Relevant elements: Interracial marriage, the trope of a child bringing home someone surprising to meet the folks
Why it resonated: Took on racial and generational issues that were roiling in the 1960s
General comments on the film: You can complain that it's too talky. You can marvel at the prescience of a white woman meeting a black man in Hawaii and dreaming that their child would become the President of the United States. You can question the probability of the existence of such a jolly, socially progressive monsignor. You can feel sorry for Katharine Houghton as she is doomed to be the dimmest presence on the screen, obliterated by the waves of charisma emanating from Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, and Sidney Poitier. You can even be a little annoyed at yet another pervasive song being played in pretty much every scene (this time "The Glory of Love"-- the one that Bette Midler's character brassily oversings throughout Beaches, not the Peter Cetera one featured in Karate Kid II). But it's hard not to feel stirred by the film's passionate argument for the importance of peace, love, and understanding.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Cultural Gap Film #20: Love Story
Relevant elements: "Love means never having to say you're sorry"
Why it resonated: "Boy meets girl, boy rejects privileged family when they reject girl, boy and girl get married and scratch their way to a good life, girl dies of an unspecified disease" is timeless
General comments on the film: There's a lot to commend this movie beyond its admittedly poignant tear-jerking ability. Its efficiency echoes the simplicity of its title, moving through the courtship, marriage, and death with little exposition or narrative fat. That means it relies pretty heavily on the leads, and although I sometimes found Ali MacGraw's character off-putting, the film makes you believe in the young couple even though the opening voice-over has already told you the tragic end of the story.
It also remains cinematically interesting in a way that I didn't expect. The mobility of the camera, particularly in the early days of the relationship, lends a sense of handheld verisimilitude, as though these are home movies. But the really noticeable element is the sound design. The lovely piano score underpins much of the movie without being as obtrusive as some other themes I've encountered during this series (see Breakfast at Tiffany's), and there are several unconventional uses of sound, such as an entire scene in which we hear a flirty back-and-forth between our young lovers but the visual is just a discreet slow zoom on the exterior of a Harvard dorm. Throughout the film, sound is used in expressive ways without feeling overly gimmicky and distracting from the romance at its heart.
One parting observation: Here we have another Harvard-based movie with the line "It's not your fault" near the end. It almost makes me want to re-watch the last ten minutes of The Social Network and With Honors to make sure it's not some running inside joke.
Why it resonated: "Boy meets girl, boy rejects privileged family when they reject girl, boy and girl get married and scratch their way to a good life, girl dies of an unspecified disease" is timeless
General comments on the film: There's a lot to commend this movie beyond its admittedly poignant tear-jerking ability. Its efficiency echoes the simplicity of its title, moving through the courtship, marriage, and death with little exposition or narrative fat. That means it relies pretty heavily on the leads, and although I sometimes found Ali MacGraw's character off-putting, the film makes you believe in the young couple even though the opening voice-over has already told you the tragic end of the story.
It also remains cinematically interesting in a way that I didn't expect. The mobility of the camera, particularly in the early days of the relationship, lends a sense of handheld verisimilitude, as though these are home movies. But the really noticeable element is the sound design. The lovely piano score underpins much of the movie without being as obtrusive as some other themes I've encountered during this series (see Breakfast at Tiffany's), and there are several unconventional uses of sound, such as an entire scene in which we hear a flirty back-and-forth between our young lovers but the visual is just a discreet slow zoom on the exterior of a Harvard dorm. Throughout the film, sound is used in expressive ways without feeling overly gimmicky and distracting from the romance at its heart.
One parting observation: Here we have another Harvard-based movie with the line "It's not your fault" near the end. It almost makes me want to re-watch the last ten minutes of The Social Network and With Honors to make sure it's not some running inside joke.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Cultural Gap Film #19: Rudy
Relevant elements: Scrappy underdog inspires everyone around him, "RU-DY! RU-DY! RU-DY!"
