Pop Culture Confessions
1. I did not like Dr. Horrible's sing-along blog. Sorry, I didn't! I dont even have many complaints, it was just sort of there. Not quite funny, not quite riveting. I appreciate what Joss Whedon is trying to do by bypassing the typical movie routine, so I still support the flick, but it aint good.
2. I have been fighting for years the urge to be attracted to Christian Bale. And I even know why. Because back in 1994, my friend Keleigh Reyes (remember her, anyone?) was obsessed with him. She kept going on about this guy I had never heard of, and showed me Little Women as the proof that he was hott. Yeah, that movie (that has been circulating around digital cable) is 3 hours long. But, he wasnt hott. For all the damn yacking she did about it when I still probably thought boys had cooties, he was not so attractive in that movie. So since then I have fought any attraction because I think about sitting through that long-ass movie because Keleigh was obsessed with him.
But I think I have failed at fighting the urge. Not only is he attractive in the Batman movies, but he is animal person...THE KILLER with me! I checked IMDB about him today since I was curious what nationality he is. Stupid I know, but I have heard him talk with both an American and British accent. But ugh, according to IMDB...which isnt the most official I know, he has all sorts of adopted pets (so does Orlando Bloom, so what?) AND gives money to organizations like World Wildlife Fund and DIANE FOSSEY's GORILLA FUND. IT HAD TO BE GORILLAS. So damn it, I have been melted into a mush. I hate when I read about celebrities that would be the perfect guy, if only we had any chance in hell of meeting and he wasnt a gorgeous unattainable celebrity.
3.
I was going to write this anyway, so dont think of it as an attack!
So basically I have learned through experiencing some rides at Disney and various movies that I should have an 80-year-old grandmother preview anything for me to warn me what I will find uncomfortable and scary. Because I found the beginning of The Dark Knight too violent for my liking. And knives, why did it have to be knives!? I can watch bullets and fists fly, but exactly why the Joker likes knives is why I squirm and cant watch the screen. The beginning of the movie played out like a horror movie to me, because it was suspenseful and then every time Heath Ledger came on screen I had to cover my eyes and think dear god dont cut anyone's mouths!!! gah!!!!! . So I wish that beginning part of different. No knives near the face, please. People get hurt that way and its a bloody mess.
But overall, good movie, obviously. Once the Joker became a crazy mass-killing terrorist instead of a face-carver, I could watch the movie comfortably and enjoy it. I think I would enjoy a second viewing, and I do want to see it again in theaters! Even though the plot twists would be revealed, I think I could sit back and enjoy it more. This time I enjoyed it greatly, but was still trying to sort things out that now I can disregard, like why the scarecrow even showed up at all, and trying to recall who knew Bruce Wayne was Batman (I should have recently watched the first one to help).
The saddest thing to me is that the Joker did not have an adequate conclusion, and I guess now never will. If I remember, we left him dangling off a side of a building with the cops around. Unless I am slow, there was no implication of anything permanent that was going to happen to him, like no one saying Youre going to jail for life, you Joker! So my only guess is that the Joker wasnt supposed to have anything permanent happen to him, because he would show up in the next movie. But, I guess not, so I feel like the end of the Joker will not give the character any justice. Sure he just showed up from nowhere, but he is not supposed to disappear afterwards! He must go down in flames!
The movie overall surprised me in how dark it was. Looking back, those other Batmans with Val Kilmer and George Clooney, etc. look like a farce in comparison to the new ones. Assuming there will be more movies in this series, I find the darkness unsettling. I am not clear what the trajectory is, like is this the darkness, and then it will get better? Doesnt Batman perpetually battle villains? So will life in Gotham be this dark forever? I question if the original graphic novel was supposed to be this dark if none of the previous interpretations took the battle between Batman and the villains that seriously. For example, I do not even see how silly villains such as Mr. Freeze and Cat Woman can be portrayed in Chris Nolan's films.
I could go all into my thoughts since my brain has no homework to spend time on, so it thinks about Pop Culture like this. Like, is this the Batman for the 21st Century? The Joker was scary because no one understood him. He didnt want money or material wealth like the gangsters. He could not be figured out through logic, he did things seemingly arbitrarily because no one could understand his motives. I think this struck with viewers because of the enemy we fight now. The terrorists in the Middle East dont want land or specific wealth, they use esoteric principles as their motivation. Does that make sense? Because I also think it is a Modern interpretation to question what a hero is exactly. People can do heroic things, but it is naive to believe that a hero is squeaky clean and perfect. I liked the message that there is no clear right and wrong all the time, sometimes you have to make a tough decision with no purely good consequence.
I guess overall what Im trying to say is that this movie showed that good and evil is not always understandable or simple. The movie took a nuanced approach to the battle between Batman and the Joker instead of the simplistic views shown before in past Batman films. Sorry if my thoughts sound like an in-class essay...my science classes destroyed my writing ability. This movie was so good that I think it activated that long-dead part of my brain that would over-analyze Buffy/Angel and the X-Files so that I think about it all day instead of being productive....so good work, Batman.
