Wednesday 2 April 2014

Devouring Films: Whip It

If you haven't seen Whip It yet, then I really don't know what to do with you. It's one of those films that I was really excited about for a really long time before it came out, and then it was released in about 5 cinemas and so I never saw it until it came out on DVD. Luckily for me, it's usually on TV about once a month or so (it used to be on Netflix, but apparently not anymore...) AND I'm usually watching TV when it's on so I watch parts of it all the time.

This happened the other week, and this time, I had a little bit of an epiphany. Whip It, in case you don't know, is the story of Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page), a kind of shy, slightly awkward girl from Texas who, once she knows about it, wants to be a roller derby girl more than anything else in the whole world. While it's mostly a film about growing up and finding peace with your mother and being a best friend and being a better person, it's really the whole roller derby thing that's the best thing. And I love it.

My revelation, though, came when I realised that, for Bliss, her extra-curricular activities have the option of taking one of two paths. The choice her mother wants to make for her is that of the beauty queen- she forces encourages her to take part in beauty pageants which really don't fulfil Bliss in any way. The choice she wants to make for herself, of course, is roller derby- a (kinda) death defying sport where women roller skate around a track, trying to overtake each other and getting kind of battered in the process. It. Looks. Awesome. You know, in case that wasn't clear.

So. My thing is this. Other than that it's Bliss's own choice to participate in roller derby, and she's really only going along with the beauty pageant thing to please her mother, it seems to me that roller derby has about a million other advantages over beauty pageants.* I'm not entirely sure what beauty pageants teach young women other than how to be passive, look nice, and compete with other girls over who is the most physically attractive, as if that's how people should be evaluated. It seems to me that roller derby teaches actual lessons- how women should work together, how action is better than passivity, how sport can actually be kind of awesome. AND they manage to do all of this and still look pretty awesome, but that's absolutely a secondary factor.

The thing about this isn't so much that I think roller derby is a better way to spend ones time than beauty pageants, but more that, in terms of this movie, I think this is literally what they're saying. It's not really an important plot point for Bliss's 'other option' to be beauty pageants, but that's what it is, and this film is practically screaming 'THERE IS ANOTHER WAY. Or, in fact, there are probably many other ways but we're going to look at roller derby because LOOK HOW AWESOME IT IS.' So you've kind of got a mini-critique of beauty pageants tied up with all of the other awesome stuff there is to see in this film. OR I've seen it too many times and thought too much about it.

In conclusion: I'd really like to be a roller derby girl. I can make this happen, correct?

*Can you even believe that I don't think beauty pageants are cool? How out of character for me!
Beauty Queen vs Roller derby champ. Discuss.

18 comments:

  1. I have not seen this movie, but given the number of things I haven't seen, can you really say you're surprised? This needs to come back to Netflix.

    The main thing I know about roller derby is that you beat up each other on skates and also you get cool nicknames. Is that...that's pretty much it, right?

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    1. I am very unsurprised. Especially because this is a movie and you have that whole attention span thing...

      Your interpretation of roller derby is (from what I can gather) not wrong, but it's also not the WHOLE thing... I think there are actual rules and there's something called whipping it which seems cool and you forgot the amazing tattoos. But it literally looks like the funnest sport ever in life. And more fun than a beauty pageant. Basically.

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  2. Oh, this movie was so completely fun and kick-ass to watch. Ellen Page is great, though I could hardly shake her out of her Juno character in my head for this one.

    I'm no pageant apologist, but they *can* teach participants other things, too, such as poise and public speaking and/or performing. Most pageants have a talent component. I'm from a small town in the American south where pageants were a dime a dozen, and I'm no fan (except when academic scholarships are a component, in which case I'm more tolerant), but I've personally seen the confidence that learning how to sing or play the piano in public has given many young women. So not all bad. More like 90% bad. :-)

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    1. Oh yeah, Ellen Page is forever Juno to me, but she was pretty great in this (and also everything. But JUNO, man.)

      I definitely forgot about the performance part of the pageant and I will allow that they're maybe not 100% evil. But the thing about them is that beauty is still the main point, and I just... I wouldn't want that to be something my kids learnt at an early age, that beauty is The Thing. I'm definitely down with the confidence that performing can bring (I used to sing! And dance! And act, actually. I was a pretty annoying kid, but yeah, confidence) but there are definitely opportunities for that outside of pageants and yeah.

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  3. /hip checks everyone out of the way

    OK SO I don't know if you know this, but I used to skate with the Sacred City Derby Girls in Sacramento. I have been to bouts. I painted my face and lost the upper register of my voice (never to return) from shouting so much at Big Games. I was on the Board of Directors

    In other words, welcome to my wheelhouse. You CAN INDEED join derby, madam! It's for everyone and the London Rollergirls are some of the best skaters in the world and are also exceedingly nice.

    http://www.londonrollergirls.com/

    Just know that as much as I love Whip It and think it's kick ass that the Toronto derby team was rolling around the city on skates to promote it at the film festival, there's a derby drinking game for every time the Hurl Scouts break the rules. You'll be pretty drunk by the end. And also know that derby is transitioning into a Real Sport, so the days of penalty wheels and skating in tutus are pretty much over. More's the pity.

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    1. I am now a little scared of you Tika but mostly in awe because I WANT TO BE A DERBY GIRL. I mentioned this to some friends only the other week and they were like "but you'll die like instantly" "yeah you'll be crushed to pieces" so now I am even more eager to get into it and crush their puny patriarchal minds with some kickass skating.

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    2. TIKA, I didn't know this about you! I have stalked your facebook enough to know that you have been to roller derby things, but not that you were actually a derby girl!!! I didn't think I could love you even more, but it turns out, there was a tiny bit more love to be had and now you have it allllll.

      BUT WHY WOULD THEY OUTLAW THE TUTUS?! WHY?!

      (Kayleigh, let's do this. If only we both lived in the same place, we could train together and tryout together and compare bruises and shit. Basically move to England, is what I'm saying. And Tika, you come too and be our trainer. BEST PLAN EVER.)

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    3. YOU'RE JUST AS FAR AWAY.

      Plus I have the sun on my side. What does England have to offer? Castles? Okay...maybe I'll consider it.

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    4. WHY does the "Notify Me" checkbox have to be so tiny and unobtrusive? I missed all of this.

      The tutus have't been outlawed, but one must admit they're not very aerodynamic and also make it harder to squeeze past people. They've been largely relegated to bouts that aren't for rankings.

      I WOULD LOVE TO MOVE TO LONDON but Australia not so much (sorry Kayleigh. It's the lack of castles.)

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    5. Although, there is the sun in Aus... Alright, fuck it, we'll all just move to Southern California. I'm sure Megs has room for us all.

      If I can't wear a tutu I don't want to play though.

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    6. We can kick out her drum-playing upstairs neighbor and form a book commune!

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  4. And also that if you DO decide to skate and then need a derby name and like mine, I will bequeath it unto you because I lurve you.

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    1. WHAT IS YOUR DERBY NAME?!?!?! I clearly need to know right now.

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    2. /drumroll

      Bridget Pwns

      ALL THIS CAN BE YOURS, Laura!

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    3. OH MY GOD. That is amazing.

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    4. Heeeeehehehehhehe thank you. I am pretty proud of it. :)

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