Pitch Not-So-Perfect: Satire or Too Far?

By Julia Dunn on May 19, 2015

On May 15th 2015, hundreds of young people flooded movie theaters for the long-anticipated Pitch Perfect 2, a sequel to the original 2012 Pitch Perfect starring fan-favorites Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson. The movie chronicles the Bellas’ journey to the World a Cappella championships despite some major setbacks along the way.

Image Via: www.instyle.com

While mostly lighthearted and entertaining for a Friday-night escape, Pitch Perfect 2 raises countless red flags due to its high concentration of racist comments and heavy reinforcement of stereotypes.

Since the movie’s release just a day or two ago, numerous articles have popped up online from news sources such as National Public Radio, inquisitr.com, and thedailybeast.com, most of them unpacking the film’s shockingly high number of racist, sexist, and otherwise offensive lines at which Pitch Perfect fans don’t know whether to laugh or cringe.

In Pitch Perfect 2, a new character is introduced named Flo, played by Cuban-American actress Chrissie Fit. Flo is a Guatamalan, immigrant college student who sings in the Bellas, and who sadly has almost no lines in Pitch Perfect that do not concern her immigrant status.

“Flo” (Chrissie Fit)
Image Via: deadline.com

While a majority of the racist remarks in the Pitch Perfect sequel concern Latina minorities, there are stabs at other target groups as well that quickly cause Pitch Perfect 2 to decline in quality. In a recent article by the Inquisitr (see above text for link), the author quotes Huffington Post’s Brandon Judell who concisely and accurately summarizes the glaring flaws in Pitch Perfect 2:

“‘…what’s baffling here for a film directed by a woman, Elizabeth Banks, and written by a woman (Cannon), is that each female character is reduced to a single stereotype. The Asian girl speaks very quietly. The black, semi-butch lesbian can hardly control her sexual urges. As for the Guatemalan lass, she sees her future as being deported after she graduates and then drowning when she tries to smuggle herself back on a boat. Told in a deadpan manner, this is supposed to be very funny. Tell that to the relatives of all the thousands of folks who have died recently in just such a manner. Additionally, Rebel Wilson’s Fat Amy’s humor stems completely from her being overweight and buffoonish. I doubt making the obese girl the class clown is really the way to breakdown body biases.’”

Image Via: www.forbes.com

As avid movie-watchers know, it’s not atypical for movies to rely on discriminatory content as humor. There is an entire industry of music, stand-up comedy and television that pokes fun at race, sexual orientation, ability, class status, immigrant status, and so on. Today, it seems that the media is becoming more inclusive and more sensitive to social issues, but if this is true, how did Pitch Perfect 2 get away scot-free with its largely offensive script?

Alternatively, the movie is great at reinforcing women as confident and capable powerhouses, especially when they create support systems as the Bellas do in Pitch Perfect. According to the Washington Post, Pitch Perfect 2 is “the most feminist movie in years.” If so, is it imperative that to make a successfully-feminist movie, screenwriters must find an alternate target group to bash instead?

While Flo’s actress Chrissie Fit says she hopes the racist lines in the movie will “start a conversation” (Entertainment Weekly) among those who don’t simply laugh at the dialogue, is reinforcing racism and stereotyping really the best way to open a dialogue about said oppression?

Image Via: www.justjaredjr.com

Aside from the explicitly racist content, Pitch Perfect 2 is a mediocre sequel: Hollywood-formulaic as usual. It has some solid, enjoyable moments (mostly the musical scenes), but it’s particularly difficult to get past the offensive content that runs rampant throughout the film.

If you do go out and see Pitch Perfect 2, watch it critically; notice how the jokes are used, and consider the effects that these comments have on the identities trivialized in this movie.

 

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