Why it resonated: The American public always likes inspirational sports movies, and there's a built-in Notre Dame fan base
General comments on the film: As faithful readers might have noticed, I have somewhat of an allergic reaction to overly earnest films that try way too hard to inspire the audience. That, of course, didn't bode well for this movie, and in fact was probably the reason I'd avoided it until now.
In that sense, the film didn't disappoint. It plucks every formulaic schmaltz string: underdog blue-collar kid with no support for his dream whose best friend dies but he never gives up.... More than just seeming to have been written by a script machine, though, Rudy actually focuses so hard on its story that it becomes enjoyably disturbing.
It takes a demented pleasure in beating down its protagonist for much of the movie, with family members, girlfriends, priests, student activities leaders, groundskeepers, coaches, and just about anyone else who comes across his path repeatedly telling him things like "You're too small," "Not everyone is meant to go to college," and so on. Only one person doesn't try to crush his dream, and that guy predictably dies in a steel mill explosion. It's like the scene in Airplane! when people are lined up to take a whack at the hysterical woman--everyone delights in stomping on Rudy to the point that it becomes absurd. So if you like watching Sean Astin get kicked in the head, sometimes literally, the first 90 minutes are a dream for you.
One might think that all this adversity would make Rudy a sympathetic character, but unless you accept the premise that Notre Dame is heaven on earth, his behavior comes off as pretty much psychopathic. He ditches his doting girlfriend, quits his job, goes directly from his friend's funeral to Notre Dame's campus at dawn and demands to speak to someone who will let him go there, lies, scams, forces his way into the head coach's office, and commits multiple counts of breaking and entering, all so he can get his father to validate his existence by being on the field for two plays of college football. The film provides a few epilogue sentences to give a sense of the aftermath, but I couldn't help feeling like Rudy woke up the day after his triumph and thought, "What do I do with my life now?"
As for the sports part of the movie, I'd like to point out that his team, up two scores with under 20 seconds left in the game, runs a halfback pass to score a touchdown just to get the defense back on the field to let what is essentially their mascot get to play. Let's just say that if Georgia Tech didn't file a grievance with the NCAA about Notre Dame's sportsmanship, I'd be glad to do so on their behalf.
Why it resonated: The American public always likes inspirational sports movies, and there's a built-in Notre Dame fan base
General comments on the film: As faithful readers might have noticed, I have somewhat of an allergic reaction to overly earnest films that try way too hard to inspire the audience. That, of course, didn't bode well for this movie, and in fact was probably the reason I'd avoided it until now.
In that sense, the film didn't disappoint. It plucks every formulaic schmaltz string: underdog blue-collar kid with no support for his dream whose best friend dies but he never gives up.... More than just seeming to have been written by a script machine, though, Rudy actually focuses so hard on its story that it becomes enjoyably disturbing.
It takes a demented pleasure in beating down its protagonist for much of the movie, with family members, girlfriends, priests, student activities leaders, groundskeepers, coaches, and just about anyone else who comes across his path repeatedly telling him things like "You're too small," "Not everyone is meant to go to college," and so on. Only one person doesn't try to crush his dream, and that guy predictably dies in a steel mill explosion. It's like the scene in Airplane! when people are lined up to take a whack at the hysterical woman--everyone delights in stomping on Rudy to the point that it becomes absurd. So if you like watching Sean Astin get kicked in the head, sometimes literally, the first 90 minutes are a dream for you.
One might think that all this adversity would make Rudy a sympathetic character, but unless you accept the premise that Notre Dame is heaven on earth, his behavior comes off as pretty much psychopathic. He ditches his doting girlfriend, quits his job, goes directly from his friend's funeral to Notre Dame's campus at dawn and demands to speak to someone who will let him go there, lies, scams, forces his way into the head coach's office, and commits multiple counts of breaking and entering, all so he can get his father to validate his existence by being on the field for two plays of college football. The film provides a few epilogue sentences to give a sense of the aftermath, but I couldn't help feeling like Rudy woke up the day after his triumph and thought, "What do I do with my life now?"
