The thing is the Hunger Games truly felt Dystopian and expansive. Sending children to compete in a dangerous and brutal game and only one survivor will win. While each District suffered. The Uglies might have worked if it focused on body dysmorphia, image issues, plastic surgeries and nonconformity to the beauty standards but its such a limiting concept and the world building would be so narrow. A sollid narrative is near impossible.
Also, you could explore an extreme version of disassociation with your own body - how after the beautification process you feel horrified that you're wearing an unfamiliar skin. This could be a good avenue to dive into what defines identity and the various psychological aspects involve with plastic surgery.
I've heard from some people this film would've been better if taken an animated medium to exaggerate and explore more of the world. Therefore I would like to take this opportunity to recommend the webcomic Ava's Demon. Is not finished yet but it's futuristic. The world building doesn't rely solely on "beauty" like Uglies does but it is quite an integral part for the antagonists in the story. In this case, the process of of beautification is seen as holy, you are the chosen one by god and you are just one step closer to enter his realm. It features a gore scene that i remember when it dropped everyone lost their minds. I would love to share more but it would be spoiler. But the way they went on about it in the comic seems like that is what a lot of people wish this film had
Like you, I found Tally rather annoying. Also, there weren't many high stakes. Before becoming Pretty, Uglies lived rather dull lives. But it wasn't horrible either. They weren't slaves, abused, starved...etc. So, I didn't really feel compassion for the Uglies like I did with people that lived in the districts in The Hunger Games.
Yeah, in my memory the vibe of wanting to become pretty was the same as a teenager waiting to get their drivers license because they thought they would suddenly be part of the in crowd. It was never life or death, they were just normal people who dreamt of the day they would suddenly live the fast, popular lives of a Pretty. As a teenager I could overlook this, but as an adult... ew
Katniss can be a tomboy while not being an nlog bc she loves and protects women (and men). She sees there strengths that ppl overlook like rue and foxface. Can acknowledge glimmer is pretty without looking down on her for it.
her entire story starts by protecting her little sister and then projecting that sisterly love onto another little girl whose death pushes her to rebellion. she's the big sister everyone wants
Furthermore in the books, Madge (who was cut in the movies) was a typical girly girl who is Katniss' best friend. While Katniss is not interested in romance or stereotypical girly things, she's not an NLOG because the reason she can't focus on romance is because she is on survival mode due to trauma and poverty, not because she looks down at other girls.
I know why this movie is being considered as a flop, truth to be told, the cinematography wasn't up to par and on top of that the characters were not developed as it was supposed to be.
Yup, costumes cam angles cast character dev etc. like in book it says tally wondered since she's taller than pretties if bungee jacket could hold her weight. Doesn't that mean some of cast isn't even right heights
@@AshePBlack I haven't read the book of this movie is based on, but I can tell there's still a lot to it. It would have been better if they had made this series instead of movie.
The parents are actually segregated as well. While they try to stay away from racial segregation you're split into age categories that's why the parents aren't around. It's not neglect in the traditional sense. It's more of the brain washing after you're done living in New Pretty town (I haven't read the books in YEARS) you basically go off to like YA town and so on until you're old and age super gracefully with your surgeries. Also the more into the world we get the more you learn. The surgeries are wILD.. they basically become anime characters in the last book it's creepy. By book 3 Tally isn't even resembling a human anymore and the brainwashing gets intense until they realize what's going on. Which is a while other spoiler. I remember really liking this series back then.
Honestly it would have been a big improvement to have the "uglies" wear no make up and have the pretties be drasticslly different in their pursuit of beauty. Like give me people tatooing their eyes, putting gems or feathers into their skin.
You mention ANTM - remember the "plus size" model girl? I don't remember which season it was, they went to Morocco. She was a size 10! 🤯 That's pretty much the only thing that stuck with me from that show, because seeing a size 10 girl being called plus-sized really shocked me. But of course, next to the size 0 girls, she "looked" plus-sized.
Uglies books do hold up though, it's just books go into vivid detail of tally psychology, stuff movie couldn't show or if they did it better they could have. remember first 12 pages of uglies it says when they look at a pretty they got big eyes that said vulnerable and made a person want to protect them? Movie didn't show that well. Even if normal ppl are made to believe they are ugly well from their perspective they are brainwashed to think so. Movie didn't show this. Also uglies is a lil more grounded in reality. In hunger games the capitol dresses costume esque. In uglies pretties just dress glamy like pretty old Hollywood glam. Also movies did lots more wrong but I will defend books. Let's not forget those who read uglies in grade school are about 30s now so...
I read the series while student teaching last year with our dystopian unit and I loved the series. I personally found tally really relatable as I’ve grown up with low self and have had plastic surgery myself. I disagree when she said it’s not relatable in 2024. Maybe not the movie so much, but the books are, especially in the days of instagram face and the rise of plastic surgery in gen z.
