WINM Forums :: The Films of Keanu Reeves :: The Private Lives of Pippa Lee

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The Private Lives of Pippa Lee
allhailkingjack
2014-07-18 11:30


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Thanks for letting me know, Anakin.
Anakin McFly
2014-07-18 11:33

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@Bliss - meanwhile, Jack said "my Caucasian-based ignorance", so it was clear that it was directed at herself (and was in regards specifically to the 'Asian ethnicity' comment, not the movie).
Bliss
2014-07-18 11:58


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Wrong, Jack ( with your paper Burger King crown). You never answered my question, you did respond as if Caucasian people are handicapped? oh, wait maybe that was just YOU not knowing how to think or express yourself? Crazy!

P.S. You are wasting my time also...you are dismissed crazy crown.

allhailkingjack
2014-07-18 12:20


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It didn't occur to me that you were asking where I'm literally from, as that wouldn't tell you anything about my (ALLEGED) race or ethnicity. Surely you wouldn't make assumptions about someone's racial or ethnic makeup based on his or her geographic roots, would you?


crazy crown

Sweet! I'll take one in platinum, please.

Bliss
2014-07-18 12:43


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No, Jack I didn't literally ask. It did strike me odd the way you spoke of being white, as if it left you dumbfounded how to relate with others?!? That was my hot spot and the point I didn't see why the whole topic would matter in this movie.

Oh!! One platinum crown coming right up... Be careful for what you wish for, I will be the designer! Ha

Anakin McFly
2014-07-18 13:18

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It did strike me odd the way you spoke of being white, as if it left you dumbfounded how to relate with others?!? That was my hot spot

That's understandable. But from what I see, Jack was just trying to be sensitive (in a self-deprecating way) in case her line about Keanu's Asian ethnicity being emphasised came out as offensive. The 'ignorance' was thus in regards to that, because in general, white people (particularly in white-dominant societies) are less aware of racial issues than racial minorities, not out of fault or stupidity but because they're not forced to deal with it as much as racial minorities do. It's the same with how men are less aware of gender issues than women, and rich people less aware of poverty issues than poor people, and so on. It doesn't mean they're bad or stupid, but just that they come from circumstances where they don't struggle with those things, which leads to the ignorance - which isn't bad in itself.

Peace.

MmeRenard
2014-07-18 19:36


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Anakin, this is the more appropriate thread. There are posts here, some removed, some edited, that do not pertain to Keanu or his films.

I do think that everyone has bias. We like to think of ourselves as "nice people" but we all come from a cultural context. On Twitter, the Santa Barbara murders quickly and incomprehensibly devolved into racial stereotypes and "you can't understand because you're white" stuff.
There are things that I cannot directly understand because I AM white, but mostly, I'm a person. I think that is what Jack was trying to convey, or that's how I understood it.

My personal opinion is that Hawaiian is pretty Asian, although it's my understanding that Keanu is more Chinese than Hawaiian. I've also seen that argued both ways. I don't much care, because he is just wonderful.

MmeRenard
2014-07-18 19:41


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Pippa Lee!

I don't love the film overall. I love Keanu's performance. Robin Wright is appropriately brittle and interesting. I agree with Jack about the whole fetish thing, really did not like Maria Bello or Blake Lively, and I found the flashbacks somewhat annoying. I get that it's all aspects of Pippa's life that have made her who she is. I guess I have some trouble with "dramedy."

allhailkingjack
2014-07-18 19:57


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But from what I see, Jack was just trying to be sensitive (in a self-deprecating way) in case her line about Keanu's Asian ethnicity being emphasised came out as offensive.


I think that is what Jack was trying to convey, or that's how I understood it.

These were my intentions, yes. I really do want to say/think the right thing; I just don't always know what that is.


I don't love the film overall. I love Keanu's performance.

What I've grown to love about his acting is that he's always presenting something new, which is really intriguing. I watched the whole movie once and ever since, all I do is skip to the Chris scenes. Except the one in the van, which has actually become kind of tough to watch. Sometimes actors create such a strong emotional connection onscreen that I feel voyeuristic watching it, and this is a good example of that. I do appreciate its larger emotional meaning and significance to Pippa and to the story generally, though.

MmeRenard
2014-07-18 20:06


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I fondly remember a time when people could disagree, quite strongly, in this forum and still be respectful. There are recent posts in this thread that have nothing to do with the film and are simply poking at a new-ish poster who made a long, elegant post about Pippa Lee. I seriously wonder why some people are here. If someone isn't here to discuss Keanu's films and or doesn't like Keanu, perhaps they could find somewhere else on the internets that is of more interest.
[section above moved to this more appropriate thread and edited]

Yes, Jack, the scene in the van does feel voyeuristic (although wonderful at the same time) and its weight is emotionally wrenching. That is extraordinary acting and direction.

LucaM
2014-07-18 21:01


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In my case, reading the book helped a lot to understand the film better. There are a lot more details about Pippa's childhood and teen years and inner thoughts which could not be included in the movie due to time and narrative restrictions.

It's the story of a woman who tried too hard all her life to fit in, to please others, to fulfill expectations... until she couldn't anymore. Until she had to find herself, and be herself.

Bliss
2014-07-19 05:24


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Well put, LucaM.

I can relate with Pippa, I really can. I am not so sure about leaving with Chris though. I thought the huge Jesus tat was awful, his personality was not that great. I only watched it once over a year ago though, who knows?

