Just to clarify, whilst Jemma has done the VO for this list, this script wasn't written by her, and therefore aren't necessarily her views. But yes, we can see that this one is wide of the mark and we'll do better! Apologies if we have offended anyone.

I think SCARFACE should be on this list. So many people saw Tony Montana as a blueprint, and not a cautionary story😢

Also Fight Club was supposed to show those who felt lost how easily it is for others to manipulate them into doing wrong by weaponizing that lost feeling.

When a fan approached Michael Douglas praising his character from the movie Greed and said "Yeah, greed is good!" Michael Douglas replied: "Dude, I was the bad guy.."

Whiplash is almost a psychological horror, but there is absolutely no arguing with the performances. So it is *kind of* inspiring, if you want to become an actor.

I am SHOCKED "American Psycho" wasnt on the list, sigma bros literally take the main character as goals like what?

I almost would have added A Clockwork Orange here as well. People seem to absolutely adore Alex, but he's a horrible person that deserves going to prison. Somehow though, people only see his charisma and revel in his anti-authority missing the point of the whole film.

How did y'all leave off Glengarry Glen Ross?! Alec Baldwin's 'Always Be Closing' scene is held up as the most inspirational and motivational speech in all of business. And the whole movie is an unapologetic, cautionary tale explicitly warning against ending up like his character.

I love that people realize the effects of ptsd in first blood how well stallone played it

Falling Down is the best solo Joker film ever made.

Comments are not disappointing today, lol. Thought Taxi Driver or Raging Bull would have made the list.

No American Psycho? It's loved by the same crowd as Fight Club and Joker. For the same reasons.

Loved most of these, but First Blood is my favourite. It was a tragic story and having known someone who was shunned in this way, it hit home. I have watched it countless times, and the last scene with Trautman always gets me. I thought Stalline was brilliant, and the song at the end is just so true.

I remember watching Whiplash when I was in high school. I didn't want to be like Miles Teller's character. To get so absorbed by perfection that everything else unrelated to your goal falls to the wayside. I'm not that surprised that people would look up to that. . .

Falling Down, Fight Club and Law Abiding Citizen are on this list but I GUARANTEE Gone Girl was never even considered, or any movie like it.

Falling Down is a social commentary masterpiece.

The only thing wrong with Law Abiding Citizen is that Jamie Fox's character managed to trick Butler's character. Per the plot to that point, it was a major break in writing. Morality aside, that bit shouldn't have and couldn't have happened.

didn't see the number one movie "sound of freedom". It looks like a tv-film. But this list is pretty accurate. Also an unpopular opinion but a film like "In to The Wild" should be included, too many people find that one to be insperational, while clearly it isn't... It's about young people who have nothing to complain about and who aren't dumb, still making very dumb decisions out of self-pity. others could be "Natural Born Killers" , "Taxi Driver", "The wolf of Wall Street", "The Big Lebowski", etc...

Pretty much any movie made of Alan Moore's works of anything printed in 2000 AD magazine, in general. Bros stating "Rorschach is my favorite hero!" or V or Dredd or Nemesis. V didn't really care who was in the blast radius, Dredd was still Fa, and Nemesis did in fact blow-up a school bus full of Terran children. Mr Moore's point was how "hero" is an award granted long after the fact; "the end learns to justify the means" --Lord Acton's letter to Archbishop Creighton, 1887. Appreciate Jemma-Gem using sister's image in the intro😉 Keep up the good works💜

No Starship Troopers? The masses see it as a simple sci-fi action movie, missing the point that it's actually a satire on fascism, more specifically fascist propaganda. The propaganda was too good as the masses fell for it, not realizing that the humans were the villains in the movie.

Falling Down was a descent into darkness for the main character. He wanted to see his daughter for her birthday and wasn't allowed to by his estranged wife, and with everything that happened on that day, he just snapped and went slowly down into the deep end. It was a good thing he was finally stopped by the retiring police officer. Also, the narrative of Joker was like that of American Psycho: you couldn't tell which parts were real and which parts only happened in the main character's mind.

