22:11.600+10:002010-08-13T02:22:11.600+10:00When you talk about Nikita, you also have to menti...When you talk about Nikita, you also have to mention the way the various incarnations have handled the fundamental male fantasy at its heart. Nikita’s is not a story of girl wanting to empower herself, it’s the story of male-imposed transformation. The wild and destructive tendencies of a somewhat feral woman are redirected into a high tech weapon with sex appeal. What Nikita does with this transformation is where the empowerment comes in, but at its core this whole thing begins as a man-controlling-woman fantasy. These sexual politics are palpable in Besson’s original, and the fact that Nikita’s actions even after the transformation simultaneously affirm and counteract the male fantasy that informs it, makes La Femme Nikita a wonderfully nuanced and subtle action film. One reason I stopped watching the Nikita stuff after it was remade was that in its undeniable ineptitude Point of No Return repressed the sexual politics but kept the high-tech weapon aspect, transforming the Nikita character into only a hot-chick who can kick ass (and as you’ve so brilliantly pointed out…this been done again and again). I always assumed that the TV series continued a similar focus (Why would expect a nuanced program that dealt directly with complex sexual politics from the USA Network?) so I never tried it out. But Buffy The Vampire Slayer dealt with (admittedly slightly different) sexual politics and societal expectations very effectively with its run on the WB and UPN so I shouldn’t have been so prejudiced. <br />I think that the Girls who Kick ass aspect of this Franchise sells to the lowest common denominator in us all, but it lost any substantive purpose for existing after it was remade. Its no Buffy. Hey, why wasn’t Buffy on your list? Buffy kicks ass. Buffy’s pretty pervasive in pop culture. I know that list was finite…but no Buffy?Don Handsomehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04448844952916507647noreply@blogger.com