Another reason why this book series feels lacking in hindsight is that it's a bad ripoff of a Twilight Zone episode called "Number 12 Looks Just Like You". In that episode, after you turn 18, you are surgically altered to look exactly like a certain number of "attractive clone models" and alters your brain to act like a certain way. The MC doesn't want to undergo the transformation, but is forced to anyway. That episode works a lot better. One, the book is told in the Shay analog's POV, so the MC is an active player in the plot trying to defy the system, but ends up failing and losing herself in the process. Two, while that episode doesn't tackle things like colourism, texturism, and racism either because it was made in the 60s when those conversations were only starting at a basic level, it works a lot better as a dystopia. The idea of everyone being forced to look like attractive clones of one another, getting rid of all differences including racial is much more terrifying than just yassifying people to look hotter, because you feel that gets rid of conflict, even with the brain damage shit.
some of the concepts of in the hunger games are real the capitol acting like entitled airheaded fools the common folk struggling one day at a time the dark side of fame and fortune including abuse and being discarded if seen as damaged goods
no idea how many comments u see or read but i just found ur channel and wanted to say i am soooo in love with your aesthetic and your set up and your entire vibe AHHHHHHH notification bell is turned ON
I definitely feel like the movie “felt late” because the book it’s based off of is almost 20 years old, like you said- it’s not making a statement (anymore) like Hunger Games does/did, because it’s just kind of repeating things that we hear constantly in our lives via social media and such. There was also no prior hype of it like we got with other similar book-to-movie adaptations, such as Hunger Games. Most people who would have been the target demographic for the book when it came out are no longer the target demographic of the movie, so those watching the movie have no knowledge of the source material. My boyfriend put this movie on a few nights ago and we kept having to rewind it because we had no idea what was going on (I’m 22, he’s 30), and it want until I googled it for spoilers to get context that I found it was based on a book series.
The ultimate example of the relation between beauty, culture and power in a dystopia is the n4zi-fascism, considering that beauty standard was based on prejudice and an ideology focused on "pure-blooded people" and those who weren't "perfect" (considering their standards) didn't even get a second chance or a magical surgery for that-but I believe YA literature tends to often shy away from topics like genocide, imperialism, racism and such things. You can't talk about beauty standards without talking about society and you can't talk about society (in a dystopian book at least) without showing its "ugly" side.
It kinda reminds me of the Thinning, which is a good movie btw. I think it would be bigger If it was released in 2011, back when this genre was on its peak. She’s obsessed with looks, because it’s everything they teach her from her early childhood, so her values are based on that, they teach them to be like mindless robots, to focus on material things, she’s in the loop and she only gets out of it when she gets to a Smoke
Loved this video! Really fun critique. I don’t wanna be patronising (literally who am I to talk you’re the successful video essayist 😅) but I’m not sure how much you script these! I think a clearer script would help you be more concise, maybe supported with some research. I don’t know the time limitations for these too so if that’s not feasible fair enough.
I didn't read the Hunger Games series until I was an adult, certain elements such as finnicks backstory and the avoxes stuck with me for weeks after reading. Truely harrowing concepts that had me completely amazed that this is a series for teens. Ive subscribed for the avox video ❤
What is wild to me is I also read the hunger games as an adult and thought they had a deep message. Yet the cast has stayed quiet on all g ci d3s happening in the world as well at the author. Very dissapointing.
Expanding on the Mc having interests outside of the characters around them: Katniss can get away with having basically no hobbies because her focus has always been survival, If i remember correctly even in one moment she said it herself that she never had time to think about pretty things like bows and colors and cake because she was always focused on what was gonna be their next meal and what was gonna fill and last them the longest
The closest things Katniss has to hobbies are music/poetry, biology - which she needs to know to hunt and gather and which links her to her dad - and, in the end, scrapbooking. It all links to her character.
Spoilers for the Uglies trilogy. Tally should not have been the protagonist, in all honesty. To me, she is super reactionary in Uglies. She never wanted to be a contrarian and rock the boat, always desperate to accept the brainwashing she gets as an Ugly, Pretty and Special. Something outside of her always forces her to be the hero basically against her will (Dr. Cable, the Smokies, the cured Cutters. Shay makes for a better protagonist. Shay unlearns her society’s social programming; Shay chooses to try and make her new friend realize the truth; Shay leaves for the Smoke. Shay is a proactive character whose choices change the course of the story. Anyway I have my issues with Uglies but it will have a special place in my heart for being the first YA Dystopian novel I read lol
That would have been very cool to see, and I think it could have added more to the story. Tally could still be there, come, and betray them, and imagine seeing all that through Shay's pov. We see the friendship they had as uglies, then Tally came all that way only to betray her. That would have been profound and so interesting to see from Shays pod, and it could have shown us the brainwashing that the uglies go through.
I think this book is dated. It had its time but it doesn’t resonate with a modern audience. YA books have evolved so much since the 00s and there are better alternatives now.
