I'm trying to find an essay, research, or any deeper analysis about why some people, most often conservatives, don't understand film. One of my FB friends posted this meme and it got me thinking about this phenomena.

Some people watch a film* and take the characters and the story completely at face value. They don't see any deeper message from the director. They don't understand that Goodfellas for example, is not a film about a couple of cool guys. Scorsese is not endorsing their behavior or their values.

Any help diving deeper into this topic is appreciated.

*By the way, you could say the same for literature, but since most people don't read past high school. I wanted to focus my question on film.

ETA: Thanks everyone for engaging with me. I've been a lurker and commenter since the early Reddit days, this was my first post.

  • MaoTheLawn [any, any]
    ·
    4 years ago

    I think it can apply to anyone. You see what you want to see unless you're actually someone who actively engages in analysing a film or trying to get the 'deeper meaning'. I sometimes insert lefty themes, consciously and subconsciously into films because it makes me enjoy them more.

    Why can't Goodfellas be about some cool guys being cool? I don't think anyone's in a place to tell someone what art means to them. All this shite about the auteur, the death of the author, yada yada yada, just feels pointless to me. People watch films to be engaged/entertained, and it's up to them how they do that.

    • StLangoustine [any]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Yeah. There is corner of twitter/reddit where people think that good film analysis is having moralistic positions on characters and their actions.

      Thinking those cool guys are cool - dimwitted, incapable of film analysis. Thinking Tyler, Joker and Taxi driver represent nothing but toxic white masculinity - clever, incredibly deep analysis.

      I watched Wolf of Wall Street for the first time recently. Ever since it came out people have been making fun of the idiots who thought it's a movie about cool guy doing cool things with cool friends. I watch it and lo and behold: it's a movie about a cool guy who flew too close to the the sun, got burned but still landed on his feet and continues to pursue his dream. All the shallow moralising I saw on film twitter just isn't there...

    • TheUrbanaSquirrel [she/her]
      ·
      4 years ago

      All this shite about the auteur, the death of the author, yada yada yada, just feels pointless to me.

      That's fine. I don't mean to get all up a director's asshole and say that they are perfect in their intent and execution.

      Why can’t Goodfellas be about some cool guys being cool?

      It definitely can. That's how I remember the film when seeing it as a child. But upon rewatching there were some scenes that stayed with me. First, the coke-binge Sunday dinner sequence was really funny but also a glimpse into the chaos of their lives. The scene where Karen suspects Jimmy wants to kill her. And the fights between Henry and Karen. My husband and I have a very different relationship. Seeing those fights reminds me of some other fucked up relationships I've seen throughout my life.