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.

  • TheUrbanaSquirrel [she/her]
    ·
    4 years ago

    So my theory is it’s a problem of framing. Sure, these movies go “oh yeah, and then these people were fucked and had miserable lives ever after” but they don’t always dwell on that the way something like Mad Men does so what people take away is all the fun cool stuff.

    Yes, usually the comeuppance happens in the last act of the film, often only lasting a few minutes. The funny thing about the coke parties from Wolf of Wall Street is those are all fictional scenes that had to be shot. So when you think about it, filming that and trying to keep up your energy level for the scene, multiple times for multiple cameras, is pretty exhausting. Just like the party itself.