Page 1 of 1

Deep Blue Sea: Reevaluating Susan

Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2021 2:17 am
by Winter
When I was a kid I overall loved the movie Deep Blue Sea as it was a film that knew what it was, a dumb fun monster movie, with likeable characters and memorable kills. There was only one issue I had and that was the death of Susan. I never liked that she died at the end as I had come to be invested in her character and, more importantly, her point on Alzheimer is 100% accurate and her story about what happened to her father...

My grandmother died of Alzheimer, it was a long drawn out process that deeply affected by family and to this day it remains my single greatest fear. So, a character who, in her world, found a way to combat Alzheimer was inspiring and amazing and the movie treats her like a monster for wanting to do this. Yes, she is at fault for everything that happens in the film but that doesn't mean her research should be discarded. All the characters call her out on her obsession for wanting to get the cure and in the end the film does everything it can to stack the deck against her, even deleting a scene that showed her in a much better light and had everyone insult her at one point or another.

It's like the whole Baku situation from Star Trek: Insurrection. We're suppose to be against the Sona for wanting to relocate the Baku and harness the planets rings for themselves but the problem is the villains make a good point. Harnessing the planets rings will lead to knew breakthroughs in medicine and will help as the Federation is in a war with the Dominion which it is losing. We're suppose to be against the Sona but in the end they're the ones trying to give the heroes a means to heal millions and all it will cost is relocating a bunch of @$$holes who clearly care more about themselves then anyone else because, well, they have rejected technology therefore they're in the right.

Susan is the same as the Sona, she is offering a means to save millions of lives from a slow and painful disease that ruins lives of everyone involved and yet the film treats her as if everything should be discarded because of the cost.

Now again I should note that Susan is chiefly responsible and for a long time she was the most hated character in the film. In fact she was going to live and was even the one who killed the final shark but test audience hated her so much that apparently some were shouting "Die Bitch" at the finale of the film. But, because of the growing awareness of Alzheimer many have started turn their views around on Susan and do want to see the version where she lived along with the original theatrical cut where she died.

Personally, I would like to see a remake (maybe a TV Miniseries or Video Game) that shows her surviving but heavily wounded AND managing to keep the data she gained intact. Or she does die at the end but the wound she receives is mortal so she gets to know that others will not suffer like her father did. I believe that, if they are willing to work for it, that people should be given a second chance and in a way I do want Susan to be given that chance.

Re: Deep Blue Sea: Reevaluating Susan

Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2021 5:44 am
by McAvoy
Deep Blue Sea was a nice movie to watch once. Maybe it came TV I may rewatch it.

It felt like a combo Shark movie mixed with science gone wrong.

I do actually remember watching it thinking it felt similar to Alien Resurrection.

Re: Deep Blue Sea: Reevaluating Susan

Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2021 8:05 pm
by Mabus
Because she used junk science to probably find a cure for Alzheimers.
I say probably, because unlike in the film, the real cause of Alzheimers is the build-up of plaques in the brain, so what she achieved there would not be very effective for treating Alzheimers, maybe it might work for dementia or brain damage. Also, sharks can get cancer and other similar diseases.
She literally had the sharks illegally genetically modified so she could get more brain mass, meaning that her entire research is sketchy, meaning there's no way for someone else to independently check her results without breaking the law as well (or accidentally killing a lot of people), or to even confirm the validity of the results, given that they weren't produced in a scientific way, meaning her entire research can be thrown away. She did literally everything a scientist should not do. And got almost everybody killed as well.
If you ever heard of a guy named Alexander Shulgin, you might have learnt that his entire work involved researching (and testing on himself) dozens of various psychoactive substances, and while he had a DEA Schedule I license to research such compounds, which was eventually revoked in 1994, most of his work was borderline legal, and his the bulk of his research involved his personal experience with his psychoactive compounds, which leans more into anecdote territory than real science. So apart from inspiring other researchers to develop designer drugs, most of his work can't be considered real science. At least he didn't get anyone else killed, unlike Susie.
So no, doing illegal research, relying on junk science, producing questionable irreproducible results, in a setting without even bare minimum safety measures (is it so hard to tie down that damn shark?) all done with a skeleton crew, most of which get killed due to your carelessness and obsession, does not make you a better character, regardless of what you're trying to obtain.

Re: Deep Blue Sea: Reevaluating Susan

Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2021 8:37 pm
by Thebestoftherest
Plus it hard to see someone who do test on animal as the good guy, and the fact everyone who die was her fault yeah she kinda had it coming.