Erica and I went to see (500) Days of Summer on Saturday night--which I'll tell you more about shortly--and I was a little depressed and outraged to find that the cinema has bumped up prices yet again, so that our little 90 minute date cost us a total of $19, without popcorn and soda, which we then skipped. Maybe we're a little too cheap, or maybe I'm just surprised at what people are dishing out so much money for.
Since Neville isn't too active in the blogosphere anymore, I'll take the liberty of blogging some of his recent thoughts, like how much money has been spent on movies this summer, and--what may be the greater disappointment--on what kind of movies it's been spent.
He forwarded and article by AO Scott from the New York Times. In it, the man who is one of the most respectable movie reviewers today sounds a little bit cranky and a little ostentatious, coming off in such a way that he'll probably end up preaching only to the choir. But I found myself agreeing, with Neville too, making me realize I'm tired of people declaring certain movies are weird and no movie is meant for thinking too much.
In a lot of ways, I am growing more and more convinced all the time about the need to make, watch, and support certain types of movies and think critically about and thoughtfully discuss all types of movies. At the same time, I am growing less and less vocal about both convictions, a little weary from being shrugged off or just misunderstood so often.
Is this post sounding really really arrogant? It's not meant to at all, I don't think, and perhaps it would be good to explain these thoughts further rather than just whine about it. But you can start by reading the article I'm mentioning:
"From toddlerhood we are fluent in the pop-cultural consumerist idiom: Again! More! Another one! Children are ceaselessly demanding, it’s true; but they are also easily satisfied, and this combination of appetite and docility makes the child an ideal moviegoer. But since there are a finite number of literal children out there, with limited disposable income and short attention spans, Hollywood has to make or find new ones. And so the studios have, with increasing vigor and intensity, carried out a program of mass infantilization."
Monday, August 10, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
If you keep complaining of movie costs and a date being $19, you're never going to cultivate the romance more in your marriage, Nate. :)
Maybe you needed (500) Days Of Summer more than those tweenies did. Maybe it was for you and instead of thinking, "How can I be more romantic" after leaving the cinema, you came home and wrote on your blog, "Geez, a date with your wife is sure getting expensive these days." lol
I can't tell, were you also the star of "Up" this year? ;)
Post a Comment