The Grooming of Girlhood | Explored Through Innocence (2004)

[@FinalGirlStudios]

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the ending!! So curious to know people’s interpretations.

[@the_time_painter]

I watched this when I was little and then another time a little bit older and the ending to me seemed to mean her reward of being perfect in every way they required of her so she was put into a place where she could find a mate. like the butterflies.

[@Crouteceleste]

I don't understand this final scene. It make it seem so the people behind this school are doing this to create the twisted perfect world they have thought up in their heads, like gifting the girls to humanity from the goodness of their heart. The logical ending of this movie is for the girls to get out in the world just long enough to have a taste about what it could be, then to be swiftly whisked away to future husbands who would be either the sons of the voyeurs or the voyeurs themselves or someone like that… The people behind this school are clearly raising teenage submissive bourgeois wives.

[@Captainn4t]

I feel like the fact that the boy she is interacting with looks much older then her is saying something. She still looks incredibly young, while he looks to be almost a young adult. She has been groomed, she was prepared to get attention from older men, and now even on her own she is falling into the trap again. Maybe I'm putting too much thought into it, but for such a grim movie with such a poignant metaphor going on, the idea that her just finding a nice boy upon her freedom is a red herring in a way. Too clean. Maybe that's the point, she can't see the red flags because she was never given the knowledge so this seems like perfection or happiness to her? That's my perspective though. I could be way off.

[@vwllss8507]

when I watched the ending scene I think the stark difference in landscape is what threw me for a loop, we go from this green natural cottage-filled gated community to these blocky brutalist buildings and get our first look at the men's faces, I think its supposed to be a look into the cage that is no longer gilded, if they created a second film (which I hope they don't but if they did) I think wed watch the girls slowly come to grips with the nature of this world as it is nothing like what they were taught. The men whose faces we can finally see still carry a mask, and the girl doesn't question it, he's concealed by the fountain and so his true nature and intentions are concealed from her who stands on the opposite side of it. In a way they were kind of transported through time, the world the girls come from is so backwards that its literally suspended in time, and just like the transition from childhood to adulthood the girls are thrusted into totally unprepared to face the true nature of the world and the true nature of men. At least that was my analysis

[@anonymouse4317]

Hi, would you ever do a video talking about the movie Novitiate from 2017?

[@FishareFriendsNotFood972]

"Girls are trained to value aesthetics over exploration and fun" wow what a great line! Thanks for this

[@lalaland2107]

Growing up, I noticed this among my peers and even as an adult I saw it too… and they even encouraged me to leave something I thought was fun to do something that wouldn’t make a mess… I never had the words for it!

[@AyAReI00]

I used to be what they called a manly girl, Aka a very sporty girl... I used to run a Lot on recess and i came all sweaty with My Best friend .... Here is the thing all the boys did the same but only me and My friend we're call out and told to stop playing in break time cuz was not ladylike , i asked My teacher why the boys could do it ... She point out boys are like that , but US (my friend and i ) were weird, too childish for our age, cuz all our peers didnt do something so manly as run and play like boys. We needed to be like the rest of girls who didnt like to sweat and get ugly.... But i like playing ... We were told tp stop or they Will call our parents, we never run AGAIN in break time... We were just 12

[@dudeonyoutube]

Gosh, could that be the natural response to female traits?

[@emel3925]

I swear you’re my youtube twin, i see your comments on all literally all my favorite channels (you leave great comments BTW 😂)

[@dudeonyoutube]

@@emel3925 Thank you. Likewise, I'm sure. 😉

[@mally_draws3023]

As a girl I hate it how I have no choice but being uncomfortable by either being lusted over and sexualised when I look "good", or not even being considered a human being deserving of empathy and respect when I look "ugly"

[@GioGio-fq1vl]

This. If I take three hours of my day to do my hair, makeup, nails, put on a cute outfit and go outside I must brace myself to be oggled at and treated as a piece of meat. But on the days I can't be bothered to do anything other than putting on a hoodie and wearing a messy bun I'm invisible, but not in a "let's let her be" kind of way, but in a "she doesn't exist" kind of way.

[@14KittieKat]

@@GioGio-fq1vlthe corn industry doesn’t help this either you know

[@thecollector6746]

No one has a choice in how they are ultimately perceived by someone else. Stop whining. you are not oppressed. You have absolutely no idea what true oppression is. Deal with it.

[@smitajky]

No one forces you or men to fit a stereotype. You can be valued as a worthwhile and competent being AND be lusted after also. Or you can set out to NOT be lusted after. It takes time and experience to discover that the only thing holding you in "chains" is yourself and your own perceptions.

[@thecollector6746]

@@smitajky You don't know what a stereotype is....do you ?

[@Laribhaven]

As a former child ballerina. I think is very symbolic that the ballet routine is mediocre. Dancing in a not-so-perfect form is something we usually associate with children from the 3-5 age group in pre-ballet classes. Being an older girl like the purple ribbons, performing like a toddler, to me just shows how much men gaze at us from the moment we start to go out in the world. And how much they value the aesthetic of pre-pubescent, over everything else. Even though many are not attracted to minors per se, they do want a woman who looks like a young girl...

[@mariec3527]

Exactly even grown men don't necessarily like little girls like a p*dophile would, but they want grown women to still mirror the looks/ actions that of a young pubescent girl . I don't know if you have ever been on Reddit, but there are forums where people will ask for advice on how to improve their looks or to rate their looks. The HUGE number of men who will comment negatively on any girl who has tattoos , colorful hair , short hair , too much dark or heavy makeup , piercings other than simple earrings , are heavier than 100lbs , have a big bust , or wide hips , or big back side . And don't wear long, simple dresses . It's like they tell on themselves without knowing that they practically are saying they want a youthful looking girl not a grown woman with grown women features and bodies

[@themaybeso6117]

Reminds me of how far removed from the present and fictionalized balletcore is

[@kimbooley90]

That ribbons thing reminds me of something I heard from someone who attended the pool parties/"audition"s with Dan Schneider. They said the more "stuff" you had in your hair (as in ribbons, butterfly clips, etc) the more likely you were to be chosen.

[@emilyrln]

@@kimbooley90 aaugh I don't like that anecdote 🤢

[@katella]

​@@kimbooley90I can relate to this, unfortunately.

[@foxflinga7857]

This movie hits hard. When I was a little girl I did ballet for 7 years and I also performed with white butterfly wings. I was so proud to be told by our teacher how good I behave. After practise I usually went home alone by train. I still had my leotard on with jeans and hair in a bun with a ribbon. When I was 12 I started notice the looks by men on the train. Sometimes they tryied to talk to me or touch me. What is even worse is that I always looked younger than I really am. I am still misstaken for a teenager even though I am 25 now. I really like pink, ribbons, cute girly dresses. I only wear them when I am at home. I think for me it is about somehow reclaiming my girlhood back.

[@jessicaflux]

We deserve to reclaim what has been taken away from us! 👏❤️‍🔥

[@jaxj968]

yep, i love pink and ribbons. i’m Black, so my girlhood experience was a bit different, filled with the subconscious knowledge that I would never be viewed as “innocent “ or “pure”. sometimes, i find myself acting like a child in my room bc i grieve the childhood experiences i never had, and out in public, i wear lots of ribbons and butterfly clips, but i never really have to bravery to dress in pastels and pinks like i want. i always feel so out of place in such colors, though i wish i could rock them

[@functionoflightone]

@@jaxj968 Sister, You can rock them and I promise you, you will look wonderful. I am black too and I went thru so much of my life feeling "less than". Once I realized that no one can define me unless I give them permission, I found and am still finding myself. Before all the demographic information that people try to use on each other (age, color, religion, etc), the most important thing you are is human. Enjoy it... it doesn't last that long. Much love to you.

[@starryskies113]

😨

[@aaniad367]

as an older teen girl who now works around and helps a lot of my younger peers, the catcalling experience and outfit you described reminds me so much of so many of the girls I help now, it’s just so interesting going through that experience myself and in turn understanding how society normalizes the exploitation of young girls youth and how so many of us partake in it, completely unaware and how it’s such a vicious cycle that now I look at girls who are younger than me partake in it, completely unaware, just like I once was, unable to say anything to them and it breaks my heart

[@kateb2643]

It wasn't even a conversation when I was that age. I was born in 88 and people barely raised an eyebrow at grown men pursuing teenagers. We were always told girls mature at a younger age than boys 🙄

[@nahlakeepsyappin]

​@@kateb2643 that and the "boys will be boys" or "he's only doing it because he likes you" feels so dehumaizing to me.. like why is he doing all that to make me uncomfortable just for you to excuse it?

[@jackreacher1717]

kateb2643, uh it's a scientifically proven medical fact that female humans begin and end the process of Puberty before male humans,and it's completely natural and normal.

[@happygucci5094]

And now when we analyze the Sex scandals and trafficking scandals of young vulnerable women in Hollywood and the Music industry- we need to collectively agree that Epstein, Sean Combs, Harvey Weinstein and ALL that helped and enabled and perpetuated the abuse are NOT anomalies- they are symptoms of a larger uglier problem of how both young men and women are being destroyed by this culture. This isn’t “toxic” masculinity- this is toxicity. The masculine like the feminine is socially fashioned and is shaped by multiple forces.

[@Mizushimeee]

@@kateb2643the “girls mature faster than boys” is never to position girls in leadership or point out their intelligence. Its always for pedos who wanna groom them or to hold them accountable on anything

[@dumbledoresgotstyle]

As someone who was a victim of childhood SA, as someone who had to grow up way too soon, when I had my baby 2 years ago I prayed so hard to the universe for a boy. I could not fathom exposing my child to the horrors of what I have gone through in life purely because of being born female. I did have a girl and have grown grateful to have had a girl because i will be able to look out for her in a way no adult in my life looked out for me. This essay hit me so hard. Thank you for your hard work and analysis.

[@happilyevernever4289]

U do realize boys also go through such things if you're not careful.

