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Oh, I watched Nimona recently. I thought it was fun but also feel it fell rather short of what it could have been.
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The Host by Bong Joon-Ho
Mar. 3rd, 2023 02:02 amLast night I watched The Host by Bong Joon-Ho and I really enjoyed it (though also found it quite traumatic). Wasn't sure what I would think since I knew it was a monster film and I'm not typically that in to that genre, but I wanted to give it a chance since I've been impressed by all the other films of his I've seen and I was not disappointed.
In the protagonist family, both the grandfather and the daughter die. And when the Agent Yellow is being released, there's a warning about it being especially harmful to the elderly and children. Given that the monster itself is a result of fomaldehyde mutating a river animal, the choice of deaths seems in direct reference to how chemical contamination is especially harmful to these groups.
One thing I find so fascinating about Bong Joon-Ho's protagonists is how they embody that incredible duality of unbelievable strength and extreme fragility that exists in reality, but I think is so often deemed as either too unrealistic or too depressing to depict. Anyone can die in his stories, but that doesn't mean they will, and his characters sometimes exhibit seemingly superhuman levels of strength or resourcefulness. That is especially true in this movie, which is full of adrenaline and action-packed scenes.
Also, had an observation about the ending (huge spoilers below the cut):
Spoilers for the ending...
In the protagonist family, both the grandfather and the daughter die. And when the Agent Yellow is being released, there's a warning about it being especially harmful to the elderly and children. Given that the monster itself is a result of fomaldehyde mutating a river animal, the choice of deaths seems in direct reference to how chemical contamination is especially harmful to these groups.
Anyway, this is yet another great movie that will give me so much to think about. Might write more on this film later, but it's probably going to take some time to properly organize my thoughts on it.
Some Thoughts on Parasite and Us
Feb. 10th, 2023 11:14 pmParasite had such an immense emotional impact on me. It's given me much to think about. But I haven't been able to watch it again. Because watching it was like...ripping away the veil of tolerability to show society at its bleakest. I'll be thinking about it for a long time though, whether I have the courage to rewatch it again or not. One thing I find so fascinating about Parasite is that...
(under a cut because while there are no specifics the following could be considered mild spoilers about the protagonists of the film)
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...it doesn't depend on the virtuousness of it's protagonists to convey its horror. In fact its protagonists all at various points engage in some pretty deplorable acts. I feel like some people completely miss the point of this because it doesn't fit into the narrative of virtuous impoverished victim who exists only to be pitied.
But I think it's much more real in conveying the desperation of existing at the margins and how suffering and loss doesn't necessarily make someone a better person. And I think it's also much more real about what 'pulling yourself up by your bootstraps' entails in a cutthroat world of dwindling opportunity.
Meanwhile I've already seen Jordan Peele's Us twice and even though it is a scary, scary film on more than one level it's also just...way more cheery while still going some bleak places.
Both films employ quite a bit of humor and deftly mix it with drama and horror. I also thought it was cool that Bong Joon-Ho namedropped Us in the interview I watched of him talking about Parasite, not long after I'd watched Us myself. The movies definitely have some overlapping themes and imagery, so I can see why he'd bring it up.
I probably sound like a film buff right now but in truth I usually don't watch many movies. It's just lately that I've been going back and watching some of the many movies I haven't seen before. Also, whenever I watch a film, I will then go read and watch a bunch of reviews on it so they can help me pick up on all the cool connections I missed.
I watched Okja (2017) by Bong Joon-Ho recently and absolutely loved it. Having seen Snowpiercer and Parasite previously, and having only some vague impression that the film was about a girl and her giant animal friend, I was very...curious how that would play out. It seemed like a large break in topic and mood from the other works by him I'd seen, but I was quite interested in what direction this director would take such a premise.
Having seen it, I would say that it blends seamlessly with his other works in terms of thematic focus. There is a huge focus on social class and the atrocities and exploitation committed by the corporate elite. At the same time, the film also surprised me in a completely unexpected way. Since elaborating on what way might be considered spoilers, I won't give details, though there are other ways the film also pleasantly surprised me.
It's a very heartwarming story, and a coming-of-age story, but it also deftly avoids the cloying sentimentality and some of the more annoying tropes of the genre.
Online Recommendations
Feb. 8th, 2023 02:21 pmI feel like I have read and watched a much larger amount of things recommended by people I know on social media than I have people I know in person. Part of it might be a matter of taste in that people I know in person may not share the same tastes that I do. But as I've read and watched things that are quite outside of what I typically read or watch due to such recommendations or positive reviews on social media, I think there is more to it than that.
I think the multimedia and persistent format of social media makes it easier for people to show and discuss things that appeal to them about a given work, and also make it easier for me to absorb this information.
I think the multimedia and persistent format of social media makes it easier for people to show and discuss things that appeal to them about a given work, and also make it easier for me to absorb this information.