I hate that the beauty is just filter face. I expected something freakish and scary being the standard like the Twilight Zone ‘Eye of the beholder’. But obviously that’s asking for wayyy too much.
Uglies had potential in the age of social media, filters and plastic surgeries. It could’ve made a strong statement about beauty standards today and if Tally was written better she would be struggling with severe body dysmorphia due to the unrealistic beauty standards at the time and the fact that she’s literally able to design her perfect self on her computer. I wished we could’ve seen her obsessively editing images of herself to figure out her perfect face for surgery, crying while looking at the edited pics because she’s absolutely heartbroken she can’t look that way, obsessively experimenting with makeup and dyeing her hair to try to change her appearance. Even showing some ED behaviors (with proper trigger warnings ofc) would’ve been impactful. If Tally was a deeper character, I think she would’ve been relatable to many women. I grew up on social media and started content creation at 16 and staring at my face all day on my phone screen impacted me a lot and gave me a distorted image of myself. I would’ve related to Tally a lot personally if she was written better and I think a lot of girls would
I think the thing with Katniss is that she isnt a tomboy at all. Katniss doesnt prefer to lean away from feminimity, she denies herself it entirely because she doesnt live a life that allows for it. She actively chooses to live apart from her sexuality because it isnt helping her survive or protect her family. It sets her very utility sense of self at odds with the Capitol's vanity who want her to show off her body and flirt fir the camera. That's important to her character and the story, especially because her love story's antagonist is her own resistance.
Really like this video. I've not seen it or read the book, it's one that passed over my radar, so I'm finding it really interesting to hear what everyone's thoughts are. I wanted to just say with absolutely no disrespect meant, just as another video editor, LUT is pronounced how it's written, it's not l.you.t but l-uh-t. And I'm fully aware this is pedantic and I sound like a dick but I just thought I would let you know as you're selling them and don't want anyone taking the piss.
I'm surprised the book was so boring to you. I read it when it came out back in 2005, and I loved it. It captured my attention really well and I thought the writing was much better than the hunger games.
I loved books and hated movies. Although uglies really is mostly a commentary on vanity, hunger games got more themes and they put more love in those movies
@@AshePBlack I agree, I was meh on the Hunger Games (although I did read them as an adult instead of a pre-teen like I was when I read uglies), but the Hunger Games movies were done really well.
I think if they made the premise about the surgery changing races and creating one race (they could still be overly plastic surgeryised) then the premise would be better and more compelling for people actually wanting to stay natural and enjoy their diffences. No pun intended, but the whole "pretty" premise was very superficial.
There wasn’t enough world building at all in the film. Like it didn’t make me care about the uglies or the pretties. The world felt hollow, the stakes felt hollow, Tally’s “character development” felt hollow. Maybe if they had 2 and a half hours, it could’ve been better. Going by movie alone though, I never read the books.
I've lost interest in YA (maybe I outgrew them) but they became the same. Average girl, who is very much a basic character, becomes the most important person in her universe.
hiiii! loved the vid! as someone who works in film and specifically in davinci resolve, we actually pronounce LUT like a word and not an acronym! just wanted to pass that along. take care!
I watched the movie and I’m sure things were more expanded on in the books, but I wish we were able to see this in the film. tally says when you’re “ugly” you’re ignored but you’re with everyone else who’s like you. the “pretties” are in a separate part of the city. another thing is that being pretty gives you status and makes you better but everyone has access to it. I was missing the disparity aspect of the society that we see in the hunger games for example. where there is no way to get to the capitol and enjoy that life without being born into it for the most part
I totally agree that the source lack race issue, but still I'm so glad to finally have the film. As a teenager I was so sad the technologies were too diffucult to produce on the screen, but here we are! Yeah, it feels flat cz worldbuilding is like «where the hell all those work and make money, and sources, etc». Still, the prettinnes isn't the main issue even in the book (though truly valuable at that time, as you said), but the will of people. I remember Tally as unlikeable, but primordially rebellious, and I saw her rebellious on the screen. I think casting is amazing and I'm so thankful to creators. It just feels good to spend an evening watching some dystopia I read once, not to live in actual :']
i haven't seen this movie and never knew about the book but, uglies sounds like a a water down version of Brave New World. I mean I know uglies focuses on physical features but brave new world has everyone in this utopia be beautiful and one day someone from the outside who is normal looking comes in and hes the object of desire for one character because he looks different. I mean the premise of brave new world focuses more on controlling the masses by keeping them dumb and happy and not just focused on the physical traits part. but it kinda expands on the idea.
Haven't read the books and based on your review I don't think I will, but I think Tally was pretty well-rounded in the film. All her life she's found small ways to rebel in a society where that's pretty much unthinkable. She is conflicted between wanting to rebel despite herself, and wanting the privilege that comes with comforming. She is anchored to her friendhip with Paris (Peris?) and starts to open her mind fully when she is stripped of that relationship she opens her mond more fully. And Joey King really brings it!
