This is great. Now I have some new movies to watch. Anyone who recognizes that "School of Rock" is a very great movie must know what she's talking about. That one's in my top 5 all-time (#1, of course, is "Airplane!").
I really appreciate your critiques/analyses of these books and movies. I haven't seen/read most of them, other than "School of Rock" and "Dead Poets Society" (which I saw long ago and barely remember, other than the standing-on-desks scene).
I think part of what you're recognizing is how books and movies as "messaging" can work the way a political demagogue or propagandist does: by appealing to our worst instincts as opposed to our better nature.
I have a hard time with what I think of as "The Psychopath Shows," which includes "The Sopranos," "Breaking Bad," and "Killing Eve." I don't find sociopathic killers entertaining and seeing their occasional humanity can be an interesting window into a very tortured soul, but for me each of those shows took too much pleasure in violence. As a contrast, I recommend the two-season show "Mindhunter," which portrays the origins of the FBI group that profiled real-life psychopathic killers and does not romanticize them or falsely humanize them in any way. That show also dramatizes the personal cost to the profilers of doing the work they did.
Dead Poets Society teaches you very little about growing up and the pursuit of artistic passion in the face of a disapproving society, but it DOES teach you a lot about what the high school teacher who made your class watch it thinks about himself
I love these takes. I liked Dead Poets Society and Crawdads just fine, but now that I've read your analyses, I'm on board. In fact, I paused mid-read to order The River.
Thanks for this column and for putting a cheerful positive spin on what I always thought of as a character flaw of sorts: I often can’t enjoy the things others have fun with. I agree with myself that glorifying suicide is bad, but then I used to feel like I was a downer for having critical views of such a popular movie. Now that I’m older it doesn’t bother me so much.
Great stuff. I agree with you about Where the Crawdads Sing - I did not like the book at all so didn't bother seeing the film. And while I can't say I exactly loved Triangle of Sadness, I really enjoyed it - I found it very thought-provoking and entertaining.
You are 2 for 2 (haven't seen Glass Onion yet, but I suspect you will be 3/3 when I get around to that).
Crawdads especially was insufferable. I thought the so-called "Mary Sue" trope was finally being written-out of pop-literature after peaking in the early 00's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" series (book 2 might be the "final boss" of this trope) but then comes along Crawdads, and holy jebus, it gets to new heights. I almost tossed the book down when she casually reads an Organic Chemistry textbook for sport. Ridiculous.
Anyway, minor correction:
"Before High Fidelity came out in 2000, Jack Black had only played bit parts in a few films and had never sung onscreen before."
You missed the brilliant-but-possibly "had to be there" short lived HBO sketch comedy "Mr Show w/ Bob and David". Jack Black's earliest work can be found there, with singing parts including briefly in "The Joke, The Musical" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNc7v0-x7wc) and several others not available on YouTube :)
This is great. Now I have some new movies to watch. Anyone who recognizes that "School of Rock" is a very great movie must know what she's talking about. That one's in my top 5 all-time (#1, of course, is "Airplane!").
I really appreciate your critiques/analyses of these books and movies. I haven't seen/read most of them, other than "School of Rock" and "Dead Poets Society" (which I saw long ago and barely remember, other than the standing-on-desks scene).
I think part of what you're recognizing is how books and movies as "messaging" can work the way a political demagogue or propagandist does: by appealing to our worst instincts as opposed to our better nature.
I have a hard time with what I think of as "The Psychopath Shows," which includes "The Sopranos," "Breaking Bad," and "Killing Eve." I don't find sociopathic killers entertaining and seeing their occasional humanity can be an interesting window into a very tortured soul, but for me each of those shows took too much pleasure in violence. As a contrast, I recommend the two-season show "Mindhunter," which portrays the origins of the FBI group that profiled real-life psychopathic killers and does not romanticize them or falsely humanize them in any way. That show also dramatizes the personal cost to the profilers of doing the work they did.
Dead Poets Society teaches you very little about growing up and the pursuit of artistic passion in the face of a disapproving society, but it DOES teach you a lot about what the high school teacher who made your class watch it thinks about himself
I love these takes. I liked Dead Poets Society and Crawdads just fine, but now that I've read your analyses, I'm on board. In fact, I paused mid-read to order The River.
I will definitely watch School of Rock now (never saw Dead Poets)!
But I trust your taste because Crawdads really yanked my chain for many reasons.😂
Thanks for this column and for putting a cheerful positive spin on what I always thought of as a character flaw of sorts: I often can’t enjoy the things others have fun with. I agree with myself that glorifying suicide is bad, but then I used to feel like I was a downer for having critical views of such a popular movie. Now that I’m older it doesn’t bother me so much.
That beaver!!
Great stuff. I agree with you about Where the Crawdads Sing - I did not like the book at all so didn't bother seeing the film. And while I can't say I exactly loved Triangle of Sadness, I really enjoyed it - I found it very thought-provoking and entertaining.
You are 2 for 2 (haven't seen Glass Onion yet, but I suspect you will be 3/3 when I get around to that).
Crawdads especially was insufferable. I thought the so-called "Mary Sue" trope was finally being written-out of pop-literature after peaking in the early 00's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" series (book 2 might be the "final boss" of this trope) but then comes along Crawdads, and holy jebus, it gets to new heights. I almost tossed the book down when she casually reads an Organic Chemistry textbook for sport. Ridiculous.
Anyway, minor correction:
"Before High Fidelity came out in 2000, Jack Black had only played bit parts in a few films and had never sung onscreen before."
You missed the brilliant-but-possibly "had to be there" short lived HBO sketch comedy "Mr Show w/ Bob and David". Jack Black's earliest work can be found there, with singing parts including briefly in "The Joke, The Musical" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNc7v0-x7wc) and several others not available on YouTube :)