Two movies: Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig, and Oppenheimer, directed by Christopher Nolen are getting massive publicity before they come out because of a social media trend.
Why are these two movies sparking so much excitement, and will this help get people back into theaters?
It would be interesting to analyze the new era of film marketing and what made the marketing of these films successful.
To be fair, Barbie and Oppenheimer are very different films with (presumably) very different target audiences. An interesting angle to look at would be how the 'Barbenheimer' phenonmenon helped both these films, where instead of rivalling the two at the box office, it became a shared activity that helped both films with ticket sales.
Both directors have their individual fanbases and are known for making slightly out-of-box films, which may have what made them compatible. – Janhabi Mukherjee4 weeks ago
Adding to the note above, I think it might be good to also look at how watching the films back to back in whichever order you want might compliment some of the themes in the movies, to my understanding. I think, on top of the social media trending for these two movies, something about their storytelling, and perhaps overlapping of either story elements, camera work, or themes, likely also impacted the Barbenheimer phenomena, so, it may be worth the writer of this topic's time to look into those and see if it matches up with reaction to the Barbenheimer trend on social media. – Siothrún4 weeks ago
The subconscious is the basis of both Christopher Nolan’s movie Inception and is one of the most foundational theories created by the iconic Swiss psychiatrist. It would be interesting to see the correlations and the strands of ideas Nolan had taken from Jung’s work on the subconscious and applied it to the big stream. Taking a look at what are some of the "Easter Eggs" Nolan had within the film as an ode to Jungian thought.
This sounds like a fun topic! I really admire Nolan's work, and I am sure he went to extensive lengths to connect the film to known psychiatric theory. Perhaps this topic would be even more interesting if we looked at other, less explicit, psychiatric, pshycological, or even philosophical connections that could be drawn from the film - whether they were intended connections or not. Consider the work of people like William James, Wegner, Wenzlaf, and Kozak to name a few. – jkillpack4 years ago
Uncut Gems is a Netflix original film about a jeweler Howard Ratner played by Adam Sandler who makes a high-stakes bet that could lead to the windfall of a lifetime but simultaneously could end up in his death.
We see throughout the film, Howard takes numerous unnecessary risks as a gambling addict. In the end, even as he wins, he is murdered in cold blood. In a traditional story, this would be a sad ending, a tragedy.
But, viewing the film in the modern era, as a tale not about flying too close to the sun and instead about the greatest catharsis, an ultimate victory, and the immediate cessation of future suffering.
Howard if he continued living would have inevitably found himself in trouble, his addiction had led him to his death after all, but in the film during his greatest high, he is quickly and painlessly removed from any potential of that feeling to be lost by. He dies with his victory.
Black Swan, the obsession with being the best at the cost of all else.
Tar and the abusive teacher
Whiplash, the synthesis of obsession and abuse leading to a sort of harmony.
The films concern the performing arts in their various forms, each taking a distinct POV. But all of them run a similar line of thought which is "But at what cost"
At what cost do we sacrifice our essential being to become, "a great" in Whiplash?
Consequently what price is too high for "perfection" in Tar, and who pays when the tab is due?
If we aren’t our accomplishments, who are we in Black Swan?
In a society driven by a consumptive need to be the best, how much is too much to attain it?
It may be interesting to have The Perfection and I, Tonya as part of this discussion - especially in regards to the kind of personal motivations that drive the need to be best - even apart from individual ambition. – Janhabi Mukherjee1 month ago
Explore regency era nostalgia and how it is a big part of contemporary culture. Also discuss the role of technology and how and why people yearn for the pre digital age.
Look at film and TV adaptations of the Regency era, such as Pride and Prejudice, Bridgerton, Emma, Becoming Jane, Belle, Sanditon, Death Comes to Pemberley, etc). Many of these are based on or around Jane Austen and her works. Discuss Austen’s influence on the Regency era and the subsequent rise in “Regencycore” in fashion and entertainment.
I think that Dimension 20's "A Court of Fey and Flowers" demonstrates a good answer to that question. Regency relies upon emotional stories, as opposed to totally power driven narratives. They aren't necessarily about the clash of big G Good, and big e Evil, but about the messy, dramatic, and difficult parts of people's lives. They can be very emotional, and very exciting. I believe people yearn for a pre-digital age (consciously or not, intentionally or not), because the human connection available was both not as overwhelming (as say the internet, which contains perhaps all of human knowledge?), and also more personal, more intimate, more direct. Screens are screens. They literally stand between the people connecting. Regency is just one of many eras/genres which predates digital and film tech (and one of the most recent periods) – skjamin10 months ago
-It's glamorous and opulent, sitting at a sweet spot of history between the dirty and unenlightened middle ages so you can portray royal elegance without having to ignore the dirty and superstitious reality of Medieval Europe, country estates are a much more romantic setting than a castle. -It also takes place just before the industrial revolution and all of the social problems associated with modernity, -Jane Austen, The Bronte Sisters, even Marry Shelly are really one of the earliest cohorts of female writers with an enduring legacy that can be tied to a specific literary movement (in my uneducated opinion) and thus those stories persevere.
