The exact moment ‘Suicide Squad’ fails Harley Quinn is in the new trailer

DC Films came out swinging yesterday. Two new Facebook pages dropped ahead of The CW’s special about the upcoming DC Cinematic Universe line-up.

From the first footage of “Wonder Woman” to a look at the finalized Justice League team, DC did not disappoint. But the crown jewel was the new trailer for “Suicide Squad,” which showcased more of how the team will interact with each other. It also showed how the movie version of Dr. Harleen Quinzel will become Harley Quinn, if you knew what to look for.

The only problem is, it’s the wrong origin.

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR “SUICIDE SQUAD” BEYOND THIS POINT.

It’s no secret that I’ve been really hard on “Suicide Squad.” But it’s not because I WANT to hate it. Quite the contrary. I want to love it! Harley Quinn is one of my favorite superhero characters. She’s complex and troubled and very, very human. But “Suicide Squad” has rebuffed me — and many other female fans — at every turn. “This isn’t for you,” it practically screams, as Harley bends over to pick up a trinket, the camera focused squarely on her booty shorts. Every woman in this film save for Amanda Waller is scantily dressed for no good reason. I’ve already gone over what an egregious example Enchantress is: whether you think she’s sexy or scary, she’s definitely never worn anything that skimpy. For some reason, Katana’s armor has been traded out for a midriff baring top. And Harley is once again regulated to something from a prepubescent boy’s dream. You can thank Arkham Asylum for that particular legacy.

Meanwhile, the men are dressed to the nines, with El Diablo showing the most skin. Even KILLER CROC — who is usually lucky to wear a pair of ripped pants — is fully clothed.

But I held out a sliver of hope. Looks can be deceiving. A movie catering to the male gaze can still have really good female characters. Then the full length trailer dropped last night and the origin of Harley Quinn alluded to in the Comic-Con trailer last year was confirmed. And that hope died.

Image Credit: Warner Bros./DC Films

The above screenshot is immediately preceded by the Joker jumping into the vat of chemicals. Those tendrils of color are his clothes being eaten off as he fishes Harley Quinn from the toxic sludge. The toxic sludge he threw her into as the film is obviously taking a page from Harley’s reboot origin from the New 52. In SUICIDE SQUAD #7 — from May of 2012 — Harley’s transformative origin was unveiled, explaining her bleached white skin and two-tone hair. It was a severe departure from her first origin, and a far inferior one due to one factor: it removed Harley’s agency. In other words,  it took her choices out of her hands and put them in the Joker’s.

Image Credit: DC Entertainment

Harley Quinn first appeared in “Batman: The Animated Series.” From her first line in 1992 — “It is to laugh, huh, Mr. J?” — Harley captured the imaginations of Batman fans everywhere. What was meant to be a walk-on role turned out to be the beginnings of a iconic character. By 1994, creators Paul Dini and Bruce Timm had created a background for Harley. How did she meet the Joker? What kind of woman would fall in love with a psychopath? Dr. Harleen Quinzel, psychiatrist, that’s who. The answer was surprising in its normality.

Any two-bit criminal can throw a person into a vat of chemicals and create a super-villainous side kick. What was simmering between the Joker and Harley was more complex than that. Her origin comic MAD LOVE — based on her cartoon character and drawn in the same art style — even got the Dini treatment in the 1999 cartoon episode of the same name in “The New Adventure of Batman.” Ostensibly, Dr. Harleen Quinzel went into psychiatry in part to discover why her abusive, con man father did the things she did. The Joker used her past and her personality against her to garner sympathy and admiration. It’s a classic case of an abuser grooming his mark, luring her in an subtlety testing the boundaries to see what she’ll tolerate. Over time, the ante is upped until you have the Joker LITERALLY trying to kill his girlfriend.

This doesn’t mean Harley Quinn is a pushover. She chooses to become a supervillain. And there’s the rub. She CHOOSES it. It isn’t foisted on her against her will. Harley’s smart and tough, yet vulnerable and damaged. Yes, Harley’s relationship with the Joker is abusive. Part of her relatability is her dichotomy of being a bad ass and making terrible choices. The cartoon never shied away from it. “My puddin’s a little rough sometimes, but he loves me really,” Harley lamented in one episode, but her heart wasn’t in her words. It’s a supervillainous metaphor for how anyone can find themselves inexplicably with a partner that abuses them. This humanity is what many fans relate to. In a Vulture article about Harley’s legacy, Tara Strand may have summed the character up best:

“There weren’t a lot of female characters at the time like her who were so human and unique and refreshing and weird, and not just sexy […] Feminism is about showing women as fully fleshed out human beings, and that’s what Harley is. She doesn’t make choices that are smart or good for a woman, but she gets to make those choices. Men are allowed to be fuck-ups in all kinds of characters, and women aren’t. We have to be idealized. She gets to not be.”

Harley only begins to pull away from the Joker when he can no longer isolate her from the outside world. In “Batman: The Animated Series,” Harley befriends Poison Ivy during a heist gone wrong. It’s through Ivy that Harley Quinn becomes more than human. Ivy uses her knowledge of plant toxins to inject Harley — with her permission — with a serum that makes Harley immune to toxins and poisons, as well as enhances her agility and speed. The friendship does wonders for Harley’s self-esteem and would luckily carry over to the New 52 comics as Ivy helps Harley move past Joker to have her own life again. Harley dives into finding herself again — from starting a gang to helping stray animals to getting back into psychiatry — over a year after her rebooted origin.

Before the video game “Batman: Arkham Asylum” decided Harley needed to be sexier, she and Poison Ivy even made a great team in putting gross dudes in their place. Of course, the descent of Harley Quinn from feminine yet assertive woman to deranged sexpot is a completely different article.

