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I'm going to be teaching film next year. I've taught film for a number of years so this is nothing new. The course is focused on ideology and narrative. However, a rather irritating rule of the course is that one of the films we study has to be made within the past 5 years. Which is rather irritating 'cos I'm fairly old-school in what films I like and enjoy teaching. I'm teaching teenagers so for the modern film, I'd like to stick to something in popular culture and the more obvious, the better. The films which I am deciding between are Black Panther, Captain Marvel and the all-female remake of the Ghostbusters. Personally, I didn't think that these movies were particularly great, and aside from the ideology in them, there isn't THAT much meat left on the bones in terms of a deep analysis. So far I'm leaning towards the female reboot of the Ghostbusters because it's the most obvious, but I'd HOPE we can do better than any of those three films? So does anybody have any kickass suggestions? Note: It shouldn't need to be stated, but just in case, let's not discuss the validity of the ideology, nor how well the film applied it. If it's an obvious ideology, it's an option. I don't want this to turn into a shitshow.
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Jan 6, 2020 06:14
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 21:41 |
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Yeah the 5 year rule kinda sucks for picking out particularly good examples of mainstream-ish movies that have clear ideology and are fun to watch I'd lean away from comic book and franchise blockbusters because arguably their ideological agenda tends to be "keep the franchise going, oh but also dress it up like <thing that's in the popular zeitgeist>" and I'd think in a class room with college age kids the shitshow of arguing about whether those movies have genuine ideology or not is all the more likely to get ugly. Sorry to Bother You is also pretty clear about its ideology Green Book is a sappy terrible film intended to assuage white guilt about the treatment of African Americans with a schlocky "See, we can all learn from each other?" story made even worse by attempts to graft the generic story over real people/a historical figure. The other suggestions in the list are actually enjoyable to watch though. It might be worth bringing up if the kids can remember the giant Oscars stink over this movie a few years ago. The Big Short has clear messages about the moral rot of the financial sector, though might be a bit boring for them but stars actors they'll recognize. Jordan Peele's Get Out is still in the 5 year window too. The later Purge movies (like The First Purge) wear their ideology on their sleeve and also turned into decent thrillers. They're now about a corrupt government murdering people in the streets and framing the poor for it as an excuse to continue to crack down and distract from a failing society. Yeah I know I just said stay away from franchise films, but the purge carved a weird niche, the studio just wanted to keep churning out sequels and didn't seem to pay attention to who they left minding the shop, and then the actual good purge movies with commentary got popular so it has changed its focus.
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Jan 6, 2020 08:59
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I think Parasite or Okja by Bong Joon-ho would be good choices.
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Jan 6, 2020 09:19
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Just show whatever, none of your teenagers actually care. If they're anything like me, anyway.
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Jan 6, 2020 13:57
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Coolness Averted posted:Yeah the 5 year rule kinda sucks for picking out particularly good examples of mainstream-ish movies that have clear ideology and are fun to watch He probably can't show Sorry to bother you to teenage students, what with all the swearing, drug use and man-horse cock.
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Jan 6, 2020 14:40
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I’m not sure I understand the prompt at all, but why not Moonlight, or Widows, or Sicario? At the very least, please don’t do any of the ones you said.
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Jan 6, 2020 15:01
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Mad Max: Fury Road e: It turns 5 in May 2020. sean10mm fucked around with this message at 15:47 on Jan 6, 2020 |
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Jan 6, 2020 15:44
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Do 6 Underground, OP
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Jan 6, 2020 15:47
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General Dog posted:Do 6 Underground, OP Sounds like a joke but 6 Underground has the ideology of "CIA-backed coups in South America are actually good but need fewer laws." What a poo poo movie.
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Jan 6, 2020 15:55
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sean10mm posted:Mad Max: Fury Road
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Jan 6, 2020 15:58
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Like, it's teenagers, there are plenty of good choices for this requirement but none of them will be as effective as Mad Max: Fury Road.
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Jan 6, 2020 15:59
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Yeah I don’t get this take of movies being not very ideological lately, if anything it’s gotten more and more blatant. If you need something SFW but also want to incite a discussion, you can really open a can of worms by showing Zootopia - a movie that, in its efforts to be antiracist, becomes absurdly racist.