As for the sports part of the movie, I'd like to point out that his team, up two scores with under 20 seconds left in the game, runs a halfback pass to score a touchdown just to get the defense back on the field to let what is essentially their mascot get to play. Let's just say that if Georgia Tech didn't file a grievance with the NCAA about Notre Dame's sportsmanship, I'd be glad to do so on their behalf.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Cultural Gap Film #18: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Relevant elements: Depiction of a mental health facility, the steely Nurse Ratched, the gentle giant Chief
Why it resonated: It's hard for me to say, but I'd guess it was the combination of the existing popularity of Ken Kesey's novel and the 1970s-friendly anti-authoritarian theme, not to mention Jack Nicholson's usual aura of intensity
General comments on the film: I suppose it's a testament to the cultural relevance of this film that watching it for the first time yielded virtually no surprises. It went pretty much exactly as I thought it would, right down to the ending.
Having said that, it's a good example of early-to-mid-1970s filmmaking, with its shadowy cinematography, measured pacing, and focus on establishing character. Milos Forman's films have never really hit me where I live (since we seem to have somewhat different views of humanity), but the man has a type and he knows how to develop it. The use of overlapping dialogue, abrupt shifts in pitch and volume, and believable non-rational behavior creates a distinctive tone, and the very sparse use of music makes the final scene, with its swelling score, really pop.
There were some casting surprises, for me, I should add. I wasn't expecting Danny DeVito or Vincent Schiavelli. It would have been nice, though, to have seen this before 1989's The Dream Team, since Christopher Lloyd's presence as a patient in both films gave me the disturbing sense of this as a prequel to that much different movie....
Why it resonated: It's hard for me to say, but I'd guess it was the combination of the existing popularity of Ken Kesey's novel and the 1970s-friendly anti-authoritarian theme, not to mention Jack Nicholson's usual aura of intensity
General comments on the film: I suppose it's a testament to the cultural relevance of this film that watching it for the first time yielded virtually no surprises. It went pretty much exactly as I thought it would, right down to the ending.
Having said that, it's a good example of early-to-mid-1970s filmmaking, with its shadowy cinematography, measured pacing, and focus on establishing character. Milos Forman's films have never really hit me where I live (since we seem to have somewhat different views of humanity), but the man has a type and he knows how to develop it. The use of overlapping dialogue, abrupt shifts in pitch and volume, and believable non-rational behavior creates a distinctive tone, and the very sparse use of music makes the final scene, with its swelling score, really pop.
There were some casting surprises, for me, I should add. I wasn't expecting Danny DeVito or Vincent Schiavelli. It would have been nice, though, to have seen this before 1989's The Dream Team, since Christopher Lloyd's presence as a patient in both films gave me the disturbing sense of this as a prequel to that much different movie....
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Cultural Gap Film #17: Philadelphia
Relevant elements: Discrimination trial, the Springsteen song
Why it resonated: This was pretty much the first major-release film about AIDS
General comments on the film: I'm actually glad I'm only watching this film now. It gives me the bittersweet satisfaction of noting how dated it feels today. Much of the movie is dedicated to laying out demonstrations that gay people are human beings too, in ways that would seem grossly unnecessary and maybe even offensive today, but were probably pitched correctly in 1993.
In terms of the film itself, I just have to say that the legal elements didn't seem quite kosher (though I was tickled by the obligatory "partners sitting in leather chairs smoking cigars on the top floor" scene and even more obligatory "I'll allow it" judge), but the range of cinematographic approaches kept me interested visually and the Philly flavor (Dr. J! Ed Rendell!) made me a little homesick. Even though they gave the trademark song to a guy from Jersey....
