[Willow, narrating] For a movie that has people dying left and right
it's remarkable how well The Suicide Squad shows us the value of life.
That Nobody is Expendable.
The film makes use of its violence and death to strengthen this theme through contrast.
We are reminded of how fragile we really are. How easily a life may be discarded in an instant
by those in power. So that we can see no matter how dire our situation is,
Better is possible so long as we are alive and willing to work together.
With everything that's happened over the last few years
and as a parent who is worried about the future of the world for my children
I didn't realize how much I needed a movie like this.
And this is NOT something I thought I'd be saying about The Suicide Squad.
I was excited going in, but this surpassed all of my expectations.
As someone who has been an outcast in one form or another pretty much my entire life,
I really connected with these characters. People who are deeply flawed
and just trying to survive in any way they can.
And through their connections with each other accomplishing more than they ever thought possible.
So let's talk about The Suicide Squad.
Before we get started, I want to let you know there are spoilers ahead.
And I ask that you please consider subscribing and clicking the bell
so the algorithm doesn't think my future videos are expendable.
[Ratcatcher 2] Why Rats, Papa?
-[Ratcatcher 2's Father] Rats are the lowliest and most despised of all creatures, my love. If they have purpose so do we all.
[Willow] Ratcatcher 2's father gifted her a device that lets her control rats.
But I would argue his love and these words were far more important to pass on.
Her father was flawed, but he accomplished what I hope for as a parent.
While I may wish my children success because I don't want them to struggle.
What matters most is that I have helped break cycles and put them on a better path than I had.
And a big part of that is that no matter what, they know they are loved.
Compassion and the ability to trust is something that has been taken from everyone on Task Force X.
Except for Ratcatcher 2.
Well, and maybe Rick Flag and Harley Quinn. BUT they are not with the team initially which is
when Ratcatcher 2 starts planting a seed in the team.
First, choosing to befriend King Shark even after he tried to eat her. Even though everyone else was ready to be rid of him.
And then through her many interactions with the team as their journey continues,
we begin to see cracks in their apathy as sprouts begin to take hold
and the members of the team begin to care more.
I don't know why I'm using plant metaphors. Maybe I just want to see more Poison Ivy, I guess.
We especially see the effect Ratcatcher 2 has with Bloodsport. He is the main protagonist we follow
and was introduced to us as an absolutely horrible human being to his own daughter.
So it's a big deal to watch him go from being forced on this mission,
wanting nothing to do with any of the team to risking his own life
to save Ratcatcher 2, not just once but twice by the end of the film.
The true turning point for Bloodsport and the team in my opinion is actually just before we see Bloodsport do this.
The team had split up and the group with Bloodsport, Polka Dot Man and Harley come under fire.
Both Rick Flag and Ratcatcher 2 who are kind of the moral compasses of the group are not there.
In the firefight Milton dies. Milton was not a member of Task Force X
but was a freedom fighter who acted as an ally.
Polka Dot Man is absolutely distraught over Milton's death,
while the audience likely shares Bloodsport's and Harley's response.
Who the hell is Milton?
It's a very funny scene that simultaneously beautifully supports the theme.
A reminder that just because someone doesn't seem important
or isn't as capable doesn't mean their life is worth less.
[Bloodsport] What was Milton going to do?
[Willow] This is the last time we hear Bloodsport use this logic,
which is much more in line with Peacemaker or Waller, who are willing to sacrifice anyone
to accomplish a mission because to them people are only a list of skills and attributes.
Bloodsport changes through spending time with the team and seeing them begin to care for one another.
That connection brings him back in touch with his humanity.
I am reminded of an answer by anthropologist Margaret Meade
when asked what the first evidence of civilization was.
She said it was a human thigh bone with a healed fracture that was about 15,000 years old
because for someone to survive a broken femur, others had to have cared for them long enough for it to heal.
Right after Milton dies, Bloodsport comes face to face against his counterpart Peacemaker.
Another perfect example of how The Suicide Squad uses contrasts to deliver its themes.
First, by the characters themselves.
Peacemaker and Bloodsport are portrayed as effectively the same.
