The mother is a helicopter parent unable to cope with her son (represented by the dumpling) growing up and becoming independent.
This culminates in her devouring the dumpling boy rather than allowing him to leave with another woman, symbolizing the infantilization of her son (putting him back inside her/returning him to the womb) and unwillingness to accept him as an individual separate from herself.
In anger, the son cuts contact entirely, causing the mother to become despondent and depressed.
The father steps in and pushes for reconciliation. They talk and forgive each other, the mother is now able to view her son as an adult and repair their bond.
I believe that Domee Shi is fricking TERRIBLE at understanding how to utilize a metaphor. Turning Red and the panda's "metaphor" was an absolute mess that just sent mixed signals to a variety of people watching it.
And no, Domee, going, "It's suppose to be a mess, it's just like puberty!" is still a very shitty way to use a storytelling tool. You shouldn't have people walking away from your movie thinking the Panda represents a girl's physical body and that she was whoring herself out.
She literally prostituted her body out for cash. She was the centerpiece of a rich kid's birthday party. And the film never even considers that Mei's classmates only like her because of her body, not herself as a person.
That's why the metaphor was worked in in such a shitty way. It's supposed to be "control over your own body", as in your own person. It's supposed to represent that she has a helicopter parent who is so abrasive that she tries to shut down Mei's developing lust for a boy. Mei is, for once, taking control of her own person. She is using tactics she learned earlier (Profiting from her ancestors) and applying it here.
However, the meaning of the Panda constantly changes and it also constantly shifts from metaphorical to literal when the story calls for it. Sometimes it represents puberty, sometimes it represents being repressed, sometimes it represents independence. Metaphors are generally better if they're consistently one thing throughout the story.
The symbolism of the Dragon Scroll stays consistent throughout the whole movie-- and they spell it out for you in the end in case kids don't get it. With Turning Red, you can show it to 100 people and come out with 60 different interpretations. And that isn't because the movie is so open for interpretation, but because the symbolism is just so goddamn poorly utilized.
It represents messiness that comes with growing up contextualized in intergenerational east v west immigrant conflict and it stays that way the entire movie.
Yeah, everyone has a very messy puberty experience, but Turning Red goes beyond that. It has her becoming popular because of her messy metaphor, it has her making moolah off of it, she even has a one-off comment at the end when she says "My Panda, my choice", a phrase that is ONLY ever used for the pro-choice movement. That latter has nothing to do with the messiness of puberty, but they put it in there anyway.
It wants to be this universal message about the messiness of growing up, but the money-making montage is such a departure from that. "I used my body and abilities for a get rich quick scheme and became popular because of it" is not a universal coming-of-age experience. It is so hyper-specific, you can't blame people from thinking it's supposed to represent whoring yourself out on TikTok or whatever.
Bodily changes aren't the whole of puberty. The movie sees puberty as a holistic experience and celebrates all aspects of it including the development/blossoming of talents, especially when one comes into an environment where they become beneficial for one's monetary and social capital. >My Panda, my choice", a phrase that is ONLY ever used for the pro-choice movement. That latter has nothing to do with the messiness of puberty, but they put it in there anyway.
Individuation is a part of growing up; that line directly relates to Mei growing as her own person and getting power over her own life.
11 months ago
Anonymous
But "my ___ my choice" is literally the catchphrase of the Pro-Life movement, it has never been used elsewhere. It's like how, "If you see something, say something" is directly tied to anti-terrorist measurements; the instant you say those phrases to Americans, they will IMMEDIATELY think of a very specific movement. It was a very baffling choice to use that line in this movie, even if it was supposed to be a weird joke.
11 months ago
Anonymous
I meant Pro-Choice movement.
11 months ago
Anonymous
>But "my ___ my choice" is literally the catchphrase of the Pro-Life movement, it has never been used elsewhere.
Yes, but the phrase relates to bodily autonomy, with autonomy in particular being the key word here.
Well I guess the problem is you're reading too much in the metaphor. Yeah it's about puberty and shit but anon she's literally turning into a giant magical red panda and that's something you just have to take literally and not as a metaphor for her selling her underage pussy at school.
>However, the meaning of the Panda constantly changes and it also constantly shifts from metaphorical to literal when the story calls for it. Sometimes it represents puberty, sometimes it represents being repressed, sometimes it represents independence. Metaphors are generally better if they're consistently one thing throughout the story.
See that's a bad take. Zombies in dawn of the dead was a metaphor for mindless consumerism but also literal zombies. Not everything has to be 1:1 because I'm not over here thinking Romero was saying mall shoppers are literally eating brains.
Chinese reproduce through cooking.
The Chinese often kill and eat children
It’s a metaphor for motherhood or something
If we turn Pixar back into a boys club will they start making good movies again?
Monkey's Paw. They make nothing but Cars sequels and spinoffs from now on.
Idk, it’s worth a shot
Then again Elemental was made by a man soooo… maybe not
I hated the designs in this. They look so ugly and lumpy.
