Oh…and one more thing…Sucker Punch…A Review of Sorts
What does WWI zombies, Tekken like battle scenes, blazing katanas, big guns, and Moulin Rouge like get up have in common?
From the tagline “You will be unprepared” to the dark, depressing film noir opening (which just gets more depressing till the end); there’s just no one word to describe Sucker Punch. Call it a rip off of the excellent 2006 Pan’s Labyrnth or CGI porn with a lousy soundtrack, it has a certain beat of its own besides boasting a stellar cast of young, up-and-coming actresses with skimpy costumes in seemingly out of this world circumstances.
But that really isn’t the point.
Zack Snyder the writer and director who has made a film adaptation of The Watchman was not just trying to create an eye-candy tale.To me at least, it was a meditation of sorts of life and the liberation in the form of gnosis. The subtle gestures and hints left along the way, like breadcrumbs to the final cookie.
The movie follows seemingly parallel storylines to form a single story. Some have compared it with Christopher Nolan’s Inception. Which as smart as it may seem, is inaccurate.For one, all the characters are aware of their situation and it isn’t a dream sequence.
You draw your own meaning from life’s experiances. Here’s my little interpretation of the movie.
The main character of the movie, Baby Doll has been dealt with the most unfavorable cards.
Just like many of us, things in life “just happens” dizying out of control. She is thrown into a seemingly limbo of no return (in the form of a lobotomy). She escapes into a different “worlds” or realities to shield herself from her harsh reality. With exaggerated fight and action scenes, it brings her on a quest to collect items that will set her free. Without giving away too much of the storyline, here are the major themes that I found from the movie:
We all crave for freedom.
The question of freewill and whether we have a free will has been a subject of debate. This movie merely illustrates free will in action.
At the point of awakening, listening to your heart, having the courage to battle fire breathing dragons, having sacrifice and understanding what freedom is summarizes how an awakened person is supposed to lead his / her life.
Awakening
Its the point of time where we realize that we have been sleepwalking most of our lives. Living ambitions set by the society around us. Letting our teachers, religious leaders and parents dictate what we should do and how we should lead our lives. The moment the realization that there is such thing as freedom and crystalizing what does freedom mean to you, is the first point of being awakened.
Listening to Your Heart
Your heart speaks in riddles, only because you have ridiculed your heart as you were growing up. Thanks to how society has moulded you on how to live. The pre-conceptions on what is reality becomes muddled. The lense in which your view life becomes distorted. This is usually corrected via meditation. Meditation brings forth clarity and brings you back to the right path. You no longer see the need to compare with others.
Most often, your heart states the obvious. The things we already know but take for granted. We all know that we should pray, speak truthfully, act in a noble manner, etc. But how many of us actually listen to these soft gentle whispers of our heart?
Once you start listening to those whispers and leading your life in closer accordance to things you know are true, you will lead your life from your heart.
So when was the last time you have followed your heart?
Having the Courage to Battle Fire Breathing Dragons
A hero’s journey is never easy. Do you remember reading folk tales of the knight in shining armour having to battle dragons to have the fair maiden’s hand in marriage?
You don’t hear of knights just knocking on the front door for a princess’s hand in marriage now do you?
So, be prepared to lose spiritual limbs – being ridiculed, seemingly taking two steps back, stabbed, bullied, head dunked in the toilet (hey, it happens) but rest assured you are in right company. The road is long, ardeous and often times dangerous; but the reward (or fair maiden) is permanant.
Having the courage to face these challenges once you have set your sights on the right hill to climb (you certainly don’t want to end up on the wrong mountain), is part and parcel of the hero’s journey. Its what determines the winners from the wannabes 
Having Sacrifice
Sacrifice is forgoing the lesser for something greater. Most often, we hold on to what we thing is important (or what we think is the ULTIMATE thing in our life) only to lose it and realize that only by letting go, you can get something of greater value. This ties back to courage of letting go of the petty. It might be as simple as cleaning up your wardrobe to letting go of backward ideas / dogmas that stunt our spiritual growth. It might also mean letting go of your current hedonistic lifestyle despite the perks and blings that it can afford you.
So, what’s your sacrifice to lead an awesome life? What’s holding you back?
Discovering Freedom
Samadhi as some put it. It exists in different forms – financial freedom, spiritual freedom, self freedom, etc.
You have felt glimpses of it at some point or other in your lives. Either in meditation, a dream you do not want to wake up from, in the midst of a good workout, etc. The idea is to transform those passing states to a state of being.
I have to admit that I have yet to taste the freedom as a pro-longed state but having more frequent tastes of the passing state reassures me I am on the right path. Sure, I may not have everything figured out yet; I may have made some mistakes in reaching my end goal (even realizing that I have been climbing the wrong hill!) but I am grateful to be always buoyed back to the right direction.
I would like to end with an excellent quote from the movie: “And one more thing, if you don’t stand for anything, you will fall for everything”
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