Female Prisoner Scorpion Quadrilogy
My fan-made trailer for a real rad series
Woke up at 6am this morning and spent a handful of hours cutting together this fun (for me) little fan-made trailer for the Female Prisoner Scorpion film series because I couldn’t get the idea out of my head. This vividly expressionistic Japanese exploitation quadrilogy begins by playing itself off as a simple women-in-prison rape-revenge thriller only to gradually show its real hand of being a visceral condemnation of an unjust police state, police brutality, the prison-industrial complex, and the cruel and unchecked patriarchy that ties it all together.
We never get much background or characterization for the largely silent protagonist, Nami Matsushima - whose venomous eyes do most of the talking for her - as she seems to act as a blank slate and a conduit for the pain and suffering of the other female characters, and a manifestation of their wrath to viciously strike back against misogynistic systems of power that operate without accountability. While the series is empathetic towards women who’ve been abused and wound up in an injustice system that’s not just apathetic, but downright antagonistic, it’s a far cry from feminism by today’s standards, as the male filmmakers often defeat their own messaging by fetishizing a lot of the sexual violence.
Even though it leaves a bit to be desired on that front, the boldly experimental and eye-popping artistry of the series -as well its progressive abolitionist ideology and incendiary storylines - makes it a must-watch for any cinephiles.
We never get much background or characterization for the largely silent protagonist, Nami Matsushima - whose venomous eyes do most of the talking for her - as she seems to act as a blank slate and a conduit for the pain and suffering of the other female characters, and a manifestation of their wrath to viciously strike back against misogynistic systems of power that operate without accountability. While the series is empathetic towards women who’ve been abused and wound up in an injustice system that’s not just apathetic, but downright antagonistic, it’s a far cry from feminism by today’s standards, as the male filmmakers often defeat their own messaging by fetishizing a lot of the sexual violence.
Even though it leaves a bit to be desired on that front, the boldly experimental and eye-popping artistry of the series -as well its progressive abolitionist ideology and incendiary storylines - makes it a must-watch for any cinephiles.
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