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Jan 6, 2020 16:20
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Pirate Jet posted:Yeah I don’t get this take of movies being not very ideological lately, if anything it’s gotten more and more blatant. Remember how your introduction to satire was 'A Modest Proposal'? The issue isn't movies don't have an agenda, it's just OP needs the hugely obvious hits the kids over the head sort of thing. Where the movie says 'this is about x' Like Zootopia, is very obvious for it's antiracism message, but I think you're arguing more that it's flawed. In the same way I think most posters here would argue Wonder Woman had a very clear neocon and reactionary warhawk ideology thinly masked as 'feminist' but that's a bit too complex a take for an intro class imo. Majkol posted:He probably can't show Sorry to bother you to teenage students, what with all the swearing, drug use and man-horse cock.
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Jan 6, 2020 17:12
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I don't think you can get any more blatantly ideological than the end of BlacKKKlansman.Kull the Conqueror posted:I’m not sure I understand the prompt at all, but why not Moonlight, or Widows, or Sicario? At the very least, please don’t do any of the ones you said. A good comparison would be Sicario vs Sicario 2.
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Jan 6, 2020 18:34
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Inzombiac posted:Sounds like a joke but 6 Underground has the ideology of "CIA-backed coups in South America are actually good but need fewer laws." Yeah, I'm just saying it's a good example of a movie that wears its ideology on its sleeve. Elysium is a good baby's first political allegory, but that's 2013.
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Jan 6, 2020 18:40
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Captain Jesus posted:I think Parasite or Okja by Bong Joon-ho would be good choices. Seconding this, although both films ultimately undercut their ostensible ideologies
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Jan 6, 2020 19:00
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General Dog posted:Yeah, I'm just saying it's a good example of a movie that wears its ideology on its sleeve. Yeah district 9 or snowpiercer would be great too, but they've also aged out of the window.
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Jan 7, 2020 00:34
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Too bad American Sniper is aged out, it's pretty blatant. Same with Pandora's Promise, though it's a documentary and makes no claims to impartiality. Pervert's Guide to Ideology is too old, but drat if that wouldn't be a great meta commentary on the whole assignment. 13 Hours is only four years old and it's got Vilerat in it.
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Jan 7, 2020 00:44
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Thanks for the responses so far. I'm gonna draw the line at films made in 2016 to be safe. The rule says within 5 years, but who knows when in 2015 they draw that line? The rule is a terrible idea and ambiguous so I'll play it safe. I'd hate to get kids through this course for them to fail due to an utterly bullshit technicality. So Mad Max is out. Unfortunately 'cos that'd be great fun! Also, please bear in mind these are teenagers. Seniors mind you, so I can get away with some explicit content, but I don't necessarily want to go hog wild either. That also means that yeah, I want something which beats the audience over the head with the ideology rather than a few casual references (which is why out of the movies I first listed, I was leaning towards Ghostbusters, even though it's...an amazingly bad film) I'm going to re-watch Moonlight 'cos that's a good contender (albiet I'm concerned about how graphic the content is. From memory, there wasn't anything TOO intense, but I always like to double check). Widows and Parasite also look like good options too so I'll watch those. Always happy for more recommendations 
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Jan 7, 2020 01:50
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Parasite and moonlight both have on screen but obscured hand job scenes.
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Jan 7, 2020 02:48
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Joker is ideological
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Jan 7, 2020 02:52
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Maybe captive state? I haven't seen it but Slavoj Zizek liked it
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Jan 7, 2020 02:59
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First reformed
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Jan 7, 2020 03:04
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Literally any movie except the ones you mentioned OP. Just watch parasite or joker
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Jan 7, 2020 03:14
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I was gonna say Perverts Guide to Ideology but it’s already 7 years old.
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Jan 7, 2020 03:41
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Personally, I feel like Joker made efforts to kinda avoid being ideological. They mention a lot of things (EG: The riots etc.) but it makes an effort to keep the focus on the character of The Joker himself. When asked if he wanted to create a movement or whatever, Joker said "No." I think the commentary on capitalism, devaluing mental health, rich vs. poor etc. were all the framework to set up a plausible fall-from-grace character arc, but the film wanted to just be a character study. That doesn't prevent it from being ideological ('cos there's a LOT in there), but I'd rather pull apart a movie which was overtly, from the outset, trying to be ideological. I'll put it on the list of movies to watch and have another look 'cos I know there's a fair bit in it.
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Jan 7, 2020 04:24
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What the gently caress does "ideological" mean? Every movie is ideological. Anyways: you can show them Dragged Across Concrete, it's basically just a three hour apologia for racism. Or Knives Out, which is basically about how rich people suck. Or The Souvenir, which is about how heroin is bad. Or Transit. Transit would be good.