The first rule of fight club is we don't talk about fight club

Law Abiding Citizen is an awesome movie that certainly highlights the failures of the American justice system in a very raw way. Was Shelton’s character unhinged and a domestic terrorist? Indeed. But the message it was trying to convey that we need social reform and a major overhaul of our justice system is still there.

Scarface (1983) could be another worthy addition considering how Tony Montoya is lionized by men

I agree with the criticism against Fight Club and I do remember personally seeing all the 'bros' acting like mentioned in this video. However I seem to remember watching an entirely different movie and what I took from it - to this day! - is 'the things you own end up owning you'. Ever since I try not to have more than I can carry with me and I been living like this for decades now (damn that movie is old 😳)

Great job, Jem. Best newer presenter by far

Not sure why but I feel like I've seen this WhatCulture video before but with a different voiceover? This video was posted 9 hours ago, either way great content as always

What happened to that cool guy who called everybody "NERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRDS" ??

With some of these films I think we all get frustrated sometimes so it can be nice to see some of that frustration reflected on film

Considering the best part of Joker is how well it captures the comic characters personality without ever coming off as cartoonish, that is really funny. The movie literally plays out his mantra of his backstory being multiple choice, only slightly hinted at in The Dark Knight. It even shows that everything is mostly in his head. Anyone with even the most basic knowledge of Batman would also know that.

Great to see it back

I always liked "First Blood" because it's one of the few movies not bogged down by an unneeded leading lady.

I agree with this list, though I have to admit, I never saw Sound of Freedom. A lot of war movie classics could have been added to this list, like "Das Boot" or "Full Metal Jacket".

I have no interest in Q Anon or any idiots like them. I saw Sound of Freedom because it looked like a compelling movie that shined a spotlight on a horrible issue plaguing our society. And I liked it too. Hard to watch at times. But no political motivation behind me seeing this movie

I think you guys are kind of reaching on this one. I've heard a lot of people talk about the movie whip lash and I've literally never once Heard anybody say that JK Simmons character was supposed to be some representation of flawlessness. When it comes to learning something everyone I've ever heard talk about This movie has known very much so that he is a flawed person and is abusive to his students. I think maybe you guys are just latching on to the fact that people recognize that sometimes those monstrous things that people do to each other actually push the other person To do something great. Which also is no justification for anyone acting in that way, Just want to clarify that before Anyone thinks that that is what I was meaning...... I will give you guys the Fight Club entry though. Because I feel like that one's pretty split and half. There's like half of the audience who actually understood the meaning of the movie and realized what was going on and the other half That just thought it was a really cool movie and wanted to be Tyler.

Taxi Driver

No one actually takes Joker that serious why in almost 2024 is that a narrative that is still going?

I really loved this list. I'm hoping What Culture dose another one. Here's some more ideas looking at the comment section I hope they can add to the next list if they choose to make it. Glengarry Glen Ross Taxi Driver A Clockwork Orange American Psycho Scarface Gone Girl And something I would like to see personally added is "About Schmidt". If you would like to add any more to this list feel free to in the reply section.

I liked Joker the first time I saw it... When it was called Taxi Driver, or King of Comedy. Good for you, What Culture! You are not wrong, and I concur with your assessment of many getting the wrong impressions from many films. You seem to have ruffled some incel feathers with this list, as even a cursory read of the comments will show. The only reason Sound of Freedom was, as you say, "a box office smash", was because of its unconventional marketing campaign. Wealthy conservatives in many theaters bought out every seat at every showing. Angel Studios, which distributed the movie to cinemas, came up with a "pay it forward" marketing campaign, which encouraged viewers to tell others about the movie and to buy tickets for other people who could not afford to do so themselves. This grassroots campaign helped bolster ticket sales.

So basically this video is written by someone who has typed the names of the movies into twitter and took those opinions as what everyone is thinking. Sorry, but most people can like a movie, even one with a bad main character, without wanting to emulate them. This had to have been written by someone that lives online, entirely.

Absolutely love Rambo First Blood very real depiction of police brutality. harassment and abuse of power. Pushing a traumatized war vet to take action. Would have been even better had John Rambo been Black or Hispanic.

