I have a confession to make. I watched Twilight recently. It wasn't something I did because I wanted to, it was because I watched Alien with a good friend of mine and it frightened her so badly that she wanted to watch something she could laugh at to calm herself down. I thought I was going to laugh at it as well, but in the end I was just frustrated by how poor it was.
That's not the point of this post, though. I also, more recently, watched a film called Gosford Park. It is a murder mystery that takes place in England during the 1930s, and it's wonderful. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since I saw it last Monday night. It is full of rich characters. So full, in fact, that it is hard to keep track of who's who for a little while. But it's more than worth it in the end.
I'm confused about the craze surrounding movies like Twilight. There are far less characters in Twilight than in Gosford Park, which would make one think that they are better developed and more memorable. Not so. I can remember vividly each of the twenty-plus characters in the latter film, where none of the characters in Twilight seemed in any way remarkable or memorable to me. Why are people more drawn to movies where boring people do things in a boring way, rather than intelligent ones that cause audiences to think and reflect?
I know these thoughts aren't particularly new or original, but they are what some of my thoughts have been spent on this past week. I encourage everyone to see Gosford Park, it really is a marvel. That's all.
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3 comments:
To fiercely love something that others passively enjoy is to sometimes feel quite lonely.
But don't let that loneliness make you bitter. And don't let someone's artistic taste allow you to look down on them. Their souls are often quite rich in other ways. (A friend of mine recently talked to me about why she likes Taylor Swift: She finds Taylor Swifts music to be real and fresh and authentic and non-conformist. I don't know that anything these things are actually true about Taylor Swift, but I think these are beautiful reasons to like an artist.)
Anyway, I realize this sounds a little sermon-y, which I don't intend. I think you articulated your thoughts well and graciously here. I'm only warning you of potential bumps down the road a ways. Ones that I wished I'd steered a little more clear of!
Great thoughts! Thanks for posting!
Thanks for commenting!
I hope I didn't come across as judgmental or condescending towards those who gravitate more towards Twilight and the like, I didn't intend to. I was more trying to communicate a confusion/frustration with the film itself and the fact that it has a broader audience. But I appreciate your cautioning me on that, as it is something that I find myself doing more often than I care to admit...people should not be thought less of just because their preferences are different than mine. Thanks!
i like your blog =) and i agree that (unfortunately) Twilight is a good rebound movie after a scary film...
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