Harmony Korine and the Attack on Spring Breakers

By: Emily

Graphic made by Emily

When people come into the movie theaters and ask me what movie is good that's playing right now, there's only one movie that I can give them without lying: Spring Breakers. While I was filling their extra large bag of salty buttery diabetes, I asked someone what film they were going to see. They said they were seeing my current favorite. When I replied telling them I loved the movie, they said surprisingly, "Really? I heard it was terrible!" Needless to say, they were not alone. I asked friends and coworkers their opinion on the film and they all seemed to agree that they hated it.

"How?!" I asked, aghast. Even after they gave me a response, I still needed to know more.

How. How?!

Before I get ahead of myself, let me explain a little bit about the film itself. Selena Gomez's character Faith begins the movie saying "I'm so tired of seeing the same thing every single day. Everyone's miserable here because everybody sees the same things...This is more than just Spring Break. It's our chance to see something different."

The film looks like a music video and feels like a roller coaster. It's wild, erotic, and uncomfortable all covered in a neon pink face mask.

I think my main problem is that the film was not advertised properly. People went into it expecting to see Disney stars being slutty, and while they were satisfied to some extent, that's not what the film was about. It's not a stupid comedy, nor is it a romantic drama. It is a film that can't be categorized. If you passively sit there and watch the endless montage of boobs and weed, you might enjoy it on the surface, but if you think about it, there is a context, and a deeper meaning. The film's director, Harmony Korine, strategically planned every aspect of the film--from the color of the girls' bathing suits to what type of grillz were in James Franco's mouth.

If you've never seen a Harmony Korine film, you really don't know what you were getting yourself into when seeing Spring Breakers. The man has a very gritty and downright dirty filmmaking style. Check out these two clips from some of his films just for a general idea: One and Two.

Pretty fucking weird, right? This isn't uncharacteristic of Spring Breakers.

The thing that I love about Harmony Korine is that there are no other films out there like his. No other movies seem to capture the genuine horrors of being rebellious and a little off your rocker. These disturbing images do more than just shock the viewer; In the context of Spring Breakers, they also are used to discuss a bigger social and psyvhological issue at hand.

Two weeks ago I left Spring Breakers breathing heavily and dragging my feet out of the theaters. It was a journey and it's not for the faint of heart. I truly did not know what the fuck I witnessed. And I loved every minute of it.