{"id":6161,"date":"2025-06-10T08:34:44","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T12:34:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/consistent-life.org\/blog\/?p=6161"},"modified":"2025-06-24T12:42:43","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T16:42:43","slug":"hollywood-movie-insights-iii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/consistent-life.org\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/06\/10\/hollywood-movie-insights-iii\/","title":{"rendered":"Hollywood Movie Insights III"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Rachel MacNair<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

This is the third in a series of short reviews of different movies. For the others, see: <\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>Hollywood Movie Insights I\u00a0<\/em><\/a>(The Giver,\u00a0The Whistleblower, and\u00a0The Ides of March) <\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>Hollywood Movie Insights II<\/em><\/a>\u00a0(Never Look Away,\u00a0The Report, and\u00a0Dark Waters)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>She Said<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a>Opposing sexual abuse because it\u2019s horrific without needing to take anything else into account is a position taken by most people. But rape has an additional potential lethal consequence:<\/strong> it makes the killing of the unborn child conceived that way much more likely, and more likely to be seen by many as a justified exception. But if the rape never happens, then neither does the abortion. So part of the practice of pro-life ethics is to prevent rape and the associated forms of sexual abuse.<\/p>\n

Therefore, a well-done movie focused on prevention by investigation and media exposure is a positive from our perspective. She Said<\/a> is such a move. The connection is never made \u2013 abortion isn\u2019t mentioned at all \u2013 but we don\u2019t need connections made explicit to know they\u2019re there.<\/p>\n

The portrayal of young mothers handling children (with their husbands) and also professional responsibilities shows that having children is no career-blocker.<\/p>\n

As an additional positive feature, one of the reporters is pregnant early in the story. It\u2019s a nice touch to have a few seconds of a sonogram showing a delightful bouncing unborn child.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cabrini<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Set in the late 1800s in New York City, at a time when bigotry against Italian Americans was intense, Cabrini<\/a> shows examples of how racism and living-in-the-sewer-level poverty can be lethal.<\/p>\n

But what it\u2019s about is a woman determined to help solve those problems. Mother Cabrini is a nun who sets up an orphanage and a higher-quality hospital, against great odds. But she isn\u2019t merely doing charity \u2013 she knows she has to work on social justice and social institutions as well. She has courage, sound strategic thinking, powerful compassion, and an ability to reach people\u2019s consciences.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My Dead Friend Zoe<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In My Dead Friend Zoe<\/a>, two women were veterans of Afghanistan. Merit is still alive, going to a court-ordered therapy group. Zoe interacts with Merit as a hallucination others don\u2019t see. As Merit deals with family problems, we know throughout that Zoe is dead. Cheerfully so.<\/p>\n

Spoiler alert<\/u><\/em>: Until the end, we don\u2019t know how Zoe died. Some will assume we\u2019ll be told what combat incident killed her. Actually, she got home and shot herself. This goes with the dark truth: more soldiers die by suicide than by combat<\/a>. The movie\u2019s conclusion is the need for more therapy available to veterans.<\/p>\n

This is certainly true. Veterans have already gone through war and desperately need the help. But not putting people into wars in the first place would be far more effective.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Snow White\u00a0 (2025 Disney live-action version)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The theory behind the effectiveness of nonviolent action \u2013 an alternative to war as a way of opposing tyranny \u2013 is that power comes not from the sword but from the cooperation of the people. Tyrants use fear to get that cooperation, as did the Evil Queen in Snow White<\/a>. But people see authority as more legitimate when it takes a kind approach.<\/p>\n

In this version, after the true-love kiss had aroused Snow White from the poisoned apple, the queen went back to the palace and Snow White went there to confront her. She elicited the support of the people before the face-to-face contact. When the queen ordered guards to kill her on the spot, Snow White called the men by name and reminded them of their former occupations and families. Noncooperation ensued.<\/p>\n

This is reminiscent of the scene in the live-action version of Disney\u2019s Aladdin when\u00a0Jasmine<\/a> also courageously appealed to the guards to not carry out the usurper\u2019s demands.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>===============================<\/p>\n

See a full list of the movie reviews on our blog on our list of all posts<\/a> under<\/p>\n

Movie, Television, and Documentary Reviews<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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by Rachel MacNair \u00a0 This is the third in a series of short reviews of different movies. For the others, see: \u00a0Hollywood Movie Insights I\u00a0(The Giver,\u00a0The Whistleblower, and\u00a0The Ides of March) \u00a0Hollywood Movie Insights II\u00a0(Never Look Away,\u00a0The Report, and\u00a0Dark Waters) \u00a0She Said Opposing sexual abuse because it\u2019s horrific without needing to take anything else into… <\/p>\n