[@emmaatkinson7379]

I hope your child lives a life free from that kind of violence and pain ❤ wishing her easier problems, and you all the strength for your own recovery journey. Try not to listen to idiots and consider the source when horrible opinions are voiced. Maybe one day we'll all be free :)

[@dumbledoresgotstyle]

@@happilyevernever4289 I really should not even respond to this. As if anyone could be blind to the horrors all children face in today’s world. As if I don’t understand boys have their own unique set of struggles and are victims of the patriarchy too. Yes. I know boys can be victims of all kinds of horrors too. For the regard I now have the ability to understand my childhood experience could be helpful in protecting any child boy or girl, but I was sharing a peak into a personal vulnerable experience as it pertained to the analysis of the video. Thank you for your wonderful insight and complete lack of nuance regarding my comment. Have the day you deserve.

[@dumbledoresgotstyle]

@@emmaatkinson7379 thank you for your kind words! Your last line is so important. May we one day live in a world free of these problems and especially free of any childhood suffering. It’s a long shot but one can hope.

[@Lonestar-s4h]

Im currently dealing with this but have yet to know the gender. Thank you. I really really needed to read this. I wish you and your kid the best in life love❤ ​@dumbledoresgotstyle

[@stardust948.]

I don't know if this was the movie's intention or not, but I find it telling that there were no black little girls at the academy since they are often denied a girlhood all together.

[@ChickenMaster610]

Damn

[@zucchinigreen]

I thought the same. They're adultified long before they actually are grown. 😢

[@YukiSKoala]

We are always left out in every aspect.

[@tananario23]

I looked it up, took less than 5 seconds; the film is based on a German novella published in 1903.

[@depgabby]

The director of the movie is Bosnian, a country that is known for its lack of diversity. I believe she simply didn’t even think about it.

[@motaku220]

I really don’t appreciate the little girls being naked, since it puts them into a weird situation. But it was an amazing narrative about girlhood and how the male gaze follows us, even when we are unaware

[@FinalGirlStudios]

@@motaku220 Agreed! I think showing children nude on screen is always irresponsible. That’s likewise my one major complaint about the film

[@transcripttranslation8801]

@@FinalGirlStudiosOn some NYC beaches some immigrant groups do what they always did back home and let kids under 7 be on the beach in their birthday suits. It’s weird that you block the upper part of a young girl’s body as if there’s something there to see, when KZbin features plenty of free movies for kids where boys same age run around shirtless. This censoring of the upper part of a girl’s body seems to stem from the same preoccupation with “protecting” girls from arousing the impure thoughts of others as choosing swim bra tops and two piece swimsuits for girls of any age who aren’t yet showing any breast development. Like some schoolteachers’s weirdly sexualizing preoccupation with little girls’ skirt or shorts length, a US societal fixation on the potential thoughts of wrongdoers as well as on the potential discomfort of some hypothetical sensitive, easily offended parties only reinforces for girls that they’re not as free as boys to just BE in the world.

[@TheRehabKat]

Exactly ! I was thinking maybe a nude leotard at least would of conveyed the same message...

[@sum2kitty]

@@FinalGirlStudiosjs so u know, around 3:43 the black square disappears

[@motaku220]

@@TheRehabKatOr even funeral clothing to go with the message

[@arlenxander5877]

as someone who was brought up incredibly religious (muslim to be exact), this movie will always be near and dear to me. the permeating creepiness throughout the movie is how i felt whenever i was told to not do certain things because it was shameful or would elicit excitement from men. i wasn’t even allowed to do these things in my own house god forbid. and although i loathe the film’s use of child nudity and the voyeuristic camera angles, i did unfortunately relate to always feeling like i was being watched. like someone was enjoying what they were seeing and they were always out of sight somehow. crossing legs became some sort of sexual provocation and so did enjoying a popsicle. i think that’s why i always feared being a women or getting older because then i wouldn’t have plausible deniability anymore. i wouldn’t be innocent anymore. I would be asking for it.

[@mavka.chorna]

Lucile Emina Hadžihalilović, the director of this film, is of Bosnian descent, so the paralels are more natural than you think. Christianity and Islam shaped the cultural landscape of her home country. Displacement, nationality, religion, war and conquest in Bosnia are another interesting and painful topic that few people understand unless they were born into the environment.

[@amidreaming333]

Girl same

[@sapphic.flower]

I didn’t think the nudity was indecent but the focus on the girl’s legs is hard to watch. I get the intention of the director but I don’t appreciate when films makes us into unwilling voyeurs. The film already accomplishes critiquing social grooming without making us almost see up these children’s skirts… 🤢

[@potatosmileyfries]

"i think that’s why i always feared being a women or getting older because then i wouldn’t have plausible deniability anymore. i wouldn’t be innocent anymore. I would be asking for it." i feel the same way. i don't want to turn 18 for that reason.

[@ad-ren-aline7466]

I was raised in what I always heard described as an extremely “Baptist” cult. And had the exact same experience as you. Being told I had “too pretty of legs to show them off” by our 57 year old pastor at the age of 10 - is just one of hundreds of examples.

[@emmaatkinson7379]

I feel like we desperately need more angry media on topics like this. Like, more metal music, more horror movies, more spec fic novels. One thing that always frustrated me growing up as a teen, and young woman, is how much media is dedicated to the angst of men. Young men angry with their fathers, conflicted with masculinity and its expectations, men wishing to be soldiers or mad at being a soldier, angry screaming at what society wants out of them - to be a provider, despite economic hardship, to be strong, despite being human. Unassailable. But the HORROR, the unholy disgust, of having your own father pose you for your kindergarden grad at 6yo in poses similar to a magazine model just because you're in a swimsuit and knockoff paper lei - the heinousness of a first catcall! Of sudden understanding that your whole life until then, you thought you were a person, like anyone, you were a kid and going to grow up to be a librarian or astronaut or lawyer. And then the rising uncanny evil of realising that to men, even to women - you're not that. You're an object. You're consumable, and judged on a hierachy of consumability, forever. You're just a piece of candy with a short shelf life, with sometimes big ideas of herself More angry media for girls pls

[@aricharlton7292]

This essay of yours reads like a person who's only ever watched cartoons for little kids and war movies with your dad put on. Movies about the angst and struggle of womenhood exist and have been made for decades. Some examples are 3 women with Shelly Duvall, the Czech goth horror film "Valerie and her weeek of wonders", Sion Sonos 2015 feminist masterpiece "Tag", Koreas 2010s film "Bedevilled", 1997s "Perfect Blue" Thelma and Louise, Ginger snaps, promising young woman, The Craft, Pearl,, the Love Witch, 2021s Kate, the hard candy duology ,2016s "the handmaiden" and it's 2018 American rip off "the perfection" and Carrie. I recommend these movies if you are looking for stuff about womanhood and the trauma that comes with it.

[@fairyfarms]

@@aricharlton7292 i think they meant we need MORE not that there isn’t any at all ^_^

[@scorpieeeee]

stop being so self-deprecating, please. you are not an object or a candy with an expiration date. this nonsense is what men mutter to themselves when they can't get access to the women they want. these are their self-soothing mantras, not your "objective value".

[@Mightilyoats]

You might be interested in the album Caligula by Lingua Ignota. Be warned it’s pretty heavy stuff about abuse and misogyny. But when you’re in the right mood, it’s haunting, beautiful and cathartic.

[@alize0623]

Listen to Banshee. She sings about exactly this

[@kyndramb7050]

OOOF! This one hit me hard. I was 10 when I first got my period. I had breasts in elementary school, and was mocked for it, and sexualized by boys and men. When my Nana took me shopping for bras, I wanted tight sport's bras to flatten as much as possible. The amount of men who catcalled me before I even reached high school is abysmal. The men who were meant to be trust-worrhy making creepy, inappropriate comments or requests. I was forced to grow uo too soon.

[@Minlaroo]

That makes me sad for you! Ten years old is so young to have to deal with that type of attention. I didn't get my period until I was 14 so I didn't have to deal with that type of male attention until high school.

[@buuuuuuuuuu]

Same here, i was a bigger kid, taller then everyone and got my period at 9/10, i remember being cat called at young age and being so scared because nobody told me that it would happened. In one ocasion my mom called out a guy that was saying awful things to me by saying "shut it, she is only 13" and he said " i doesnt matter to me, is only a 6 year difference", i still think about that.

[@UwUImShio]

Breasts are a curse

[@one-onessadhalf3393]

I’ve only ever been catcalled a few times, but the one I remember the most was when I was 14 on Halloween. I was dressed up like Peppermint Butler from Adventure Time, so I was in my little suit and clown-esque makeup, and I’d been referred to with he/him pronouns by a few parents with their kids, so I really thought I was passing as male (I am trans masc btw). Apparently though, I didn’t pass well enough to stop a bunch of fucking losers to yell obscenities at me from a passing car on the street, and for that car to continue following me down the block. That was one of the worst experiences of my life

[@LunarWind99]

@@one-onessadhalf3393 I'm so sorry you had to go through that 💔

[@alize0623]

Grooming little girls for adult men is exactly why I resent the phase “good little girl.” Good boys are boys who take care of others, don’t break the rules, and try in school. Good girls are obedient and docile. If you tell a little girl she’s pretty and she replies with anything besides “thank you,” then she’s a bad girl. She needs to doubt it and have YOU validate it for her to be good. I’m raising 2 girls and exclusively raising them to be strong willed, questioning, and confident. I don’t care if that makes them good or bad girls, I want them to break the mold

[@starryskies113]

Sounds very creepy”good lil girl”😨

[@HeyItsNovalee]

7:31 this butterfly metaphor is extra poignent when you realize what happens during metamorphosis inside the cocoon. The caterpillar literally breaks down its entire body which is then reassembled in the shape of a butterfly. Girls are broken down and forcibly put back together in the shape of an "appealing" woman during adolescence. And those who dont force themselves to break down usually arent accepted

[@LokiMartin-i6s]

I spent a lot of my childhood running through the woods, climbing trees, hunting for bones, and pretending to be a witch in the forest. When I got home, my mother and I would argue because I got my pretty dress dirty or I skinned or bruised my knees. I remember angrily thinking that my mother wanted a pretty doll on the shelf, where I wanted to be a child and run and explore and play pretend.

