watch 1: 86
rewatch: incredible visuals and frequently good soundtrack, hate character motivations (primarily gilbert bullshit but most other characters as well) and narrow understanding of "love", which is ironic given the amount of interrogation it receives. ultimately a very conservative cultural humanism, justifying and celebrating the status quo (everything from gender/relationship norms to the military to "authenticity", tainted throughout with explicit and implicit endorsement of submission to authority) through the socialization of an outsider. it can kind of get away with it because of the historical setting but being progressive relative to that is boring and a cop out, and the piece clearly exists within a current context. raises great questions about the philosophy of emotions and relationships (even disability!), just gives terribly unsatisfying answers. to quickly defend my interpretation of the military, as some may see it as depicting the harm that is caused and being critical of certain treatment, my criticism is primarily this: "one way in which a political philosophy can be ideological is by presenting a relatively marginal issue as if it were central and essential." a great deal is made of violet being treated "merely as a tool for war", but um, literally every soldier is, lol. also who cares if youre not receiving and carrying out direct orders from superior male officers if that same relation is maintained less formally and your entire life revolves around this one person? also the "peace" vs "anti-peace radicals" is dumb as fuck lmao. super surface level individualistic anti-militarism. the liberal non-violence critique of war is woefully unequipped to address genuine power relations. this all being said, there are some pretty fantastic arcs and characters (looking at you, ann). also, even if i vehemently disagree with the values on display, there are moments where the swelling audio and visuals are powerfully emotional.
rewatch: incredible visuals and frequently good soundtrack, hate character motivations (primarily gilbert bullshit but most other characters as well) and narrow understanding of "love", which is ironic given the amount of interrogation it receives. ultimately a very conservative cultural humanism, justifying and celebrating the status quo (everything from gender/relationship norms to the military to "authenticity", tainted throughout with explicit and implicit endorsement of submission to authority) through the socialization of an outsider. it can kind of get away with it because of the historical setting but being progressive relative to that is boring and a cop out, and the piece clearly exists within a current context. raises great questions about the philosophy of emotions and relationships (even disability!), just gives terribly unsatisfying answers. to quickly defend my interpretation of the military, as some may see it as depicting the harm that is caused and being critical of certain treatment, my criticism is primarily this: "one way in which a political philosophy can be ideological is by presenting a relatively marginal issue as if it were central and essential." a great deal is made of violet being treated "merely as a tool for war", but um, literally every soldier is, lol. also who cares if youre not receiving and carrying out direct orders from superior male officers if that same relation is maintained less formally and your entire life revolves around this one person? also the "peace" vs "anti-peace radicals" is dumb as fuck lmao. super surface level individualistic anti-militarism. the liberal non-violence critique of war is woefully unequipped to address genuine power relations. this all being said, there are some pretty fantastic arcs and characters (looking at you, ann). also, even if i vehemently disagree with the values on display, there are moments where the swelling audio and visuals are powerfully emotional.