• MaoTheLawn [any, any]
      ·
      edit-2
      3 months ago

      The people who started the company are just 3 white blokes with extensive industry experience who had their finger on the pulse of media appetite outside of blockbusters. They're not activists or politically motivated in a serious sense.

      Maybe I'm being harsh but it seems like aside from a few good films they mainly just pump out quirky liberal stuff for the sake of generating profits - a heartfelt i-think-i-like-this-little-life movie with vague themes of representation and a saturated colour palette*** can be put together on a middling budget and easily recoup costs. Commercial viability is of course unavoidable but it feels like a motivating factor.

      Civil War's their most expensive movie so far and it's only 50 million USD.

      ***Or whatever it is that tiktok is harking for in the moment: trauma-as-horror, the 2000s, existentialism, Adam Sandler, etc.

      • RyanGosling [none/use name]
        ·
        3 months ago

        One of the funniest weird lefty sentiments I’ve seen is that A24 is anti capitalist. I think I came across a tweet saying some shit like “people hate A24 because it’s anti capitalist and doesn’t have a super hero flying around for 3 hours” and I couldn’t stop laughing at how absurd this premise is. People really out here thinking some depression demon making a girl traumatized is calling for the overthrow of a system

      • yoink [she/her]
        ·
        edit-2
        3 months ago

        ok there are a lot of valid criticisms of A24 and the culture around them, but saying that the majority of their films are heartfelt twee indie movies or tiktok movies is completely untrue

        like you can read down the list of A24 films on Wikipedia, if anything the 'twee indie film' archetype is surprisingly underrepresented, and the bulk of the company's lifespan (and the movies that got them some reputation in the first place) are pre-tiktok explosion

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_A24_films

        • MaoTheLawn [any, any]
          ·
          3 months ago

          Yeah, kinda true - and I have to respect the gambles that paid off when they invested in the careers of Aster and Eggers who have now continued to produce with A24.

          I guess it's now that they're so big (especially since lockdown and their deals with gluttonous streaming platforms) that I feel like I can smell their marketing/audience research board members through the screen.

        • spacecadet [he/him]
          ·
          3 months ago

          Damn they got a ton of solid and great movies on that list.

    • corgiwithalaptop [any, love/loves]M
      ·
      3 months ago

      I don't pay much attention to film companies, but a24 is one i recognize as having usually greatly enjoyed the output of. Surprised they touched this one.

    • LaGG_3 [he/him, comrade/them]
      ·
      3 months ago

      Disappointing that Alex Garland made this movie, too. I like a bit of his older stuff, now I'll just look at it like kombucha-disgust

          • LaGG_3 [he/him, comrade/them]
            ·
            3 months ago

            the fuck happened here

            Maybe a bit of the boomerification of Gen X mixed with proof that auteur theory is bunk lol

          • theposterformerlyknownasgood
            ·
            3 months ago

            Why do you expect someone who is capable of crafting a narrative about personal trauma and the nature of creative work to also necessarily have interesting thoughts about politics?

            • Sons_of_Ferrix
              ·
              3 months ago

              Yeah we really need to drop this whole "only leftists are creative" shit. People with crap politics can make good art, and on the flip side leftists can be artistically incompetent, look at me! I couldn't write a short story good enough to impress a cockroach!

          • emizeko [they/them]
            ·
            edit-2
            3 months ago

            you might like the book even more, check it out. I read it and the two books that follow it before I saw the movie and they have a really unique atmosphere

  • NewLeaf
    ·
    3 months ago

    I miss the concrete milkshake discourse

    • emizeko [they/them]
      ·
      3 months ago

      the most important thing about concrete milkshakes is not missing

    • axont [she/her, comrade/them]
      ·
      3 months ago

      There was such a fun slapstick era of accused antifa weapons. Concrete milkshakes, improvised flamethrowers, rotten eggs. My favorite will always be the last one I remember, the "soup for my family"

  • krolden@lemmy.ml
    ·
    edit-2
    3 months ago

    No it says footage provided by.

    Unless he's also thanking Getty images

  • RyanGosling [none/use name]
    ·
    edit-2
    3 months ago

    Lazy ass movie with a lazy ass title. Americans are horny for civil war but there’s not any real tension. The politicians who are nominally for secession are unserious because they benefit greatly as of now, and most don’t give a shit about Trump but need to pretend they do because their party is full of insane people. But both sides ultimately think voting for the right politicians will defeat the other side. No one even cares when governors pull some bullshit against federal laws and mandates

    • axont [she/her, comrade/them]
      ·
      3 months ago

      The most tense issue politically right now is either Palestine or abortion, neither of which I could see instigating secession or war. There's longstanding complaints about healthcare, poverty, and debt but none of that is politically mobilized enough to do anything.

      • marxisthayaca [he/him,they/them]
        ·
        3 months ago

        Further totalitarian crackdowns on protesters rubber stamped by both libs and conservatives get passed due to Palestinian support. Proceed to use said crackdowns and privacy violation laws to charge women and men assisting with abortions, either through shipping over the counter drugs, driving or donating for trips out of state, and worse.

        This is a slow process, but it’s only a matter of time until they have an abortion police division. Texas has already passed a snitching law.

  • theposterformerlyknownasgood
    ·
    3 months ago

    Helen Lewis

    Lol lmao wtf. Why would you thank her. For what? Like not only are all her takes bad, she's just comically out of touch. What did she contribute and how.

  • LENINSGHOSTFACEKILLA [he/him]M
    ·
    3 months ago

    Not quite "thanking" Ngo, but they have to credit him for his footage. Unlikely the director had much to do with pulling the footage, but saw the dailies of the edited archival footage and okayed it.

    Still gonna have shit-tier politics and messaging, but maybe it'll be decent popcorn slop? I wasn't gonna pay money for this anyway.

    • Egon [they/them]
      hexagon
      ·
      3 months ago

      It's going to be the kind of film I hate and love at the same time. Shitty politics but good plot/story. Like every movie from the '80s.