Hating Capitalists, Old Men, and other Cliches

"She Who Must Not Be Named" wanted to see "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest" yesterday, so off we went to see it. I have now sat through nearly eight hours of the Lizzy Salamander trilogy. Thank God it is over.

The premise of the films, and the novels on which they are based, is standard leftist claptrap. Women [particularly lesbians] are victims, exploited and brutally abused by evil men. Corporate executives are particularly evil. But most evil of all are elderly men of the generation that fought the Cold War and committed terrible acts in their country's service.

The State is good, but its functionaries are often clueless and ineffective, and within it can be found rogue elements, especially in the intelligence services, consisting of evil men who hide desperate secrets and are willing to commit unspeakable crimes to keep their past sins hidden. Fortunately, however, there is a new generation of enlightened, socially conscious men and women -- investigative journalists, honest police, and brave female attorneys -- willing and able to investigate, prosecute, and punish the criminals.

The main character suffers terribly at the hands of evil men, but has plenty of opportunities to wreak vengeance on those who have wronged her utilizing whatever comes to hand, fire, an axe, a conveniently placed nail gun. The films are pretty gruesome, but women in the audience -- including "She" -- seem to enjoy them.

I understand that there are plans for an American remake of these Swedish horrors and that the wonderfully named Rooney Mara is going to play the lead. I don't see the need for them. The originals display many of the most offensive features of recent Hollywood disasters. In terms of plot, characters, and themes, there's nothing you haven't seen time and time again. But the violence is very explicit and women of a certain age will find some degree of satisfaction in seeing bad men dispatched by our heroine in various gruesome ways. So I guess there is money to be made in a remake. Too bad.