Sorry to Bother You
Feb. 3rd, 2023 08:39 pmSo I watched Sorry to Bother You (2018) and so now I'll be marinating some thoughts about that movie for a while. I thought it was an amusing and fairly thoughtful film about class consciousness, which really goes some off the wall places with its magical realism/surrealism/bizarre sci-fi approach that nonetheless fit seamlessly into the more realistic elements of the story. I think the storytelling style definitely helps to add visual interest to the telemarketing scenes, which might otherwise be much more visually static. It takes a fairly lighthearted approach at probing its serious themes. I'll probably have more thoughts after I've had more time to think about it, but I just wanted to give some first impressions here.
I watched Parasite (2019) recently and besides finding it possibly the most traumatizing movie I have ever seen, I was also struck by how the rich family is unable to cook, clean, or drive for themselves, and so they hire others to do these tasks for them. The people they hire have little choice but to participate in the alienation of their labor for the benefit of the rich family, even to the point of being coerced to do tasks that they weren't hired for.
There's a lot more going on in the story of course, but I was struck by the beautiful, spacious, and immaculate house the rich family possesses. It left me with such a longing--not for that house specifically, but for a home that I could call my own. This is not a new feeling, really. There's a lot of things I like about living in apartments, but there's also the constant reminder that it's not really yours, that you aren't at liberty to do whatever you like with the space, and that you have to regularly pay a steep price just to be allowed to stay there.
But there was one aspect of the rich family's home that I admired that had nothing to do with home ownership or any property of the building itself: how clean it was. And it occurred to me that this was because they had a housekeeper who performed all the cleaning tasks for them. Neither husband nor wife ever cleaned their own home, and the children were never asked to perform any chores. The cleanliness of their home was thus due entirely to the housekeeper's labor.
However, it also occurred to me that not only am I capable of cleaning my own space, but that doing so is the only way for my space to be clean without the alienation of someone else's labor. And that though the task itself is not one I am particularly skilled at or enjoy, that I always greatly appreciate the results.
Which is how I came to do a thorough cleaning of my bathroom today. I am greatly enjoying the extra cleanliness of the space. I hope to do more cleaning as leftist praxis soon.
There's a lot more going on in the story of course, but I was struck by the beautiful, spacious, and immaculate house the rich family possesses. It left me with such a longing--not for that house specifically, but for a home that I could call my own. This is not a new feeling, really. There's a lot of things I like about living in apartments, but there's also the constant reminder that it's not really yours, that you aren't at liberty to do whatever you like with the space, and that you have to regularly pay a steep price just to be allowed to stay there.
But there was one aspect of the rich family's home that I admired that had nothing to do with home ownership or any property of the building itself: how clean it was. And it occurred to me that this was because they had a housekeeper who performed all the cleaning tasks for them. Neither husband nor wife ever cleaned their own home, and the children were never asked to perform any chores. The cleanliness of their home was thus due entirely to the housekeeper's labor.
However, it also occurred to me that not only am I capable of cleaning my own space, but that doing so is the only way for my space to be clean without the alienation of someone else's labor. And that though the task itself is not one I am particularly skilled at or enjoy, that I always greatly appreciate the results.
Which is how I came to do a thorough cleaning of my bathroom today. I am greatly enjoying the extra cleanliness of the space. I hope to do more cleaning as leftist praxis soon.
Watched Jordan Peele's Us movie recently. This is probably one of my favorite movies and easily my favorite horror movie. It's also the movie where he draws the most on horror genre elements and easily the scariest of the Peele movies I've seen. Which is interesting because I also don't watch much horror in general, so I wouldn't expect to like the most horror-steeped film the most. But it's also such a fascinating story to think about, and I think that's why I enjoy it so much. I think you can probably interpret it in a lot of ways, but there are clearly themes relating to social class, superficiality, and Americans being their own worst enemies, an allegory made literal by the dopplegangers in the film. It's a story that explores the vacuousness of the American Dream. If I ever get enough energy and focus, I'd love to write a long meta essay on it.
Relating to Fiction
May. 23rd, 2021 02:58 amI think it's worthwhile to understand the different ways that people relate to fiction. One thing that I think is often assumed is that a person wants to read stories with characters they relate to and feel are similar to them. There are many people who seek this out in fiction. However, this is very much not something I do or look for. Also, I think a lot of times this topic gets mixed in another discussion entirely, which is about how this may affect and interact with the analysis of stories. That is not what I'm going to talk about here, though. What I'm interested in here is what people seek out in stories and why, and what I'm going to discuss is how I relate to fiction.
