In my Film 100 class this week we started watching the film Swiss Army Man. Even though we have only made it into fifty minutes of the film thus far, I believe there is already a lot for me to discuss. In the beginning we are introduced to Hank, a guy who appears to be stranded on an island and attempting to commit suicide. There are multiple notes in the water, suggesting that he has been reaching out for help but none have reached help. As he is tightening the rope and planning on kicking out the bucket from underneath him, he spots a body laying in the sand. Struggling to undo the rope, the bucket falls from underneath him. Luckily, the rope breaks, allowing him to rush over to the body only to realise it is dead. Utilizing the belt on the dead body, he tries to reinforce his rope until he notices the dead body propelling itself away through the water using farts. Catching up to the dead body in the water, Hank uses the dead body to get to a larger body of land as he rides it like a jetski.
Honestly, even just thinking of the beginning scene makes me quite uncomfortable if I take the film at face value. I give the directors credit and respect for being so creative, but I cannot bring myself to enjoy what I saw. I've grown up to be quite conservative in terms of my nature. I am not sure if this is due to me being a woman, but throughout my life I have struggled with the expectations of being conversative and well mannered. All the aspects of being human, such as bodily functions, have to be concealed to the point where they don't seem to exist. I believe there is a saying regarding women not farting, as society holds women to such standards. I'm not sure society holds men to the exact degree, but I am not a man so I do not know what it is like from that perspective. All that I know is that society has convinced my mind to feel disgust towards any actions that revolve around human nature: farting, going to the bathroom, wierd bodily noises, burping, etc. Of course my thoughts do not discourage me from being myself while at home. Only while I am out in public do I feel nervous by the thought of someone knowing that I farted or overhearing my stomach growling because I am hungry. Honestly, I am ashamed that I felt this way while watching the scene because I realise how close-minded and twisted my thoughts have become towards the human nature. I wish I could just laugh along at the scene instead of turning away, but overcoming or changing one's ideals is difficult. Perhaps over time this is something I can try to work on.
Anyways, back to the rest of the second half of the movie. To me, I'm going to skim over most of it for now as it makes no sense to me. In a shortened summary, Hank made it to land and started dragging the corpse around out of guilt as the corpse had brought him to land. He finds a cave and they both rest there until the corpse, named Manny, wakes up. Then Hank begins to teach Manny about the real world, as Manny has forgotten who he once was. They build an entire setting, including a bus, to stimulate the best parts of the world Hank remembers. One scene that really stood out to me, not in a good way, was when Manny's body filled up with water from a rain storm and shot water out of his mouth like a fountain. Thirsty, Hank drinks from Manny's mouth. This scene is worse in my opinion than Hank riding Manny like a jet ski. I did end up throwing up an hour after watching these scenes, and since then thinking about this particular scene still makes me nauseous. Contemplating this, a mother bird feeding her babies is no different, and I am alright with that thought. Perhaps it is the portayal of Manny as a corpse that bothers me the most, as my brain considers what would be if this actually happened. Hank would probably be introducted to multiple - I feel like saying illnesses but I am not truly sure. Nor do I want to look up the effects of being in contact with a dead body. I wish I could say for certain why I feel so disgusted by dead bodies, but I do. Perhaps it is just a typical belief, or my true reason as yet to be understood. Regardless, I am intrigued by what I have watched thus far, and I am curious how this wild movie is going to end. Therefore, I am going to choose to take the plot for what it is and go with it to prevent analysis from distracting me from the rest of the movie.
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