Critique // Speed Racer

Whoa what a trip. I was shocked, but then not surprised at all, to see the Wachowski's names at the end of the film. They love their green screen. (I kept imagining the actors acting out these quick shots on a green screen-- it must have been so awkward.) Throughout the whole movie I noticed myself identifying various forms of critique within the film but by the end all I could remember were three main thematic critiques.

1. Speed Racer is Avant-Garde
Avant-garde, meaning that it breaks pre-existing conventions in its medium. Speed Racer breaks all the rules, including rules on editing, camera movement, casting, production design, and run time. I think this movie might not have done so well because of how out there it is. People have chalked it up to cheap visual spectacle, but I couldn't help but think there was more to it than that. After all, these are the directors who made The Matrix, which has a vast and complicated universe attached to it. In a lot of ways, the avant-garde nature of this film is a critique on conventional children's media. We are creating movies for children, but sticking to the same rules we do for adults. This film is a lot more trusting of its audience, sacrificing liner and spatial soundness for high velocity visuals and a meta-theme about breaking conventions and being independent.


2. Breaking Conventions and Being Independent
A lot of children's films model fables, with a clear takeaway. This film doesn't stray to far from this, but it does present things as perhaps a bit more complicated. The independent motor company sticks to a set of moral values and triumphs over the 1%. It's a Capitalistic underdog story. However, the underdog doesn't just get to win because he is the underdog. The underdog is also convention-breaking. It was obvious in the beginning that Speed Racer did not "behave" in school. His childhood behavior and the strange cuts and world presented at the beginning of the film made me wonder if this was meant to all take place in the mind of a child on the autism spectrum. Regardless, Speed is able to succeed without fitting into a traditional societal mold. (Though I wish there was deeper characterization for him other than "nice dumb kid who makes good choices and races well.") the form breaks conventions, the characters break conventions, and...

3. This Film Invites Critique of Itself
This film got a lot of negative critique, and I understand why. Such a film that strays from what we are used to seeing on screens is difficult to negotiate sometimes with our expectations, but what really puts the audience over the top is its self-awareness. The youngest brother and ape characters were so weirdly obvious and such weird side characters that it felt ironic to me. The villian's long and often intelligible speeches seemed to be making fun of long villainous speeches in children's films that over explain. There were moments I was questioning gender roles within the film, but I couldn't help but wonder if that's what the filmmakers intended. Inquiry. Curiosity. Critique.