sasha_feather (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sasha_feather) wrote2023-02-18 10:12 pm
sasha_feather) wrote2023-02-18 10:12 pm
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"Yellowjackets" is a miss for me
This weekend I'm dog sitting Puck, a friend's greyhound. He is a very confident and friendly dog, very interested in food, which is different than Abbie. It's fun having him here especially when he gets on my bed and cuddles. (Abbie is scared of being on the bed).
Watched:
Yellowjackets, episode 1. I kind of hated this but I don't want to be a drag to people who like it, so further thoughts under the cut.
Yellowjackets is the mascot of a girls' high school soccer team. The team are on their way to nationals when their chartered plane crashes, and they are stranded in the Canadian wilderness for 19 months. During this time they descend into murder and ritualized cannibalism. The story takes place in two timelimes, the second being 20 years after the traumatic events. The survivors are messed up people who are trying to protect the secret of their past.
This was too far into body horror for me, just really gross, for instance showing a bone sticking out of leg during a soccer-practice injury.
But beyond that, I found myself wondering about the very basic inaccuracies of the theme: the kind of "lord of the flies" idea that when society is stripped away, people will abandon their values and engage in terrible violence. Actual survival stories from reality tell us the opposite.
The story of the South American rugby players who survived in the Andes was probably the inspiration for Yellowjackets, because they engaged in cannibalism (of people who had already died-- they did not murder anyone). Ever since I listened to Blair Braverman talk about their story on the "You're Wrong About" podcast, I think about the rugby players frequently. The ones who survived did so by taking care of each other. Yellowjackets is like "through a mirror darkly", it's taking a similar premise and asking what if instead, people were terrible and violent and also... unable or unwilling to walk out of the wilderness, I guess? On some fundamental level I don't get the point of this kind of story; survival stories are hopeful to me. They are about cooperation, care taking, and problem solving when things are very difficult.
Watched:
Yellowjackets, episode 1. I kind of hated this but I don't want to be a drag to people who like it, so further thoughts under the cut.
Yellowjackets is the mascot of a girls' high school soccer team. The team are on their way to nationals when their chartered plane crashes, and they are stranded in the Canadian wilderness for 19 months. During this time they descend into murder and ritualized cannibalism. The story takes place in two timelimes, the second being 20 years after the traumatic events. The survivors are messed up people who are trying to protect the secret of their past.
This was too far into body horror for me, just really gross, for instance showing a bone sticking out of leg during a soccer-practice injury.
But beyond that, I found myself wondering about the very basic inaccuracies of the theme: the kind of "lord of the flies" idea that when society is stripped away, people will abandon their values and engage in terrible violence. Actual survival stories from reality tell us the opposite.
The story of the South American rugby players who survived in the Andes was probably the inspiration for Yellowjackets, because they engaged in cannibalism (of people who had already died-- they did not murder anyone). Ever since I listened to Blair Braverman talk about their story on the "You're Wrong About" podcast, I think about the rugby players frequently. The ones who survived did so by taking care of each other. Yellowjackets is like "through a mirror darkly", it's taking a similar premise and asking what if instead, people were terrible and violent and also... unable or unwilling to walk out of the wilderness, I guess? On some fundamental level I don't get the point of this kind of story; survival stories are hopeful to me. They are about cooperation, care taking, and problem solving when things are very difficult.
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There's a greyhound in my neighborhood and she's so sweet!
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In my completely unbiased opinion, greyhounds are the best dogs.
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Even so, I think I might regret watching the rest! There is definitely too much terrifying situations & body horror me of thirty years ago, but I find I am less sensitive to horror now. And I will watch a lot of stuff for Melanie Lynskey.