Being John Malkovich and the Office Movies of 1999

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3 жыл бұрын

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Being John Malkovich is often discussed amidst the other office movies of 1999 (The Matrix, Fight Club, Office Space, and American Beauty), but rarely analyzed from this perspective to the same degree. In this video essay, I contextualize Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman's masterpiece within the Celluloid Cubicle. Fun and spoilers lie ahead.
Follow me on Twitter: / danpgsimpson
Filmography: letterboxd.com/pgcooper/list/...
Works Cited:
The Celluloid Cubicle: Regressive Constructions of Masculinity in 1990s Office Movies. Hunter Latham, 2003.
Best. Movie. Year. Ever. How 1999 Blew Up the Big Screen. Brian Raftery, 2019.
Folding Ideas - Fight Club and Toxic Masculinity. Dan Olson, 2015.
Why All Movies From 1999 Are the Same. Now You See It, 2019.
Music Featured:
A Gradual Descent into the Chamber of Darkness by Scott Lawlor
Fragmented Pianos by Mikael Lind
Serial Killer by John Bartmann
Both Flanks by Small Colin
Love Him by Loyalty Freak Music
Setup With An E by Small Colin
Finally Lost by Hinterheim
Symphony No. 2: Truth by Steve Combs
More Eyebrow Cinema:
The Decay of Cinema - • The Decay of Cinema
Hierarchies of Violence in The Shining - • Hierarchies of Violenc...
Star Wars Can't Move On - • Star Wars Can't Move On
Movie Theaters and the Value of Inconvenience - • Movie Theaters and the...
How Terence Young Made James Bond - • How Terence Young Made...
What is the Appeal of Friday the 13th - • What is the Appeal of ...
The Indifference of The Birds - • The Indifference of Th...
Dawn of the Dead and the Happy Consumer - • Dawn of the Dead and T...
Inception and The Dreamer - • Inception and The Dreamer
The Curious Case of Forrest and Benjamin - • The Curious Case of Fo...
Fan Entitlement and the Quick Fix - • Fan Entitlement and th...
Summer with Monika - Breaking the Fourth Wall - • Summer with Monika - B...
Learning to Love Batman Returns - • Learning to Love Batma...
The Apartment and How to Write Movies Good - • The Apartment and How ...
Silent Films are Like Hard Liquor: A Guide to Silent Movies - • Silent Films are Like ...
Night of the Living Dead and the Prison of Intent - • Night of the Living De...
Once Upon a Time in the West - Setting the Stage - • Once Upon a Time in th...
Indiana Jones - The Face of Jewish Vengeance - • Indiana Jones - The Fa...
The Citizen Kane Effect and the Rashomon Test - • The Citizen Kane Effec...
Barry Lyndon - The Unworthy Protagonist - • Barry Lyndon - The Unw...

Пікірлер: 136

@thattimestampguy 3 жыл бұрын

0:26 Introduction 1:32 Same Realm (Office Life), Multiple Genres capture The Realm 1999 - The Year of The Cubicle 3:14 _Being John Malkovich_ 4:39 Craig Schwartz 6:38 How BJM connects To The Cubicle 8:09 A Workplace without a clue 9:07 Feeling of Inadequacy 11:07 Frustration, Lacking, A Mess Growing a spine 14:49 Craig is a villainous protagonist 17:13 Cruelty of manipulation 18:06 A Good Ending? 18:22 It is not a fair movie 20:45 Escaping, but where to? Full Circle Ending

@EyebrowCinema 3 жыл бұрын

I love this.

@zetetick395 Ай бұрын

There's another really enjoyable 'office adjacent' flick from 1999 called _The Big Kahuna_ (it takes place in a hotel room before a sales conference) with the always wonderful Danny Devito getting surprisingly deep. - Definitely one in the spirit of the others discussed.

@comradejosephstalinoftheus8698 3 жыл бұрын

This style of film is briefly shown at the beginning of The Lego Movie. Emmet starts his day with a morning routine which he has repeated his entire life and which comes out of an instruction manual titled, "How to Fit In, Have Everyone Like You, and Always Be Happy!". The instruction manual tells him how to live, what to do, and even which sports team to root for; no one has any free time to enjoy life. When Emmet goes to work, they begin to sing the #1 hit song, " Everything is Awesome ", and they sing the song for FIVE HOURS, imagine having your life dulled down to doing a morning routine and then listening to the same pop song for an entire day. Lego Movie is a comedy primarily, but a very dark social commentary lies underneath: that your life is the same routine being repeated over and over with no escape. 10/10 animated film.

@EyebrowCinema 3 жыл бұрын

Good connection.

@comradejosephstalinoftheus8698 3 жыл бұрын

Hehe, thanks.

@ShirDeutch 2 жыл бұрын

Except Emmet is a construction worker. Maybe this is a continuation of Office Space!