– Cedarfireflies557 months ago
Regency-era popular culture pieces significantly identified the manifestation of affect. The crucial contribution of feelings and emotions parallel to or in opposition to rationalism portrayed the complexity of regency-era productions that made them appealing to the audience. I think the sudden surge of highly sexualized films and storylines and an obsessive focus on individual identities led more than a few frustrated viewers back to the era of romantic relationships where human emotions were valued and not over-analyzed psychoanalytical. – Golam Rabbani2 months ago
I might suggest limiting the discussion to pieces like Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Bridgerton, Becoming Jane, and the like. Nothing wrong with Death Comes to Pemberley or Belle, but I see these two as crossing into different genres or belonging in other discussions. That is, Belle has a Regency backdrop, but is more about her life and search for identity as a biracial woman. Death Comes to Pemberley is a P&P offshoot/pays homage, but is more a mystery story. – Stephanie M.1 month ago
Book-to-movie films (and—more regularly, now—shows) are especially common in young adult franchises such as The Maze Runner, The Hunger Games, and Divergent. The first three Harry Potter films are some of the most beloved book-to-movie adaptations in history. The latter movies, while successful in other regards, were criticised (especially by book purists) for cutting out, altering, or ignoring large chunks of the source material. I have heard several fans say that they would watch a Harry Potter reboot if it was a high-budget streaming show that adapted each chapter into an episode, with the dialogue and plots and sub-plots remaining exactly the same as the books. Whether this would ever be done remains to be seen,
Movies face an issue in that they are limited in run-time. While there are long movie adaptations out there (The Lord of the Rings is a prime example), more commonly, they are cut to fit at a little over 2 hours. They prioritise entertainment and a streamlined story. Books can vary in length to a great degree—the first Harry Potter book was around 77,000 words while the fifth (the longest) was around 257,000. Yet the fifth movie (2hrs and 18 minutes long) was actually shorter than the first (2 hours and 32 minutes long). The movie arguably benefited from cutting much of the meat of the book, at least from an entertainment perspective, if not from a story and world perspective.
How important is it for the plot to be accurately represented in films, given that they are, indeed, adaptations of the source material and not direct translations? Is it enough for the characters and world to be represented with care and detail? Are fans right in complaining about inaccuracy and missing scenes in book-to-movie adaptations? What are some examples of book-to-movie adaptations done well, and done poorly?
The different approaches to book adaptations and the merits or detriments of shifting the medium of a story would definitely be an interesting topic. Another possible aspect of the topic would be the question of whether a movie or an episodic show is the most effective format, whether this is case specific, and what sort of plots and subplots lend themselves to short or long form cinema. – Quodlibet1 year ago
Movies and books are two extremely different mediums with unique characteristics, potential benefits, and potential barriers. Consider this example: In the book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, there are several significant internal monologues. In my opinion, one of the most substantial ones is Alice's internal monologue while questioning her own identity (inside the rabbit hole); however, I was unable to locate a single movie that featured this internal monologue. In a novel, a character could typically have an internal monologue for a whole chapter, or even more, but in a movie, it would be disastrous. In light of this, I believe the questions to be asked are: Which elements should be removed in order to make room for the new medium? What elements need to be modified to take advantage of the new medium's potential? etc. The issue is not whether there should or shouldn't be disparities between the two - because there will always be disparities between the two; rather, it is how to implement these contrasts without compromising the book's basic concepts and takeaways. – Samer Darwich1 year ago
The benefits of a series format compared with that of a film would definitely be an interesting topic. In my opinion one of the interesting examples to explore would be the adaptation of philip pulman's series 'his dark materials' and how the movie compares to the HBO series. Whils both effectively translate the novels into another format, both fail where the other succeeds. For example the HBO series is more detailed and has better pacing whereas the movie has a tone that is similar to that of the books. Another example is all quiet on the western front which has been adapted into a television sereis and two different movies, the most recent havign been released this year. I'm sure some interesting comparisons can be drawn between the different adaptations that would help furthere develop this topic. – Matilda1 year ago
The debate of making a successful book to movie adaptation is great to engage in. There first needs to be an acknowledgement that there ate two different mediums and depending how abstract or explicit, its down to directors' and writers interpretation the book. – ml223701 year ago
I think that books do more intense and detailed descriptions of the story. But the adaptation of a book to the movie is really good as not all can read books but most people watch movies tho! – dancingnumbers12 months ago
I think the recreation of famous stories in film can be a really beautiful thing and gives more options of accessibility for a wide range of audiences. Although I can agree that film adaptations can be missing the "spark" of the novel, there will always be different versions that exist. A recording of an audiobook with a different voice actor than the original recording will have nuances and tone that transform the story, just as a movie will create a slight variation of the original tale. Within these changed adaptations we can add new, modern factors to elevate relatability and relevance to modern society, such as increasing diversity (which is always a good thing). – tayloremily299 months ago
Media literacy is the ability to understand and analyze works such as movies, television, books, and even video games. That said in recent years there’s been a notable lack of nuance in media discussions and even worse a rise in pushback against anything that challenges the audience’s comfort, claims such as "All sex scenes are useless", "protagonists shouldn’t be bad/do immoral things" and "There should be a clear lesson in a story"
46% of American adults in a survey say that they didn’t learn media literacy in schools, which begs the question of why not? What consequences have arisen due to low media literacy and how can they be corrected going forward?
"The Idiot Plot, of course, is any plot that would be resolved in five minutes if everyone in the story were not an idiot." — Roger Ebert in his review of Narrow Margin (1990)
The 2008 black comedy "Burn After Reading" by the Coen Brothers is a film of fools doing foolish things to disastrous consequences. Each character for the most part overestimates their own standing and refuses to see the world as it is, but is that ideologically driven, do these people within the story have ideologies? For a film that is based in D.C. and told from the perspective of a C.I.A operative it’s politics are remarkably scant, so then what drives each character to behave the way they do?
