Bought it on 4K blu-ray and enjoyed the movie for it's unique visuals, asthetics of the 60's feel, performances and all. Yet on another viewing at home, I agree it was a beautiful movie but one big problem about the relationship of Elsie and Asset.
Now i see nothing wrong with outside human race/outside species romance of human X furry, human X xeno, human X cyborg and human X mutant romance of two different intelligent beings who can communication with languages and all in fiction.
I mean Hatton Slaydens amazing artworks of human males romancing/consenting with furry/xeno/mutant/transformers looking cyborg females, Bojack Horseman (Even Kyle and Charolette a human male who romanced a deer furry woman as they produced 2 kids and got married), Wolf Children (the parents of the kids being a wolf man and a human woman), Beast and Carly on the X-men animated series episode Beauty and the Beast, Catherine and Vincent in the 80s Ron Perlman starring Beauty and the Beast TV show (Who remembers that show?), Cathy and Matt on Alien Nation, Marvel comicss Hepzibah and Corsair, Eliza and Goliath on Gargoyles, Mass Effect, Skyrim, Hellboy and Liz, Swamp Thing and Abigale Arcane, Vinnie and Charlene on Biker Mice from Mars, Vastra and Jenny on Doctor Who, Regular Show (Skips and Mona to Margarets parents), Star Wars, Star Trek, An orc woman and a human man who fell in love/married/reproduced a hybrid child to a half-ogre/half human woman romancing a human male in Warcraft the movie, Rachel and Deckar in Blade Runner (Android and human), Eliza and Goliath on Gargoyles etc. all have consenting intelligent adults.
As i dont consider human x xeno, human x furry, human X cyborg and human X mutant romance as beastailty (which is almost like they said in the slavery being legal times and colonial times of mixing ethnicity) as me and one of my favorite artists Hatton Slayden believe in stories that cyborgs, xenos, furries and mutants arent always the inferior beings mainstream media would portray as but to me and him they are people who are and look different metaphorically. Its xenophilia actually and theres nothing wrong with two consenting adults who are different beings from other worlds, can speak different languages, have similar DNA, same parts like us/body structure even breasts to all that, high intelligence and all that even capable to have children. To me beastality if its someone who a person whether they are human, furry, xeno or mutant screwing an ordinary regular pet store animal as its a thing that cannot consent as humanoids have pheromones in their bodies to make different looking humanoids attracted to them like regular human, furry, xeno or mutant people. Earth humans, xenos, furries, cyborgs and mutants can all consent to each other as they all belong in the word humanoid and share intellect, similar DNA and all that.
And those examples from shows/movie fiction i mentioned are done better right folks? do you think the xeno in this movie could had spoke a weird backwords sounding tribal language to prove he is an intelligent being who isnt a pet or animal as no one can understand what he is saying as Elsie has telepathy and can read/translate what he is saying. Even with her doing telepathic communication with the xeno man to talk to each other in brains even when he is reading her lips of mouth-wording then show he is very intelligent humanoid being with similar intellect with no just roaring/growling, him telling his history of being an alien being who came to earth years ago to become a god of a tribe he saw their culture on earth in the jungle even seeing them make art and music, him having a girlfriend before she died in his history, appreciating pets without eating them but treat them kind like he does with the animals in the jungle he lived in, wanting to learn how to cook as he saw some people of the tribe who worship him cooked but is curious to wanting to dance since he learned from tribal people but wants to learn like civilized people in cities do even for consent to want to have love if he truly loves her? even she can help Giles what xeno is saying as she can do sign language to Giles even write down on paper what Xeno is saying in his weird language?? those would had made the situation avoid the beastiality stigma?
Im saying all those examples i mentioned like the 80s Beauty and the Beast TV show to Vastra and Jenny on Doctor Who are much better than presented in this movie on the relationship which hardly felt like a relationship as i enjoyed this movie for its visuals/performances to other things but the huge problem felt the relationship is crass/hardly worked as the xeno should had been more human level intelligent with a different language plus if the mute was psychic she could communicate with him as he could talk with her plus have consent as it wouldnt feel so crass because those examples of human romancing with furries, xenos, mutants and cyborgs i mentioned are consenting mature adults with same intelligence level.
The problem i have with the creature is he still is very animalistic and simple in intelligence, it had a child-like mind and didnt act like a human adult with human level intelligence even speech. i mean if he an Abe Sapien type, Bojack Horseman type or even Mass Effect xeno male type of xeno, Id be totally down. In this, it felt to me like she was somehow either doing something akin to bestiality, or taking advantage of a man-like creature with a childs mind or with a pet store animal or a mentally handicapped man.
I mean if he was human level intelligent even with a different language even with human emotions, feelings even for love, consent, learning sign language even to cook and all, id accept it and it would be a unique love story of a highly intelligent on human level humanoid xeno aqua man who speaks a different language while having a human mute girlfriend who is psychic that can translate what he says to have conversations with their minds even when she mouth-words while having telepathic communications besides sign language then it would had been more like Guess Whos Coming to Dinner (with a highly intelligent humanoid xeno and human woman instead of a black man and a white woman) instead of trying to be Free Willy if the rescuing fellows screwed the whale.
Abe Sapien and his elf lover is done better as both are highly intelligent mature consenting adult beings as Abe feels more human than the asset in this movie. for Shape of Water i felt squickness on the so-called "romance" as SOW felt like as Gorillas can be taught sign language too but if Dian Fossey banged the gorillas in Gorillas in the Mist that would had not been very good. Despite the awkward crass stuff in SOW, i enjoyed the rest of the film no doubt.
ImmortalfireThe Vectorman
I bet the MPAA didn't like that at all.
