Posted by Isis at ic008067.ithaca.edu on April 03, 2000 at 20:35:39:
In Reply to: Chasing Amy and gender roles posted by airsign on April 03, 2000 at 19:54:19:
None of the characters fit into the stereotypical mold which they would seem to upon first appearance, not even stereotypical heterosexual white male (I almost said it but I resisted) Banky. All of them turn out to be far more complex then the judgments placed on them allow.
Especially with the whole thing about Holden becoming mired down in the rumors and such of his social environment, I'd say the movie was about breaking out of socially defined roles and accepting people for who they are. In other words, the thoughts and stereotypes the outside world might have about an individual or a relationship are not as important as what people actually feel about each other and how they express that.
-- Isis
It was all, like, about the love and stuff.
: I am most intrigued by Alyssa's confusion in relation to sexual orientation. Is this all biological? Is it socially defined? Is it a combination of both? Is it neither? In the film, I got the message that it was less about Alyssa 'making up her mind' than it was about her trying to gather the courage to step outside her life as a lesbian, especially when her social, professional, and personal worlds revolved so much around this part of herself.
: I am also really intrigued by the conflicting images of masculinity, from Holden's immature, although well-intentioned, wanna-be stud to Banky's slightly confused and totally biased teenage attitude. Throw in Hooper to give an analysis of gay culture from a (black) male perspective and I am left utterly perplexed...
: Are these characters stereotypical? What do they represent? Is Chasing Amy a film about moving outside of stereotypes, or is Kevin trying to avoid stereotypes in general?
: Bottom line is, I never let a critic or a director tell me what to think about any given film. But I'm looking for a few more opinions on this one (especially yours, Kevin), because I've yet to make up my mind on what Chasing Amy really ends up saying. Either way, it's brilliant and a testiment to the freedom and advantages of independent film. Well done.