@comradejosephstalinoftheus8698 2 жыл бұрын

@Shir Deutch Oh, shit, its all connected!!

@brutalboy1000 3 жыл бұрын

It's been interesting watching these movies as a teenager in 1999 vs. watching them in my late 30's in 2021.

@mrflipperinvader7922 2 жыл бұрын

Now nobody has to worry about loosing their identity

@aperson4640 3 жыл бұрын

Being John Malkovich is one of the greatest movies ever made. It's deep and has a lot to say, but also smart enough to be witty and absurd to keep from being boring. Movies rarely are so tightly woven and highly potent.

@McSlobo 2 жыл бұрын

True, love it. Insanity at its finest.

@archivehans 2 жыл бұрын

Charlie Kaufmen is one of the greatest writers ever

@clumsydad7158 Жыл бұрын

i need to watch it again, cause it's prob another one of Kaufman's i wasn't really crazy about, but will prob like better now

@SnapperChannel 3 жыл бұрын

Now I’m wondering what it be like if this and Office Space existed in the same building. Like this whole fiasco with John Malkovich happening at the same time as “Did you get the memo?”. Great video once again Dan.

@EyebrowCinema 3 жыл бұрын

Now that's the most ambitious crossover in film history.

@JohnMoseley 3 жыл бұрын

There's a deep fake mash-up on KZfaq somewhere of The Matrix and Office Space: Neo takes the blue pill and goes back to his life, which is the office space life.

@milfsfilms 3 жыл бұрын

malkovich malkovich malkovich? malkovich malkovich malkovich

@neonsmoviereviews7969 3 жыл бұрын

MALKOVICH!!!!

@henryglennon3864 3 жыл бұрын

M A L K O V I C H

@randywhite3947 5 ай бұрын

Malkovich

@robloxdeathnoise8034 3 жыл бұрын

I remember someone talking about how good they must have had it back then to complain about office jobs which paid all bills being boring, and I think there’s something deeper there. A lot of the movie’s protagonists can live a comfortable life and can afford to escape the office life (well maybe neo is doing something a lot bigger than individual escape but nonetheless). It focuses on individuals escaping unhappiness through their own individual lives, sometimes using it to reconnect with lovers or family, but I wonder about trying to apply this for the current economic conditions, where you can’t afford to get out and your labour is squeezed out as much as possible in many jobs, like fast food, factory work, or office jobs, where a lot of the characters from these movies suffered from boredom. The best example I can think of is sorry to bother you, which is a lot more bleak in terms of working conditions and the protagonist finds fulfillment through a collective struggle and individual existence rather than climbing the office ladder. I wonder what other movies are out now that examine these workplaces in different ways or come to different conclusions.

@dwc1964 3 жыл бұрын

The thing is that even if the office job pays good enough to meet all one's needs comfortably, that only lasts just as long as one keeps going in. And once pensions gave way to 401k in the 1980s, the certainty that one's time in that role had an end was gone, if one thing or another goes wrong. So it's a bit of a gilded cage. My favorite ending was _Office Space_ because our protagonist isn't just going into a more "masculine" job, but a more _useful_ and _productive_ job. The few times I've been able to do anything along those lines have given me a similar feeling of satisfaction - where I could look back after the day at what I'd done and feel good about having done that, something entirely missing from my job making corporate lawyers' documents work properly. It'd be even better if it were explicitly a union job and he went to meetings and helped the shop steward, but that's a lot to pack into the last 2 minutes of a movie that's not about that.

@robloxdeathnoise8034 3 жыл бұрын

@@dwc1964 yes definitely. I worked in a law office as a clerk preparing documents and the like too and hated it while doing work in an academic library was much better since it was solitary, relaxing, interesting, and I felt obligated to help a lot more since I viewed as preserving information for others. I think all work sucks, but when it’s useful it feels a lot better when you have to go in and out day after day compared to jobs that are useless or are actively harmful in some way or another.

@clumsydad7158 Жыл бұрын

hmmm, interesting, one of the problems for me now is that any job seems like it's just pushing more crap we already know isn't good for people, planet, the world ... crisis of meaning, etc ... not just personal, but like, the whole enchilada !!

@DesignatedMember 3 жыл бұрын

The fact that Craig's bullshit puppetering only works because he takes over the flesh of a celebrity is such an hilarious indictment of "art and artists" to me. He keeps telling people that you need to *reach* your audiences, not lie to them under any circumstance, yet the only reason he gets popular is his Malkovich-flesh. Its the same style of puppetering, just a different flesh doing it. He isn't reaching anyone and its all lies! And he doesn't even seem to notice! Nor does Hollywood or the Media who proclaim him a genius! It really brings home how all those highminded statements you often hear from "artists" are just a smoke-screen for a desire to be adored by the masses.