Sound of Freedom is an interesting one. I'm not part of the QAnon movement, but my own research into various aspects of Western culture (especially American) have shown me that child sex trafficking is rife, and that there is indeed a massive cover-up of it all. Therefore, the movie being "widely criticised as inaccurate" is basically a misleading statement that is designed to aid that cover-up. I have not found much (if any) evidence of the movie being inaccurate beyond minor changes either for anonymity purposes or to keep a good pace for the movie. Please show me this evidence, instead of just blindly copying the "critics" (who we know are biased from their comments on other movies).

Law Abiding citizen's Jamie Fox likable character ? Have you seen the damn movie ? Have you seen the comments about it ? 99.9 % of people agree that if you cut the last part of the movie then it becomes one of the greatest movies of all time. The hero is Butler who shows how slimy and unjust the justice system is and how reputation is held up higher than justice which is shown in a really good way on how easy it is to hate Jamie Fox's character. The only person in the movie who I personally feel didn't deserve to die was the blonde woman who at the very least knew there was something wrong with what they were doing.

I think what they are apologising for is the original upload of this list. I might be wrong, but I think the number 1 & 2 spots have been rewritten and are now less attacking of certain groups

I have watched exactly one of those films.

At the time (early 90s) Falling Down wasn't seen by *anyone* as a 'political' film at all. It was one of the first examples of how filmmakers in the 1990s depicted the reality of average US life, and how a person's own experience of their individuality stands in stark contrast to the part they end up playing in a complex, profit-driven economy. Regarding Fight Club, it's difficult to say that it's apolitical, but it doesn't easily fit into the left-right dichotomy of our current society; it's about the desire on the part of the person to self-define (something many on the modern left ought to empathise with) and not to merely fit into the roles pre-arranged for them by society (though it's also about how easily a life of non-conformity can transform into an entirely conformist movement, complete with uniform clothing, ideas and speech). Where Joker is concerned, I know many who empathised with the portrayal of a 'straight white male' who experiences no advantages whatsoever from possessing any of those characteristics; Arthur Fleck is a fascinating character precisely because he stands as an example of how our tendency to overcategorise and to rely on assumptions *genuinely* marginalises people. Put simply, Fleck is a marginalised person who doesn't fit in with the contemporary picture of what such a person should look like. He's not a hero, but he's a symbol of those parts of social reality we inevitably leave out when we pursue justice based on a simplistic idea. It's also important to be aware of 'presentism', or the (all-too-common) phenomenon of assuming that we, here and now, have the correct understanding about things that happened in the past (whether distant or recent). We do not have 20/20 moral vision, and while there will always be things we learn that lead us to see past movies in a new way, there will *also* be cultural and moral changes that will alter what we prioritise and what we condemn (eg. the phenomenon of the 'incel' both in its reality and its stereotype didn't exist in the 1990s). Lastly, we have to accept (difficult as it may be) that there *are* different political and ideological perspectives from which to analyse movies, and that what counts as an example of something dangerous or silly from one perspective will be considered of vital importance from another (and, unfortunately, neither will likely see past the limits of their own perspective).

I agree with all of them except Sound of Freedom. When it came out, how many headlines included Qanon in them? Even though it's never mentioned in the film? It seemed that critics NEEDED some reason to hate it. And all decided on the same thing. Which, again, was never in the movie! Yes, Tyler Durden, not a hero; Joker, not a hero. the guy from Falling Down, not a hero. Those couldn't be clear enough. Sure, they were cool to watch, but not to be emulated. But Sound of Freedom, a fact-inspired tale of child sex trafficing is your number one? The guy who it's based on, actually did save two children from sex trafficers! Is it the overtly Christian thing that makes you hate it? Well, just say "I hate it because it's overtly Christian." Don't deflect into Qanon conspiracy theories. Yes! A conspiracy theory about a conspiracy theory. Good job.

