Michael writes:
> The heroes are out of business because of excessive
lawsuits?
What is rightwing about that? Heterosexuals often use lawsuits to close down queer meeting spots with accusations of violation of zoning laws, etc., etc.
> Dad wanders around in self-pity, ignoring emotions and
seeking self-aggrandizement.
No, Dad is struggling against the closet that he has been forced into by those who want him to be the same as everyone else. He is too "big" for his car and his office cubicle -- he cannot be contained. The fear of the queer is what motivates the public in the movie. The backlash that The Incredibles face is the same as the backlash queers are experiencing today.
> Mom, with her southern accent, keeps it all glued together and
generally takes Dad's bullshit without complaint.
She is the representative of the "go-along-to-get-along" queer who tries to makes accomodations with the hetrosexual mob. What she eventual realizes is that there is no common ground with these people. Her innate queer fabulousness is awakened when she visits Edna and sees her new designs -- by the clothes that Edna brings out of her closet and presents on a runway (you cannot be more queer explicit than that). And Edna does not charge he for the clothing. She is meerely acting as the intermediary for the awakening of the queer selves The Incredibles have stifled in order to conform.
> The boys do all the heavy lifting and the girls clean up the messes.
It is the daughter's power at the end of the film that preserves the family from harm -- a power she is encouraged to use and develop once her mother realizes the closet is not the place she thought it was. She is also the one who makes the family's escape from Syndrome's lair possible.
> And the villain is bad because he's jealous of the Incredibles and
hates them for what they are?
Hatred of queers, of difference. Pretty hard to miss. Heterosexual jealously is an important component of queer hatred.
> I was hopping mad when I left this movie.
Seems your anger interfered with your critical perception.
> BTW, the insurance company represents bureaucracy, not
capitalism, in this movie.
Why? Becaue you say so? How do you jibe that reading with the fact that Mr. Incredible is criticized by his boss for losing the company money? Clearly capitalism is indicated here, as well as in Syndrome's ultimate plan to make money off his inventions. He uses his skills to enhance himself, while The Incredibles are outwardly focsed. Mr. Incredible gets in trouble when he loses sight of this fact and is seduced by the money he is paid which allows him to buy a fancy sports car. At the end, however, he uses this sports car as a weapon/missle to defeat Syndrome, turning an object of hedonism into an object of justice.
> The plot is this: Our freedom and individuality and commitment
to our traditional roles is what makes us so great and so happy.
But it is the traditional roles that The Incredibles have been forced to adopt which cause their problems. They have been forced to closet themselves.
> Our enemies at home try to stifle and distort all this with bureaucracy,
rules, and lawsuits.
Exactly what the enemies of queers try to do. You have this part right.
> Our enemies at home can't figure out how to copy us, so they hate
us for who we are, and are busy trying to destroy our ability to be who
we are.
Exactly. Heterosexual hate is based in part on their inability to be fabulous/queer (sorry Kelley, I am still unpersuaded by "queer by choice" dogma). The film is a metaphor for the closeting of queers after the decade of fabuousness in the 1970's.
> I'm just glad my son is still a sweet third grader, so all the politics
went over his head. Utter, utter trash, IMHO.
I do not consider pro-queer movies to be utter trash, but then opinions differ.
Brian Dauth Queer Buddhist Resister