[Bloodsport] You just said each member of the team is chosen for their unique abilities. He does exactly what I do.
Yet in this moment we see the difference between them. Not only because of the choice
Bloodsport makes to defend Ratcatcher 2 but in the WAY he defeats Peacemaker.
Bloodsport has learned to value the others on the team which led to him using smaller bullets.
To make it even better, he learned this from Peacemaker.
[Bloodsport] You can't hit something more in the center -[Peacemaker] I use smaller bullets -[Bloodsport] What?
[Willow] Valuing others wins the day over treating everyone like they are a cog in the machine.
[Bloodsport] So, why are you here when you and I both know I have nothing good to offer you.
[Willow] Bloodsport was abused and mercilessly trained to be an assassin since he was a child
and has internalized that he is worth nothing besides his ability to kill.
Unfortunately, it is all too common for many people to feel like Bloodsport.
Not about killing! Just that we devalue our own worth.
This can happen for many reasons.
We could experience abuse or neglect at home as a child.
Or a relationship that was controlling and toxic isolated us from others.
Or other demeaning environments. Like I'm sure many of us have endured mistreatment from a boss
or customers at our workplaces. And even if it's not the people at a job,
terrible working conditions or pay can make us feel worth less as well.
If you're struggling to get by in a system that will let you and your family starve,
be thrown out on the street or die from treatable medical conditions
it can be hard to not feel like a failure.
And the worse off someone is they may be forced to consider taking more extreme measures.
Whether that's more dangerous jobs or crime.
And there will always be agencies, governments and people like Waller to not only gladly
take advantage of vulnerable people but be willing to actively make people's lives worse
if it will benefit themselves. Waller sees people as tools to be used.
She doesn't care what happens to them. If they break, she will just get another one.
While Waller serves as the main antagonist for The Suicide Squad since she is forcing them to do what
she wants under the threat of death, I feel it's her way of thinking that is the real antagonist.
After all, Waller isn't making all decisions for the entire United States.
Waller didn't command the US astronauts to take Starro from space. And she likely wasn't there 30 years ago
to play a part in starting experimentation on Starro or the people of Corto Maltese.
Both of which happened because of a willingness to treat the world as a resource
to be used without any regard for life itself. We also see how this pushes others to operate the same way.
After Starro was taken from their home and tortured for 30 years. Starro became like Waller.
Willing to use others, remove their agency and treat them as resources.
Starro becomes a walking embodiment of imperialism.
Not only gaining control of the people they turn into zombies,
but Starro themself becomes larger and more powerful as more are taken.
While Starro is pushed to this state through fear and mistreatment,
Peacemaker willingly adopts it because it benefits him to do so. He is the perfect soldier for Waller.
Someone who is proud of what they do beyond just being skilled. He adamantly believes in the ideology itself.
[Peacemaker] I cherish peace with all my heart. I don't care how many men, women and children I need to kill to get it.
[Willow] No matter what atrocity he commits, he can tell himself he's doing it for the greater good.
For peace. Peace for who you might ask?
[Thinker, yelling] Yankee fucking doodle dandees!
[Willow] Because it's all that matters to Peacemaker. He embodies nationalism to an extreme.
While Rick Flag embodies a more typical soldier and ignorance. He's signed up thinking he will
serve his country, but when he realizes the truth of what his actions support,
he tries to do the right thing.
[Rick Flag] I joined the military to serve my country not to be its puppet
[Willow] Many of us are probably closer to Rick Flag.
Hopefully not in wanting to serve the military,
but that our ignorance has allowed us to see some groups of people as less.
We won't accept others as expendable without having
some rationalization as to why it's necessary.
Depending on where we live, the media we consume or what social groups we belong to we will receive different messaging.
Sometimes the messaging can be very subtle. But many times it doesn't need to be.
A more direct and extreme example is there are people who will join the military
because they want to be a hero killing "bad guys". But more common is just being provided justification
for why groups of people shouldn't be treated better.
These justifications are enticing because we as individuals can't prevent the harm from happening,
so they comfort us by telling us the systems are fine while simultaneously giving us someone to blame.
