Well, I'm back. I saw two movies while I was away, so let's talk, shall we?
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer
Cary Grant across Myrna Loy and a teen-aged Shirley Temple--can't go wrong, right? Right. This movie was so much fun! Can't say it's my favorite Cary Grant, but it was way good anyway. Some very good lines. My favorite? Hm. That's tough, especially only having seen it once, but one real winner was, "I couldn't help but overhear--my ear was to the door." (Maybe it's funnier in context; I dunno. The movie makes Happy Birthday pretty funny, too.)
Wall-E
I love Pixar; I still believe (as I long have, though I may have never stated it here) that every one of their films is quality. Wall-E had some magic moments. I was especially drawn in by the early scenes because it's truly amazing how much is portrayed sans spoken language; I was very impressed. I don't wish to say (or even to imply) that I lost interest in it as it progressed (because that is absolutely not true), but I'm just not sure how to take it. I think another viewing would probably help a lot. I wouldn't call it a political film, but it deals with a lot of politically-charged topics (viz. environmentalism, obesity, technology dependency, media addiction, corporate power, society's herd mentality (especially as regards fashion and lifestyle), biased public education, and, were I even more nitpicky, probably several other things). I don't think that it was intended to preach any specific doctrine; I don't, in fact, believe that it was really intended to be a political movie. I suppose, if it's guilty of anything, it's guilty of reflecting the human condition disturbingly well, and I, for all my talk about how that's exactly what fiction ought to do, was a little put off by what I saw because I feel so above all of it (which probably makes me a part of the problem).
Anybody else seen Wall-E? Any thoughts anyone?
Both these flicks are worth your time, though; mighty fine movies, both.
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ReplyDeleteI had something I wanted to say to you about science fiction film in general after the flick while we were at the park, but you weren't feeling well so I played badminton instead. That's how you know I'm a good brother.
Science fiction film is almost always political. Not necessary and not a part of its taxonomy, but so common that people often accidentally act as if it were part of the taxonomy.
Take Esther for an example. Most people, when trying to define scripture, would probably say it mentions God. Probably a lot. Right? This is why some people have tried to excise Esther from the Bible: the book never mentions God. Yet mentioning God is not part of the definition of scripture--it's not part of its taxonomy. It's possible to be scripture without it--even very excellent scripture.
Politics in science fiction is much the same. It is not a part of the species description, but it's so common that its absence would be startling. It's kind of hard to imagine what an absolutely politics-free science fiction film would look like. SF generally deals with the future extrapolated from the now. So first you have to say what's happening now. And that's hard to make politics-free.
The real question is does WALL·E handle its political subtexts well and appropriately. General consensus is yes, it does. I agree with this consensus. On second viewing I found the film's politics much less noticeable than on first viewing. On third viewing I may focus primarily on the politics--who can guess.
Anyway, I want you to define what you meant by "all of it" as in "I . . . was a little put off by what I saw because I feel so above all of it".
As for favorite lines, impossible. There are so many! Myrna Loy and Cary Grant can't miss with good writing. They are two of Hollywood's all-time great line-deliverers. Have you seen this one?
Not yet. It's on my to-do list.
ReplyDelete(PS Where was the "there are so many!" link supposed to go?)
Hey Schmet! Welcome back!
ReplyDeleteHm... Well, never seen the first one. Although finally managed to see Wall-E the other day. Still need to see Kung-fu Panda though...
Yeah, I pretty much agree. I thought Wall-E and Eve were absolutely adorable. ^.^ But the story line... so-so. Can't even really pin down why... I did have a problem with the captain going from blob to action hero, but it was more then that... *shrug* Yeah, I wanna see it again too.
As for politics in Sci-fi... Hm... Never really thought about that. I can think of specific episodes of things where I've noticed it. The prime directive comes to mind. (who me? A trecky?... never. ^.^) But never really thought of that as a blanket thing... Huh... Now that you mention it...
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