This is my first attempt at thinking since this summer. It's not fantastic and it is a little disjointed. Thats why I want comments.
The main reason I decided to post that paper in my first entry was because thoughts similar to it's central thesis have been running through my brain for a the last week. Not that I spend all my free time thinking about things like this. It was actually viewing "Becoming Jane" with a friend last weekend that brought back this interest in peoples reactions to movies, television and what the media feeds them.
Throughout the movie several comments were made concerning how we all predicted the film was going to end. I whispered to my friend, "This is going to end bad. He's going to break her heart." My friend set her face stubbornly and insisted that this could not happen. Jane would end up with her true love and they would live happily ever after. Of course, Jane Austen never married so obviously the movie doesn't end with the couple riding off into the sunset. But not being sure of the fact that Austen remained unmarried while I was watching, in my heart I truly wanted a happy ending and thought that it may be possible up to the last second, making fantastic conclusions. I'm sure this was a thought process observed by most of the romantics in the theater. So when it ended with Tom marrying some other woman and having a daughter, I was crushed and disappointed.
I have a tendency to write off movies before I see them if someone tells me that they have a bad ending. That way I only watch movies that end the how I think they should: Joyous. This is a flaw that I have recently tried to remedy. There are so many good movies out there that end in a less than positive way. (WARNING:SPOILER FOR THE MOVIE "PREMONITION") After watching the movie "Premonition" and it ended with her husband still dying, I was very upset. She went through all that complicated mess of seeing the future then being thrust into the past only to have it make no difference. I had a very "that was all-for-nothing" attitude. But after a little time to reflect, I saw the movie in a different light. s The whole point wanot to save her husband, but to save their relationship, which had been struggling. The point was love, not life. And that is infinitely more meaningful. The fact that the last night they spend together in love, they create a child. The ultimate evidence of unconditional devotion. And that ends to film with hope.Although "Becoming Jane" ended with her unmarried, she was happy in her writing. It was bittersweet but meaningful.
What do we, as viewers, expect from television and films? It's certainly not reality (don't get me started on that word). Real life rarely happens the way it does in the movies. We all know this. We go to be entertained. And part of an enjoying experience means that we want things to be the opposite of the unhappy lives that we endure through. But if were expecting something that is not reality, why do I constantly hear the words "I didn't like that movie because it was so unrealistic." How realistic is it that you happend to meet this random person and through a series of mihaps realize that person is your destiny and you both walk away happy? Wow, this makes me sound really cynical. Of course that can happen. I suppose that my point is we tend to go into certain movies with a certain mindset. We have specific expectations and when those are not met, we get upset. I think that it speaks more for a director if they are able to take a movie in a genre and do something different with it.
People go into a horror movie to be scared, a romantic movie feel good about love and an action movie to get their explosion fix. That makes sense. But why should it always be that you have to have blood and gore in a horror film? Why does the heroin have to follow that path that we as the audience see is obvious? Films are becoming more and more predictable. You can see which characters are going to be eaten 5 minutes in and which hot guy will end up being the jerk. To me that takes some of the enjoyment out of movies. As much as I was sad at the end of "Becoming Jane" it was wonderful not knowing whether or not she would be with Tom. Let me put in a good word for one of my favorite directors. M. Night Shyamalan is an expert in taking a genre and making it something new. And I love that about him. I never know what t expect when it comes to his movies except greatness...okay, I'm done.
Give me a horror film where the only thing to fear is the way the camera follows the main character, or the eriness of the music. Give me a romance where the fate of the characters is left uncertain. I would much rather see a movie that left me thinking than one that I could tell the ending of without knowing anything about it. If you want a film nade for your entertainment, you know where to go. But it becomes harder to find one that challanges you to look deep into yourself to understand the element of humanity being explored.
Okay, so this didn't go where I thought it was going to. But since this is casual writing I feel no need to do any major fixing of my theme and structure just yet. Call it a first draft if you will.
The main reason I decided to post that paper in my first entry was because thoughts similar to it's central thesis have been running through my brain for a the last week. Not that I spend all my free time thinking about things like this. It was actually viewing "Becoming Jane" with a friend last weekend that brought back this interest in peoples reactions to movies, television and what the media feeds them.
Throughout the movie several comments were made concerning how we all predicted the film was going to end. I whispered to my friend, "This is going to end bad. He's going to break her heart." My friend set her face stubbornly and insisted that this could not happen. Jane would end up with her true love and they would live happily ever after. Of course, Jane Austen never married so obviously the movie doesn't end with the couple riding off into the sunset. But not being sure of the fact that Austen remained unmarried while I was watching, in my heart I truly wanted a happy ending and thought that it may be possible up to the last second, making fantastic conclusions. I'm sure this was a thought process observed by most of the romantics in the theater. So when it ended with Tom marrying some other woman and having a daughter, I was crushed and disappointed.
