Talk:Stratosphere Girl

chop chop
The following is the original article. I deleted quite a bit due to POV issues. I put what I edited or deleted in double parenthesis, along with notes. The copyedit tag/NPOV tag could be removed if everyone is satisfied.

(BEGIN) This film is about a Belgian teenager, Angela, who is skilled at drawing. Encouraged by an attractive Japanese DJ she meets and subsequently falls in love with, she goes to Japan to work at an exclusive club for rich businessmen, who like to meet with young blonde women.

((The story is a comment on the way in which people react and what shapes their existence.))(DELETED POV)

From the start, the film is very surreal with unique characters, clear and sharp cinematography, slow panning camerawork. Manga drawings are used to enhance the plot and ambience. ((Added to this, is the completely alien culture of rich Japanese businessmen who gather together in bizarre clubs to associate with blonde English speaking darlings.))(DELETED POV)(plus it's already been stated she is in Japan among businessmen)

Angela seeks work at the aforementioned club, and after having been begrudgingly let in, she is met with derision by the other girls working there. However soon she proves to be a favourite among the patrons. ((From the luck of the fight that got her employed as a worker at the club, through to her reactions and behaviour &mdash; the way she, despite spurning some of the other girls for acting like hussies and bitches, pretends to be a Lolita-style 15-year-old to please the businessmen;))(EDITED) ((the idea shown is that which questions the way people react to situations, and why.))(DELETED POV)

((The main plot is of a sinister undertone of the possibility of murder of the girl [Larissa] whom Angela replaced. As the film goes on we learn that Larissa was instead, not supposedly murdered by Japanese men in search of sick sexual fantasy fulfillment, but at the envious and jealous hands of her workmates.))(EDITED) ((Here again, the question is raised: why do people act the way they do? What inspired the violence that resulted in the stabbing of Larissa? What circumstances cause such responses?))(DELETED POV)

In the last scenes we learn however, that Larissa lives, furthermore this is when Angela is heralded with the contract to be a Manga artist. ((This adds to the surreal situation of what happened. The whole story seems to be of darkness, depravity, and the depth of the human state; that is, what makes us, us. The overwhelming feeling of seedy Japanese businessmen, the illegal and alien idea of importing the women at the encouragement of the Japanese DJ boy; these show the surreal nature of what is going on. This enhances the concept of what is real and what isn't, what makes us who we are, and it raises all sorts of philosophical questions about the nature of humanity.))(DELETED POV) (END)

Brina700 05:18, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

"we"
This article is written, I believe from a western perspective. I think it's inappropriate to say "Added to this, is the completely alien culture of rich Japanese businessmen who gather together in bizarre clubs to associate with blonde English speaking darlings. This is so completely foreign to us (western cultures) that we cannot understand why it is happening." I assume that rich Japanese businessmen understand it fine. I can't change it, because I haven't seen the movie, but someone should eliminate the cultural bias. Thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 18.239.6.57 (talk • contribs)

oops
sorry, just noticed the "neutral point of view" tag. I guess it'll be taken care of (I hope) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 18.239.6.57 (talk • contribs)

heralded?
"Angela is heralded with the contract to be a Manga artist."

Is that how it's done in Japan? They "herald' people with contracts? Someone who has seen the film, please inject some sanity into this, by mentioning whether Angela shows an interest in drawing or manga at any time before she gets "heralded." And find a better way to say that she becomes a manga artist. Bustter (talk) 09:08, 22 August 2009 (UTC)


 * There is no sanity to inject; the movie intercuts between reality, flashbacks, flashforwards, Angela's fantasies (including romantic and erotic fantasies featuring DJ Yamamoto), various versions of what happened to Larissa as told by the girls or dramatized by Angela in graphic novel form, etc. The movie ends as follows: the girls take Angela to a party in the very same house in which Larissa was supposedly killed.  She is forced to inhale from some sort of bong; the viewer is led to believe that she will be raped or murdered while passed out.  She wakes up unmolested the next morning, and while walking through the house, encounters Larissa, bandaged but very much alive and seemingly happy with her lot.  She walks away smiling and makes for the front door, but a bodyguard bars her way.  She turns around and is confronted by Yamamoto, who shows her a big parchment-like piece of paper with Japanese writing and the word CONTRACT in bold letters at the top, and an elderly Japanese businessman, who offers her a briefcase full of cash.  Cut to Angela sitting at a desk in a nicely decorated attic, drawing the last couple of scenes, while Yamamoto lounges on a deck chair in the garden outside.   Angela writes “THE END” under the last drawing.  Credits roll over soft-focus footage of Angela dancing, wearing white panties and a white undershirt, in the completely white love hotel room where she had (possibly imaginary) sex with Yamamoto earlier in the movie.  DES (talk) 22:18, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

No Problems with POV? But Serious Issues
The POV issues seem to be resolved, so I think we can remove the dispute tag. However, the plot summary may be one of the most confusing articles I have ever read. I will remove the POV tag shortly if no one objects, but I am also adding the Cleanup-film tag to the summary.

Copyvio
I reverted three edits by which added a massive amount of text copied from the film's official site, consisting mostly of biographies of the main cast and crew. DES (talk) 14:56, 19 February 2014 (UTC)