Went to a movie theater and saw a trailer for a movie where I was interested in the first 30 seconds of it, but the trailer then showed what looked like something probably from the last 10 minutes and spoiled the entire movie, so lost all interest.
So what movies come to mind as having done really good, where it makes you interested and gives you an idea of the movie, but doesn’t ruin any big reveals?
Fight Club. I literally avoided it because all the ads made it seem like some ‘BRO FIGHTING IS HARDCORE AND AWESOME LETS CHUG A BEER’ dudebro bullshit.
The fan interpretation of the movie as literally that really colors my perception of the movie. I love Bukowski (with some trepidation), and I know that the dudebro interpretation is 180 degrees from the intended meaning, but when it’s that badly misinterpreted I can’t help but feel like the cultural baggage weighs it down. It’s been decades since I’ve seen it, but when I started becoming aware of the PUA culture ((which I think provided the nucleus to the incel/maga culture we see today), they were leaning hard into it.
Contrast that with American History X, which I’ve been told has been interpreted by skinhead/WP subcultures as a film that portrays them positively and justifies their POV. I don’t associate that movie with that interpretation because they’re a much more marginalized community (at least until 2016), and because the movie really beats you over the head with the message so much that misinterpretation cannot be attributed to the film.
Do you mean Palahniuk? Bukowski didn’t write Fight Club
Yup - you’re right. I kinda have the same hang ups with both, and it’s late, so I got them confused.
Look up ‘The Stunt Man’ with Peter O’Toole. He plays a director trying to make a WW1 movie. At one point he’s talking to the film’s writer. “A director I really admire once made a truly great anti-war movie. Military recruitment in his home town jumped 500% after they screened it.”
I had it figured out from the scene on the airplane.
“Oh look, we have the same suitcase!”
“Oh, fuck me!!”