@raviamodernepic 3 жыл бұрын

For me, Office Space cemented the Geto Boys as the clap back music to office culture. Need to rewatch BJM now that I can actually understand abstract concepts haha. Great video!

@EyebrowCinema 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@aliciaortega4299 3 жыл бұрын

i always found it so interesting that so few people comment on how truly messed up Being John Malkovich is. all i knew going into it was “malkovich, malkovich?” but i left with so much more. i love your videos. keep up the good work.

@EyebrowCinema 3 жыл бұрын

The rewatch that prompted this video was something of a revelation for how dark and unnerving the film really is.

@Hack_The_Planet_ 3 жыл бұрын

I recently watched both this and Adaptation. Such incredible ideas

@smillman437 3 жыл бұрын

Adaptation 🙌

@petermorris1898 2 жыл бұрын

@Anurag did he do Synecdoche New York though? I couldn't deal with that, it was just too miserable and interiorised. Loved Adaptation. Brilliant Being JM was good too

@baldinggrey5368 3 жыл бұрын

I think Donnie Darko fits quite nicely in this niche as well. It's kind of the high school version of the cubicle movie. It came out on 2001 but I'd say the 90s only ended in 2001:)

@EyebrowCinema 3 жыл бұрын

Hmmm interesting point. It's certainly tapping into a similar malaise.

@jvgreendarmok 2 жыл бұрын

What about the 2000 version of Bedazzled?

@krautgazer 2 жыл бұрын

Not to mention The Office, the British sitcom, started in 2001 as well. :)

@CodyVondell 2 жыл бұрын

donnie darko was set in the 80s, felt more like an homage to 80s movies than a cubicle movie.

@remuslazar2033 2 жыл бұрын

90s ended in 2001. You mean 9/11 2001?

@Jezzascmezza 3 жыл бұрын

I’ve been burnt out on many film-related video essays lately, but yours are a step above the rest 🙂 Always excellent and engaging analysis

@pdzombie1906 3 жыл бұрын

I always thought Craig's fate was a bit tragic, but now I see he had it coming all along... I can also see this is Kaufman's own cautionary tale about being someone different than yourself... Great analysis!!! Thanx!!!

@reinjouke9743 2 жыл бұрын

Even American Psycho first this kind of, it takes place in the 80s but it is shown the walls street guys are bored as hell.

@xdproductions3087 6 ай бұрын

It’s the eighties idea of office jobs through a jaded late nineties lens.

@MousePounder 3 жыл бұрын

This was a fantastic watch. BJM is one of my very favorite movies but I certainly never thought about it like this. 21:47 makes me think about when I have been a "Craig" in the past and how I still am battling that feeling. 👏👏👏Well Done Dan👏👏👏

@EyebrowCinema 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Mouse. As a fan, I'm glad this impressed you.

@lolamby1 3 жыл бұрын

Yay for growing as a person. :)

@dwc1964 3 жыл бұрын

I am this genre's target audience. _Office Space_ is my absolute favorite of the bunch, particularly the protagonist's version of victory - being able to do something _useful_ and _productive_ with his days. (but I'm repeating a reply I just posted to someone else's comment, so I'll leave that there.) I'm one of those guys who fell into the cubicle because it was what I knew how to do that someone would pay me enough to live on when I had to go ahead and do that, rather than figure out what there might be to do that I might actually _want_ to do. No time for that, gotta make the rent. Back around the time of these movies was when it was becoming clearer to me that if I didn't escape soon, I never would, and I'd be stuck there forever. These movies tapped into that and fed into it as well. I'm still there.

@ianstratton 3 жыл бұрын

Worth noting that 1999 also brought us the Dilbert tv series.

@EyebrowCinema 3 жыл бұрын

Excellent point.

@zetetick395 Ай бұрын

Lol John Cusacks 'reaction-to-Lester' face 🤣7:22 🤣

@TorontoJock1 3 жыл бұрын

Great deconstruction. Very insightful. Thank you

@EyebrowCinema 3 жыл бұрын

My pleasure!

@jamesgumm2281 3 жыл бұрын

I think Eyes Wide Shut, which also came out in '99 fits into this genre but from an aristocratic character of the same age's point of view.

@clumsydad7158 Жыл бұрын

doesn't sound quite right, but i guess i kinda agree, haha

@thecustomizer2008 Жыл бұрын

My favorite part of BJM is that one second long frame of Brad Pitt, idk why that scene always makes me laugh. Just Maxine explaining Malcovichs puppetry and then she walks away and the cameraman cuts to a confused Brad Pitt for only a second

@milfsfilms 3 жыл бұрын

eternal sunshine.. (or synecdoche new york for those true film fans) is often cited as their fav kaufman but it will always be this one for me

@EyebrowCinema 3 жыл бұрын

It might be mine too. For a long time I was team Eternal Sunshine but this viewing was something of a revelation.