[@blondebomber-qo2uy]

Oh wow you're so edgy, you're so different, you're not like other girls. You are exactly part of the problem with comments like this where you compare your girlhood as superior to girlhoods where girls did stereotypical things. Stop it.

[@lambsauce1468]

❤

[@Rexorazor]

One of them bones could have cursed you .

[@marina3934]

I still do this as an almost 20 year old :D I find being out in nature to be one of the most peaceful things there is, you are under the observation of nobody but the forest creatures.

[@SnickerFoodle]

I cannot tell you how relieved I felt when I hit 30 and thought no one would catcall me or hit on me or touch me inappropriately anymore. And how I was subsequently heartbroken and enraged when it happened again anyway. I felt so angry at my own naivety. I was so tired of being sexually harassed and assaulted, and I thought that it didn't happen when you got "old". And I was wrong.

[@Minlaroo]

The older I got the worse it got ...until I was around 45 which was 7 years ago. Then it finally let up. Even at my age now, I still get the smile thing though, the men just tend be older. You know when guys who are complete strangers tell you that you're too pretty not to smile, so "smile" for them...? It seems harmless at first but when you think about it, do women ask men who are complete strangers to smile bc they are too handsome not to? No!!!

[@zucchinigreen]

I remember talking to a pregnant friend about how I can't wait till men leave me alone. She sadly informed me they never do. Even in her pregnant state she got men telling her that she looks good to breed 🤮. I remember thinking it would stop with age, then I read a story about a 70 year old nurse who got 🍇-d in the hospital parking lot. Men do not want us to feel human or anything less than objectified, ever. 🥹

[@Dziabum]

I feel you on that. I got fat as a way of self defence after a bad experience happened. I felt safe in my new protective cocoon until someone (a man) commented on my chest… it’s not even about being attractive it’s just about exercise of power over us

[@potatosmileyfries]

i was told girls get catcalled mostly between 13-30 but i'm 16 and i've never been catcalled. girlhood often feels like some bomb countdown. Every girl knows that her first time beign sexually harrased, groped, etc. will come eventually. that's how i've lived, knowing someday it'll happen. and i'm scared. luckily, i am 16 and have never been catcalled and get very little male attention in general, my only experiences with gross people have been online.

[@CommanderLexaa]

I stopped getting those when I started presenting more masculine because I'm non binary, but one night my Uber realized I was not a dude and he took me to a dark area towards a dude standing next to a car with the back door open, and STOPPED, thankfully I reacted fast and called my mom telling her ''Oh YEA I sent you my Uber ride so you see me coming haha yea tell my brother to come down to help me'' and I saw that he texted the dude telling him basically to abort and they both took off and he took me home. When he dropped me off he said while chuckling ''You cheated''. Reported him and Uber told us that he got fired.

[@mxar2074]

I feel lika a caterpillar that failed at becoming a butterfly. I feel really uncomfortable around women who present feminity "better" than me. One one hand I feel insecure that I can't measure up to these standards of feminity, on the other hand I know that I don't want to live that way. I identify as a woman but compared to other women I feel less than and always feel like I'm trying too hard. My awareness of the effort I put into a performance that I don't like, that I fail at, is what makes me feel less than.

[@shoobamocha]

I felt this way for a long time. Femininity is a construct, it doesn't make you more or less of a woman whether you conform. But seeing everyone else happily go along does make you feel excluded and weird sometimes. The important thing is to focus on growing as a person and try your best to ignore how we're pummeled with so much propaganda to look a certain way. Being ourselves is rebellion.

[@one-onessadhalf3393]

Me? I’m just a worm. (If anyone doesn’t catch this it’s a Labyrinth reference)

[@Kevin-y3s6m]

I felt this way too, until one day one of my friend told me "Oh this dress will look nice on you, it's really feminine, matches your style". And honestly, I did not even feel feminine at all, like, I'm lazy and grumpy at times, I could not care less of dressing up at some points in my life. But the fact some people see me as feminine, makes me think, maybe, maybe- what if turns out everyone has their own definition of feminine? And then I saw the old paintings etc, and realized how the beauty standard keeps changing from time to time. Even society from each era have their own definition of feminity. I mean it's just funny that humans inconvenience themselves like literally, they create this standard of feminity that keeps changing from time to time and at this point it's impossible to adhere to the standard perfectly bcs before u can even achieve perfection, the definition of feminine has changed again. It's a scam honestly (think about how many business, particularly beauty industry, who get benefited from women's insecurity). I still wonder why human constantly rejects their natural self. Another example besides feminity is the fact that sex or sexual desire (which is something natural for humans, biologically) is being considered as something sinful and we must avoid it at all cost except weirdly for marriage (actually not so weird bcs babies benefit the whole species survival rate), but also I think this only applies to the societies that mostly affected by abrahamic religions, can't speak the same for let's say buddhism or hinduism, I lack of knowledge in those religions. But you get my point, humans always inconvenience themselves somehow, as if they are bored of life so they need a certain standard to achieve and to feel better of themselves (?). We are just a lonely species that wants to be perceived as special I guess. Phew idk how I went from feminity to existential crisis haha.

[@MayDay-yn3bw]

I mock it by calling it femmy ninny titty

[@Snormite]

I've felt the same way as a man, but I learned that it doesn't matters, how you perceive your gender and yourself depends on you alone, it doesn't matters how others see you or how much "better" they are at playing a role.

[@moonlightauras1]

I think that it's very telling (whether or not it is intentional) that there don't seem to be any black or dark skinned girls depicted in this film (though maybe there are in the background that I just didn't see). As black girls and women, our girlhood is not decorated with the illusions of purity, femininity safety the way our white and lighter skinned counterparts tend to be. This often means that our girlhood isn't considered "girlhood" at all, despite the fact that we experience the same grooming and exploitation. So much of feminine grooming in white supremacist patriarchal capitalist imperialism is about aesthetic; and that aesthetic is supposed to be a pure as those school uniforms.

[@greenthinggg]

That is true I didn't catch that! But you're right there's no such thing as girl hood you just go straight to woman hood

[@moonlightauras1]

@@greenthinggg And a really horrible, unloving, exhausting womanhood at that.

[@FinalGirlStudios]

@@moonlightauras1 You’re definitely right but I feel like the lack of diversity also is just because the film was made in France in 2004.

[@aronflip9353]

@@FinalGirlStudios I don't think, if that is a reason, it is a good reason. You do not discuss Femininity and yet use the (implicit) lens of whiteness because, unless you do it intentionally (which considering the girl brought, naked, while around white women in dress , evoking the infamous civilized vs barbarous dichotomy, is rather likely), you are racist. You are racist because you assume when discussing the issues of femininity the issues of blackness or brownness could be separated by it, assume that the battles of feminine liberation is fought among the west (we must make Kamala win) while ignoring that it is in fact she, and western president and generally white people (there are many exceptions of course), who are responsible for the suffering of much of the women (who are not white) in the world. Kinda disappointed you didn't caught the "civilization / barbarity" aspect, but cool video either way.

[@kapwalapastangan]

​@@FinalGirlStudios True, but we all know it's not just this specific film, country and time period that's excluding/erasing them

[@aniruam]

The colored ribbons brought to mind the chakras for me...the root chakra, represented by red, tends to include the genitals. The girls are already defined & confined by their genitals, even as little girls. Then at the very end, they discard their violet ribbons, symbolic to me of the crown chakra, which is your awareness and intelligence. They have been groomed so long that even their way of thinking is shaped by it - they no longer think for themselves, only the way they have been taught to think.... I also think it's telling that the butterfly that got to be free, was a male butterfly.

[@Featheryfaith7]

Well, yeah. It's a radical L movie. It's satanic. And no, the right were right. A lot of women are not happy being single. Look at poor gen Z. I'm not happy as a crazy single bird lady. This video was offensive.

[@happygucci5094]

And you still think this is about fictional little girls… ?

[@2degucitas]

​@@happygucci5094 That's unnecessary.

[@happygucci5094]

@@2degucitas no it’s not. This is happening every day- you don’t get to police what I am adding.

[@4Mr.Crowley2]

This is a beautiful analysis - I love it.

[@4Mr.Crowley2]

I’m a retired professor. In my first decade of being a young professor and out of grad school I would be mistaken for an undergrad frequently (just looked younger I guess…not anymore…) by workers at my uni, random men on campus, sometimes other professors, etc - and it was insane how their demeanor would change when they realized I wasn’t a “coed” and was in fact faculty. In one of the creepiest incidents two men in their 20s (I think) started following me in their car as I walked alone on a sidewalk to my office. It was very early in the morning and there was no one around. This was in my second year. They were following me and making comments then asked loudly what my name was and if I was a student - I told them I was a professor. They looked stunned and then gunned their car away. Several female students had been harassed in the prior weeks by guys driving around like this (they were not students) and it made me sick with fear. Honestly I don’t really know why saying that I was a professor made them drive away as they didn’t have good intentions but uh…it made me realize how quickly something terrible could happen and how weird expectations (like “let’s harass some college girls but not a professor”) plays into abuse and SA.

[@emmabennett7699]

they probably realized you were much less vulnerable than they thought you were, and also changed their perception of you as potential prey to authority figure, not to be messed with. Instead of being Lolita, you became the nurse in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.

[@Evelyn-i5k]

i really relate to this video. when i was a young teenager, like 13 or 14, i looked much older than i was, and i was often called 'jailbait' which made me feel so humiliated and disgusted with myself. the worst part is that it came from the least expected people, like teachers or one of my friends.

