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In defense of Bethany
Jan. 6th, 2018 12:35 pmIf anything has been obvious over the past four months, it is that I don't post to this journal much. Today I feel compelled to, because I really need to respond to Natalie Zutter's review of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle at tor.com.
Zutter did not care for Jumanji. She wished it was a different film. That's fine. Not every film is for everyone, we all have preferences. I, for example, utterly detest Bladerunner, a movie that many people think is ground-breaking. I'm not about to argue that Jumanji was ground-breaking. I loved it, though. I cried at the end.
It does not surprise me that Zutter and I are not seeing eye-to-eye on this work, nor does it concern me that she did not enjoy Jumanji as much as I did. Many people did not enjoy Jumanji as much as I did. I'm willing to entertain the possibility that my reaction to Jumanji says MUCH more about me than it does about the film. Where I take serious exception to Zutter's review is her dismissal of Bethany. Zutter describes Bethany as "selfie-obsessed" and "a mincing teenage girl." And this, I cannot countenance.
Bethany, played by Madison Iseman and Jack Black, deserves more consideration. It's easy to dismiss a teenage girl who takes selfies. It's more reasonable to recognize them as artists. Bethany's careful attention to lighting and composition in her selfies demonstrate that she understands what it takes to create work that drives the viewers' gaze to exactly what she wants them to see. Moving, meaningful photography takes either careful planning or extraordinary luck. It's not fair to denigrate Bethany's artistic process simply because it focuses on the subject to which she has the easiest access, and is presented on instagram with hashtags.
Bethany also understands how to use her body - her hair, her hands, her face and her walk - to draw attention. I assume that this is what Zutter is referring to when she uses the unfortunate term "mincing." In fact, neither Iseman nor Black "mince," although Bethany's moves are played for laughs when paired with Black's body. The joke there is that what works for a teenage girl is unbecoming in a middle-aged man. This is hardly surprising. The converse is also true - the power and privileges experienced by middle-aged men are generally not accessible to teenage girls, who must find their own means to negotiate with the world. Bethany's advice about biting lips, tossing hair, and strutting should be seen as a critique of the world; Bethany is just one young woman who has to find a way to live in it.
I'm also annoyed with what Zutter has failed to note - Bethany is the most selfless character in this film. She doesn't "learn to focus on something other than herself." She already knows. Where other characters object or hesitate, Bethany takes it for granted that she should sacrifice a life to save someone else. She is the only character whose self-sacrifice is undertaken without anger or fear. She doesn't even pause.
Bethany reminds me of Anna Kendrick's masterful portrayal of Jessica in the Twilight films and Jacqueline Emerson's Fox Face from The Hunger Games, portrayals that you probably missed entirely if you were focused on the protagonists, or if you thought Twilight and Hunger Games franchises were beneath you. They're not.
Zutter did not care for Jumanji. She wished it was a different film. That's fine. Not every film is for everyone, we all have preferences. I, for example, utterly detest Bladerunner, a movie that many people think is ground-breaking. I'm not about to argue that Jumanji was ground-breaking. I loved it, though. I cried at the end.
It does not surprise me that Zutter and I are not seeing eye-to-eye on this work, nor does it concern me that she did not enjoy Jumanji as much as I did. Many people did not enjoy Jumanji as much as I did. I'm willing to entertain the possibility that my reaction to Jumanji says MUCH more about me than it does about the film. Where I take serious exception to Zutter's review is her dismissal of Bethany. Zutter describes Bethany as "selfie-obsessed" and "a mincing teenage girl." And this, I cannot countenance.
Bethany, played by Madison Iseman and Jack Black, deserves more consideration. It's easy to dismiss a teenage girl who takes selfies. It's more reasonable to recognize them as artists. Bethany's careful attention to lighting and composition in her selfies demonstrate that she understands what it takes to create work that drives the viewers' gaze to exactly what she wants them to see. Moving, meaningful photography takes either careful planning or extraordinary luck. It's not fair to denigrate Bethany's artistic process simply because it focuses on the subject to which she has the easiest access, and is presented on instagram with hashtags.
Bethany also understands how to use her body - her hair, her hands, her face and her walk - to draw attention. I assume that this is what Zutter is referring to when she uses the unfortunate term "mincing." In fact, neither Iseman nor Black "mince," although Bethany's moves are played for laughs when paired with Black's body. The joke there is that what works for a teenage girl is unbecoming in a middle-aged man. This is hardly surprising. The converse is also true - the power and privileges experienced by middle-aged men are generally not accessible to teenage girls, who must find their own means to negotiate with the world. Bethany's advice about biting lips, tossing hair, and strutting should be seen as a critique of the world; Bethany is just one young woman who has to find a way to live in it.
I'm also annoyed with what Zutter has failed to note - Bethany is the most selfless character in this film. She doesn't "learn to focus on something other than herself." She already knows. Where other characters object or hesitate, Bethany takes it for granted that she should sacrifice a life to save someone else. She is the only character whose self-sacrifice is undertaken without anger or fear. She doesn't even pause.
Bethany reminds me of Anna Kendrick's masterful portrayal of Jessica in the Twilight films and Jacqueline Emerson's Fox Face from The Hunger Games, portrayals that you probably missed entirely if you were focused on the protagonists, or if you thought Twilight and Hunger Games franchises were beneath you. They're not.