Why it resonated: This was pretty much the first major-release film about AIDS
General comments on the film: I'm actually glad I'm only watching this film now. It gives me the bittersweet satisfaction of noting how dated it feels today. Much of the movie is dedicated to laying out demonstrations that gay people are human beings too, in ways that would seem grossly unnecessary and maybe even offensive today, but were probably pitched correctly in 1993.
In terms of the film itself, I just have to say that the legal elements didn't seem quite kosher (though I was tickled by the obligatory "partners sitting in leather chairs smoking cigars on the top floor" scene and even more obligatory "I'll allow it" judge), but the range of cinematographic approaches kept me interested visually and the Philly flavor (Dr. J! Ed Rendell!) made me a little homesick. Even though they gave the trademark song to a guy from Jersey....
Monday, April 11, 2011
Cultural Gap Film #16: Saw
Relevant elements: General torture-based plots, that creepy Jigsaw doll thing
Why it resonated: Various cultural critics have pointed to different reasons for the sharply rising interest in "torture porn" in the mid-'00s, but a lot of them seem to want to pin it on 9/11. It's also possible that America was just ready for the serial killer thriller to move in this direction after the genre had become stale and audience tolerance for depictions of physical mutilation had increased.
General comments on the film: For the number of surprises--and no, I'm not talking about the hacky plotting; I'm talking about the fact that Cary Elwes is in it, Danny Glover is in it (one might have supposed that he was too old for this), and it isn't quite as gory as I'd been led to believe--you'd think this movie would be more interesting.
There are a few solid touches for a thriller of this type: the jarring in medias res opening works fairly well, the choice of a mannequin factory for the psycho's hideout is a bit predictable, but still manages to twang that uncanny chord, and the reworking of the limited-vision bit from the end of The Silence of the Lambs using an old-fashioned photo flash as the only available light source does what it is intended to do. But it doesn't come close to overcoming the dreadful acting and parade gimmicky moments, leaving me to wonder if it would have been more compelling if the entirety of the movie took place in the room with the two men without all the conveniently-remembered flashbacks and outside drama. I guess Elwes's hammy growling and the other guy's screechy whining would quickly overflow the narrow space, though, so maybe the best thing to do would be to just present an even more extensive catalog of Jigsaw's intricate human traps...which I'm sure is what the unfathomable number of sequels provide.
Why it resonated: Various cultural critics have pointed to different reasons for the sharply rising interest in "torture porn" in the mid-'00s, but a lot of them seem to want to pin it on 9/11. It's also possible that America was just ready for the serial killer thriller to move in this direction after the genre had become stale and audience tolerance for depictions of physical mutilation had increased.
General comments on the film: For the number of surprises--and no, I'm not talking about the hacky plotting; I'm talking about the fact that Cary Elwes is in it, Danny Glover is in it (one might have supposed that he was too old for this), and it isn't quite as gory as I'd been led to believe--you'd think this movie would be more interesting.
There are a few solid touches for a thriller of this type: the jarring in medias res opening works fairly well, the choice of a mannequin factory for the psycho's hideout is a bit predictable, but still manages to twang that uncanny chord, and the reworking of the limited-vision bit from the end of The Silence of the Lambs using an old-fashioned photo flash as the only available light source does what it is intended to do. But it doesn't come close to overcoming the dreadful acting and parade gimmicky moments, leaving me to wonder if it would have been more compelling if the entirety of the movie took place in the room with the two men without all the conveniently-remembered flashbacks and outside drama. I guess Elwes's hammy growling and the other guy's screechy whining would quickly overflow the narrow space, though, so maybe the best thing to do would be to just present an even more extensive catalog of Jigsaw's intricate human traps...which I'm sure is what the unfathomable number of sequels provide.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Cultural Gap Film #15: Flashdance
Relevant elements: The songs, the water-pull dance scene, a steel town girl who welds by day and dances by night
Why it resonated: MTV had primed the viewing public for flashy set pieces that fuse music and movement, and America always loves stories about hardworking people chasing their dreams
General comments on the film: Since about the one-third mark of Flashdance, I've been trying to determine if this film would have been anywhere near as successful and relevant if it were released at any other time. If it were released five years earlier, it would have been scoffed at as a weaker knock-off of Saturday Night Fever. If it were released five years later, the novelty of music video style would have been diluted to the point of no longer distracting from the movie's thin plot and characterization.
