“A competition for misery.” Dead on. I think that’s why I enjoyed “Perfect Days” so much — there was conflict, sure, but it was the kind we all experience in daily life. And you care, because the movie took the time to give the main character a soul. It was nice seeing that onscreen.
Great piece. "Of the expectation that every film must map neatly onto a known crisis.." It feels like this has it's origin in the old MTV Behind The Music. EVERY episode evolved (devolved?) into "And then they hit rock bottom..." (I'm over The Bear now. I feel nothing for any of the characters anymore)
you’re totally right! Behind the Music followed the emotional blueprint: rise, fall, redemption. It trained audiences (who would later be drawn to TikTok) to crave stories that were both seemingly intimate and extreme.
I’m often late to read these but the musings are worth the subscription, no changes. The little bitty optimist in me thinks that we may have the chance to move to something more genuine, human, from exhaustion at the polarity of what we’re consuming. (Also, this is why one of my favorite movies of the last decade is “Paterson”).
The amount of mmmmhmmmmm-Ing I do while reading your columns is wild. Keep it up pls
Really enjoyed this!
thanks for reading, Katie! I hope you're well
"And I’d take that a step further: we tend to look at our own lives the same way. Our lives are not starved for tension; we’re starved for wholeness."
This, all day, every day. Thank you for putting this into words. All climax, no dénouement, no growth.
“A competition for misery.” Dead on. I think that’s why I enjoyed “Perfect Days” so much — there was conflict, sure, but it was the kind we all experience in daily life. And you care, because the movie took the time to give the main character a soul. It was nice seeing that onscreen.
great movie - thanks for bringing it into the conversation here.
Great piece. "Of the expectation that every film must map neatly onto a known crisis.." It feels like this has it's origin in the old MTV Behind The Music. EVERY episode evolved (devolved?) into "And then they hit rock bottom..." (I'm over The Bear now. I feel nothing for any of the characters anymore)
you’re totally right! Behind the Music followed the emotional blueprint: rise, fall, redemption. It trained audiences (who would later be drawn to TikTok) to crave stories that were both seemingly intimate and extreme.
I’m often late to read these but the musings are worth the subscription, no changes. The little bitty optimist in me thinks that we may have the chance to move to something more genuine, human, from exhaustion at the polarity of what we’re consuming. (Also, this is why one of my favorite movies of the last decade is “Paterson”).