2. I have been fighting for years the urge to be attracted to Christian Bale. And I even know why. Because back in 1994, my friend Keleigh Reyes (remember her, anyone?) was obsessed with him. She kept going on about this guy I had never heard of, and showed me Little Women as the proof that he was hott. Yeah, that movie (that has been circulating around digital cable) is 3 hours long. But, he wasnt hott. For all the damn yacking she did about it when I still probably thought boys had cooties, he was not so attractive in that movie. So since then I have fought any attraction because I think about sitting through that long-ass movie because Keleigh was obsessed with him.
But I think I have failed at fighting the urge. Not only is he attractive in the Batman movies, but he is animal person...THE KILLER with me! I checked IMDB about him today since I was curious what nationality he is. Stupid I know, but I have heard him talk with both an American and British accent. But ugh, according to IMDB...which isnt the most official I know, he has all sorts of adopted pets (so does Orlando Bloom, so what?) AND gives money to organizations like World Wildlife Fund and DIANE FOSSEY's GORILLA FUND. IT HAD TO BE GORILLAS. So damn it, I have been melted into a mush. I hate when I read about celebrities that would be the perfect guy, if only we had any chance in hell of meeting and he wasnt a gorgeous unattainable celebrity.
3.
I was going to write this anyway, so dont think of it as an attack!
So basically I have learned through experiencing some rides at Disney and various movies that I should have an 80-year-old grandmother preview anything for me to warn me what I will find uncomfortable and scary. Because I found the beginning of The Dark Knight too violent for my liking. And knives, why did it have to be knives!? I can watch bullets and fists fly, but exactly why the Joker likes knives is why I squirm and cant watch the screen. The beginning of the movie played out like a horror movie to me, because it was suspenseful and then every time Heath Ledger came on screen I had to cover my eyes and think dear god dont cut anyone's mouths!!! gah!!!!! . So I wish that beginning part of different. No knives near the face, please. People get hurt that way and its a bloody mess.
But overall, good movie, obviously. Once the Joker became a crazy mass-killing terrorist instead of a face-carver, I could watch the movie comfortably and enjoy it. I think I would enjoy a second viewing, and I do want to see it again in theaters! Even though the plot twists would be revealed, I think I could sit back and enjoy it more. This time I enjoyed it greatly, but was still trying to sort things out that now I can disregard, like why the scarecrow even showed up at all, and trying to recall who knew Bruce Wayne was Batman (I should have recently watched the first one to help).
The saddest thing to me is that the Joker did not have an adequate conclusion, and I guess now never will. If I remember, we left him dangling off a side of a building with the cops around. Unless I am slow, there was no implication of anything permanent that was going to happen to him, like no one saying Youre going to jail for life, you Joker! So my only guess is that the Joker wasnt supposed to have anything permanent happen to him, because he would show up in the next movie. But, I guess not, so I feel like the end of the Joker will not give the character any justice. Sure he just showed up from nowhere, but he is not supposed to disappear afterwards! He must go down in flames!
The movie overall surprised me in how dark it was. Looking back, those other Batmans with Val Kilmer and George Clooney, etc. look like a farce in comparison to the new ones. Assuming there will be more movies in this series, I find the darkness unsettling. I am not clear what the trajectory is, like is this the darkness, and then it will get better? Doesnt Batman perpetually battle villains? So will life in Gotham be this dark forever? I question if the original graphic novel was supposed to be this dark if none of the previous interpretations took the battle between Batman and the villains that seriously. For example, I do not even see how silly villains such as Mr. Freeze and Cat Woman can be portrayed in Chris Nolan's films.
I could go all into my thoughts since my brain has no homework to spend time on, so it thinks about Pop Culture like this. Like, is this the Batman for the 21st Century? The Joker was scary because no one understood him. He didnt want money or material wealth like the gangsters. He could not be figured out through logic, he did things seemingly arbitrarily because no one could understand his motives. I think this struck with viewers because of the enemy we fight now. The terrorists in the Middle East dont want land or specific wealth, they use esoteric principles as their motivation. Does that make sense? Because I also think it is a Modern interpretation to question what a hero is exactly. People can do heroic things, but it is naive to believe that a hero is squeaky clean and perfect. I liked the message that there is no clear right and wrong all the time, sometimes you have to make a tough decision with no purely good consequence.
I guess overall what Im trying to say is that this movie showed that good and evil is not always understandable or simple. The movie took a nuanced approach to the battle between Batman and the Joker instead of the simplistic views shown before in past Batman films. Sorry if my thoughts sound like an in-class essay...my science classes destroyed my writing ability. This movie was so good that I think it activated that long-dead part of my brain that would over-analyze Buffy/Angel and the X-Files so that I think about it all day instead of being productive....so good work, Batman.