This list was okay until the top spot, but I am glad Whatculture is apologizing because the comments on Sound of Freedom were frankly insulting to its audience and blatantly untrue. Sex trafficking as presented in the movie has not been "discredited" by anyone (it 100% does happen) and calling its audience Q-Anon (who are very tiny and are really only boogieman to the far left who vastly overestimate their numbers) is intentionally insulting. There was no Q-Anon content in it. It would be like hating on "Taken" because it does not show the common way kidnappings happen. No duh. It is a movie. Sound of Freedom never said it was a documentary, and that kind of criticism is entirely the intentionally obtuse nitpicking that sets people off. The only thing some people, like this video, seem to object to is that it was made by a christain company and christain people supported it, as they want more christain movies that are also good. So you are basically calling half the country wanting to support movies that they would like as "the wrong kind of audience". And its inclusion does not even jibe with the subject as what is the disconnect about the film and how the audience received it? The film shows very bad child trafficking, people who saw the movie thought this kind of trafficking was terrible. It was not like the movie secretly glorified trafficking, nor did the audience weirdly think the trafficking was "cool", so what is the "wrong reason"? You are allowed to say you do not like SOF or that its plot was unrealistic, like any revenge/ rescue a kidnapping victim movie . But to insult people's intelligence and insult people for seeing it goes way too far.

Falling Down - The main character is often described as a psycho, or as being crazy, but over the course of the movie, he shows remarkable restraint (for a villain) in dealing with the assholes who antagonize him. He busts up the shop, but doesn't directly attack the owner. He has the opportunity to kill the surviving gang member who tried to kill him, but he only shoots him in the leg. When the guy pisses him off about using the phone, he destroys the phone booth, but doesn't even threaten the guy. When he accidentally fires the rocket into the tunnel, he instinctively puts his arm out to protect the kid who helped him. And when he's hiding with the family and thinks he hurt the little girl, he get genuinely upset. I'm not saying that he's a good guy, but he's not the maniac some people consider him to be. In fact, the only person he injures who wasn't mean to him first is the female cop near the end. Qanon - A sub-segment of the MAGA cult who believe the most outrageous bullshit posted by someone who calls themselves "Q", no matter how many times he's been proven wrong. If Q posted that Donald Trump was going to start flying by farting rainbows, they'd believe it, just like they believe every bit of bullshit that their cult leader spews, no matter how many times HE has been proven wrong. Which perfectly illustrates to the world that America has a huge, ongoing mental health crisis. :(

yall are giving Fight Club too much credit I think

The Sound of Freedom take is way off. I don't blame Jemma, she's a good presenter, but maybe talk to Jack Pooley about his blatant anti-religious bias? It comes through really loud on lists that he writes.

This list was uploaded a few days ago I'm sure

I'm automatically on guard whenever someone mentions that they love Fight Club

Wouldn't call Joker and the Sound of Freedom enjoyed for the wrong reasons since the films perfectly communicated it's message to it's intended audience.

Does the person who wrote the script for this video even communicate with other humans besides the ones from their imagination? I've never heard or read any person claiming to have any of those points of view about any of those movies.

That host gem is pretty hot

D-Fens did nothing wrong

Anyone have the down-votes count?

The narrative for the last entry is pure spin. Quit regurgitating partisan narratives. Pretty sure people came here for movie analysis, not propaganda.

Natural Born Killers is such a stupid movie. I don't see why anyone likes it.

This list highlights how divided the culture has become.

Tyler Durden didn't die. There are 2 graphic novel sequels. People in jail definitely love Low Abiding Citizen.

Fight Club is one of my favorite movies of all time but I admit it's the male version of Eat, Pray, Love 😅

They are way off when it comes to sound of freedom.

How do you know why these movies are popular though? I'm curious....are you just reading the minds of everyone who's seen it, or did go around and ask everyone who's seen it if they liked it and why?

What Culture, i never thought I'd see the day you'd act very political about movies.

IDKH Falling Down is mocked while Gran Torino isn’t they’re the same movie just with a few years in age difference.

Falling Down seems ridiculous until you walk through Chicago, LA, San Francisco, New York, St Louis..... pretty much any liberal hell hole 😂 don't step on needles kids

They aren't 100% wrong about SOF. The US far right has propelled movie. I don't know if it was marketed to them. But apparently you have a lot of them subscribed to your channel.