Prey (2022 film)

[Kyberwulf]

The Axe was left to her by her father, now her mother says its for gathering roots. It could be just her mom saying that.

Most of the comments are directed towards her, as a person. meaning they are just trying to get under her skin. If this tribe was a bad as people seem to think. They wouldn't let her go anywhere. Her brother didn't have to fight that hard to get her on the tracking party. He was like.. he she can do stuff, and they were like.. yeah.

In regards to her skills. You can be good with knowing what certain medicine does. You can be good at knowing what is wrong with a person. However if you can cut into a person or freeze up before ever operation, you can't really call yourself a surgeon. She messed up on the Cougar hunt, and had to be saved by her brother. On the bear hunt, she would have been killed by the bear if she wasn't save by both the dog and the Predator.

[GloatingSwine]

Throughout the early part of the film we're shown Maru has the tracking skills to follow and find prey, but she consistently fails at the kill, usually because she is distracted by something because she doesn't focus in the moment.

(And at the end she wins by making sure her opponent is excessively focused in the moment).

That's why I think that the interstitial scene with the fur trappers and the direct fight with the Predator are a bit off, because in those she kills without hesitation which was the thing she had previously been established to lack, it doesn't track quite as well thematically as it might if she used more indirect methods in those instances).

[Dr.Samurai]

The Axe was left to her by her father, now her mother says its for gathering roots. It could be just her mom saying that.

I do not think it's useful to assume misdirection in this instance though.

Most of the comments are directed towards her, as a person. meaning they are just trying to get under her skin. If this tribe was a bad as people seem to think. They wouldn't let her go anywhere.

Firstly, let me clarify that I'm not making a value judgement on the tribe. I don't think the hunters are "bad" for not wanting her around. That's simply the fact of the matter, as it was throughout history. Men and women had roles traditionally, and I think the film is portraying that. I don't think it makes the tribe bad. It makes the tribe like virtually every other human establishment since before modern times.

And recall when her brother isn't around, they do not untie her to assist in fighting the Predator. They leave her defenseless even as they are getting killed.

Her brother didn't have to fight that hard to get her on the tracking party. He was like.. he she can do stuff, and they were like.. yeah.

Her brother was one hunt away from becoming a war chief. He carries a lot of pull because he's a natural leader. He gives orders and the others follow.

In regards to her skills. You can be good with knowing what certain medicine does. You can be good at knowing what is wrong with a person. However if you can cut into a person or freeze up before ever operation, you can't really call yourself a surgeon. She messed up on the Cougar hunt, and had to be saved by her brother. On the bear hunt, she would have been killed by the bear if she wasn't save by both the dog and the Predator.

If Naru is not a good hunter because of the lion, then neither is Pakka, who got mauled by the lion because he himself was distracted picking on Naru. And yet Pakka is allowed to accompany the hunters. Man, I wish I knew what the difference was between Naru and Pakka...

Naru's problem is her focus. She's caught up in what others think, and she's caught up in trying to prove them wrong. She went after the bear haphazardly because she desperately wants to prove everyone wrong, and it almost got her killed. The lion, I think, was just a failure due to circumstance; she was distracted by a glowing red light and noise in the forest, something for which there is absolutely no context in that time period except supernatural beings. Even distracted she dodged the lion and impaled it. I think the failure at the lion hunt simply serves as the impetus for her to strike out on her own, as opposed to confirmation that she sucks. Her eagerness in striking out on her own, by the way, eventually gets her captured, also gets the hunters killed, also gets her brother killed, etc etc etc. But she eventually does get her kill and becomes war chief so... way to go Naru!

Throughout the early part of the film we're shown Maru has the tracking skills to follow and find prey, but she consistently fails at the kill, usually because she is distracted by something because she doesn't focus in the moment.

(And at the end she wins by making sure her opponent is excessively focused in the moment).

That's why I think that the interstitial scene with the fur trappers and the direct fight with the Predator are a bit off, because in those she kills without hesitation which was the thing she had previously been established to lack, it doesn't track quite as well thematically as it might if she used more indirect methods in those instances).

I agree.

[Kyberwulf]

Its not safe? to assume ... She is actively trying to stop her from going out there hunting. Maybe not because "Girl" but maybe because its dangerous work, as indicated by the Cougar attack.