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Jan 7, 2020 04:51
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God's Not Dead 2
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Jan 7, 2020 04:57
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H13 posted:Personally, I feel like Joker made efforts to kinda avoid being ideological. You just dismissed a movie with a very clear ideological message as 'just a framing' I'm not sure I know what you mean by ideological movie anymore.
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Jan 7, 2020 05:08
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Cats
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Jan 7, 2020 05:16
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TychoCelchuuu posted:What the gently caress does "ideological" mean? OP seems to be straightforwardly looking for something like "the film makers are consciously and explicitly making use of a prima facie political system of ideas (or prima facie political idea which is part of a political system of ideas) to guide the creation of a film." The sort of stuff that someone who imagines most of the world (and most movies) as apolitical would nevertheless easily see as political. I think Okja is a good choice because it conforms the desired understanding of 'ideological', is an actually good movie, and is accessible on Netflix which a good number of students will likely have access to. I think it would be cool to give that class Cats, tell them it was ideological but not how, and ask them to figure it out for themselves. You'd probably get some great answers.
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Jan 7, 2020 05:31
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Hand Knit posted:OP seems to be straightforwardly looking for something like "the film makers are consciously and explicitly making use of a prima facie political system of ideas (or prima facie political idea which is part of a political system of ideas) to guide the creation of a film." The sort of stuff that someone who imagines most of the world (and most movies) as apolitical would nevertheless easily see as political. Yeah do the Cats thing plz
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Jan 7, 2020 08:04
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Hand Knit posted:OP seems to be straightforwardly looking for something like "the film makers are consciously and explicitly making use of a prima facie political system of ideas (or prima facie political idea which is part of a political system of ideas) to guide the creation of a film." The sort of stuff that someone who imagines most of the world (and most movies) as apolitical would nevertheless easily see as political. Bingo. Something as blatant as "Life Of Brian." Not so much something with a "hidden" meaning, but more something that you watch and go: "Sheesh, tell us what you really think" On second thought, Joker is probably in with a shout there 'cos even though I think it tries hard to be a character study, it's pretty blatant with its "eat the rich" theme quote:I think it would be cool to give that class Cats, tell them it was ideological but not how, and ask them to figure it out for themselves. You'd probably get some great answers. This would be freaking hysterical, but I do try to avoid traumatising my students.
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Jan 7, 2020 10:04
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Apologies for the double post. However I just watched Okja. It was a fantastic film and if you haven't seen it, go watch it. And the way it handles ideology is perfect. It's obvious, but also an organic part of the story. It's the EXACT sort of movie I'm looking for! ...but HOLY gently caress there are some scenes in that I couldn't show. The pig rape? The slaughterhouse scene? Oh drat. Please do not interpret that as though I am hating on the film. Those disturbing scenes are the entire point of the film and the film is better off for having them. Which also means I couldn't do a sneaky edit and maintain the film's integrity. However I would rather not have a class worth of angry parent phone calls wanting to know why their kid has decided to go vegan. Good suggestions though, and I hope this gives another good reference point for what I'm looking for.
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Jan 7, 2020 14:34
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This whole thing is misguided because ideology is at its purest in films that are ostensibly non-ideological. What you are asking for, instead, are just political films.
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Jan 7, 2020 15:08
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Yeah, anything by Michael Bay oughtta do the trick.
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Jan 7, 2020 16:21
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bright (2017)
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Jan 7, 2020 16:29
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H13 posted:Apologies for the double post. Oh, I suppose that might be an issue. Maybe 2018's The Favourite might be a better shot. It even involves the monarchy, which makes it respectable. e: randomly going through a list of movies from the google search "top movies 2018" also reminds me of Shoplifters, which is also a great pick assuming your students aren't scared off by subtitles. Same goes for Roma (which should be on Netflix), and Capernaum.
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Jan 7, 2020 16:35
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Hand Knit posted:Oh, I suppose that might be an issue. Maybe 2018's The Favourite might be a better shot. It even involves the monarchy, which makes it respectable. This thread is 90% movies with handjob scenes
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Jan 7, 2020 16:37
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DeimosRising posted:This thread is 90% movies with handjob scenes Yes but they're very tastefully done. And, again, involves the monarchy.
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Jan 7, 2020 16:38
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