If you put a group of people in a room, and asked 'em to read a book, watch a movie, listen to a song or look at a painting, you're likely to get a myriad of opinions. We're human, not automatons. We can, and will, argue over anything. You're also likely to get a subset of that group who will argue there's messages beyond the obvious ones of the work. They'll have a different interpretation of forms, lyrics, characters, etc., and take away different implications than what may have been intended.
Most works of art, especially the good ones, are based on the very real emotions of life, just warped a little, the edges polished up a bit, and stretched into "what if?" territory. If writers get their inspiration from reality, it's no wonder we get arguments over "hidden messages" & subtext. Sometimes this kind of speculation is right, sometimes it may or may not be true, and sometimes it's a long damn reach.
So what are some of the more interesting alleged subtexts in movies? I thought this diary might look at some alleged hidden messages in film, and put the question on the table to see if anyone has a favorite example.
With the release of James Cameron's 'Avatar,' there were various pieces written (including some here) analyzing the messages people saw in the film, ranging from subjects of environmentalism, colonialism, and race. Out of a discussion over at io9, over whether 'Avatar' is a "white guilt fantasy," came something called Moff's Law. It states that in any discussion regarding pop culture, the probability of someone stating a variation of "Why can't you just enjoy it for what it is?" in order to dismiss critical analysis is high.
First of all, when we analyze art, when we look for deeper meaning in it, we are enjoying it for what it is. Because that is one of the things about art, be it highbrow, lowbrow, mainstream, or avant-garde: Some sort of thought went into its making — even if the thought was, "I'm going to do this as thoughtlessly as possible!" — and as a result, some sort of thought can be gotten from its reception. That is why, among other things, artists (including, for instance, James Cameron) really like to talk about their work.
Now, that doesn't mean you have to think about a work of art. I don't know anyone who thinks every work they encounter ought to only be enjoyed through conscious, active analysis — or if I do, they're pretty annoying themselves. And I know many people who prefer not to think about much of what they consume, and with them I have no argument. I also have no argument with people who disagree with another person's thoughts about a work of art. That should go without saying. Finally, this should also go without saying, but since it apparently doesn't: Believe me, the person who is annoying you so much by thinking about the art? They have already considered your revolutionary "just enjoy it" strategy, because it is not actually revolutionary at all. It is the default state for most of humanity.
On the other hand, there's the MST 3K Mantra (aka Hodgeson's Law).....
"It's just a show, I should really just relax."
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...Which, as
TV Tropes points out, is a variation of a Puck's final speech in Shakespeare's
Midsummer Night's Dream. (
"If we shadows have offended / Think but this and all is mended..." can be condensed into "'Tis but a play / I'faith, I should really just relax.")
Over at Cracked.com, they have a new piece entitled "6 Famous Movies With Mind-Blowing Hidden Meanings." Similar to what I wrote in the intro, some of the examples are pretty well-known, some are arguably true, and some are stretches. For example, 'RoboCop' has been analyzed as a modern-day Frankenstein's monster which comments on keeping one's humanity when dehumanized, as well as corporate culture through Omni Consumer Products (OCP). But director Paul Verhoeven has been pretty open about the filmmakers' intention that RoboCop be "American Jesus."
"The point of Robocop, of course, it is a Christ story. It is about a guy who gets crucified in the first 50 minutes, and then is resurrected in the next 50 minutes, and then is like the supercop of the world, but is also a Jesus figure as he walks over water at the end. Walking over water was in the steel factory in Pittsburgh, and there was water there, and I put something just underneath the water so he could walk over the water and say that wonderful line, "I am not arresting you anymore." Meaning, I’m going to shoot you. And that is of course the American Jesus."
What about something like 'The Breakfast Club'? John Hughes' movie is a classic of the 80s. The usual take on the film is each character represents a teenage stereotype, and by film's end they've worked through that to find commonality. On the other hand, there is the view the film doesn't really support that. Instead, by film's end, "the narrative function is pretty much what you'd expect from their character types. The girl with rich parents hooks up with the bad boy, the jock gets with the loner after she gets a makeover, and the nerd is the only one who puts any actual work into the assignment." Also, the "makeover" of Allison (Ally Sheedy) is something that film geeks have argued over for hours on film blogs, with some feeling the makeover is a betrayal of that character & the overall theme of the story.
However, is 'Iron Man' an Objectivist hero in the style of Ayn Rand?
