Hey uh. Something about the religious trauma themes in Nimona. the "it goes against the word of Gloreth". The ancient scrolls used as justification for murder and destruction of everything different to yourselves, when the tale of Gloreth has been changed and corrupted so much over time that it has changed the complexity of what truly happened/ is no longer relevant or useful. The visual similarities between the swords of the knights and the crucifix. Used to injure and maim the 'villain', who is actually the misunderstood and shunned hero who will come back and save the sinners who shunned them. Ballister telling the director that she can have the sword, he's not interested in crucifying, dropping the sword again when he finally sees and accepts Nimona at the end of the film. ANYWAY
My favorite part of Nimona's narrative queerness is the dichotomy of the trans experience and the cis gay experience explored in Nimona and Ballister's relationship. They're both queer people villains, but Nimona's villainy is seen as more innate, while Ballister's is something he can escape. Nimona is trans a "monster," but he is just a victim of circumstances who can reclaim a powerful position. Nimona goes to him as a fellow queer person villain, but finds that Ballister has just as many judgements to unpack and insensitive questions to ask as other people, though he is more willing to do the work. I saw so much of the community dynamics of trans and cis people in queer spaces in this. Outsiders think we're exactly the same, but internally many cis people either don't care for uniquely trans struggles or want to distance themselves from us completely.
The thing about Nimona (the movie) is, as you begin to watch, you think the knights have been fighting off monsters, like, regularly. That if not the last few generations, than at least a 200, 400 years ago, right? They've built the wall and they've made the Mega Destructive Canons, and an 1000 years worth of (possibly a tad inbred) Knights trained to fight monsters, and you think, well, they must have USED them
And as the movie goes on you realise, people haven't just never seen a monster in recent memory, the Kingdom has never seen a monster At All.
Gloreth was a child, she turned on her friend because her parents told her to. Nimona left after Gloreth turned her sword on her. She "defeated" the monster.
Gloreth's home was destroyed by the foolishness and hatred of the adults around her, but she was raised to believe it was her friend's doing. Her memory of the event was probably twisted by this narrative, until she remembered it as the little girl turning into a fire breathing monster (Nimona never actually turns into anything that looks like that dragon image in the scroll)
Then, raised to believe she'd been the hero, told over and over again that her positive memories of Nimona were lies, Gloreth grew up hating "monsters"
But she never actually fought them. Her knights never fought them.
No one did.
Because the monsters never existed
The way Nimona said transphobia is the real danger to society by having the main villain literally point a cannon at a crowd of civilians to kill a “monster” who only lashed out because that society couldn’t accept that she only wanted to be loved for who she was in all her many facets.
what’s fucked up is the well was still there
it’s been 1000 years, a whole technologically advanced kingdom built up around it - the story so mythologised and exaggerated that the well itself only has significance to Nimona at this point, yet as dilapidated as it was, it hadn’t been covered up or replaced, just left to rot at the heart of it all
in terms of symbolism, in that moment to Nimona it represents that in 1000 years nothing has changed
Releasing Nimona on the last day of pride month 2023 was such a great move because it’s a really needed piece of media right now. Lots of countries that legalised gay marriage years ago have been grappling with this rising TERF narrative of “if you’re gay it’s whatever but if you’re trans, non-binary or gender non-conforming in some way you’re a PERVERT! A MONSTER trying to GROOM CHILDREN!” The outrage against simple things like pronouns and drag events, and the movement against gender affirming healthcare have reached a terrifying peaks for contemporary times.
So a kid’s movie set in a fictional country with controlling government officials with personal agendas, with an openly gay couple but also a shape-shifting kid who cannot even be afford to be out is our reality in the US today. Nimona’s feelings about her vibe, body and form, her insistence that she is only “Nimona” no matter what she looks like and her aversion to “small-minded questions” together forms such a beautiful allegory about trans, genderfluid individuals.
Ballister asks her to be a girl, but for whose sake? It’s only for the comfort of people who refuse to understand her, and would rather see her die than let her be herself. And it’s this widespread rejection and loneliness that has eventually made Nimona indifferent to pain, that makes her feel suicidal.
In the end, it is another member of the LGBTQ+ community that truly sees and accepts Nimona for who she is. And that should be a reminder that we cannot let them divide us. Trans people stood up for the rest of us and made historical change happen, and we need to do the same for them. Besides, cis queer people are only the “good ones” until they’re done with trans people and then will turn on us.
i swear i dont make a habit of screenshoting tweets but i cant get over him-
i would die for secret hidden hobie "B"
oh i should prolly link to this, op explains why a second hobie was necessary.
...no it doesn't? I'm still confused. Where is Hobie A's guitar?! Why does he need Hobie B's instrument?
Nimona hits different when you realize that it's never stated if there ARE actually any other 'monsters' like Nimona, in fact, the opposite is implied.
The movie seems to hint that, well, Nimona is the only one, which- holy fuck, that means every commercial about killing monsters, every campaign against them, every single lie the history books have turned into truth...
It's all just in reference to her.
there's just something about the way ballister was also openly different and "other" but thought if he did things the right way, if he upheld the Institute and was simply "good enough" then it would protect him too
only it didn't. he'd thought he'd proven himself to be "one of the good ones" and could trust it, and he was lucky enough to be favored by the queen, but people never thought he belonged and turned on him as soon as he was a convenient scapegoat. the system was never on his side and he didn't realize until it was too late
nimona’s shadow form.
the fact that it did no more damage than cracking sidewalk. the fact that every flame and explosion was caused by the people attacking her. the fact that it let every wound mark it even though she can heal instantly. the fact that it’s always coming apart at the seams. the fact that every time you hear it roar, there’s the sound of a human screaming in agony. the fact that she wailed when she saw the tv screen of children egging on her death. the fact that it is black and white, and there is no red, no more nimona left. the fact that she crawled through fire and pain, slumping with exhaustion and body betraying her, so that she could die. the fact that this was the second time she had summoned it. the fact that the only show of courage she was confronted with in her final moments was people throwing rocks at her. the fact that she lay there, so tired, but still dragged herself up just to end it. the fact that the last time she planned on revealing her heart, it was to the sword point. the fact that out of all the ways to die, she wanted to die by the blade of her first friend, and the first person who taught her hate. as if she wished it had ended all than.
I mean, if the only person I ever loved suddenly said 'sike', pointed a sword at my face and built an entire culture/institution devoted to hunting me down, generating a society built specifically to ostracize me, I, too, would be a little violent
Love how a character can say she's not a girl, be genderfluid in the text, answer every question about what she is by reinforcing she is who she calls herself, and people talk about it being subtext or coding... Like what does it take for something to be openly queer to you? Does a character have to turn to the camera and say "I am transgender"?