[@AwwesomlyAwwwetumn]

Wtf… I’m so sorry

[@Sad_Bumper_Sticker]

Your analysis is professional but this film seems creepy. Especially creeped out that they had 10 yr old girls perfom without clothes -that is always unacceptable since they are a children and as little girl cannot consent to perform without clothes. Especially since the artistic message of the film is the oppression of patriarchy.

[@motaku220]

I feel like they could’ve been in funeral clothes instead of naked

[@brokenglassshimmerlikestar3407]

It's a French film. You'll be surprised how many French produced films are like this lol. Definitely not saying it's a good thing, it isn't. Lots of creepy stuff. They got many films with preteen sex scenes and incest topics, for example Beau Père, Cuties etc. This film is more on the symbolic side. The nude arrival in coffin in this film isn't sexualised. The leg shots are very male gazy though.

[@emmythorn]

I recently went to Europe (Italy to be specific) and I think part of it is that in Europe nudity is not really sexual. For example at the beach all the kids wore speedos and the girls did not have tops. It wasn't sexual it was just normal, and it made me think, like, why are we even forcing babies to cover up anyway? So that might be part of it

[@Crouteceleste]

​@@emmythorn most people here would agree that little girls without tops at the beach is not sexual. But the French movie industry is really full of creeps and abusers and they have a lot of power to decide which movie they allow to be made and seen. You can be sure this one has been in a few private projections, which is why it is so hard to see for me. I don't like the thought that I'm watching the same movie as creeps who are enjoying it for the wrong reasons.

[@thecollector6746]

Please stop subjecting other people and cultures to your puritanical nonsense.

[@rusteddamsel5848]

Hit me like a flashbang for the "fetishization of girlhood" to talk about their father doing the sexualizing. Like... fuck that could not have been easy to compartmentalize growing up.

[@Sam-0827]

These quiet dystopic films are often the most haunting, like the film Never Let Me Go

[@alisonmercer5946]

That book was a lot didnt even know there is a movie of that!?

[@Featheryfaith7]

..How is the 1950s dystopian?

[@Sam-0827]

@@Featheryfaith7 if you are referring to the film Never Let Me Go, dystopian films don't necessarily means futuristic. So a film set in an alternate reality version of the 1950s still counts as dystopian, because of the dark and nightmarish subject matter. ❤️

[@Sam-0827]

@@alisonmercer5946 yes and Omg it's so sad fr

[@amedievalbeggaronthestreet7296]

When I was 13, I was accidentally left by my youth group to walk home alone as the sun was setting. I thought I would be fine, I knew the neighborhoods well and I felt safe walking around at night there. I heard stories and watched Criminal Minds with my mom, but I never thought that anything dangerous like that could happen so close to me. Around the halfway point home, I passed by an older man wearing an oversized coat. I thought nothing of it and smiled at him to be polite. To my horror, I watched the man stop in his tracks and turn around to start following me, and he put both of his hands in his pockets. I was terrified that he could've had a gun or a knife and that he was going to attack me. I remembered reading a story of a woman who survived an atrempted attack by confronting her stalker and directly asking him what he wanted, so I tried the same. I whirled around and asked him if he needed something, and he stopped with a surprised look in his eye. He mumbled something about needing directions before he turned back around and walked the opposite direction from me again. I ran all the way home and told my mother about the entire ordeal through tears, thinking I narrowly escaped being mugged or killed, and thinking this was the scariest thing to ever happen to me. When my mom said "He was probably touching himself" I felt an even worse emotion that I can't really describe in that moment. My small corner of the world where nothing bad ever happened suddenly felt so much bigger and I never wanted to leave the house again. I'm so glad that all I got was a good scare that night, because so many other girls in similar situations aren't as lucky as I was.

[@alexandragabitto2573]

Wonderful video! I actually liked the ending of “Innocence” because it was a glimmer of hope to me. It made me remember that boys are groomed to be abusers, they are not born that way, and the young boys in the ending were probably just released from their own prison.

[@FinalGirlStudios]

@@alexandragabitto2573 oh interesting!! I like this perspective

[@user-gf5ce9ig1b]

I saw it kind of hopeful too. To me it seemed that Bianca had found for the first time in her life someone of the other gender who was kind of an equal (a boy of her age) something similar yet very different from the obscure figures that watched her perform at the teathre.

[@rosem.5899]

I think the symbolism of the water corroborates this. The fountain feels cleansing, reminiscent of baptism. But it is an unexpected choice for a film that has so far presented male/female relationships as exploitative. In the final scene it seems to suggest that there is the possibility for redemptive love. Is this because Bianca is finally free to make her own choices?

[@ad-ren-aline7466]

I was not prepared for this. Some of the things you talk about I had not fully realized I felt growing up. I was SA’d at a young enough age that I do not remember a before. I don’t remember ever being ‘innocent’ or a time where I didn’t feel eyes on me, knowing that I was desired. Looking back I realize why I so badly tried to dress and act like a boy, I wanted nothing to do with being girly - I wanted to be strong and scary. I knew from the age of 5 that I wanted to be the most powerful person in the room (loving knives and weapons and wanting to fight other kids in school) but at the same time overly aware of sexual ideas, and how I would be valued even more if I could be pretty whilst being a “bad girl” And my mother of course not understanding, just found me repulsive, and constantly scolded me for not wanting to act like a girl. Acting like I was disappointing her, and later my father also perpetuated the idea that I was dishonoring my entire family by not being an all encompassing picture of femininity.

[@pinokosthewife]

I'm so sorry your family didn't embrace you as you were! I absolutely understand wanting to be strong and tough, why wouldn't you, after that?

[@LunarWind99]

I'm so sorry you went through this, I also want to say that I wholly relate, I feel as though I wrote this myself 💔

[@Mallowolf]

This movie reminds me somewhat of the game “Rule of Rose”, which came out in 2006, I wonder if it took inspiration from this. I really like the visual language in the film; the plain white uniforms with the ribbons in different colours according to age, the ballet practicing with all its mirrors, the high walls covered by ivy as if to give the impression that it’s an open space, the flimsy looking butterfly wings of the dance costumes. I love the way you interjected related quotes from authors, and the Degas paintings, very nice structure. I agree with the ending feeling pretty flat.

[@ww3196]

THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THIS FILM REMINDED ME OF, TOO

[@allegralarson5289]

"our wings are for flying, rather than to be pinned to a board." HIT ME LIKE A TON OF BRICKS. Thank you for this video. I need to watch this movie.

[@Tina.n.Rigden]

For the algorithm. Appreciate the work you’re doing for women.

[@FinalGirlStudios]

@@Tina.n.Rigden thank you!🫶🏻

[@pinokosthewife]

I was sexually abused as a kid (by female and male relatives at different ages.) The teenage boys cheering and calling me Shakira (because I was a tall child with wavy hair... I hadn't even had my first period yet, I wasn't wearing 'abayah/hijab yet) scared me SO MUCH. SO gross and scary. They might've thought I was their age because I was tall for a kid and I was an early bloomer (I had a small hourglass shape...), it was so scary and disgusting. The creepiest comments were when I was eight and younger, but I didn't understand it at all. These kinds of movies unfortunately engage in sexualizing the kids too... it sucks that they do this while supposedly critiquing it. It's voyeuristic and awful. It would be better to tell such a story in text or art/animation, not sexualizing real little girls.

[@rubidavis8631]

I feel like the ending scene represents where boys and girls meet after child hood and coming of age experience notice how the boy looks older more rugged and is shown with a ball probably from playing with his friends where as she’s younger and is playing with the water directly something more harmless than a ball. Just Like how men are boys for longer if not forever can they get away with “childish behaviour “ where as a woman’s child hood is often very short .

[@Snormite]

Men can not get away with "childish behaviour", we are still being criticised for playing videogames as adults or watching cartoons, and the term "manchildren" is used far more than any term meant to mock grown women into "childish" things... It's why writer C.S Lewis had to defend his interest in fairy tales many decades ago.

[@rubidavis8631]

@@Snormite that may be so in your experience but not mine through out my whole life it was the uncles dads older brothers who would in courage recklessness and chaos for example one Christmas my uncle incentivised us to gather the nerf guns my brothers got for Christmas and shoot all the adults. Something small yes but he was an adult at that point. Another point is how dads get to be the fun parent they encourage disrupting sleep schedules , eating sugar for all meals giving in to their children wishes but saying that mum has to agree leaving mum with the responsibility of having to enforcing Daily routines , trying to get vegetables and healthy meats into a diet and they are left with having to say no to requests for whatever reason be it this is another silent task women are left with . More over how we ( men and women) are raised and groomed are completely different I and many of my peers we’re left with children of relatives or our younger siblings to look after from as young as 12 and by 15 we all new how to care for newborns from helping and being encouraged to help our mothers sisters cousins and aunts where uncles dads and older brothers did little to nothing until the children to baby sat have reached the age where they can walk and talk only being expected to give snacks and play with them and make sure they don’t do anything they shouldn’t. Where as the expectation for me would be to care for the child like the mother would giving me more responsibility and harsh truths to how demanding and draining a young child can be . Back to your first point tho how men are called “man child “ almost as if men NEED to be told to grow up this isn’t a thing for women there is no “ woman child “ not to say women can’t be childish but it isn’t a common occurrence amongst women that there is a phrase for it ,simply because if done correctly a girls grooming and her development is so closely monitored that’s simply not a problem where as men have the wiggle room to be childish. There’s even a story about this “ the boy who never grows up “ Peter pan and I think this movie is another great example of how different men and women are allowed to grow up in society example Wendy like Peter didn’t want to grow up but eventually dose and goes back home and faces her reality of having to grow up and be a proper young women where as Peter Pan and the lost boys stay in never land forever. Not to say you don’t have a point I think your opinion is valid I’d just like to explain my point in more detail.