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Iron Man is the ultimate objectivist hero, fighting for private property rights against the vulturelike thieves known as "the government." In other words, Ayn Rand's wet dream.
In Rand's 1,200-page love letter to capitalism, Atlas Shrugged, you have a protagonist named Francisco d'Anconia, a brilliant businessman who runs his inherited family business. D'Anconia deliberately maintains an image as a worthless playboy in order to avoid the growing culture of government theft depicted in Rand's novel.
The protagonist of the Iron Man series is Tony Stark, a brilliant businessman who has also inherited his father's business. Until the end of the first Iron Man film, Stark deliberately maintains an image as a worthless playboy in order to hide his superhero identity. Then in Rand's novel we have Hank Rearden, another protagonist who got super-rich by inventing a valuable metal alloy whose formula he continues to keep secret. The government, sensing the metal's usefulness, tries to forcibly take the rights to Rearden's alloy away from him.
Stark also gains massive amounts power by inventing, among other things, a gold-titanium alloy for use in the Iron Man suit, whose design he continues to keep a secret. The government, sensing its usefulness, tries to take the rights to Stark's suit.
The other movie Objectivists have latched onto is Pixar's 'The Incredibles,' with some arguing Brad Bird's film mixes elements of Alan Moore's Watchmen, Marvel's Fantastic Four and Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. A main plot point of the movie is the superheroes having to suppress their own talents & potential, and live "lives of mediocrity" for what's considered the good of society.
Helen: "Everyone's special, Dash."
Dash: "Which is another way of saying no one is."
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I believe Brad Bird is on record as saying the film is in no way meant to be a support of Objectivism, but a message of "
be true to yourself." However, that hasn't stopped
critics & Objectivists from seeing Rand in the movie.
A scene cited by several critics shows a homemaker, the former Elastigirl, reminding her husband, the former Mr. Incredible, that their superspeedy son Dash will be graduating soon. "He isn't graduating," says Mr. Incredible with disdain. "He's only moving from fourth grade to fifth grade. "They're constantly finding ways to celebrate mediocrity!" he adds, exasperated that Dash gets honored for an ordinary achievement - but can't join his school's track team, because his superpowers would make it unfair to the other kids.
Is there a subtle sociological statement embedded in "The Incredibles"?
"I can't help thinking of [philosopher Friedrich] Nietzsche and his idea that some people are better and more deserving than others," says Mikita Brottman, professor of language and literature at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. "The movie salutes Superman," Dr. Brottman adds. "Not the 'superman' in comic books but the one [despots] believe in. Its idea seems to be that even in a democracy some people are 'more equal' than others, and the rest of us shouldn't be so presumptuous as to get in their way."
Reviewers have been raising these concerns, too. "The Incredibles" suggests "a thorough, feverish immersion in both American comic books and the philosophy of Ayn Rand," writes A.O. Scott in The New York Times, referring to the founder of "objectivism," a philosophy anchored in capitalism and atheism. When the "Incredibles" hero "balances a globe-shaped robot on his shoulders, should we be thinking of 'Atlas Shrugged'?" writes Newsday critic John Anderson, citing Rand's most famous novel, about a "strike" by gifted leaders that brings an ungrateful society to its knees. The movie's chief subplot, about a superhero imitator, "suggests not only class warfare, but also something approaching a Divine Right of Superheroes," he adds.
And speaking of superheroes, then there's the Batman:
When Christopher Nolan's 'The Dark Knight' was released, it was a critical & financial success. However, another thing that happened was Conservatives started claiming the movie. They argued the Joker is a stand-in for terrorism, and the film is really an allegory for the War on Terror & George W. Bush's Presidency.
"I was amazed how many of my friends walked out of The Dark Knight completely unable to see that it was a heroic portrait of George Bush. Hell, I hate that guy, and I kind of liked the film, and still I could see it plain as day. Extraordinary Rendition? Check. Wiretapping the populace? Check (although just this one time, when it's absolutely vital. Honest.) Torture a guy for information? Sure, Batman's for it... he drops a guy off a roof to intentionally break his legs, after all... but when Harvey tries it Batman objects, not because it's wrong, but because "What if the public saw you do it?" Don't let that kind of thing get traced back to the top. And then there's the end, where the most heroic thing that can be done for the public is to keep the truth from them for their own good, even if that means the public turns on and hates the one protecting them... our dark savior.
I swear, Bush must masturbate to that film every night."