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Captivating Visual Dystopias: Paradise Hills and Equals

9 Dec

Recently I watched two dystopian films, Paradise Hills and Equals, that were visually enthralling with their use of color and visual metaphors. 

Paradise Hills
Paradise Hills (2019) starts with vibrant floral hues and then ends in darkness as the characters discover the truth about the facilities on a remote island that is supposed to turn the daughters of Uppers (the wealthy elite) into perfect ladies.  While the story is derivative of other feminist works such as The Stepford Wives, it use of colors and visuals is stunning and had me enthralled by this dark whimsical futuristic fairy-tale.  Emma Roberts stars as Uma and the film also features a stellar Awkwafina as Yu.  Mila Jovovich plays the mysterious Duchess who runs the facility.  The outfits the girls wear reminded me of Alice in Wonderland mixed with Clockwork Orange with the look of a whimsical white dress made out of a straitjacket.  Being oneself and speaking your mind are ideals for us all and yet too often women are still made to feel that good girls should just stay quiet and look pretty. You can borrow it on DVD from BCCLS libraries or stream it on Kanopy.

Equals
The 2016 film, Equals also use color to effect in this case primarily a lack of colors with only white being prominently featured in costuming.  Peoples’ dress and mannerisms are solely utilitarian in Equals.  The story draws its inspiration from 1984, but focuses primarily on the suppression of emotions and a forbidden love story between Nia (Kristen Stewart) and Silas (Nicholas Hoult).  It is considered a serious medical condition if people encounter Switched on Syndrome (SOS) and begin to have emotional responses to things.  As with Paradise Hills the story works best in its visuals.  The main characters work for a division that must illustrate news stories of outside conflicts, which unlike the world around them often appear in vivid color.  The film moved at a slow pace at time lingering over visual metaphors like Nia and Silas briefly holding hands, this like the monotone deliveries from the actors captures life in a world where along with negative emotions, feelings of happiness and joy are also suppressed. It is available to stream from Hoopla or to borrow on DVD from BCCLS Libraries.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Head of Information and Digital Services

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A Different View of Mulan: Reflection by Elizabeth Lim

11 Nov

In the Young Adult Department, we have an excellent young adult book called Reflection by Elizabeth Lim that is part of the Disney Twisted Tales Series. The story takes off as if you were channeling into the middle of an action-packed movie. You are thrown into battle with Mulan against Shan Yu’s Han Army at the snowy banks on a Mountain of the Tung-Shao Pass. Like the movie, Shan Yu pursues Mulan as she points the rocket towards the mountain’s peak. You, the reader, are put in her shoes as she can’t help feeling obligated to do her duty to save her fellow soldiers and China. But there’s a twist; just as Mulan was about to set the rocket towards the mountain, General Li Shang jumps into action to protect Mulan from Shan Yu’s lethal attack and is wounded instead of Mulan. The Hun Army is destroyed but at the cost of a gravely injured Li Shang.  

Here’s where the book takes off in a different direction than what we as Mulan fans are used to. Because of Li Shang’s declining health, Mulan is desperate to find a way of keeping him alive. When night falls, she’s approached by the spirit of Shang’s recently deceased father, General Li! General Li has Mulan agree to go into the underworld of Diya to ask King Yama to spare Li Shang’s soul from being reincarnated. This book pays respect to the Mulan movie while giving it an incredible twist. The reader gets to explore a new side of Mulan’s narrative, as well as learn about Chinese mythology through Mulan’s quest to save Li Shang’s spirit in a world of monsters, ghosts, and demons, oh my!

Besides print, you can also check out an ebook from Hoopla or eBCCLS/Overdrive and even come inside the library to check out some other Mulan oriented materials including the animated film.

Written by:
Elbie Love

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