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So is he still a “minor” at the end of the movie when he becomes “Dek of the yautja”? Wouldn’t that render his entire character arc pointless to go through all of that but still be considered a child. I think Dek would be personally offended by everyone insisting he’s still a child after all he put up with.
It's about him proving himself for his brother and for himself. He only verified himself for his chiva. His character arc is not fully about his age but more of his mentality, physical appearance and strength. His age plays a part obviously, because he is young and the young are not as strong as an adult. But it's not the main focus. So his arc still makes sense. The movie and also the director communicate it again and again that he is a youngling and still in development, inexperienced and naive. He is the youngest Yautja until now. There are tons of Yautja who are not a teenager you can ship and sexualise with God knows what or who and that's totally okay. Hell I'm also a certified monster fuqer. But it's not okay to openly sexualise a character who is confirmed to be a kid. And even IF he would count as a young adult in Yautja sense at the end of the movie, the entire movie is following him while being a kiddo. It should be normal mentality to stay away from kids and teenagers, no matter if they are an alien or not
I see so much fanart and general post sexualising him or shipping him with Thia or other ppl, and in this chase I'm disgusted by it. Normally I'm all in for such content, there is nothing wrong with shipping. But Dek is a MINOR. HE'S A CHILD. It doesn't matter if he is an alien species, child is a child. Stop it
Why Dek's Design from Predator: Badlands is actually great and haters are proving it
As a Predator fan I am super excited for the upcoming movie, but I cannot help but be annoyed and also partly disgusted (because some comments were really unhinged) by some of the criticism and hate some people give for the first Trailer, especially for the main protagonist Dek. As a college student with the major of media and communication design, aka. Movies and ads, I want to explain to you why the design of Dek is actually very thoughtful and why all these negative comments are actually proving it and all that as easy as possible to understand✨
(Please note that this is my own view on this, I'm not a professional movie director, but I try to analyze his design in the way I learned)
Trachtenberg already stated that Dek is really low on the social ladder and with very high possibility a young teenager, which means that he is even younger than Scar, who until now was the youngest Yautja in the franchise as a late teenager to early adult. So it makes sense that he is smaller and hasn't a fully developed face yet. That alone should already explain a lot.
BUT! He is actually underdeveloped. He is a runt who is thought weak of by everyone. His society is build upon strength and quiet dominance who only accept weakness by people who are not part of their society or Yautja at all.
And this is actually the explanation. He is someone who is not accepted by his people, and probably also not by his family if rumors are true and that other predator is his father. His society doesn't like him and casts him away, they underestimate him and dislike and disrespect him simply because he is different. And the reaction of people to the Trailer is exactly that:
They don't like his design, they don't like that he is weak, that he is a child and a runt. They don't accept him and cast him away, like his society in the story. So the haters are exactly proving the point of purpose of Dek and his appearance and design. He is supposed to be underestimated and disliked. You. are. supposed to look at him and dislike him and think "Geez why does he look like that?!". That's his purpose. To be underestimated by you, so you see Dek in the same way his people see him. Weak, stupid and not acceptable. That design is purposely made to help him get a good character development which makes him grow and makes people understand him better.
A muscular man will never be seen as weak and unlikable, simply because such an appearance just doesn't associate with weakness and being the outcast. So Dek cannot look like a full grown Yautja. That would never be able to sell his role and character.
That's actually everything. If the movie is not your thing then don't watch it but remember: Directors like Dan Trachtenberg would never make a critical design without reason. As for me, I already adopted Dek, hope he gets some hot chocolate and a hug.
Dan Trachtenberg and his way of showing "love" in his movies
Warning: contains spoilers for Predator Badlands (lowkey, you see it in the trailer if u look close enough)
Soooooo, I have finally watched Predator Badlands and I must say, I absolutely loved it. I won't go much into detail because I would like to take a separate analysis, so I can focus on this topic:
How Dan Trachtenberg shows the emotion love in his predator movies.
