Movies
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As parents we have a choice to make as to what our children are exposed to. We choose not to let out son play with toy guns, and certainly don't expose him to films with guns (he is 3 1/2). If evidence of the continual ready exposure to graphic images on the young was needed, look at their perceptions of sexual relationships, boys particularly.
The British Army have a recruitment campaign at present that shows a teenage boy playing shoot em ups alone in his bedroom, with a parent commenting passively outside his bedroom door as though there was nothing possibly they could do to change the situation. The promo then switches to the same lad in the field carrying an assault rifle. Appaulling.
It's not a subjective issue. A person that triggers a firearm harnesses the power to kill themselves or someone else by accident or with purpose. Show more use of firearms in cinema I say, but show the reality, not the glorification. The visceral not the gratuitous.
Good points @Stuart.T
I'm on the other end of the spectrum. I allow my son to play with Nerf guns. Educating your child about the dangers of gun use, toy or real, is obviously important, so I do my best to make my son understand this. My ex-wife is 100% anti-gun, however, she took our boy to a summer camp last summer and he was allowed to shoot a compound bow, a bolt-action rimfire rifle and a slingshot. I didn't mind but more than anything I was surprised that she allowed our son to participate in these activities. I used to own a couple of rifles, which I no longer have, but my ex sure as hell let me know at every opportunity how much she hated them, despite the fact that I took a firearm safety course, read many books on rifles and kept them locked in a heavy duty safe.
With that said, I completely understand why some parents may take a harder stance on the idea of guns. I know a couple of other parents that will not let their children play with toy guns.
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Those franchises are very responsible for a generation of car owner in the UK modifying their vehicles and crashing them into ditches, or trees on blind corners, to the extent that where I live local authorities regularly apply dispersal orders for modified car meets.that said, I'm not against those type of films, I'm not against gun play in films.
Cars kill out of consequence through irresponsible or accidental use. The same simply cannot be said of firearms. I don't believe that horror films create killers, or that pornography creates rapists, or that westerns create gun toting rednecks, but I would like the industry to be more responsible in their portrayals. Not all audiences are as discerning or intelligent as the majority of IH's forum members. I do not advocate censorship either, just responsibility.
Anyone have recommendations for a really well written US indie comedy? It's been a while since we've watched one. 'Florida' was probably the most recent (dark) comedy we watched.
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@gaseousclay I've always thought of films such as The Thing and The Mist having huge debts of appreciation to Lovecraft.
I understand and respect your stance, and have juggled with the balance between a zero tolerance approach, with that of supervised and educated use. Our cultures are different too, so the future potential for my son to own a firearm is much more limited. Culture aside though, I will seek to educate him to make responsible choices about everything I can, for example illicit drugs too, and wouldn't encourage him to use something that could ultimately lead to his or another's death.
Whether the rationale be 'I use it recreationally to help me relax or 'I own it to defend my family and I, and it's a hobbie', there is always an intrinsic morality that can inform choice if educated and provided with a wide selection of information.
I think this thread is way subverted now!
So, indie comedy films?
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@gaseousclay I've always thought of films such as The Thing and The Mist having huge debts of appreciation to Lovecraft.
I agree. I love both films!
I understand and respect your stance, and have juggled with the balance between a zero tolerance approach, with that of supervised and educated use. Our cultures are different too, so the future potential for my son to own a firearm is much more limited. Culture aside though, I will seek to educate him to make responsible choices about everything I can, for example illicit drugs too, and wouldn't encourage him to use something that could ultimately lead to his or another's death.
Whether the rationale be 'I use it recreationally to help me relax or 'I own it to defend my family and I, and it's a hobbie', there is always an intrinsic morality that can inform choice if educated and provided with a wide selection of information.
I agree that the culture in which you live will play a role, in addition to education. I was born in Japan and lived there until I was 17. As you know, Japan has some of the strictest gun laws in the world, and their low crime rate proves that it is effective. Once upon a time I used to be anti-gun, then indifferent about it and then I started reading up on the subject and it really piqued my interest. Once I became fully immersed it was then that I started to appreciate firearms. For me it was more about the craftsmanship, the history, the culture, etc. It became an obsession the same way that denim became an obsession (or any other hobby for that matter). I think it's perfectly reasonable for people to fear that which they don't understand. Guns are scary, as they should be, but with proper education those fears dwindle.
I'm primarily interested in hunting culture. I know there are some that despise hunting but once I read about conservation practices and the environmental impact to local eco-systems (because of herd over population) I started to understand the benefits of hunting. I just read a news article that talked about Chronic Wasting Disease in deer populations and how it can be potentialy transmittable to humans if left unchecked.
Anyway, i've meandered off topic but it's good to have civil discussions about controversial topics sometimes
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The physics in The Fast and the Furious movies are largely fantasy, I have yet to hear someone say that they have a problem with the glorification of driving like an asshole.
