OfferOk8555

OfferOk8555 t1_jeecvou wrote

Reply to Hot take: Taxi Driver (in my opinion) is bad by [deleted]

The point of Taxi Driver isn’t that society is bad, and things just suck. It’s much more a commentary on the choices Travis Bickle have made and the person he is. Ironically, much like what you’re suggesting, things aren’t bad for Travis because society is harsh and people are mean to him. Things are bad for Travis because he’s a mentally and emotionally unwell person who instead of working on himself obsesses on the negatives of his life and the surrounding world… but is unwilling or unable to make real changes to his lifestyle or attitude.

It’s important because the negative aspects of Travis are the negative aspects in most of us but taken to the extreme. A lot of us don’t take accountability for the state of our lives, for the decisions we’ve made, a lot of our displacing blame and don’t actively deal with our emotional turmoil. But instead displace it on the world around us. There’s a lot of anger in the world just like Travis’s who ultimately decides to channel his anger in an extreme act of random violence which is also unfortunately how a lot of people channel their turmoil in this country and world too. It’s a character study that has only gotten more relevant tbh.

So yeah, if anything Taxi Driver is In itself a criticism of the negativity and cynicism you’re describing but it criticizes those things by exploring a deeply flawed protagonist who brings us into his deeply flawed world view by the very design of the story. It criticizes it by portraying it.

If you just wanna watch happy movies that make you feel good about how things are that’s fine. But don’t try to portray it as like noble or something or like what the world needs more of. There are plenty of mindless entertaining movies that people love and are available if that’s your thing. If anything there are less and less movies that aren’t just mindless entertainment around. And if those are what appeal to you that’s valid but it almost verges on fascist to be like: “yo let’s not have negative portrayal of how things are if they bum people out too much. Let’s instead disingenuously make art about how everything is golden and if you try hard enough all your wildest dreams will come true.” Like that’s not the point of storytelling or art.

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OfferOk8555 t1_ja3ew1q wrote

Reply to comment by Many-Outside-7594 in Just finished Banshees of Inisherin; didn’t find it to be a rewarding watch by Fated47

Really well put. I wouldn’t call the plot “thin”. I think direct is a better word. Utilitarian. Not too many moving parts because they aren’t needed to tell the intended story.

McDonough was a playwright at first and I feel like a lot of his movies operate in this way, with self contained distorted version of the world and human behavior.

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OfferOk8555 t1_j6irlsz wrote

Reply to comment by Owasso_Landman in Garden State. And Zach in general. by BatmanMK1989

Interesting, like in what context?

Like he came up with the concept to fetishize said type of person? And then regretted cause dudes on the internet are weird and took it too far??

Or like he came up with it to critique what he saw as a new flawed character archetype in movies but thinks the criticism is over used or improperly used?

Or something else?

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OfferOk8555 t1_j6ik18v wrote

Reply to Garden State. And Zach in general. by BatmanMK1989

It’s definitely in the 500 Days of Summer, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind vein of “Mr, nice guy” movies.

Has a lot of heart but flawed and will probably continue to age kind of poorly.

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OfferOk8555 t1_j2erqlq wrote

Reply to Anyone else just unable to get into movies set in Hollywood? by [deleted]

I do think movies about Hollywood and the film industry can feel like the industry patting itself on the back

“Look at how important what we do is” it only really bothers me though when a movie like La La Land is getting Best Picture clout (thankfully it didn’t win, no offense to Chazelle who is especially Hollywood obsessed)

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