[lbo-talk] why movies suck

[Bryan Atinsky]

Dennis Perrin wrote:
>> What's wrong with "American Beauty" and "Revolutionary Road?"
>>
>> Joanna
>
> American Beauty is a guilty pleasure for me, though it has numerous 
> flaws. This was back when the Michael O'Donoghue remembrance camp 
> thought that Kevin Spacey would make a great Mr. Mike (which he would 
> have). Still, I prefer Todd Solondz's Happiness, which is a far 
> darker, much better assault on American suburbia.
>
> Revolutionary Road, another Sam Mendes effort, seemed forced, though 
> again, I enjoyed it. Problem is, it came out in the Mad Men era. Bad 
> timing there.
>   

I don't know, there is something about the ideological lesson of those 
movies (happiness not in this category), and say like Thelma and Louise 
and hundreds of others, which ALWAYS make the payment for breaking the 
boundaries of social norms to be the protagonists death. 
Sacrifice/payment must be made to re balance the disturbing of the 
symbolic order.

So, on the one hand, they want you to identify and sympathize with the 
ideals of the heroes, but make sure you understand that to actually act 
on any subversive or 'revolutionary' activity/mindset, is bound to fail, 
will lead to your ruin or demise.

What they would perhaps call realistic, is still somehow cynical and 
anti the possibility of revolutionary...