Huh, also they didn't protest much, it's almost as if they couldn't argue that what he said wasn't true. If they devalued women as much as people seem to want them to they would have put up more of an objection.

Yeah he wasn't a good hunter, I never claimed he was.... funny you point that out though. Because he dies.. but she just gets knocked out.. funny that.. I wonder what the difference there is? The men in this movie are pretty disposable.

I think a lot of people are misinterpreting this movie. I don't know what the movie makers were going for, but I think they made a good movie in one major respect. The movie is mostly looked at for a pretty shallow reason. "Woman, main character. Good" "Woman Kills Predator, GOod"

What people seem to be missing is it's a cautionary tale. Its about letting your pride and hubris getting to you so much you cause so much death around you. Not only that, you destroy your people's future. I mean, come on, look how many men from her tribe were killed. I don't think there were many other men or boys as we didn't see much in the ending scene. It looked like this was coming up on winter, which is really harsh.

[Dr.Samurai]

Its not safe? to assume ... She is actively trying to stop her from going out there hunting. Maybe not because "Girl" but maybe because its dangerous work, as indicated by the Cougar attack.

We can assume literally anything. I've given my reasons why I think the movie is telling us it's because "girl".

Huh, also they didn't protest much, it's almost as if they couldn't argue that what he said wasn't true.

Or almost like no one is going to argue with the best hunter and soon-to-be war chief.

If they devalued women as much as people seem to want them to they would have put up more of an objection.

No one is devaluing women, in this thread or in this movie. That is a modern conceit, that the roles women traditionally have performed are not equal to what men have done. I don't think the men in Naru's tribe value women less because they farm/forage/cook/rear children. These are all vital roles. It's only in modern society that women are told these home-making tasks are menial tasks that should be relegated to someone else so they can go compete with men at other things. But in actual life, and certainly in pre-modern times, these are/were critical for everyone to survive and succeed.

One could argue that it's because they value women that they don't send them to go hunt dangerous predators, given that the men are almost certainly bigger, faster, stronger, and deadlier with weapons.

Yeah he wasn't a good hunter, I never claimed he was.... funny you point that out though. Because he dies.. but she just gets knocked out.. funny that.. I wonder what the difference there is? The men in this movie are pretty disposable.

Well, men are usually disposable in most movies. I mean... all the men in the original Predator die as well except for Dutch. (The difference though is that the men there died working together to survive, whereas in this movie they all died trying to protect Naru from herself.)

But Naru is the main character, which is why she couldn't die in that scene.

I think a lot of people are misinterpreting this movie. I don't know what the movie makers were going for, but I think they made a good movie in one major respect. The movie is mostly looked at for a pretty shallow reason. "Woman, main character. Good" "Woman Kills Predator, GOod"

What people seem to be missing is it's a cautionary tale. Its about letting your pride and hubris getting to you so much you cause so much death around you. Not only that, you destroy your people's future. I mean, come on, look how many men from her tribe were killed. I don't think there were many other men or boys as we didn't see much in the ending scene. It looked like this was coming up on winter, which is really harsh.

Well, my first post complains about her motives, and my last post mentions the dead bodies she leaves in her wake, so I agree with you in that sense.

But I don't think this movie is a cautionary tale. Naru gives a little speech at the end about how everyone underestimates her and it's because they don't see her as a threat that she will defeat them. And then she morphs into a combat goddess, chops the predator's arm off by hand, and kills it. Then she returns home and her tribe celebrates her. So Naru gets exactly what she wants and nothing is said about all the hunters that died trying to get her back home, including her brother.

I agree with you that the tribe might be in for a harsh winter, but the movie is not thinking about that. Even if it did, she killed the predator, which might have killed all the hunters on its own anyways, so an argument can be made that she still saved the tribe.

[Lemmy]

It's not really devaluing women if they don't let her go hunting with them... It just means it's a physically demanding activity.

Like it or not, there's a reason men are the overwhelming majority of hunters and warriors in every civilization ever.

While that doesn't mean women can't be good hunters and warriors, it does mean that in a technologically primitive society, without the resources and security of the modern world, they have to prioritize who does what... And it makes perfect sense for physically demanding tasks to be primarily given to the half of the population that is physically stronger.

There's nothing wrong with the tasks given to women in the tribe... Naru just doesn't want to do them... Seemingly out of spite.