Actually, I have. There have been a lot of reports that those movies triggered a rise in real-life illegal street racing. And when you think about it, a very popular movie franchise inspiring a generation of street racers (impressionable young people paired with something exhilarating, dangerous, and antisocial) makes perfect sense. Correlation is not causation, but at least in the States, street racing took off after the 2001 release of the first movie. At any rate, there have been complaints about these movies' role in the street racing epidemic.
But as it pertains to violence and realism, is it better to gloss over what it really looks like when a hollowpoint hits someone in the cheekbone, or is it better to be very realistic? I'm not sure. The former could be said to be taking the realism out in a way that might make people trivialize firearms violence (similar to how all the Gulf War footage of "smart" bombs was said to dehumanize warfare), and the latter could be glorifying it to people who are prone to enjoying violence and gore. Does the former or the latter desensitize more? Does the former or the latter create more or less violence in society?
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I think the main responsibilities are a) the intent of the film maker b) the reaction to it of a responsible audience
There is a world of difference between the unflinchingly graphic rape scene in Irriversible, and that of pornography that depicts rape. The filmaker's intents are different, and the viewer's relationship with the experience are different (I hope!).
In filmmaking scenes left to the imagination can be far more impactful than a graphic shot…imagine a scene of an 8 year old girl walking into a room with her father's hand gun that she found in a draw, all you hear is one shot, the child walking out, then a shot of her mother slumped in a chair. To some that would be so much more impactful than a full frontal head shot of an assassination in a movie about drug cartels.
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In filmmaking scenes left to the imagination can be far more impactful than a graphic shot…imagine a scene of an 8 year old girl walking into a room with her father's hand gun that she found in a draw, all you hear is one shot, the child walking out, then a shot of her mother slumped in a chair. To some that would be so much more impactful than a full frontal head shot of an assassination in a movie about drug cartels.
Your description made me think of that scene at the end of Sonatine where Takeshi Kitano puts a gun to his head and kills himself (after he wipes out all the yakuza bosses). That scene left me stunned when I first saw it.
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Any of you watch The Endless? I think it's a Netflix film but i've been reading good reviews. Curious if it's as good as the reviews say or if it's all hype.
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Any of you watch The Endless? I think it's a Netflix film but i've been reading good reviews. Curious if it's as good as the reviews say or if it's all hype.
Yep, it's worth watching. I don't think it's Netflix though, at least in terms of the initial production. Sci-fi time-travel (not your typical time travel but I don't want to give anything away) film with cult elements. As far as unusual time travel plots go, I think it's been covered here, but "Primer" is a winner.
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Any of you watch The Endless? I think it's a Netflix film but i've been reading good reviews. Curious if it's as good as the reviews say or if it's all hype.
Yep, it's worth watching. I don't think it's Netflix though, at least in terms of the initial production. Sci-fi time-travel (not your typical time travel but I don't want to give anything away) film with cult elements. As far as unusual time travel plots go, I think it's been covered here, but "Primer" is a winner.
Good to know. I'll keep an eye out for it should it ever get a dvd release.
And yes, Primer is a classic. I haven't seen Upstream Color yet though. Is that any good?
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Any of you watch The Endless? I think it's a Netflix film but i've been reading good reviews. Curious if it's as good as the reviews say or if it's all hype.
Yep, it's worth watching. I don't think it's Netflix though, at least in terms of the initial production. Sci-fi time-travel (not your typical time travel but I don't want to give anything away) film with cult elements. As far as unusual time travel plots go, I think it's been covered here, but "Primer" is a winner.
Good to know. I'll keep an eye out for it should it ever get a dvd release.
And yes, Primer is a classic. I haven't seen Upstream Color yet though. Is that any good?
Damn! I was waiting so long for that that I forgot about it. No idea, but adding to the list.
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Watched Free Solo this past weekend. Absolutely unbelievable documentary. If you haven't heard of it it's about a rock climber who climbs the largest vertical rock face on earth (El Capitan)….. Without ropes.
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^ Thanks to your recommendation BnT we watched Free Solo again last night after watching it in the cinema in Bath in December. I've been following Alex Honnold since 2012 when I was indoor climbing in Bristol and saw him climb Half Dome in the First Ascent documentary by National Geographic. He is a climbing legend and a real character. Outside of climbing he really is like an adult child. Awesome documentary about an awesome guy [emoji122]
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Outside of climbing he really is like an adult child. Awesome documentary about an awesome guy [emoji122]
Exactly, he does have a childlike innocence and almost a sense of wonder, particularly when you meet him in person, though he does carry a level of consciousness not typically seen in children. I love what he is doing with his charity to get solar power into the hands of park rangers in various African preserves, for example. Important work that helps them battle poachers. A good person who deserves every bit of the success that he has dedicated his life to, and someone who gives back.
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Just watched «You were never really here». Best film I’ve seen in a long, long time. A beautiful film about some ugly stuff. Deeply uncomfortable to watch at times but so lovely as well.
WOW what a film
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Just watched «You were never really here». Best film I’ve seen in a long, long time. A beautiful film about some ugly stuff. Deeply uncomfortable to watch at times but so lovely as well.
Very good film. We really enjoyed it. If I had to sum up the type and feeling of films I really enjoy, this would be it.
