Just saw Branded. I have to admit I was expecting the same simpleminded 'Marxist' or at least pseudo anti-capitalist line of The Stuff or They Live. And there was certainly a lot of that.
Other thing about it? Branded's central message seems to be the following: fat people are ugly people. The only real way to be happy is to be thin, and plastic surgery is a great way to do it!
In case you're wondering, I personally think that is an awful message for any movie. But it's especially strange for a movie to be so critical of the advertising part of American-style capitalism while fully embracing the naturalization of a stereotype about beauty that includes plastic surgery. It's different from Thank You for Smoking, but there's still something similarly two-faced about Branded.
Bottom line: don't see it unless you're writing a paper about body image and the media. If you are, then go nuts.
Other thing about it? Branded's central message seems to be the following: fat people are ugly people. The only real way to be happy is to be thin, and plastic surgery is a great way to do it!
In case you're wondering, I personally think that is an awful message for any movie. But it's especially strange for a movie to be so critical of the advertising part of American-style capitalism while fully embracing the naturalization of a stereotype about beauty that includes plastic surgery. It's different from Thank You for Smoking, but there's still something similarly two-faced about Branded.
Bottom line: don't see it unless you're writing a paper about body image and the media. If you are, then go nuts.