Author Archives: mc2454

Loving

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I thoroughly enjoyed Loving. Although the last scenes that said the husband died in 1975 made me emotional, the movie was overall a happy ending and that satisfied me. I found a lot of similarities between Richard and Mildred’s love story and other struggles of the LGBT community. Of course, the Loving v. Virginia was used to justify gay marriage. I think it’s startling to think that interracial marriage was banned within our parents’ lifetimes, proving that only recently has legal racism been outlawed, meaning society has a long way to go.

It’s egregious to think that there was still such blatant discrimination so far after the civil rights movement. Even after the legalization of interracial marriage, a significant number of white Americans still view it as blasphemous. I think telling the story of the Loving family helps to show that the government has no right to interfere with our lives and that we should be able to love whoever we want to.

Citizen Kane

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I noticed many similarities between Citizen Kane and current events. Kane reminded me of a certain president that is also a billionaire and has used yellow journalism, or fake news, to his advantage and also has had multiple wives and ran for public office. I think Kane’s frequent utterances of “Rosebud” was a way to control his massive ego by trying to connect to much simpler times with this biological parents given that the sled he was using while at home had Rosebud engraved at the bottom. I have heard many people say this is one of the best movies of all time, but I honestly had a really hard time seeing why.

North by Northwest

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North by Northwest mirrors many of themes echoed by art during the Cold War. Portraying Roger Thornhill as an innocent man running away from the government ostensibly represents the growing mistrust in government at the turn of the decade leading into the 1960s. The government’s scope and power was growing as the Cold War with the Soviet Union intensified. I think this film was a clever way for Alfred Hitchcock to get his opinion about government’s role as big brother across without being seen as a traitor to the U.S.–especially important at a time when Congress’s House Un-American Activities Committee was on the prowl, indicting film industry magnates like the Hollywood Ten. Although I don’t fully appreciate the hype around this movie, I did enjoy its hidden meaning.

Romanticized Violence in Dead Poets Society

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Dead Poets Society serves as a parcel of a larger movement of the arts romanticizing violence–in this case, suicide. Realistically, a normal boy like Neil would not have undertaken such a permanent solution to a sudden breeze of anger if it were not bolstered by other aspects such as a mental illness. However, I think Neil’s blossoming involvement with the arts, either in poetry or stage acting, was meant to show the audience the correlation between romanticized suffering that many artists pride themselves in. This glorification is deep rooted in artistic culture with many examples, whether it be Van Gogh, Dead Poets Society, or more recently, 13 Reasons Why. I think artistic endeavors such as this movie should be more cautious in portraying violence as something virtuous in order to prevent copycats, as have already been reported in 13 Reasons Why.

“I have a voice!”

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I really enjoyed The King’s Speech–much more than I enjoyed last week’s The Martian. I can definitely see why Colin Firth won Best Actor and why this movie won Best Movie at the 2010 Oscars. I feel as if the most important theme to take from this film was communication, or lack thereof. King George VI (Bertie) put it perfectly when he said that England expected him to be their “voice” even though he had no governmental power/authority. So to have a king that couldn’t effectively comfort the country in a tense time nor relay assertive condemnations to Nazi Germany was nerve-wracking for the kingdom, its commonwealths, and put immense pressure on an already diffident King George VI.

Class conflict is also a pertinent theme that relates back to communication. Bertie’s family can’t seem to understand his impediment–his dad is easily frustrated and at one point his brother mocks him. It’s as if his own family has ostracized him to retreat further and further into himself, a perfect scene of this being his awkward presence at his brother’s first party with his divorced fiance. However, Bertie was more easily able to acquaint himself with Lionel, reveal his inner thoughts, and his words flowed better around him, a failed actor of a lower class. This atypical friendship breaks the rules of ancient aristocratic behavior and ushers in an era of repaired monarchy headed by King George VI and streamlined by Queen Elizabeth and her descendants.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, gave it a 5/5 stars on Rotten Tomatoes, and will definitely recommend it to others.

Martian, Martian, Martian

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I had previously seen The Martian but never thought much about the scientific accuracy of the movie. After watching it with a STEM major, I now know that it is completely plausible sending a botanist to space. This, however, seems completely unnecessary. I think NASA would rather teach the astronauts how to plant seeds or collect samples than send an inexperienced botanist who has no background in engineering or space. I consider that a major lapse in the plot. Furthermore, Mars only has about 30% of the gravity we have on Earth, so Mark Watney would not have been perusing his potatoes like that, he would have drifted away. Also, the scene where he performs surgery on himself is so out of this world to the point where it’s not credible. All of these errors coupled with the fact that the movie is a solid 2 hours of him blithely vlogging about his potatoes made this re-watch agonizing.

Imminent Societal Problems with Advancing Technology

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I had never seen Black Mirror before, so I was not sure what to expect. However, I was pleasantly surprised! It reminded me of a modern Twilight Zone. The episode left me pondering the effects new technology has on society. As we’ve seen with social media and cyberbullying, a plethora of problems can arise. Nevertheless, I don’t think that the crazy main character’s obsession over his wife’s cheating was a direct consequence of the camera in his brain. That obsession would have been there regardless of his ability to film her interactions and if anything, it helped him find out the truth. If I was offered such a device I would definitely take it. The device could also be a tremendous boon to detectives and the police. I really enjoyed this episode and will definitely begin watching Black Mirror.