In other words, the movie screams 1983 from the opening titles onward. It also screams Pittsburgh, which makes it even more interesting that it has managed to stand as an iconic film. Since the filmmaking and storyline don't provide anything remarkable that would capture people's imaginations to that degree, it seems to me that the movie's impact is due mostly to its being a crystalization of a particular point in time that people find interesting (at least for now).
Think of the 1980s, and what comes to mind? Big hair, breakdancing, off-the-shoulder shirts worn with legwarmers, MTV, and cans of Diet Pepsi? These are the basic elements of Flashdance. The prominence of the soundtrack underlines this point, as Irene Cara's "Flashdance...What a Feeling" almost deserves top billing for all of the work it does in the film.
There are of course other movies that offer perfect snapshots of their respective times, but this one has the good fortune of encapsulating a period that garners a lot of attention even today in American culture. You might have noticed that young women today are wearing virtually the same slouchy tops that Jennifer Beals sports throughout the movie. And even people who weren't alive yet at the time have a very distinct idea of "the '80s"--more than they have a similar sense of "the '90s" despite having lived through them. 1983 has a strong flavor, and Flashdance is bursting with it.
Being tied to a time brings up the possibility that a movie will fade from the popular consciousness as its time recedes farther into the past, and I'll be curious to see what happens to this one in the next ten to twenty years. Already, its songs are being played on oldies stations, and it's hard to imagine that teenagers born after the year 2000 will choose to watch it, unless there are still '80s parties in the 2020s.
Why it resonated: MTV had primed the viewing public for flashy set pieces that fuse music and movement, and America always loves stories about hardworking people chasing their dreams
General comments on the film: Since about the one-third mark of Flashdance, I've been trying to determine if this film would have been anywhere near as successful and relevant if it were released at any other time. If it were released five years earlier, it would have been scoffed at as a weaker knock-off of Saturday Night Fever. If it were released five years later, the novelty of music video style would have been diluted to the point of no longer distracting from the movie's thin plot and characterization.
In other words, the movie screams 1983 from the opening titles onward. It also screams Pittsburgh, which makes it even more interesting that it has managed to stand as an iconic film. Since the filmmaking and storyline don't provide anything remarkable that would capture people's imaginations to that degree, it seems to me that the movie's impact is due mostly to its being a crystalization of a particular point in time that people find interesting (at least for now).
Think of the 1980s, and what comes to mind? Big hair, breakdancing, off-the-shoulder shirts worn with legwarmers, MTV, and cans of Diet Pepsi? These are the basic elements of Flashdance. The prominence of the soundtrack underlines this point, as Irene Cara's "Flashdance...What a Feeling" almost deserves top billing for all of the work it does in the film.
There are of course other movies that offer perfect snapshots of their respective times, but this one has the good fortune of encapsulating a period that garners a lot of attention even today in American culture. You might have noticed that young women today are wearing virtually the same slouchy tops that Jennifer Beals sports throughout the movie. And even people who weren't alive yet at the time have a very distinct idea of "the '80s"--more than they have a similar sense of "the '90s" despite having lived through them. 1983 has a strong flavor, and Flashdance is bursting with it.
Being tied to a time brings up the possibility that a movie will fade from the popular consciousness as its time recedes farther into the past, and I'll be curious to see what happens to this one in the next ten to twenty years. Already, its songs are being played on oldies stations, and it's hard to imagine that teenagers born after the year 2000 will choose to watch it, unless there are still '80s parties in the 2020s.
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