We all know it, we all see it every day in almost every single media there is. Love. It's probably the most popular or most found genre, because it is present in everything, even in the craziest drunk-written horror story you have ever seen. But there is one thing that always annoyed me - it's representation.
Love is always shown as the ultimate emotion/devotion you can give someone else. And there are these two different tropes which are always used. The love of a parent, mostly of a mother, and the one of your lover. These count as the most purest form of love, though the romantic love is portrayed to be the most powerful. And I always thought of that concept as absolute bs.
There is this one concept of love which is never used, because it's portrayed as not being important or meaningful:
The love of a sibling.
The love between siblings is always portrayed as these annoying other dudes in your house who eat each other's candy and bullies each other just as much. As the youngest sibling and only daughter, I always got along well with my brothers and loved them unconditionally. So I never understood why siblingd are portrayed like this in movies, especially when I was a little kid. I still hate it to this day.
So to see Dan Trachtenberg use the love between siblings as the main presentation of love in his predator movies is such a refreshing breeze.
Prey and Predator badlands are solely about the love of an older sibling, or brother to be specific. While prey still shows the typical "older sibling annoys younger sibling" trope, predator badlands shows an older sibling who is almost paternal to his younger brother, going so far and even keeping his childhood toys and his broken tooth. But they both end the same. Prey and Badlands show an older brother (Taabe & Kwei) who loves their younger sibling so unconditionally, that they didn't hesitate a single second to give their life for their sibling. They both know that one of them has to die, and both chose themselves so that the younger one could live. And that is the most truest and purest form of love. Especially in badlands where the older brother was a Yautja, who are raised to feel no strong positive emotions. Kwei had a screen time of maybe 5-10 minutes, but these were enough to show the viewer that he loved Dek with all his heart.
No matter how rich you are, the most valuable thing you own is your life. And in a world where only paternal and romantic love seem to be important, seeing an older brother taking the hit on purpose will forever be my most favorite representation. Even if it's tragic and brought me to tears. I just love that Trachtenberg represents this. A sibling's love can be just as strong as a romantic one, and as a little sister I finally felt connected with a character on a level that was never touched before.
Thinking about how the big central theme of Predator: Badlands is people who have grown up with child abuse and how they cope with it (or not) in adulthood.
Dek as a mistreated runt used as a punching bag by a domineering father he's desperate to appease; his self-loathing from years of abuse so deep-set that he throws himself headlong into danger chasing the approval of a callous patriarch who couldn't care less about him.
Kwei as a "golden child"/favorite of the abusive father who hates the experience of being such. Who just wants his little brother to get the love and respect he deserves. Who knows deep down that his father's "love" for him is purely superficial and transactional, and is proven right by being murdered when he finally gains the will to stand up for himself and his sibling.
Thia as a "daughter" of Weyland-Yutani, treated not as a person but as a tool to fulfill her purpose and discarded or beaten the instant she breaks ranks, akin to the daughter of fundamentalists who see their female children as nothing but tokens to produce grandchildren or be married off politically.
Tessa as a different kind of golden child, one who embraces that role and cares nothing for her siblings, throwing them to the proverbial wolves for the sake of her own self. She fears the abuser but has become an abuser herself in her desperation to avoid their wrath.
And in the end, everyone moves on from that abuse they've grown in in their own ways. Dek comes into his own and finally understands that his father was a failure of a man and never deserved his respect, especially after experiencing genuine paternal affection for the first time from a wild animal of all things. Kwei gives his own life to try and shield his brother from any further torment. Thia finds true family and support that allows her to be a real person and not just a prop of the corporation that built her, that cruel and distant mother figure. Even Tessa in the end becomes something more than the abuse, a mighty warrior or beast in her own right, something that Dek proves himself against.
Trachtenberg, you beautiful bastard, I love where your head is at.
I used to hate the smudge tool, but now I love it. It took me a while to figure out which settings were just right for a perfect blurred edge with just a little smidge of noise and texture!
I don't gatekeep, so I made a free smudge brush set! I've been using it in all my recent art. Grab it here!
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