[@Snormite]

@@rubidavis8631 I'm not talking about individual experiences, though, i'm looking at the broader picture... Men have always been mocked, stereotyped and demeaned for showing interest in "childish" things: there's countless examples of this in comedy shows and movies, or the fact that nerds, who were into comics, animated shows and science fiction (stuff that is still perceived as immature by a lot of people to this day), got actively bullied in high school and rejected by women. With that said, the term "womanchild" is extremely rare, "manchild" is used far more often because men online and irl get called out for showing interest in stuff that it's perceived as not meant for grown men... The only time where men are allowed to be "childish" is if they have children and are playing with them, exactly like the christmas story you told.

[@rubidavis8631]

@@Snormite I respect that opinion 👍

[@Snormite]

@@rubidavis8631 I'm not talking about individual experiences, but looking at the broader picture... Men have always been mocked, stereotyped and demeaned for showing interest in "childish" things: there's countless examples of this in comedy shows and movies, or the fact that nerds, who were into comics, animated shows and science fiction (content that is still seen as immature by many people to this day), got bullied in high school and rejected by women. That said, the term "womanchild" is extremely rare, "manchild" is used far more often because men online and irl get called out for showing interest in stuff that it's perceived as not meant for grown men... The only time where men are allowed to be "childish" is if they have children and are playing with them, like the christmas story you told.

[@patchworkedlia]

Beautiful commentary and essay. THERES something so fascinating about the dystopian like expectations that have been put on us before we were born. I’m glad though that society as a whole is probably more accepting as before, from what I can tell. People gotta stick together, and this video highlights it. Looking forward to your next work!

[@jaywhangmakes]

Lucile Hadzihalilovic is such an underrated director and deserve an equal recognition as her husband Gaspar Noé. (Btw, this movie is dedicated to her frequent collaborator Noé - "pour Gaspar.") I remember watching her follow-up feature film Evolution in theater (it was considered as the male counterpart to Innocence) and it was also captivating as Innocence.

[@shelleydenison]

I have a very distinct memory of the first time I realized that it was my responsibility as a child to be attractive to adult men. I was 7 and my dad was watching Rush Limbaugh's tv show (thankfully, my dad wouldn't be caught dead doing that today). One of Limbaugh's favorite targets was Chelsea Clinton who is about 8 years older than me. Limbaugh was talking about how ugly she was with that particular venom he was known for, and I got the message loud and clear that it was my job to ensure that adult men didn't think I was ugly.

[@miyangtangwan7046]

Disgusting but true. Many adult males made us know that we would be 'rewarded with male attention' for appealing to the male gaze or for attending to the male ego. We got compliments, favors, scary stares and creepy smiles, unwanted touches and so on.

[@rosem.5899]

I also distinctly remember a moment like this. I was about six or seven years old sitting in the backseat of the car. My dad was driving me somewhere just the two of us. We stopped at a traffic light and a young blonde women with her hair in a bun pulled up next to us. She was wearing sunglasses and drinking through a straw from an iced drink. I saw my dad looking at her through the window. Then he said aloud to me “are you going to grow up to be beautiful like her?” It had never occurred to me that this was something expected or desired of me. But I saw the way my dad looked at her and decided that I would try.

[@lindseygeorge9046]

I don't normally comment on stuff, but I just had to tell you how amazing this video essay is. Using Sontag and Simone de Beauvoir?????? Incredible. Iconic. As a former Philosophy major, reading the Second Sex changed my life. It made me realize how I'd abandoned myself (through socialization and also trauma) in trying to make myself palatable in every possible way. I'm slowly regaining my autonomy and reclaiming my mental space (including ED recovery) because there are things that I'M interested in and want to do, dammit! I ride motorcycles, I take trips by myself, I'm writing again; I'm choosing to follow MY own intellectual pursuits and desires now. Thanks for this!!

[@owls2223]

this video makes me think about how i was catcalled much more when i was

[@happygucci5094]

This was brilliant. Thank you, 44 yo Black woman child sex abuse survivor. I lived this. I have wrote this. And I can never unsee it. New sub.

[@WaferBrik]

I'm feeling bewildered. As a guy, this vid and some of the comments totally threw me. I've never noticed older men looking at kids in this way but if the video's take on it is accurate, most men do and do it frequently. So most of the guys I know, including my male relatives, do this? Obviously I was aware a few peds do, but most men? I'm feeling extremely creeped out by the notion this is happening, and in public, blatantly. The idea is bloody depressing. I'm going to try to watch out for it now and I will say something if I observe it happening. I believe we all should. But if it's this rife I'm genuinely staggered I haven't noticed it or that no one's ever mentioned to me that it's happening.

[@Dovelunalove]

other women often older normalize & glamorize romantic grooming by men to adolescent girls. Lana Del Rey is a good example of this.

[@surette2012]

I feel like exploring certain themes in art is not the same as romanticizing/glamourizing/normalizing them. Lana does concept work-Makes songs through a character. She Was once a young girl with likely a lot complex feelings about romance and groomed to think certain ways just like the rest of us. To deprogram that or unpack that through music is gonna be divisive. People have always put a pretty filter over their trauma-trying to make it appealing and aesthetic since it’s so enmeshed in our identity. playing a persona is just what an artist does. Can we definitively say it is made in genuine bias to those problematic things or is it a case of simply not censoring it and exploring the concept? I can understand fair judgment cannot be expected from young people. Comprehension on these themes will always be taken based on the surface level reaction. They see a glamorous woman draped across an older man and think ‘right, that’s how I’ll move in the world.’ Money power and glory got it, got it. Meanwhile shades of blue is about an older man haunted by his girlfriend who died in their youth. off to the races is a character of a naive girl wanting love from a clearly unavailable and dangerous older man. It’s not framed as enticing at all. She’s a storyteller using a female perspective with a warped pov because of abuse, drugs, grooming etc.

[@shoobamocha]

@@surette2012 It's still a heavily romanticized aesthetic and she's responsible for introducing that lifestyle and look to millions of impressionable underage girls and perpetuating it. She has a right to her art and we have a right to criticize it and the impact it has on influencing culture.

[@Dovelunalove]

@@surette2012 Lets be real She was late 20s early 30s *still* making songs blatantly glamorizing a*bse, grooming, & Ed’s & “question to the culture” was her unprovoked defense to it. it doesn’t matter if it’s Lizzy grant Lana del rey, May Jailer, or Elizabeth Woolridge-she’s creator & the message is clear. While Ive always been a fan, recently I realized how detrimental her message has been to adolescent girls & the culture of girlhood as a whole. 18 y/o girls making tiktoks with mid 50s boyfriends & minors commenting “that’s so lana del rey” “this is what lana wanted” “lana would be proud” etc isn’t even shocking anymore bc it’s so normalized. even i normalized it. i love her music but the grooming aspect is very hard to digest now that i’m in my 20s.

[@surette2012]

@@shoobamocha life and tragedy is gonna be romanticized. It’s a human habit. We romanticize death and throw roses on coffins, it’s in our nature to take the bad and try to capture it in a not so ugly light. the themes she explores are uncomfortable. She has mentioned that her music is often based on her own experiences and that her characters are not always meant to be role models, but rather reflections of her own life and emotions. The good, bad and the ugly. What you are asking for is sanitized and censored art to spare the gullible and keep them on easy street and in a world of ignorance. Blaming an artist or piece of art for self-destructive behavior is a form of deflection and denial of personal accountability. We rather scapegoat art instead of negligent parents that don’t monitor their kids media consumption or explain to them the intention. Instead of actually treating teens like people and not mindless babies. With choice and potential to understand. they have avenues to learn and know better and have good media comprehension. That’s the issue with parents shirking responsibility and letting their kids raise themselves through Parasocial bonds with celebrities that never declared they were a role model.

[@surette2012]

@@Dovelunalove and that’s honestly on those kids and parents. On their perceptions and it isn’t the reality or intention of the content. It shows how education fails us, and the lack of guidance. Young people will be obtuse and miss the point and use music as an excuse to act out because something is clearly already wrong in their personal lives and they need a scapegoat/excuse. To hunt down and consume aesthetics because they lack identity, and lack media comprehension. We keep forgetting music artists…adult music artist make art for themselves and others in their bracket first. We can’t predict the demographic that becomes most hungry for the content. Should she reduce herself because teens became fixated? It’s the same discourse: she glamorizes sadness, victimhood and daddy issues. But what does it mean to “glamorize” these things? Does it mean that an artist is making sadness seem more appealing? If that is the case then every sad pop ballad with a girl crying at a piano is doing nothing more than romanticizing her own suffering. To glamorize is to endorse-Does Lana endorse or claim she loves her suffering? In print interviews does she recall these songs fondly? she wants to elicit a reaction. She wants to create a lens and perspective from an unreliable narrator or someone in the midst of pain or a toxic relationship. The songs don’t use evaluative language expressing approval of the destructive behaviours. Just like the song strange fruit doesn’t approve of lynching and is using the heavy topic as a vehicle for expressing powerful emotions and exploring difficult experiences without necessarily endorsing or encouraging them. "Strange Fruit" by Billie Holiday "Polly" by Nirvana "Every Breath You Take" by The Police "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People Songs with upsetting subject matter are not automatically approving of the behaviour. Simply shedding light on it and giving a perspective through someone not conventional or politically correct. Just like how Ethel Cain isn’t romanticizing religious trauma by making art with a southern gothic backdrop or is pro-murder/cannibalism bc a song has a story beat with that. The songs are heightened reality. Injected with her past experience and turned into a story. An adult woman with her brain finally development and coming to terms with her sa, suic1dal thoughts, potential grooming in her teens has every right to unpack it. Create art. Her art doesn’t have to be repulsive because what happened to her was. She can ornate it and express it however she wants to heal. It’s too personal for me to project any expectation and I have common sense knowing the ‘why?’ I don’t view everything as an attempt to manipulate or entice me to self destruction. Art is gonna be nuanced, polarizing, upsetting and ugly. Life is all these things. If we want censored and safe music with no realism then we can imagine ourselves in a Fahrenheit 451 future of censorship and pretend that’s better.

