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

    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.