Sure everybody knows both Tarantino and Rodriguez are movie guys but why are they movie guys? I outlined their grand statement to the world that the "movieness" of movies should be celebrated but even they generally don't turn to the camera and make that case themselves assuming if you're watching their movies you're probably already on board with team "these types of movies are awesome!"
But why is thier ability to make what amounts to live action cartoons so important.
Film and for that matter fiction isn't reality. In reality everything is the turn of them bones but fiction is a construct. Everything that happens in fiction is a choice. And the dissonence between what both what the writer and audience would choose happen and what could, would, or did happen in real life can be used to say something meaningful and powerful.
While Tarentino would never just turn to the camera and say this. I can think of one piece of media that did. Daria's "Write Where it Hurts"
What made Daria so resonant for a lot of people of my generation was the conceit that she was by and large the smartest person in the room, (with a few exceptions) and reacted to that not by becoming a benevolent demigoddess magically solving all her friends and family's problems but by going off to the side and snarking glib observations in the corner.
And that's what made me like it at 12. What makes me like it now is that the show had the guts to occasionally criticize and question Daria herself. The later seasons were all about that self evaluation but it was there in the earlier ones.
And that's the crux a write where it hurts where Daria is stuggling with writers block and get's some poinginet advice from her mom.
Helen (Daria's Mom)
"Daria I apologized for not helping you before I'm offering to help you now. What do you want to do?
Daria
My story sucks.
Helen
Well honey I'm sure if you just give it another day or two_
Daria
Everything I do has already been done (Macbeth and The Graduate parodies). I wanted to write something meaningful. I can't write anything all.
Helen
Maybe you're trying to hard. Maybe You don't have to write something meaningful, just something honest.
Daria
I can do honest. I look around me and I describe what I see.
Helen
How about describing what you'd like to see, honestly.
Daria
What do you mean.
Helen
Daria the easiest thing in the world for you is being honest about what you observe.
Daria
and
Helen
What's hard for you is being honest about your wishes, about the way you think things should be not the way they are. You gloss over it with a cynical joke and nobody finds out what you really believe in.
Daria
Ah ha so my evil plan is working.
Helen
If you really want to be honest be truthful about what you'd like to see happen, there's a challenge.
Cue one of the most heartwarming moments in the entire show after Helen reads the short story in question.
Jane (Daria's best friend)
Wow so your story made your mother cry.
Daria
Out of happiness and that's the sick part.
Jane
And run the reason by me again
Daria
She took it as evidence that I'm secretly not as alienated as I seem or something. It'll take me years to undo the damage.
Jane
So you going to show it to O'neil? (her english teacher)
Daria
I have no choice but if he cries to I'm dropping out of school.
Jane
Well listen, now that you have such a great attitude and everything can I have your boots.
My point is that there is a meaning and power between what is and what we wish was and fiction or in this case film can be a great place for exploring that dissonance. Unless you're an idiot i.e. willfully blind you know what is.
But what would an ideal world look like and of equal importance why would it look that way?
Screw it just play The Wall again.
No comments:
Post a Comment