[@persephonestudy]

Girl! I'm loving your writing you have improved a lot. I'm so happy you decide to do a video essay on this movie. It needs more recognition ❤️

[@alloutofbubblegum3945]

Perhaps the ending with the boy in the spraying "fountain" was symbolic.

[@moonlightauras1]

That's what I thought. In a twisted way, it symbolizes that all that grooming for the male gaze was successful.

[@KendallM0219]

I can agree with that for sure. But the scene is so off putting because they send the girls who have “aged out” of girlhood to a public courtyard and they are still wearing all white. Then they play in the fountain like any kid would, if I was left with a fountain like that I would also play in it 😂. Bianca goes in and her clothes become sheer like white clothes do when they get wet. Then the boys ball gets in the water and she goes to give it back. It gave me this perverse sense of them essentially sending the girls to a wet t-shirt contest. During which she garners the boys attention and smiles sweetly at him when he engages back with her. The whole film had exploitative angles and concepts happening to the girls. But the final scene was in my opinion extra perverse.

[@Lyrielonwind]

The fountain means conception to me. Women who are not mothers are usually mocked since they didn't accomplished the reason for our existence which is bearing children.

[@zucchinigreen]

I thought this was well. The mission of the school was accomplished through this interaction. Bianca successfully held and titillated the male gaze.

[@brokenglassshimmerlikestar3407]

It shows how the construction of girlhood/womenhood is complete, with result. It doesn't critisize this construct but let's you make your own conclusion. Bianca obviously is one very good student of the academy, completely "brainwashed" and sad to be leaving. But upon arriving in the world and successfully finding a partner, she "forgets" being sad about leaving the academy and is happy. She would never forget though, the academy is totally ingrained in her now and her success proves just how well the whole thing works. The cycle is complete.

[@heywhat6676]

grooming culture seems to be getting worse. i'm so afraid for my little sister.

[@conker13245]

Idk of its getting worse or if we are just more well informed and/or the weird mfs more blatant

[@pleaseignoreme2946]

I used to love ballet, I would show up in my no frills black leotard and spin in circles till I fell over but I would laugh and have fun. But as I got older, I noticed all of my ballerina friends were white, blond, skinny, and only wore the prettiest leotards to practice. My instructors became harsher, and put me on a training module to lose weight that I didn’t need to lose when I was NINE. When ballet became all about aesthetics, I was basically bullied out of the art and didn’t dance again till almost a decade later. It was as if my happiness wasn’t worth it unless I was beautiful on stage.

[@HeatherHolt]

I mostly think of how religion can often stifle girls growth and independence based on old texts written by men. Regardless of which religion, they all share the same obedience of women message. In my opinion.

[@emilysnyder4857]

I was sharing with a counselor recently my feelings regarding the verse in the New Testament that says "Greet one another with a Holy kiss." I hate the practice where you go to your church and people just come up to you and hug and/or kiss you. The idea is that you are treated as family and that because you are brothers and sisters in God's house you should have no barriers to close relationships with other members. If you aren't touchy feely then you are harboring some resentment against a brother and you need to confront whatever grudge you are holding so that unity is restored to the body of Christ. After 50 years of going to different churches I confess that "Yes" I do have a problem that has been hard to confront. It's the frequency of being touched in ways that feel anything but Holy by older men. It happens often and I bet if you took a silent poll other women/ girls in church would admit that it's happened to them also. You get dressed nice once a week as little girls to go somewhere and have an elder at church make you uncomfortable with a wet kiss and your parents watch it happening. If I could snap my fingers and change the world to make it a safer place for girls... I would make it so that any man who exploits this passage to get access to vulnerable people in their communities would magically choke on their own spit after they recite the passage and especially every time someone has boundaries and declines greeting with affection in a church setting.

[@MENACE-km6bd]

This video's honestly made me cry. Around the 37:46 minute mark, specifically. I watch my little cousins 7 and 8, put on lip gloss and practice dancing in ways they don't understand from TikTok. I tell their parents all the time that this is dangerous behavior to perpetuate, but they don't care. However, when they see other little girls doing the same thing, they say their parents are setting them up to get ...! It's disgusting, but it's how we're conditioned. My aunt (their mother) often talks about how teenage girls proposition male teachers, as if man have no self control. The way we treat little girls in this world is so dangerous and disgusting.

[@kristalcampbell3650]

The thing that strikes me is knowing as a black girl i would always be denied innocence but innocence would always be expected of me nonetheless. I also find it hard that as an adult wanting to escape the trap the only escape offered to me is to take on the predatory nature of my captors. I still want to try and fit into the girlhood cage I was denied entry into even though I know its a prison. Its such a weird space to be in and I just want out but i dont know where 'out' is. There's so much cognitive dissonance.

[@PeaceB58]

We thought the ending was suitable. She meets a boy, not yet a man, who is looking at her and engaging with her in a way which is unsure and yet desiring connection. He has gone through his own path and grown up in a different world, and how are they meant to interact? He is naive and yet going to grow to be part of that which looks at the girls.

[@mxclmi5068]

i think, in a way, the ending is representive of the fact most girls will go through the rest of their life leaning on the corrupt foundations set for us in our youth. the girl seeing a teenage boy and playing with him, looking to him in the same way she originally looked to the man who threw a rose to her and told her she was the prettiest of them all, comes off to me as a way of saying "she will go on the rest of her life leaving everything unaddressed, just like many have done before and many will do after her". i think its an unsatisfying ending not because its bad but because it sticks to its point so closely. its unsatisfying or dissapointing because its like "really, she will never get a redemption? she will never truly escape this dynamic?" and that is accurate and sad and horrible but still accurate. now that she is older all that she can do is lean on everything shes learned subconciously. shes free now, she can do whatever she wants, but shes been groomed like so many to feel tye most joy when shes being viewed by a man. when she feels seen by the teenage boy she is happy, except this time shes "choosing" this for herself. shes old enough now where its seen as a non issue, a natural part of growing up, a freeing thing, a happy exciting thing.

[@TheRehabKat]

Lately , I've been realizing more and more about my girlhood , a fairly good one at that, but, there's still a trauma about it , just for the fact that no woman can choose this. I've been really staring at the anxiety of the performance and honestly, I swear, it's enough to make one agoraphobic ! Even if my soul is burning to travel !

[@leonasindlerova1727]

This film always reminded me of that Red Riding Hood game, The Path.

[@princesseIise]

oh that's a niche reference i wasnt expecting to read. i also see how you got there too tho

[@w0rld1y_ap0st4te]

Yes omg

[@aaaaaaaafjjdjs]

Aaaah i love that game

[@maxiargos1971]

sorry to say this, but when you talked about periods, and how the teacher teaches the girls this half truth so not to tell guys this issue, with how the movie frames it. All my brain thought about is how boys with sisters know what periods are, and it became normal to them. dated a guy with two older sisters and at the time I felt so shameful when I was on my period. Worried he wanted to know what was wrong. I told him, and he was like. "Oh shit! We need to get some chocolate and give you a lot of water to help. We also have pain medicine to help with cramps in the house." To say it was a shock with how well he took it was a understatement. I questioned why he was so cool with it, since I have younger brother who hates my body and the things that come with it. To which my BF said, "I have two older sisters. It's normal?" and I just didn't question it, cause yeah. it is normal. But it took me being in my 30s to really calm down and not feel so disguised/have mini panic attacks with mother nature coming to visit. But then again I have huge body issues that steam from me being trans. As well as hating being a girl. And it topped with my mom and baby brother treating the issues with my body to really hate it more. That's it but I am glad I am healing even if it is 17 years to do so. Also sad to say when the male gaze part hit me as a teen at age 16 it made me really sick. Like to the point to not wear certain clothes again. Short, dresses, skirts, I had to cover my body up. Then I realized something horrible...This started due to my younger brother. He would say I shouldn't wear shorts no matter how hot the day was at school or try to not look/act like a girl, since I look nothing like one or even act like one. As if I was a man in drag to these people in a horrible way. That last part was also something I got told by other guys, and it came as a shock, when I was able to get a guy who liked me at 16 and find me pretty, when the people who made fun of me couldn't get a girlfriend. So when it hit me that I was trans after highschool, and started to be open about it. That was something a lot of guys hated hearing. As if the horrible things they said about me resulting in me finding positivity in my masculinity, rather then trying to kill it to be girl. Almost like it was something they thought would work with me rather then backfire and have much more negative effects on them.

[@one-onessadhalf3393]

This video made me so viscerally uncomfortable that I had to take a break and listen to songs that feature women screaming (specifically Drunk Walk Home and Ptolemaea). 10/10, great work

[@alize0623]

Check out Banshee. A female singer who screams (hence the name) about women’s issues. I love her song “Kill All Predators”

[@fionastirling986]

This feels like something that Kunihiko Ikuhara, the creator of Revolutionary Girl Utena, would make. His stuff is always rife with symbolism like this. It specifically reminds me of the third series he made, Yurikuma Arashi, which similarly takes place at an all-girl’s school and has themes of girlhood and innocence but focused more on slightly older girls

[@deerfigurine]

i want to talk about something i've been feeling that might sound horrible, but i wanted to bring it up because of the quote about how despite being fearful, you still crave attention from grown men. i'm 17 and i've never ever been catcalled, and when i hear girls my age or younger talk about how irritating and even scary it is, and of course i understand why, because of the obvious undertone of violence. still, i get so bitter and jealous over it, because it makes me feel as though i'm not pretty enough or valuable enough for it to happen to me. perhaps it's my other mental health issues that play into it, but honestly, i've secretly wanted to be objectified ever since i was old enough to know the fear girls go through. i feel horrible about it, and i know others will think i'm a horrible person for ever thinking this, but i truly have no idea where this stems from, or how to fix it :(

[@FinalGirlStudios]

@@deerfigurine nope this is definitely a normal feeling don’t worry! You craving this attention is literally a result of the type of cultural grooming I’m talking about. As girls we’re taught that this type of attention is directly reflective of our worth, and so to subconsciously want it despite knowing consciously that you shouldn’t makes complete sense.

