at peace with this flopping

Because why bother with authenticity when you can throw musical glitter on a stereotype and call it representation? Why bother with depicting complex human experiences truthfully and credible dialogue when you can win awards for cultural exoticism and beautiful actors dancing in great lighting?

And now Saldaña’s role in Emilia Pérez follows the same pattern, becoming another figure praised for breaking barriers while tethered to a project that reinforces the very stereotypes it claims to dismantle. History repeats itself, but this time with more self-aggrandizing claims of woke liberation

No shade at all to Zoe Saldaña. She’s incredible in the film despite its blunders but just like Hattie McDaniel before her, she’s become a symbol of Hollywood’s skewed idea of progress. In 1938 McDaniel made history as the first Black actor to win an Oscar (supporting actress) for Gone with the Wind

They clearly knew they had to control the narrative with praise from audiences that would not pick up on the flawed depictions and the absolutely butchered Spanish. Of course the movie is received much better by those that experienced it primarily through subtitles and not unintelligible dialogue

A lot has already been said about the poorly thought out depiction of Mexico and of the director’s complete disregard for educating himself but the insult is most evident in the decision to hold off the premiere in Mexico until after it had already been praised and awarded by non-Mexican audiences

It’s appalling and quite sad that Karla Sofía Gascón is willfully blinding herself to this criticism and frankly being such a Caitlyn Jenner about all of this 🙄

The characterization of Emilia’s journey to become a woman as a calculated move in a drug war as opposed to a search for identity continues to push the same narrative that the right wing uses to dehumanize trans experiences, her life is reduced to a belittling choice to go from “penis to vagina”

It’s not that musicals or fairytales can’t be set within the horrors of modern life and it’s not that heroes can’t be flawed and complex, but the complete trivialization of narco culture while glossing over its devastating effects shows a complete lack of respect towards the people living through it

Gone with the Wind turned the horrors of the antebellum South into a glamorous romantic soap opera while Emilia Pérez exploits the ongoing horrors of cartel violence as the rosy backdrop to its melodramatic musical, trivializing the trans experience as a shallow plot point in a drug lord’s scheme

Both films thrive in grandiosity: big emotions, big performances, and an even bigger disregard for nuance. They rely on romanticized tropes, reduce complex cultures to (misinformed) aesthetic choices, and prioritize spectacle over substance.