Why Oceanās 8 Is the True Definition of Feel-Good Movies
So right now youāre probably sitting at home, and if youāre at all interested in any of the wonderful 8 leads (Sandra Bullock, Sarah Paulson, Cate Blanchett, Rihanna, Mindy Kaling, Anne Hathaway, Awkwafina, and Helena Bonham Carter) of Oceanās 8, then youāre wondering if itās worth seeing.Ā
Itās quiet, understated, and it surely passes the Bechdel Test 8 times over. So why is it important? What does it offer us as a society today?Ā
Itās literally a blatant metaphor for female friendship. Hell, Anne Hathaway outright states,Ā āI donāt have a lot of female friends,ā when her dopey character rises to the occasion and solidifies this group of 8 women.Ā
This movie is not in any way a part of its predecessors, but it is a movie written, performed, and produced in the glare of the #MeToo movement and the Timeās Up initiative, and it is beautiful.Ā
There is no threat of male violence; there is no threat of male takeovers; no mansplaining; thereās men in it, yes, and they get good comedy timing like the women, but they are not threatening. In fact, at one point Sandra Bullock states that no men could be involved in their heist. Not for any reason other than she wanted some solid females involved. If that is not a meta self-referential callback to ā50/50 by 2020ā³Ā or inclusion riders or equality itself, I donāt know what is. (Sandra, Mindy, and Cate were all original signers of the Timeās Up letter published on January 1st this year).Ā
The men got 3 movies. Now, itās the womenās turn. They will take those 8 spots and they will get the job done without any threats, conflict, or bullshit.Ā
One could argue that the movie does not feel as thrilling or on-the-edge-of-your-seat satisfying because of this lack of conflict.
But I think thatās the point. Thereās no conflict because the women work together. Theyāre stealthy, careful, cunning, and they are ready to get shit done. And they can get shit done because they have come together to do it. Thereās no weak link orĀ ācattyā (kill me, honestly) fighting. These women all want the same thing, and they all support each other and work together to put one man in jail.Ā
In the era where it seems like every single day I am bombarded with the threat of physical violence by any man that walks through the door of the place I work, this was a reprieve. This was a place where I felt calm, loved, surrounded by women who were smarter than everyone in the room. They nodded to Anna Wintour and the Kardashians and the Hadids and Taylor Swift and their business ideals, and they did not bash them. They coexist, ready to be a part of the plan and to get their own shit done at the same time.Ā
And thatās why I think this movie is so important. Itās about female friendship and itās about getting everyone (men, women, people) involved in that comfort and love and support so that maybe one day, like these characters we can pull the greatest heist of all: the time to hold the screenās attention for an hour and forty minutes without a threat of sexual or physical violence in a crime-driven film. Or to hold that hour and forty minutes of safety in, you know, life itself.Ā
(NOTE: I do have a discomfort in the fact that Oceanās 8 was directed by Gary Ross, because I feel like they definitely missed an opportunity to highlight young female directors, but weāre working on it)Ā
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