But all of Harley Quinn’s power is wiped away with the New 52 — and now “Suicide Squad” — origin. Dr. Harleen Quinzel isn’t a three-dimensional supervillain with a complex personality and layered motivations. She no longer chose to be a villain. She no longer chose to alter her genetic code to become more dangerous. She no longer even chose Joker of her own free will. By having Joker forcibly convert his psychiatrist into his girlfriend, Harley is stripped of her personality, her flaws, and her ability to make her own choices, as toxic as they are.

“Suicide Squad” might have Harley Quinn, but I wish they had Dr. Harleen Quinzel instead.

[UPDATE: 1/20/16]: An earlier version of this article stated Harley’s first origin was in cartoon form first and comic book form second.

[UPDATE 1/21/16]: Minor grammar and clarification edits.

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EnspiRED’s Rouge showcases fashion for a cause

On Jan. 23, EnspiRED, the University’s student-run fashion organization, hosted an Instagram-worthy event right here on campus in celebration of its 10th anniversary: Rouge. Rouge was a fashion show meant to bring awareness to the arts, not only on campus, but also to the Fleming Elementary School community in Detroit, to which the event’s proceeds went. Reminiscent of Fashion Week, the long runway was surrounded by rows of seats for family and friends alike to truly appreciate the unique styles that strutted down the catwalk.

The event was comprised of eight individual themed scenes. Accompanied with videos, music and fabulous walks to match, the varied themes included mimes, dolls, clowns and in true freakshow fashion, monsters. With a lively and packed room, LSA senior Brysan Porterfield, EnspiRED president, said this year’s show yielded the largest amount of donations so far.

Rouge featured apparel and accessories from many designers that ranged from local Ann Arbor businesses to University alumni and high profile chains. Pitaya, Verbana, Victoria’s Secret, Ragstock and Today’s Clothing, to name a few, loaned clothes for the Rouge event. Local designers such as Grant Henerson and Caleb Moss also helped curate looks. With apparel supplied from such varied sources, the range in fashion ensembles we saw crossed lines and transcended boundaries.

With an impressive and expansive array of sponsors, EnspiRED’s event was calculated and ultra posh. This atmosphere was exemplified by all of the little extras the org provided, from freshly popped popcorn and colorfully spun cotton candy before the show to the various raffles and prizes that were given to lucky guests with a winning ticket.

Though the fashion seemed an afterthought compared to the show’s stunning theatrics, it was far from forgettable. Among the various thematic “scènes,” aesthetic standouts included the Scène du Clown, Scène de la Poupee, Scène la Rue and Scène Sauvage. The opening Scène du Clown consisted of relatively tame looks in comparison to the rest, but was punctuated with playful touches — punchy, bright makeup, jugglers and a skirt replete with balloons.

The models in the Scène de la Poupee channeled their inner dolls with more fanciful, delicate dresses and tutus, with the makeup transforming models into mannequins. Models also slowed their sashays down the runway with an eerie stillness for a complete doll effect. Scène de la Rue showcased the most wearable looks — activewear, ripped jeans, boss vests and an unforgettable gold jacket for the adventurous menswear shopper. Things took a more risqué turn as the models of Scène Burlesque nearly bared all in lingerie of the lace, silk and net varieties. The penultimate Scène Sauvage also took a strong activist stance, stressing the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement. Models rocked nearly every subtype of dress — prep, hippie, boho, professional and urban trendy.

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Needless to say, the Daily Style Squad was impressed with the sheer amount of talent and fashion choices we saw. However, what does it take to plan an event like this each year?

Turns out, a lot of hard work went into putting on Rouge, from choosing the theme to deciding between the carefully curated models. With the planning beginning in early September of last year, LSA junior Ify Odum, EnspiRED Image Consultant, explained to the Daily that it takes “a lot of teamwork, communication and dedication to pull off a show like this.”

Besides planning the themes and coordinating the logistics for an event such as this, there is also the key task of assembling the models and the style looks. Everything from the clothing, down to the makeup and props used on the runway, was specially designed and curated for each scene’s theme.

“Model coordinators work with fashion consultants and creative directors to ensure that the models we chose for this year’s show had the right walk, attitude and confidence,” Odum said.

EnspiRED’s model coordinators are specifically responsible for choosing which outfits each model would wear based upon what they were comfortable with as well as what the coordinator’s vision was for the theme.

This wasn’t an easy process, Odum said, adding that it took hours of fitting sessions to decide and coordinate individual ensembles. To choose what each model was going to wear in relation to the different scenes, Odum and fellow image consultant, Darbee Pass, also an LSA junior, both worked for two days straight to decide individual outfits and get the fittings perfected.  

And just like in typical runway show fashion, there was little input from the models themselves, in terms of the outfits and makeup they adorned. That was left up to the image and fashion consultants to decide.

Beauty is a huge part of any stylized look; hair and makeup can make or break an outfit choice. Makeup artists drew inspiration for the makeup looks by working with the scenes that the models were in. For this show in particular, the makeup and hair was unique, trendy and flawless.

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In addition to the fashions, what impressed us was the professionalism of each model. Right away we knew this wasn’t going to be just a fashion show run by University students. The confidence, grace and pure passion each student had on and off the runway made the experience all the more fun and authentic.

“The models practiced every Sunday for two hours for about four months,” Odum said. In addition, in order to walk in the runway show, each model had to do one day of community service. One option was volunteering at the local children’s Hands on Museum, holding true to the organization’s mission of bringing awareness to the arts in our local communities, especially amongst creative youths.

“Each model had their own reasons for modeling, whether it was to get over a fear or just to strut their stuff,” Odum said.

Having raised just shy of $1,000 for Fleming Elementary’s arts programs, Rouge was fashion for a significant cause, in support of creativity amongst University students as well as our local communities.

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