What better way to end my spring break then by watching the film "Spring Breakers" starring Vanessa Hudgens, Selena Gomez, Ashley Benson, Rachel Korine and none other than the one and only James Franco.
I hadn't seen the movie when it originally came out nor did I have the urge to. However, after scrolling Cinemax's new film additions, "Spring Breakers" caught my attention so I decided to watch it.
To say I was perplexed at moments would be an understatement.
I knew the movie was going to be raunchy, but not only did I not expect the heavy display of boobs I witnessed, I certainly didn't expect the creepier jaw-dropping scenes—specifically the scene where Alien (Franco) deep throats a gun.
I was utterly disappointed by the film's lack of plot. I felt like I was watching an endless hip hop music video due to all the scenes that flaunted sex, drugs, money and guns (a poorly made music video thanks to Franco's bizarre acting I might add).
It wasn't until I started pondering the film's ending that I realized the purpose of this film wasn't to have a successful story line.
Instead, Harmoney Korine's goal was to convey a significant message through the movie's themes of female empowerment and modern day superficiality.
Although the film received a lot of praise, it received just as much backlash for its objectification of women.
It's understandable for people to feel disturbed by the film's cinematic techniques, which consist of camera movements that pan up and down women's bodies and party scenes that ultimately portray women in a sexually deviant light.
Assuming the film's portrayal of women is completely negative, however, is totally subjective.
For instance, looking back on the scene where Alien is forced down on his knees by Candy (Hudgens) and Brit (Benson), one can acknowledge this scene alone reveals the amount of agency—the ability for a person to act for themselves—their characters have attained up to this point.
In a desperate attempt at saving his life, Alien humiliatingly deep throats their pistols and as a result, goes from dominant gangster to vulnerable sex object.
Some film critics argue the film promotes rape culture; yet, there wasn't a single scene that displayed non-consensual sex.
These women aren't victims of sexual abuse. They're young college girls who are partying as hard as many twenty-something-year-olds dream they can.
The film's ending certainly screams female empowerment. Brit and Candy have officially found themselves despite their descent into a world filled with drugs and violence—a world essentially controlled by men.
This movie initially appears to be like every other party film that depicts nothing but sex, drugs and gangster rap. Regardless, Korine successfully executed a film that appeals to the millennial dream of partying while simultaneously sending a radical message toward the younger generation.
If you watch "Spring Breakers" in the hope that it will have an excellent storyline and decent acting, you will be let down (not that most people had high expectations for the movie to begin with).
If you focus purely on the film's cinematic elements and symbolism, you might consider this a future cult classic as other critics have deemed it.
