I was really on the fence regarding whether or not to watch The Fits. After reading the description of The Fits, I kind of didn’t understand what it was about. The Fits sounded like the beginning of the Salem Witch Trials without the false accusations of worshipping the Devil. I decided to watch The Fits for two reasons: the main character is a little black girl, and there is dancing.
After watching The Fits, I am still not entirely sure what it is about. The Fits is open to interpretation, and though I pride myself on loving anything artsy fartsy, it went over my head. The Fits has a 72-minute running time, but it took me an entire weekend to finish it. I am inclined to blame myself, not the film, because I really liked aspects of it and wonder if it is because I generally am not a fan of open-ended narratives.
The Fits is about a tomboy who trains with her older brother in a boxing gym, but is drawn to the Lionesses, a dancing troupe, who use a space nearby. She stops hanging out with her brother and brings her discipline and athleticism to the Lionesses, but is not a natural follower of choreography. Suddenly each of the girls has a seizure of unknown origins, and it transforms from something frightening to another way to belong. Just when the tomboy thought that she could belong, the goal post kept moving, and once again it is a mystery how to be like them.
I thought The Fits was purely premise fiction, which explores realistic reactions to an extraordinary, usually unexplained, event. I interpreted The Fits as a metaphor for sexualization or feminization of young girls, menstruation or even a way to explore the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, but the ending felt triumphant, not negative like the earlier examples of the seizures. Even the triumphant ending felt like a weird resolution-stop thinking like an individual and lead/belong to the group. I agree that being a woman is great, and dancing is phenomenal, but it did feel like a reinforcement of gender norms instead of embracing both aspects of her life.
After doing some research into the production of The Fits, I was surprised that group seizures are a historical phenomenon that date back to the Middle Ages. Mass psychogenic illness and conversion disorder are also associated with dancing or odd movements. It also falls under the category of hysteria, which was a huge philosophical/medical dismissal of female illnesses. While this revelation does not necessarily negate my metaphor theories, it does blow out of the water that The Fits was a film using premise fiction to explore these possible metaphors. Maybe my earlier association with the Salem Witch Trials was more incisive as a psychological distinction and wielding of a weird sort of power.
I have no idea what to think of The Fits. If you are not into movies with ambiguous narratives, skip it. While The Fits is not a satisfying movie to watch, it has compelling moments, a talented cast and sparks consideration and thoughtfulness more than frustration if you are a fan of artsy fartsy independent films. The cast and the cinematography balance any possible accusations that The Fits is pretentious crap.