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Badland

Name: Badland
Director: Francesco Lucente
Released: 2007
Duration: 165 min

Representation Score

4.1/10

Fair

2007

Director

Francesco Lucente

Runtime

165 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Badland is a gritty character study centered on the psychological unraveling of a veteran. It avoids the typical 'heroic' veteran cliché, instead exploring the corrosive effects of institutional failure and personal betrayal. The film successfully deconstructs the sanctity of the traditional nuclear family and Western social contracts. By showing the veteran's return as a descent into poverty and domestic horror, it provides a cynical critique of systemic stability. However, the film lacks attention to multi-layered identities. It remains largely confined to a Western-centric, straight-focused framework, offering little representation for LGBTQ+ or diverse racial groups.

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Category Breakdown

Does Badland have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film focuses on a traditional heterosexual relationship. There are no characters who identify as LGBTQ+, and the story does not challenge the idea that everyone is straight or cisgender.

How does Badland portray gender?

Limited

Nora takes a leading role in the story through her betrayal, but the film still emphasizes a traditional masculine hierarchy. The protagonist's decline highlights the tragic consequences of traditional masculinity.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Badland?

Limited

The story revolves around a specific Western, veteran-focused experience. There is no indication of a diverse cast or exploration of different racial backgrounds within the character arcs.

How does Badland represent religion and culture?

Good

The film questions the effectiveness of government institutions and the social contract. It portrays the family as a place of fear, challenging traditional domestic ideals.

Does Badland include disability representation?

Fair

The protagonist faces psychological trauma, suggesting hidden mental health issues. However, the narrative primarily uses this condition to drive the character's tragic arc.

Present on Screen

Questions the effectiveness of government institutions and the social contract.
Challenges traditional domestic ideals and the sanctity of the nuclear family.
Avoids the typical 'heroic' veteran cliché by focusing on systemic and personal failure.

Limited or Absent

Lacks attention to LGBTQ+ and non-straight identities.
Provides limited racial and ethnic diversity within the main character arcs.
Uses psychological trauma primarily as a plot device rather than a nuanced exploration of mental health.

Official Synopsis

Jerry (Jamie Draven) was an idealist when he served in the first Gulf War. But when he was later deployed to Iraq, Jerry was an older man, a father of three and embittered by broken promises and unfulfilled desires. When Jerry returns from Iraq he has been transformed by horrors that cannot be forgiven. He lives a life of poverty, his children afraid of him and his wife, Nora (Vinessa Shaw), unsympathetic and unhappy. When Jerry discovers that Nora has betrayed him, his anger and despair drive him to commit an act so heinous and irreversible that nothing he had experienced in combat could have prepared him for.

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