Trinity
2014-07-19 05:27


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Well, I think I need to clarify some details here...

allhailkingjack:


Please enlighten me. Did I use the wrong word or phrase? Is it incorrect or offensive to mention "Asian" in reference to someone of mixed ethnicity (which I know he is)? I wasn't trying at all to insult or demean his looks, ethnic heritage, or anything else. To me, he's handsome as hell and always has been.

No, not offensive - not at all, so please don't worry... It was more like a funny note for me, but I might be wrong.

I just thougt that "Asian" refers to Asian people, that's all. That can be my ignorance since everybody here seems to agree that Keanu _is_ Asian and "Asian" really means "mixed ethnicity" (of anything). I am not a native English speaker - as you can see - and this is something totally new for me (and not too logical, to be honest).

But again, do we talk about Hawaii, don't we? And Hawaii is _not_ in Asia, am I right? As Wikipedia says:


Hawaii is the most recent of the 50 U.S. states and joined the Union on August 21, 1959. It is the only U.S. state located in Oceania and the only one made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean.

Or shouldn't I look for any sense here? :-)

And YES, he IS handsome as hell :-)))

LucaM
2014-07-19 05:41


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Yeah, the tat was awful. It was also a reminder of a bad decision - but also of his willingness to go all the way and over the top with everything in his life. No half-measures, not for Chris.

Also, in Pippa's own words, they weren't riding into the sunset, she just wanted to know what could happen next. Maybe they parted ways after one week. No-one knows, except the writer.

Trinity
2014-07-19 05:51


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(Sorry, it's me again in the middle of a chat...part 2)

MmeRenard:


My personal opinion is that Hawaiian is pretty Asian, although it's my understanding that Keanu is more Chinese than Hawaiian.

I know that this is offtopic again - but Chinese? Do you mean that he looks like a Chinese person? Not important at all, just wondering, of course.


I fondly remember a time when people could disagree, quite strongly, in this forum and still be respectful. There are recent posts in this thread that have nothing to do with the film and are simply poking at a new-ish poster who made a long, elegant post about Pippa Lee. I seriously wonder why some people are here. If someone isn't here to discuss Keanu's films and or doesn't like Keanu, perhaps they could find somewhere else on the internets that is of more interest.

:-))) Did you mean me, for example? If so, sorry if I seem to be not that respectful...but I am Trinity and I don't respect too many people.

...but you maybe misunderstand me here. "Defending Keanu", remember? I seriously don't want to harm anyone and hope that you also detected the smileys in my previous posts. As for this film, I wrote about it earlier, you are welcome to read all my posts.

And believe me, I love Keanu. I do :-)

allhailkingjack
2014-07-19 05:56


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I'm not so sure things would work out w/Chris in the long run either, but I completely understand Pippa wanting to give it a shot. I think the movie does a good job of showing that for all his flaws, Chris is an emotional safe space. She can't lie to him any more than he can to her, and after twenty years of lies that's exactly what she needs. He's also willing to put her needs ahead of his own, as evidenced by the remarkable fact that he took care of her physically and emotionally in the van without asking anything in return. None of which is a guarantee, but I think it's enough to justify Pippa's "seeing what happens." :)
LucaM
2014-07-19 06:01


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Chris is an emotional safe space.

That's the character in one sentence :)
Thanks for summing it up so well.

MmeRenard
2014-07-19 08:48


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Trinity, I was not referring to you although there have been a couple of posts where I was not entirely sure of your intent. I could easily be mistaken. There was another poster here who was not talking about the movie and that is the person to whom I was specifically referring.

"Asian" "Chinese" "Hawaiian"??? I'd heard all three used to describe Keanu's ethnicity, but I don't actually know anything for a fact. My godmother was Chinese and lived in Honolulu - some would call her Hawaiian but she certainly thought of herself as Chinese. Her family fled China during the cultural revolution.

Very well said, Jack. Chris is there for her in a non-demanding way - I feel like however their relationship works out, he will be a friend to her, something she's never seemed to have.

Anakin McFly
2014-07-19 18:29

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My personal opinion is that Hawaiian is pretty Asian, although it's my understanding that Keanu is more Chinese than Hawaiian.

Thanks to Keanu, I've ended up looking up quite a lot of stuff on Hawaiian people; from what I understand, the native Hawaiian race has both Polynesian and Asian (including Japanese!) roots, but all of it in different mixtures because it's a very ethnically diverse country.

From Wikipedia, the Hawaiian population = 25% white, 39% Asian, 24% mixed, and the rest black, native, or other races. So there's a lot of inter-racial marrying going on that makes it harder to separate out the individual races. Most early sources on Keanu described his father as Chinese-Hawaiian, with the hyphen rather than a slash, so it's possible that their family is ethnically Chinese but Hawaiian in geography. Although his family mostly have Hawaiian names, with the last Chinese name from many, many generations ago; and the Reeves name comes from Keanu's great-grandfather, who was a white American who moved to Hawaii and married a native.


That can be my ignorance since everybody here seems to agree that Keanu _is_ Asian and "Asian" really means "mixed ethnicity" (of anything).

No, you were right initially - Asian refers to Asian people, not mixed ethnicity, and Keanu is part Asian, so he has Asian ethnicity (as well as Caucasian etc ethnicity).


Yeah, the tat was awful. It was also a reminder of a bad decision

I bet Conor talked him into it.

MmeRenard
2014-07-19 19:05


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ha ha ha. I totally believe Conor could and would do that.

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