[@deerfigurine]

@@FinalGirlStudios omg i'm so glad to know that it's normal. i do feel really guilty about it but it does make me feel a little better, and hopefully i can help myself grow out of this mindset i've been groomed into

[@beegeesquirrel]

your feelings are valid. i've felt that way myself before. ive seen other girls get attention from a man before, and i can feel jealous sometimes, even though i receive male attention quite often.. nobody's safe

[@vawnessa]

im sooo glad im not alone on this

[@chrono4998]

This video was already hitting me hard but the moment at the end where you censored the little girl's chest absolutely broke me. It was probably intentional on your part and oh gods how poignant that was.

[@Veiled_Lepidoptera]

The cage is neither beautiful nor gilded. It's not even ornate. It's so small that the birds can't even spread their wings. The birds will become stunted and die if they're not freed from that cage. And quickly. You missed some key symbolism there.

[@KendallM0219]

What an amazing piece of research. I love what you did here and how detailed it was. Wow this movie was something else. I have a young daughter of my own she’s almost 2. I remember being younger and when men would prey on me and I had no idea what was going on. I know they knew I was not an adult, I told them I wasn’t. I was with my friend and her baby sister and if it wasn’t for them idk what would’ve happened to me that day. Honestly. Because for some reason I just couldn’t tell him no. I’m inherently a very goody two shoes type of person. I follow the rules. My mind told me that this older adult couldn’t be trying to harm me. Boy was I wrong. Your analysis was amazing. I fear for my daughter in this world now that I’m a mother. This really helped me bring to the forefront the aspects of myself that have been ingrained culturally. I’ve always been quiet and a to myself kind of person. But to think that aspects of that could’ve been taught to me has me thinking a lot of things over. Thank You.

[@romana34]

I think the ending seems to perfectly encapsulate the idea of femininity being a performance. She is playing the part of the coquettish girl. She has moved on to perform for other men/boys, to fulfill her training, finding a man that she will please.

[@MabruBlack]

There’s an Italian version of this movie called ‘The fine art of love (Mine Haha)’ released a year later in 2005. Both are based on the same short story, the ‘Bodily education of young girls’. Innocence is much more canon compliant to the short story; Fine Art of Love uses a late teens cast, but is arguably darker and goes deeper into many of the things they talk about in Innocence, including grooming.

[@kk-vs7vp]

I really needed to go to sleep... because that's my coping mechanism for the hard truth

[@happygucci5094]

Mine too- my brain literally taps out and sends me to sleep.

[@Shadow-tv2ff]

Maybe you need a therapist?

[@kk-vs7vp]

@@Shadow-tv2ff Who doesn't?

[@TerryBoyed]

I came!!!!!!

[@kerridwynntheacegoblin6465]

The short animation Louise on the Alter channel depicts the sexual nature of the 1800s ballet. Would recommend.

[@greenthinggg]

YESS I loved the animation

[@anyone1111]

OMG YESS I loved this short film!!

[@pevenshy]

i thought of this one too ! i watched it pretty recently

[@sophie3869]

Yes!! I loved that animation and was thinking about it during that whole section!!

[@sleepycat8798]

I believe the gaze, rather then invisible is mistook as their own gaze of aesthetics and what they deem pretty and good looking. It is bought by them as an artsy expression of self, a facade of self actualization.

[@yonder07]

Love it how your videos give me good movies and books to consume. Thank you a lot. ❤

[@anth_tapia]

Yooo. This one was insane! Such a great vid!

[@FinalGirlStudios]

Thank you!!☺️

[@inkwelldried]

absolutely haunting, and rings true to me despite having never done ballet or anything like that. just... being a small child (especially one who grew physically "mature" early), i guess. even just this summary of the film felt like a window back into my own childhood, at least emotionally.

[@alyonadendy]

Dude, i love your videos! Im bad with words, but my thoughts just racing by and listening to you is such a comfort, your essays so well put and well planned out, the way you structure everything is pure zen, themes are so important and trail of thinking is logical, all the references are interesting and shows how versatile you are in so many topics, its easy to understand your point and i never heard you saying anything even close to being doubtful Just well done, really really well done :з

[@08pixiedust]

I didn't realize this was an older movie and was like, "Wow, that ballet teacher looks like a younger Marion Cottilard!" This sounds like a fascinating movie.

[@simpleton3781]

I remember my CSA and thinking I was so dirty. I didn’t think I could have or earn innocence or girly girlhood. I always tell myself it could have been worse that the years I endured weren’t as brutal as some. But in reality no one deserves it. Not even once. And even when I told my parents and sought therapy I wasn’t happy with my gender identity. I thought I wasn’t good at being a girl. Even now. I am told I am beautiful and I believe it. But I hate it. I fear that I begin and end with my body and beauty. I feel ungrateful because I know someone somewhere out there would kill for this body and yet I want to die to get away from it. I am going to watch this film and I think I will let the little girl who was isolated and abused watch it closely. I don’t think I’ll ever feel right being a girl (I don’t want to be a boy) I want to be a third and othered. Something’s far waaay from what I am now

[@LyraFay12]

The plot of this movie reminds me Madame, a book about a classical studies teacher arriving at a school that grooms girls to become wives for the elite but they use the greek mythological figures to show them breaking free. It was interesting even though I didn't think it landed its ending.

[@Miumiumiko]

I’ve been wanting a video from you so bad thank you 😭😭

[@TerryBoyed]

I came

[@cephalonaural6854]

I used to do ballet, then i figure skated, and growing up i noticed just how much more attention i got when i dressed my age, usually in the cute graphic tees and either jeans or shorts, i rarely wore skirts or dresses as it was ingrained into my head as a child that men who want to hurt you, view it as easy access and how to make myself less of a target, growing up in a big city with big crowds and public transport instilled a fear in me that has carried into my 20s and caused an eating disorder. I would stress eat thinking if i made myself to be what *they* thought would be ugly, they wouldnt touch me. this didnt work as i ended up SA'd as a child multiple times, but now, in a small town, on a acreage with my wife i can FINALLY experience what i missed out on as a kid, all the girly things i wouldve adored doing as a kid i can do without fear here in the safety of my home, ive also started losing weight on virtue of not being stressed out of my mind and eating because of it. I hope every woman and girl can find their safe spot to heal.

[@sophieramati]

Your video essays put into words stuff I have felt my whole life but couldn’t express thank you

[@TheRomanticReadersClub]

I'm not sure if you're into body horror but I think you could do a fantastic video essay on The Substance. I saw it yesterday and am still thinking about it. I love how it really brings the message home of how we as women feel like we have to destroy ourselves in order to appease gross men who are allowed to age and hold on to power. And I like how it called out women who make a career off of other women's insecurities and body issues while still feeling sympathetic towards those very women who pursue youth and beauty ( because those are the only things that society rewards women for.) Plus, it's actually directed by a woman!!

[@FinalGirlStudios]

@@TheRomanticReadersClub currently writing my essay on it hehe

[@TheRomanticReadersClub]

@@FinalGirlStudios omg can't wait!! ❤️‍🔥

[@-effus]

Ah! Yes! I am so happy you finally made this video!! Been excited for it since the last time you talked about this movie! Beautiful essay as always 🩷🩷🩷

[@justinnutter9008]

As a man, I still found the description of this movies events harrowing

[@__loveball]

You are a real man then, those are monsters

[@unobservant_michelle1972]

Low-key whenever I see child nudity used in films like this, I feel like it's an indirect test to the viewer. A kind of ifkyk I always think of the quote "art makes the uncomfortable feel comfortable, and the comfortable feel uncomfortable" You literally hate to see it and that's the point.

[@lolakauffmann]

Actually, I just remembered my childhood, when I watched the film. I mean, girls like these were "my people" & I one of them, for the most important part of my life, and we saw each other naked or in swim,/ballet/underthings all the time - luckily we were much freer, sadly still struggling with the gender roles & all the stuff that get projected on girls. =/

[@smitajky]

As a younger girl my wife used to be a tomboy. She didn't want to grow up to be a woman. To be devalued because she was female. When we met she found that she could have it all. She could be valued for all of her skills and opinions and also be a female. She could enjoy pretty clothes if she wants to, or get into old gear and work in the paddocks or ride her horse. She has confessed that NOW she would not want to be a male. She never knew some of the problems that males faced. Now she is aware of the double edged sword. That everyone has pros and cons. We CAN share our tasks and our lives as equals. THAT was the real goal of women's lib of so long ago.

[@chrystal561]

I find the ending to be more thought provoking than to have left it with something scary or reflective of their time in the school. When the teacher says that she will forget about her time there, that ending scene does a good job of showing that. In relation to that scene, when I got attention from men that were older, weird, creepy, etc., I didn’t enjoy it and it scared me (even to this day as a young adult, which is why I believe in the right to bare arms as a woman). And then one day I started getting attention from boys my own age that I was interested in and I felt like I was blessed to know what boys liked because I had gotten enough feedback from strangers at that point. However, it would have been nice to have another scene showing the internal conflict she might have unless if that scene was meant to show that she decided to use her knowledge and experience to live how she was taught to. I was taught by my parents to be an obedient child, but an independent person and the conflict of being the woman society wants me to be versus the woman I think I should be was confusing and blurred. I have a wonderful partner who grew up with women in his life who didn’t act or care to act like ladies so he was given examples of what humans are capable of if they aren’t put into boxes. This has empowered me to focus more on being my own person, but it calls into question so many things that I had been groomed for. Things that could be useful in survival situations, but are the opposite of conducive when looking to thrive. And now that I’m the age for marriage and child bearing, I am taking on a quarter life crisis because I’ve spent the last decade of my life preparing for these things only to realize that I didn’t learn to truly live virtuously. My purpose as well as my intentions are clouded by the concept of womanhood

[@username.not.known2473]

What a find this channel is. I teach primary and there's a deliberate difference in how I teach boys vs girls. While I do require obedience, I also implicitly reward girls when they exhibit curiosity, boldness, sensible defiance, and critical thinking more so than boys. I need girls to be tough and believe in themselves. They're likely to need these qualities more.