She fricking looks like Droopy if he were an asian woman.
saggy faced chinese dog woman
Was this patient zero of the loads of "asian immigrant" media trash about moronic prostitute asian zoomers and their soulless bugmen parents?
you just don't understand chinese culture, chud
The mother is a helicopter parent unable to cope with her son (represented by the dumpling) growing up and becoming independent.
This culminates in her devouring the dumpling boy rather than allowing him to leave with another woman, symbolizing the infantilization of her son (putting him back inside her/returning him to the womb) and unwillingness to accept him as an individual separate from herself.
In anger, the son cuts contact entirely, causing the mother to become despondent and depressed.
The father steps in and pushes for reconciliation. They talk and forgive each other, the mother is now able to view her son as an adult and repair their bond.
>putting him back inside her
*unzips*
Remember when Bao caused a three-day shitstorm about how people didn't "get it"?
>scott_adams.jpg
>tfw asian and saw this with my dad
>he got confused and asked if the father was cheating on the mom with the young white woman
How can you not?
I believe that Domee Shi is fricking TERRIBLE at understanding how to utilize a metaphor. Turning Red and the panda's "metaphor" was an absolute mess that just sent mixed signals to a variety of people watching it.
And no, Domee, going, "It's suppose to be a mess, it's just like puberty!" is still a very shitty way to use a storytelling tool. You shouldn't have people walking away from your movie thinking the Panda represents a girl's physical body and that she was whoring herself out.
She literally prostituted her body out for cash. She was the centerpiece of a rich kid's birthday party. And the film never even considers that Mei's classmates only like her because of her body, not herself as a person.
That's why the metaphor was worked in in such a shitty way. It's supposed to be "control over your own body", as in your own person. It's supposed to represent that she has a helicopter parent who is so abrasive that she tries to shut down Mei's developing lust for a boy. Mei is, for once, taking control of her own person. She is using tactics she learned earlier (Profiting from her ancestors) and applying it here.
However, the meaning of the Panda constantly changes and it also constantly shifts from metaphorical to literal when the story calls for it. Sometimes it represents puberty, sometimes it represents being repressed, sometimes it represents independence. Metaphors are generally better if they're consistently one thing throughout the story.
The symbolism of the Dragon Scroll stays consistent throughout the whole movie-- and they spell it out for you in the end in case kids don't get it. With Turning Red, you can show it to 100 people and come out with 60 different interpretations. And that isn't because the movie is so open for interpretation, but because the symbolism is just so goddamn poorly utilized.
It represents messiness that comes with growing up contextualized in intergenerational east v west immigrant conflict and it stays that way the entire movie.
Yeah, everyone has a very messy puberty experience, but Turning Red goes beyond that. It has her becoming popular because of her messy metaphor, it has her making moolah off of it, she even has a one-off comment at the end when she says "My Panda, my choice", a phrase that is ONLY ever used for the pro-choice movement. That latter has nothing to do with the messiness of puberty, but they put it in there anyway.
It wants to be this universal message about the messiness of growing up, but the money-making montage is such a departure from that. "I used my body and abilities for a get rich quick scheme and became popular because of it" is not a universal coming-of-age experience. It is so hyper-specific, you can't blame people from thinking it's supposed to represent whoring yourself out on TikTok or whatever.
Bodily changes aren't the whole of puberty. The movie sees puberty as a holistic experience and celebrates all aspects of it including the development/blossoming of talents, especially when one comes into an environment where they become beneficial for one's monetary and social capital.
>My Panda, my choice", a phrase that is ONLY ever used for the pro-choice movement. That latter has nothing to do with the messiness of puberty, but they put it in there anyway.
Individuation is a part of growing up; that line directly relates to Mei growing as her own person and getting power over her own life.
But "my ___ my choice" is literally the catchphrase of the Pro-Life movement, it has never been used elsewhere. It's like how, "If you see something, say something" is directly tied to anti-terrorist measurements; the instant you say those phrases to Americans, they will IMMEDIATELY think of a very specific movement. It was a very baffling choice to use that line in this movie, even if it was supposed to be a weird joke.
I meant Pro-Choice movement.
>But "my ___ my choice" is literally the catchphrase of the Pro-Life movement, it has never been used elsewhere.
Yes, but the phrase relates to bodily autonomy, with autonomy in particular being the key word here.
Well I guess the problem is you're reading too much in the metaphor. Yeah it's about puberty and shit but anon she's literally turning into a giant magical red panda and that's something you just have to take literally and not as a metaphor for her selling her underage pussy at school.
>However, the meaning of the Panda constantly changes and it also constantly shifts from metaphorical to literal when the story calls for it. Sometimes it represents puberty, sometimes it represents being repressed, sometimes it represents independence. Metaphors are generally better if they're consistently one thing throughout the story.
See that's a bad take. Zombies in dawn of the dead was a metaphor for mindless consumerism but also literal zombies. Not everything has to be 1:1 because I'm not over here thinking Romero was saying mall shoppers are literally eating brains.
looks like grub hub to me
Most of this film is a dream sequence as a consequences of her Helicopter Parenting Style.
me chinese
me make joke
me put pee pee in your coke