Here are just a few examples.
It's easier to portray whole generations as being apathetic and spiteful.
> [Peacemaker] Millenials
[Willow] Rather than acknowledging that they may be struggling for many reasons outside of
their control like rising income inequality, costs in healthcare, housing and education.
It's easier to say people are just lazy rather than ask why
they should be expected to risk their health for wages they can't survive on.
Awful treatment of people in prisons is accepted because they've broken a social contract.
It's harder to ask what to do if society is not upholding its side of the contract
or to acknowledge that they are still people who can change for the better.
We Americans can be especially guilty when it comes to foreign affairs.
Assuming our interventions are often just and ignoring the long history of harm
we have done around the world. Corto Maltese may be a fictional country but there are many countries
especially in South America who have struggled in no small part due to our meddling over the years.
And of course there's the Middle East.
Unfortunately, unless the harm is affecting us personally,
it can be easy to accept these narratives.
[Rick Flag] Holding a gun on me is pretty fucking personal
[Willow] Especially because there's a good chance we benefit when it's not pointed at us.
Those spreading the narratives don't want us to think about who the harm is pointed at.
It benefits them to cut us off from one another because the more we all struggle,
the more easily we can be coerced into doing what they want.
They want us to feel alone.
> [Harley Quinn, singing] I ain't got nobody
[Willow] Connection with others reminds us of our self worth because regardless of how society may treat us
it means there are people we care for or people that care for us.
It's through this connection to others we can find purpose. That what we do matters. That we matter.
That's not to say personal achievements aren't satisfying. It can feel great to accomplish something by ourselves,
but it's not the same if you don't have someone to share those accomplishments with.
And no matter how independent we may feel we still need safety nets and support.
And it certainly doesn't make us less if we need more of either. We are all interdependent in some way.
Sometimes it's easy to forget that because there's so much pressure to be independent.
But in dire situations, we are forced to remember how fragile we really are individually
and come together to protect one another. Interdependence isn't a weakness, it's our strength.
It's through a sense of connection and purpose, we can heal and make something of
even the most shit hands we have been dealt. And together we can make real change that improves the lives of others.
Where alone we would be powerless.
Together we can hold those in power accountable and inspire others to act.
If you look throughout history, you will find many examples of those in power
always trying to keep people down and isolated from one another.
Ruthless tactics would be used to criminalize or breakup any effort to come together.
But the people could never be kept apart forever.
Eventually they would always unite. Because as people we are all leaders.
We are all capable of inspiring one another and bringing people together in our own ways.
Ratcatcher 2 and the others changed Bloodsport. Which then in turn Bloodsport
helped them organize as a team during the fight against Starro to save the day.
People stuck in a mindset like Waller can't comprehend this type of leadership.
To Waller a leader is just someone who can make use of other people.
A person who has been given authority over others. Not someone who works with others.
[Waller] I told you I'd make you a leader DuBois
[Willow] Waller is so desperate to hold on to some sense of authority
after having her butt kicked by her workers she says this as a last ditch effort to take credit for Bloodsport's growth.
But the illusion of her authority has already been broken.
The workers have seen it's possible to lead while still respecting and valuing those
who are willing to give their support. And that any one of them can be a leader at any time.
They didn't need permission to do the right thing. Just to trust that others would join them.
🎶I'll always come through for you
The Suicide Squad felt like a perfect movie for this year.
A film that managed to be fun and over the top while still reminding us
that no matter how ridiculous or messed up our past or present may be we have purpose.
That we shouldn't accept people telling us otherwise.
Who are they to say? They haven't been through what we have.
But there are others out there who share our experiences and will understand.
We can turn to each other for support if we are willing to be vulnerable.
If we are lucky, maybe even make it a little better for others,
so they don't have to go through the same hardships we have.
And perhaps most importantly, we don't need to be perfect.
Sometimes all it takes to make a difference is showing others we care.
[Ratcatcher 2] As imperfect my father was, he loved me. I wish I could give that to you.
[Willow] Thanks for watching and a special thanks to our patrons for all your support!
Take care everyone. And remember, you're not alone.