[@anonymousg1210]

A book with very similar themes that I fell in love with is Gather the Daughters by Jennie Melamed. It’s about girls on an island society that’s isolated from the rest of the world. Like almost everyone on the island thinks that the rest of the world is a wasteland ravaged by fire and disease. The society is run pretty similarly to many real world religious cults. I’ve thought about re- written this comment a few times and realized I don’t have the space or talent to properly summarize why this book is so great. While I do think there is some personnel bias in there I really think the characters and the world building are really interesting and they say a lot about girlhood/womenhood. Though be aware that this book comes with many trigger warnings I’m actually going to provide a few at the bottom of this comment as I’ve seen trigger warnings on other sites and they are either pretty vague or are missing some things. I can’t guarantee I’ll get all potential trigger warnings but I’ll do my best to list the most prominent ones. Also my trigger warnings will be a bit spoiler ish. There is only one that reveals something major but I will mention it when it comes up. Trigger warnings start here (please read paragraph 3 above before reading these): Biggest is probably SA of minors. Nothing too graphic. You usually see the children reacting to it rather than the act itself. This is primarily perpetrated between fathers and daughters in the book. Next emotional and physical abuse both of minors and adults. Adult and child death. There are a few descriptions of dead bodies that are fairly graphic but usually a person will just mention how someone has died. This is the biggest spoiler I mentioned above, near the end of the book you read from the perspective of two minors that are actively dying. Incest. As I mentioned above this is pretty much exclusively perpetrated between fathers and their minor daughters. When daughters get married they are specifically told to not marry anyone with the same last name as them or any close family. However the island was started with only ten families and it’s been a few generations so the children are starting to be affected. The children who live past birth are described as looking normal. Though there are multiple pretty graphic descriptions of deformities of dead babies. Most of the island seems to be mentally well though there are some one off mentions of mentally handicapped children and adults. Animal harm and death.

[@mag2583]

I never wanted attention, my mom always warned me, so I covered up my self often, I hated wearing skirts n dresses already, so I just made sure I never showed my arms n legs, I was glad later in at 15 I think that, I wanted to be a ballerina or even b4 that, a pageant show for very lil girls at age 8 n probably lower, even to this day, I prefer not to show myself off, I hate that attention, I don't wear bathing suits I wear a regular graphic tee n swimming shorts, but I still hope no man sees me that way, I hate it very much, I hate that we all have to be seen as objects n only made to work n make men happy, I'll make a man happy if he too understands what I want n especially what makes me happy, not just his needs, I rather flee from my duties as a girl to pursue what I want, even if I'm scared, because it sucks staying as a maid for men, I don't have my mom anymore but I hope that she would approve of me not leaning towards just being put into a forced position, much like the poor girls in the film or any girl in general, no girl should be seen in such a objective way or treated as such. Thank you for another amazing video 💖🌸✨

[@pinokosthewife]

Best of luck to you! People can be nasty about that, but do what protects and serves you, who cares what some jerks think?

[@humphrke]

Im looking forward to watching this!

[@S0M3-B0DY]

I love your analysis and I wanna start by stating that this is not an attempt to devalue it, as I truly enjoy what you do. I need to state this because one symbol and theme you might have missed is that water is actually a marker of sexuality. So the scene where she plays in the water with a boy her age might actually be the beginning of her exploring her own sexuality beyond objectification? It adds to the darkness of the little girl that drowns though.

[@FinalGirlStudios]

I definitely considered water as a marker for sexuality but yeah didn't talk about it. Also I'm pretty sure the director confirmed this concept of the water being representative of sexuality amongst other things. But you're right that definitely adds a sinister element when we consider the death of the young girl via drowning when looking at water through that lens

[@ivy-79]

SHES BACK!!!! ahh i miss you and your videos ❤

[@FinalGirlStudios]

I will be posting more frequently again now! 🫶🏻

[@annabarbour-my5ko]

each girl in this movie deserves to have an childhood and be free , did something happen to the girl's parents who tried to speak out or warn of what's really happening at the "school" , cause each girl will sadly lose thier innocence , which is terrible

[@Summer-kb2dm]

I relate to this in so many ways. As a 66 year old trans woman this brings up so many questions....While I understand what it means to have to 'perform' womanhood (post-transition), it was far more difficult for me to perform masculinity growing up than it has been for me to embrace the gender I feel I am. I am no longer pretending or hiding. But then this isn't about being male or female - this is about being who you really are. Imagine a world like that: No performance necessary. And it's about the ability to see each other as a gift, not as something to possess (men have a long way to go). And also to see each other as having a right to personal autonomy. I see a lot of the enlightened younger trans ppl get this in a way I probably never will. Unfortunately I grew up in a time of strict gender roles. So I am stuck 'performing' womanhood in order to feel like myself. I am still trying to understand this, go easy on me I'm old. But I am very open to learn. And To any t-phobes who stop by, I only have one thing to say...no I'll be nice, I wont say it. I'll say this instead, I hope that you can one day you find acceptance for things you can't possibly understand.

[@4Mr.Crowley2]

Also love your discussion of the Degas painting - I just noticed that the man figure has two light dots where eyes would be in a naturalistic painting, and it really is creepy - like a ghost in a film. That - and the line between the man in black with the two spots for eyes traces to the black velvet ribbon choker the ballerina is wearing…which has - also - eerie connotations visually and historically (like a chain/leash held by the man in black as the ends point back to him, or a more symbolic slash across the neck or a beheading as in 18th century France)

[@peeg2335]

I think the ending is a loss of innocence. Like you said, the threat is never revealed but there is a looming sense of danger. The other prominent incident with water in the film is a red-ribboned girl drowning. Bianca throwing her red rose in the same water is I think meant to echo that loss of innocence and freedom as the girl who drowned was associated with a bird in a cage(I also think of throwing roses on stage at the end of a performance, like the curtain falling on her girlhood and a signifier that this isn't an act anymore, but who she is 'supposed' to be.) Both Bianca and the boy are young, and we know this is the first time Bianca has encountered a boy - she doesn't fully know what to expect from him, has yet to link him with the men from the theatre. The ball that hits Bianca is noticeably filthy, tattered, and somewhat deflated, a big contrast to the pristine aesthetics throughout the film and stark white of the girls' uniforms. It's ominous given how the film has played out up until this point, especially when followed by the rushing water - is this experience a baptism or a drowning

[@runsfromelk509]

I was 40 when I had my only child, a girl. Never thought I would be a mans idea of both Mother and Crone so simultaneously. Past my own youth and most attractive days, but now in charge of this already willful Little One I am the guardian and teacher of. I hope more than anything to teach her Love of self, a determination to pursue the things that interest Her, Confidence of self despite others disapproval, and the Freedom to explore the world safely (which I fear may never exist for any individual marked Female in a Patriarchal society). Thank You SO Much for your insightful and deeply thought provoking videos about our society's deeply ingrained views on growing up as a girl and the expectations put on them.

[@Doom_scroll_generation]

FINALLY one of my all-time favourite films is addressed! You're amazing - can't wait to watch it ❤

[@sheilao2127]

Wow, you have such a way of putting into words what I and all women have experienced

[@ninanadine1185]

If you ever write a book, I will be the first one to line up and buy it

[@FinalGirlStudios]

@@ninanadine1185 this is so sweet thank you 🥹💕

[@christophermeade1532]

Good work as always. Thank You, FG.

[@meow6031]

I haven’t watched the movie so I’m pulling this out of my ass: perhaps the ending is meant to portray that ‘forgetting’ Miss Ava was telling Bianca about? In that, Bianca gets so distracted by the boy and the fun of interacting with him, that she forgets the unease she felt at the school and on stage? Ultimately symbolizing how her entrance into the world as a ‘woman’ now dictates her groomed desire to be observed by men, as exemplified by one of your earlier points? I wouldn’t know 😅

[@kampvilje]

The ending was definitely underwhelming, but it did make me consider the symbolism in a different way. It made me think of the elements and how they were juxtaposed throughout the movie. Air, for example. You have these beautiful winged creatures that embody freedom and the flow of change, yet the world keeps them caged or on display, unable to go where the wind carries them. Earth is very grounding and alive, yet the depictions of earth create a sense of fear and uncertainty, such as when Alice runs into the forest, yet all we hear are gunshots and dogs. Fire, which embodies creativity and passion, is only used for destruction in a place that is the antithesis of passion and creativity. It is a fiery grave for dying dreams. As for water, it is the catalyst for life and emotion, yet it is used to depict death and darkness. In this way, the water at the beginning and end of the film ties in a little better. The girls are in the water, experiencing fun and life outside of the academy for the first time, only to eventually create more life that will go through the same experience.

[@stingray1740]

No clothing is the issue. It’s the men who are allowed or even applauded for those awful actions. Existing is just existing. Let girls exists

[@rachellydiab]

Idk how i’ve never come across this film before! Beautiful, brilliant analysis as always 🌹

[@FinalGirlStudios]

@@rachellydiab honestly I have met hardly anyone who has seen or heard of this film! I fr only found it because it was on MUBI. I’m so surprised it’s not talked about more amongst the more niche girly film like Valerie and Her Week of Wonders

[@Sabrinawkwafina]

I’ve never been able to sit through an hour long KZbin video in its entirety without a break but this was just such a masterpiece. I really been struggling with helping people view me as a woman and sexualised me and how Ive almost come to crave it and this video essay perfectly summarises what me and so many other girls go through

[@pippaesque7906]

I just want you to know I've watched this in dribs and drabs for over a month to really digest everything you have to say and it's one of the best video essays I've ever seen. I saw this film so long ago and didn't process it for what it was. Thank you for making me think on it again, to see what had percolated.