Author Topic: Write about the last movie you watched (2006-2010)  (Read 5996001 times)

jbissell

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #18390 on: August 17, 2009, 12:08:05 PM »
Nice post Colleen.

And they say the Internet is nothing but trolls!

facedad

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #18391 on: August 17, 2009, 12:14:03 PM »

I trust you to speak for me Colleen (which is easy to do when you get it right, good job). Frankly, I would hope that if most people look hard enough, they'd find normative constructions that bother them, but maybe it is just me. Despite being a straight(?) white male, I keep stumbling upon constructions that drive me nuts, so maybe many of you have no problems.

To wit, this has become a famous example of someone succinctly describing cinematic gender issues.
« Last Edit: August 17, 2009, 04:35:18 PM by faceboy »
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FroHam X

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #18392 on: August 17, 2009, 12:22:49 PM »
Wow that was a fantastic and levelheaded post Colleen.

I'd like to clarify that I was responding to skjerva's review, not faceboys comment. And the reason I used the word "attack" is because I feel skjerva uses this sort of critique on a very constant basis as a way to bring down a film. Again, see the Wall-E debate.

That said, I totally understand how something like this might rub somebody Ina different social group the wrong way. as a Jew I've often cringed at not only the portrayal of Jews in many films, but I've been generally annoyed by films and media reinforcing ideas of how Jews behave. But on the flip side, I will never critique a Christmas movie for not presenting the viewpoints of Jews or any other religious group. That is ultimately my problem with skjerva's complaints. Instead of taking a film on the level that it presents itself there seems to be a need for the movie to specifically appeal to certain personal needs.

The movie is written by straight white guys about their own views on their relationships and those of people they know. It was directed by a straight white guy who brought his own experiences to the table. That's the experience that the movie offers. I'd much rather see the director stick to that material than attempt to shoehorn in some added commentary on lgbt relationships of which he likely knows next to nothing about.

If the film had contained gay characters and skjerva felt that their portrayal was unrealistic or promoted certain stereotypes then I'd have no problem, but to constantly berate films for not even presenting a certain viewpoint is a faulty argument from the start.
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Clovis8

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #18393 on: August 17, 2009, 12:27:08 PM »
Very nice post Colleen and I agree 100%. My best friend of 25 years is gay and he makes many of the same points. However, I still feel like this is an unfair critique of a film. 500 days is not trying to say anything about homosexual relationships. In fact, given it has a narrator, it is explicitly about his own life. He is hetero and therefore for him there are only two types on genders and sexes, male and female. Unfortunately, this is the view of the majority of people. So of course it is heteronormative.

I think that is a FAR worse crime to address LGBT issues when you really have no interest in them like, all Adam Sandlar movies, Bruno, or Kissing Jessica Stein.

FroHam X

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #18394 on: August 17, 2009, 12:30:31 PM »
Clovis and I agree 100%. If I critic films based purely on what they offer and what I feel they attempt to offer and how successfully they do all that then it goes that I would not critique a film for something it doesn't even try to start offering.
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FLYmeatwad

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #18395 on: August 17, 2009, 01:04:58 PM »
This can all be solved fairly easily.

Was Shawshank (500) Days of Summer a black and white Tarkovsky film? No. Is it any less amazing because of that? CINECAST! No! Probably, I mean it's not even as good as Gigantic.

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #18396 on: August 17, 2009, 01:10:19 PM »
This can all be solved fairly easily.

Was Shawshank (500) Days of Summer a black and white Tarkovsky film? No. Is it any less amazing because of that? CINECAST! No! Probably, I mean it's not even as good as Gigantic.

Do you just say shit for the sake of saying shit? I'm not lying when I say that your excuse for not watching Shawshank has severely lowered my respect for you as a lover of film.
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Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #18397 on: August 17, 2009, 01:13:46 PM »
I can't believe 500 Days of Summer is being criticized because it aligns with the norm. If anything it refuses to depict love in the normal ways our media and society does.

The only sweeping generalizations it makes is that "the one" you are meant to be isn't out there (or is he/she/it).

And no one movie can speak to all people equally. A lot of films that mean things personally to one person means absolutely nothing to another.


Clovis8

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #18398 on: August 17, 2009, 01:15:47 PM »
This can all be solved fairly easily.

Was Shawshank (500) Days of Summer a black and white Tarkovsky film? No. Is it any less amazing because of that? CINECAST! No! Probably, I mean it's not even as good as Gigantic.

Do you just say shit for the sake of saying shit? I'm not lying when I say that your excuse for not watching Shawshank has severely lowered my respect for you as a lover of film.

I have decided to ignore all FLY posts and not reply. You should join me.

FLYmeatwad

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #18399 on: August 17, 2009, 01:16:26 PM »
This can all be solved fairly easily.

Was Shawshank (500) Days of Summer a black and white Tarkovsky film? No. Is it any less amazing because of that? CINECAST! No! Probably, I mean it's not even as good as Gigantic.

Do you just say shit for the sake of saying shit? I'm not lying when I say that your excuse for not watching Shawshank has severely lowered my respect for you as a lover of film.

The reasoning is valid. my interest for watching something else that I have a higher interest in watching than something I have a low interest in watching is a deciding factor is most people's daily lives. It's no different than saying "I was going to play Ratchet and Clank, but I had Persona, Kingdom Hearts, Monkey Island, and World of Goo instead." Or even, "Baseball is on, but why bother with that when football is on instead?" I see no problem in using personal interest to determine what one wants to do with spare time.

 

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