i finally watched the shawshank redemption last night and at long last discovered what all the fuss was about. what a fantastic movie! i rarely want to watch movies over again, even if i've seen them in the past few years. but i would watch this again, almost immediately.
i feel like there is a whole world of movies out there that i haven't seen, some for good reasons, others for - well, really no reason at all. i used to be opposed to movies with certain types of content or views. not because the movies are bad, but because i think that marketing and media can have a very powerful effect on us if we're not careful, and that's the reason why i stayed away from certain things. i still do. movies like saw ix have no redemptive value or anything to glean from the storyline, except that perhaps there are some very sick and twisted people out there who delight in doing evil (seriously, not 'evil' like certain christians might label a product, but real, active evil.) but i regret that i haven't seen more movies. movies that can explore issues of life in an engaging and artful, sometimes very beautiful way. i'm finding that i don't mind if people cuss or blood is shown in movies that address heavy issues in a real setting. would i take saving private ryan seriously if people were running around dying off screen and screaming, 'gosh dangit!' all the time? to be honest i would probably laugh. beacuse clearly, that is completely unrealistic and falls embarrassingly short of any legitimate attempt at representation. it would be taken as a joke. (on a side note, when the passion of the christ came out i curiously observed pastors everywhere brushing aside the movie's R-rating, saying it was rated R for 'realism.' really? hmm. perhaps for the most part that's what it always stood for?)
but this brings up another topic, one that really bothers me. there are some movies that portray death in a very visceral way. brad pitt getting shot in burn after reading for example. and when people in a theater burst out laughing, i can't help but think, why are you laughing? what is there to laugh about here? now don't get me wrong, i love satire - how it pokes fun at things that are wrong with society. i think satire is key in certain situations. it can diffuse tense moments in a non-confrontational manner or reveal truths in a humorous light.
although i think satire has a very important role to play in a thinking society, i believe it has a very dangerous one in a non-thinking (consumerist) society.
when people sit down in a theater to be 'entertained,' i think many shut off their brains. it's just a movie, just for fun. well that's fine if you're watching space jam, but if you're watching something serious, or even something portrayed in a serious way (satirical) then i think it's a problem. we have to choose how we engage with what we put into our minds. if people are nonchalantly getting blown away in a satirical attempt to show how much we have devalued human life, or how easily it is thown away, then get in there and wrestle with it. don't just laugh it off. please don't just laugh it off.
what has happened is that the humor in satire has become good enough (or just enough) to attract viewers who don't want to think but only want to laugh. and even if you recognize something as satirical, but don't engage with it, then the vehicle through which the parody is created (usually something culturally unacceptable, for shock value) gradually becomes acceptable. and so we have people who can quote monty python and the holy grail because it's funny without thinking about why exactly that is. we know that their interactions with God are irreverant and point to truths (albeit in a humorous way) about how people perceive God, yet we fail to realize that it's funny precisely because this perception is untrue. it's rediculous, and therein lies the humor. but we gradually become comfortable with the god portrayed in those scenes, and the line blurs between what is true, and what is a true representation of a false perception.
how important this is! how critical! slow down for a second and think about what you're watching. what is the message here? is there one? is that a message in itself? we need to be careful about what we consume. after all, this is america. spoon feeding our brains large amounts of undigested entertainment will only lead to intellectual obesity.
園側は作らない
5 years ago
very well said.
ReplyDeletei laughed during that part of burn after reading. only later did i realize the message behind it.
i think satire does have it's place though. most westernized cultures and its peoples have been trained, and i mean that literally, to not think about their actions and behaviors. this may be another in-road to awaken the sleeping gray matter that is the american public.
well if you're looking to see more movies, good thing you are about to live with someone who has excellent taste! :) ...too bad tyler doesn't move in until the fall.
ReplyDeletei hear what you're saying about satire. it is interesting how it is saying something on two levels--and a lot of people just laugh at the first. and then those who get the second laugh because it is clever. but i often find myself amused or entertained by something that is clever, even if i don't really agree with it. i admire it because it is well-done--so i wonder if then i become more comfortable with it on that level too.
i tend to always consider things on a deeper level (over-thinker here), but even recognition isn't enough to keep it from sinking into you in some way.
but i think the challenge is learning to take it in as you do every aspect of the world, to discern and see how your worldview speaks to that situation.
I think I am intellectually malnourished... which would explain why i have been here for six years... and i just had to correct the spelling on three words in this comment. :)
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