Comparison Of Run Lola Run 'And' Faster, Pussycat

“Run Lola Run” and “Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!” both overturn the aesthetic expectations of cinema to make their underlying social message digestible to the audience. Even though both films show strong female leads, these two films mask this feminist message with their strange aesthetics. Though in retrospect, both films deeply criticized societal norms, they did not come off as preachy. Rather, the films’ criticism of society is overshadowed by their strange cinematic aesthetic. This makes the films strangely enjoyable, though they are entirely critical of contemporary society. “Run Lola Run”, which was directed by Tom Twyker, is originally a German film released in 1999. It features the main characters of Manni, a young gang member in

Kill! Kill!” use taboos of murder and sex, respectively, to maintain the attention of the audience and distract from the themes of the films. In “Run Lola Run”, Tom Twyker progresses the narrative so quickly that the audience is not given the opportunity to morally assess the actions of Lola. This serves to reflect the speed at which Lola is also making those decisions within the film. For example, in the first cycle of events, Lola is too late to reach Manni and must assist him in armed robbery (00:23:57). Similarly, in the second iteration, Lola gets so frustrated with her father, that she robs her own father at the bank (00:36:21). Lola playing out the taboos of armed robbery, especially without going through the process of morally considering her actions, draws the audience by feeding into their personal fantasies. The audience are, in effect, distracted from the social commentary of the film due to the excitement playing out social taboos through Lola. Similarly, in “Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!”, Russ Meyers distracts the audience from the feminist messaging through the overly sexualized and violent appearance of the female characters. For example, Varla is always dressed in clothes that emphasize the size of her breasts, particularly the first time she steps out of her car (00:05:42). Similarly, Billie and Rosie, Varla’s partners, are frequently shown wearing scantly clothes, such as when they first fight in the

Kill! Kill!”, by Russ Meyers express social criticism pertaining to feminism; however, rather they use strange aesthetic to shroud their underlying message to not make their movies feel preachy. Both films have very unusual aesthetics, which “Run Lola Run” featuring a cyclical narrative driven by pervasive techno-music, and “Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!” having unexperienced sexualized actors and a simplified script. The strangeness of both films attracts audience, and allows the directors to convey their criticisms about society without the audience being bored. The genre of cult films has this reoccurring theme of films being purposefully “weird” and breaking the conventions of cinema to attract and audience. This “weirdness” allows cult films to play on societal taboos without judgement, because the breaking of taboos just contributes to the “weirdness” of the films. However, I think that this “weirdness” also allows directors to make social commentary without ridicule from others. The extreme nature of cult films, from their strange plots, characters, and aesthetics grabs the attention of the audience, which allows directors to make profound subtle statements. For example, in “Run Lola Run”, Lola’s iconic bright red hair steals the show, even though the film repeatedly comments on the lack of determinism in human life. Cult films are films that must be watched at least twice; their strange nature