I have a tendency to write off movies before I see them if someone tells me that they have a bad ending. That way I only watch movies that end the how I think they should: Joyous. This is a flaw that I have recently tried to remedy. There are so many good movies out there that end in a less than positive way. (WARNING:SPOILER FOR THE MOVIE "PREMONITION") After watching the movie "Premonition" and it ended with her husband still dying, I was very upset. She went through all that complicated mess of seeing the future then being thrust into the past only to have it make no difference. I had a very "that was all-for-nothing" attitude. But after a little time to reflect, I saw the movie in a different light. s The whole point wanot to save her husband, but to save their relationship, which had been struggling. The point was love, not life. And that is infinitely more meaningful. The fact that the last night they spend together in love, they create a child. The ultimate evidence of unconditional devotion. And that ends to film with hope.Although "Becoming Jane" ended with her unmarried, she was happy in her writing. It was bittersweet but meaningful.
What do we, as viewers, expect from television and films? It's certainly not reality (don't get me started on that word). Real life rarely happens the way it does in the movies. We all know this. We go to be entertained. And part of an enjoying experience means that we want things to be the opposite of the unhappy lives that we endure through. But if were expecting something that is not reality, why do I constantly hear the words "I didn't like that movie because it was so unrealistic." How realistic is it that you happend to meet this random person and through a series of mihaps realize that person is your destiny and you both walk away happy? Wow, this makes me sound really cynical. Of course that can happen. I suppose that my point is we tend to go into certain movies with a certain mindset. We have specific expectations and when those are not met, we get upset. I think that it speaks more for a director if they are able to take a movie in a genre and do something different with it.
People go into a horror movie to be scared, a romantic movie feel good about love and an action movie to get their explosion fix. That makes sense. But why should it always be that you have to have blood and gore in a horror film? Why does the heroin have to follow that path that we as the audience see is obvious? Films are becoming more and more predictable. You can see which characters are going to be eaten 5 minutes in and which hot guy will end up being the jerk. To me that takes some of the enjoyment out of movies. As much as I was sad at the end of "Becoming Jane" it was wonderful not knowing whether or not she would be with Tom. Let me put in a good word for one of my favorite directors. M. Night Shyamalan is an expert in taking a genre and making it something new. And I love that about him. I never know what t expect when it comes to his movies except greatness...okay, I'm done.
Give me a horror film where the only thing to fear is the way the camera follows the main character, or the eriness of the music. Give me a romance where the fate of the characters is left uncertain. I would much rather see a movie that left me thinking than one that I could tell the ending of without knowing anything about it. If you want a film nade for your entertainment, you know where to go. But it becomes harder to find one that challanges you to look deep into yourself to understand the element of humanity being explored.
Okay, so this didn't go where I thought it was going to. But since this is casual writing I feel no need to do any major fixing of my theme and structure just yet. Call it a first draft if you will.
3 comments:
There are still movies out there that challenge your mind and everything, but the ones that get the money for advertising are the ones that people can go in and not be surprised.
I think a lot of the reason people want to go to movies usually is to be entertained. People don't want surprises or something that reminds them of their life because they live that day in and day out. A movie is usually an escape from your reality.
There are movies out there for people that want to challenge themselves and don't want predictability. It's unfortunate that these movies aren't publicized, but in general people are wanting to escape real life and not think in depth about it.
If you look at independent films you can usually find more movies that deal with reality instead of avoiding it. Also, IMDB is a good way to find other movies; you look at the message boards for some movies that you think are interesting and you can see if anyone has recommendations for similar films.
Wow...that was a bit lengthy, but I enjoy talking about random topics too :)
THANK YOU!! You are the first person to comment in a manner that makes me think and that makes me happy! I still like movies that are "predictable" though I have decided that this ord may not be the best for what I mean. I still love going to see movies like that. I went and saw "Stardust" the other night against my better judgement and I was thoroughly entertained. Sometimes I just get sick of all the romantic movies being the same and Horror movies being rated R because they have to put graphic violence and gore into it. I love horror movies and hate the fact that none of them look good becuse of all the splattering brain matter and such. Oh well. I'm stil waiting for the next "The Others". Maybe in 10 years or so...
Um, I think I will comment on your writing (ask me for clarification) which is really good. I want to know more so I will look forward to chapter 2 of this story. By the way, are THEY really rats?
Post a Comment