Subtext in Movies

Léon: The Professional is a movie about a girl surviving a professional hit on her petty criminal dysfunctional family by walking on past the in-progress assassination and knocking on the door of a neighbor -- Leon -- who later describes himself as "a cleaner" which she immediately understands as a euphemism for hitman.

The movie suggests he is basically an illiterate immigrant and being taken advantage of financially by an unsuccessful restauranteur with six kids who "holds" his large payments for him and gives him money as needed out of it.

Yet, he is portrayed as an uncommonly ethical man who feels obligated to protect her and basically trades his life for her shot at a future. The movie never suggests he takes advantage sexually of the girl who has no place else to go, yet they get thrown out of a hotel or temporary rental when she tells management "He's my lover."

I have no idea why that's in the movie. It seems really weird to me and makes me wonder if someone somewhere in the production of the movie is a child molester because a girl that young shouldn't be interpreting big feels about her rescuer in sexual terms.

She should see him as more like a father figure or older brother or favorite uncle, depending on who in her dysfunctional family was the most positive symbol in her mind.

I'm aware crime etc. really happens in the world. I'm not suggesting movies should all be happy, shiny and clean portrayals of a world we wished we lived in but don't.

I'm just saying this particular scene doesn't sit well with me and looks to me like a child molester trying to tell the world he or she is certain the kids want their abusive attentions.

There is a 1980 film called Gloria where a woman who at one time was the girlfriend of a mob boss saves a child under somewhat similar circumstances. She's the neighbor and agrees to take the two kids but only ends up getting one to her apartment before the hit goes down and she is then on the run with a little boy she barely knows.

This movie has lines in it that didn't seem that out of place for the era. At one point, Gloria cracks a joke about usually men she sleeps with are taller or something like that, which is slightly off color but I really didn't feel it was creepy when I saw it the first time. It's a play on words, not really talking about child molestation.

The 1999 remake loses that innocent play on words vibe and sounds a lot more like someone involved in the making of this film is probably actually a child molester. The ENTIRE film is full of stuff that just makes me uncomfortable, like statements suggesting "Women have the best deal in the world." as if all you have to do is marry for money.

I write a lot about heteronormative culture and how I think homemaking began as a means to allow women to be productive, contributing members of society and with money becoming widely available and other changes, the relationship of a homemaker to larger society changed.

I'm not cool with promoting this idea that women should marry for money, sit on their butts and order in takeout while the maid cleans up.

If you are trying to sort your baggage, I encourage you to think about stuff you see in movies and what you feel that says about cultural stuff we maybe shouldn't be happy to memetically replicate.