For me, I don't really ever experience stories as if I am the narrator or protagonist. Perhaps this is some sort of byproduct of the deep feeling of disconnection and separateness that I have with others. I may like other people and be sympathetic to them, but I never feel that another person, real or fictional, is 'like me'. This might be viewed as a sign of arrogance, but while I'll admit I have plenty of arrogance, I don't feel this way because I think I'm special. I am however, unique, which is not the same as special. Every individual is unique, really, and so, you see, that's nothing special. It's simply that it seems I am hyperaware of my differences from other people, even fictional people, at all times. So while I am also aware of the many similarities I have with other people (fictional or otherwise), the way my brain works is simply that it always differentiates me from others due to this quirk of my psychology. Thus it seems it's simply not possible for me to relate to a fictional character as if I were them.
So, then, how do I relate to fiction? Well, one thing I look for when I read stories are characters that are differentiated from each other. I'm fascinated by the various ways that very different people relate to each other, and I like to see different ways that plays out in fiction. Another thing that interests me in stories are unusual events and extreme circumstances--I have a deep interest in seeing how people react in such circumstances and the choices they might make. When I am absorbed by a story, it feels a bit like an out of body experience--myself and the world around me disappear, in a way, and I just experience the characters and the events of the story. This is actually one major reason why I read so much when I was younger and why I still read or watch stories when I'm stressed today--it can be a very good way of taking my mind off of me and my immediate situation. This is probably also why I favor sci-fi and fantasy so much, because those types of settings tend to be best at removing my thoughts from my immediate situation, which is something I think nearly everyone desires at some point or another. While I don't feel the same degree of inability to deal with the world around me that I did when I was younger, there are still of course plenty of times when I just need something to think of besides reality. But I don't read only for recreation or stress relief anymore, so another big factor for me now is whether the story can give me something to think about afterwards. I also want stories that can generate strong emotional responses of any kind in me.
Really, every reader can have a unique experience with a story, and part of that is because of the very different ways that people relate to and engage with fiction. This is also why there's no one 'right' way to be a writer, because different readers are looking for different things in their stories.
For me, I don't really ever experience stories as if I am the narrator or protagonist. Perhaps this is some sort of byproduct of the deep feeling of disconnection and separateness that I have with others. I may like other people and be sympathetic to them, but I never feel that another person, real or fictional, is 'like me'. This might be viewed as a sign of arrogance, but while I'll admit I have plenty of arrogance, I don't feel this way because I think I'm special. I am however, unique, which is not the same as special. Every individual is unique, really, and so, you see, that's nothing special. It's simply that it seems I am hyperaware of my differences from other people, even fictional people, at all times. So while I am also aware of the many similarities I have with other people (fictional or otherwise), the way my brain works is simply that it always differentiates me from others due to this quirk of my psychology. Thus it seems it's simply not possible for me to relate to a fictional character as if I were them.
So, then, how do I relate to fiction? Well, one thing I look for when I read stories are characters that are differentiated from each other. I'm fascinated by the various ways that very different people relate to each other, and I like to see different ways that plays out in fiction. Another thing that interests me in stories are unusual events and extreme circumstances--I have a deep interest in seeing how people react in such circumstances and the choices they might make. When I am absorbed by a story, it feels a bit like an out of body experience--myself and the world around me disappear, in a way, and I just experience the characters and the events of the story. This is actually one major reason why I read so much when I was younger and why I still read or watch stories when I'm stressed today--it can be a very good way of taking my mind off of me and my immediate situation. This is probably also why I favor sci-fi and fantasy so much, because those types of settings tend to be best at removing my thoughts from my immediate situation, which is something I think nearly everyone desires at some point or another. While I don't feel the same degree of inability to deal with the world around me that I did when I was younger, there are still of course plenty of times when I just need something to think of besides reality. But I don't read only for recreation or stress relief anymore, so another big factor for me now is whether the story can give me something to think about afterwards. I also want stories that can generate strong emotional responses of any kind in me.
Really, every reader can have a unique experience with a story, and part of that is because of the very different ways that people relate to and engage with fiction. This is also why there's no one 'right' way to be a writer, because different readers are looking for different things in their stories.
Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa
Apr. 8th, 2019 02:59 pmI watched the Seven Samurai recently. That was intense. It was interesting to see a story where the main goal was to protect some farmers from bandits. I can also kind of see how elements from this film could have inspired a lot of Hollywood action films, including Star Wars. But I also feel those films tell a fundamentally different story from this one. I think this story ends with a lot of unanswered questions, but very intentionally so.
There's a lot of violence, though for me what was most viscerally upsetting was the way Shino's father treats her in the film. Besides that, there's a lot of death in this film, but for the most part it didn't annoy me in the way that copious character deaths typically do. I really appreciated that the farmers aren't just this undifferentiated crowd, but have a variety of characterizations both as individuals and as a group. And it's their crisis that drives the story forward.
There's a lot of violence, though for me what was most viscerally upsetting was the way Shino's father treats her in the film. Besides that, there's a lot of death in this film, but for the most part it didn't annoy me in the way that copious character deaths typically do. I really appreciated that the farmers aren't just this undifferentiated crowd, but have a variety of characterizations both as individuals and as a group. And it's their crisis that drives the story forward.