@EclecticDD 3 жыл бұрын

I saw this in the theater and I'm not sure how many times again since 1999. Catherine Keener was just becoming known and Diaz and Cusack were in such different roles than we had previously seen them in. Then you realize that even Octavia Spencer is in this movie.

@Tomasz30899 2 жыл бұрын

I love the closing remarks! Very nice conclusion!

@ozzyisthirsty8105 3 жыл бұрын

Really underrated film!!! Great analysis :) enjoyed this video immensely

@randywhite3947 5 ай бұрын

Underrated? This film is considered to be one of the best films of the 90s

@LynnHermione Жыл бұрын

Something else that makes Neo not like the other protagonists is that his office job is not his only, or even most lucrative job. Even before being unplugged, Neo was a hacker. Honestly the office seems more a cover for his illicit activities than an actual job he needs.

@thesummerofmark 3 жыл бұрын

Excellent work, as always. Definitely in your top 5 videos. I honestly don’t remember Being John Malkovich being as bleak as you present it. I saw it years ago (around high school I think) and I remembered it as a whacky surreal black comedy. Maybe I should rewatch it

@JohnMoseley 3 жыл бұрын

Clockwatchers from 1997 is a great example of the tendency, predating all of these.

@postmodernrecycler 2 жыл бұрын

I luuuuuuv Clockwatchers. Also, In the Company of Men from 1997 predates these, too.

@JohnMoseley 2 жыл бұрын

@@postmodernrecycler Oh yeah, well remembered - although that one seems a bit more like a precursor to American Psycho than one of these boredom of the cubicle films. I like your avatar, speaking of fantastic movies.

@postmodernrecycler 2 жыл бұрын

@@JohnMoseleyYah, I agree it's more American Psycho. That's a film where the office is conspicuously absent, while always implied by the lifestyle and critiques of the characters. And, thanks; I think Buñuel's film is both a supreme aesthetic achievement and also somehow more relevant philosophically now than in the '70s.

@JohnMoseley 2 жыл бұрын

@@postmodernrecycler That's interesting about Buñuel. Care to expand? If I had to guess, I might say it's that inequality has become so much worse since then, so the fact that no rich person ever really gets to taste their wealth now makes their pursuit of that wealth even more obscene and ridiculous (the meal is another obscure object of desire, you don't have it even when you have it).

@postmodernrecycler 2 жыл бұрын

@@JohnMoseley It's that Buñuel's concept is now concrete. Postmodernism is the layers of multiple realities (Republic of Miranda; the soldier's dream; waking up from the nightmare at the ending; the theater curtain opening at dinner, etc.). These realities all compete for meaning amid the old establishments (The Church; government; military; bourgeoisie) and new nihilism (the terrorist girl; guns and bombs; jet planes and typewriters drowning out words; funerals in restaurants and other absurdity). There's a real anxiety of what humanity becomes, once "modernity" has freed our minds. The ending with the aimless walking down the road together as the credits roll is one of the greatest question marks about civilization since Kenneth Clark's "stick in the mud" epilogue.

@robertprice9595 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for posting, very good and very interesting. I think this genre has a long history and could include The Apartment and Falling Down. And I think Monsters Inc is actually nostalgia for the 9 -5.

@zetetick395 Ай бұрын

There's another really enjoyable 'office adjacent' flick from 1999 called *The Big Kahuna* (it takes place in a hotel room before a sales conference) with the always wonderful Danny Devito getting surprisingly deep. Funny and Humane: Def worth a watch!

@krautgazer 2 жыл бұрын

Have you ever seen Jacques Tati's Playtime? It was 1967 and Jacques Tati already had an entire sequence in the film as a satire of cubicle work when cubicle offices were not even a popular thing yet, it was only starting to get implemented that very year. I know it has little to do with the overall theme of this video (1999 being the year of the cubicle film) but Playtime is a masterpiece and I love to mention it, lol.

@kuncivani 3 жыл бұрын

Great video! Thank you. Dont you think that the tv series british tv series the office is a continuation of the office movies? Only i think that in the tv series, the characters dont get the life changing, climactic victorious moments, because its much more closer to real life and the characters are not portrayed as protagonists?

@EyebrowCinema 3 жыл бұрын

Excellent comparison.

@kuncivani 3 жыл бұрын

@@EyebrowCinema Do you have some thoughts on it?)

@janethayes5941 3 жыл бұрын

You are really good at this.

@EyebrowCinema 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Janet. You're very kind to say so :)

@closeoutentertainment 3 жыл бұрын

You stole my video idea! Great video! Very informative.

@stevecoats5656 3 жыл бұрын

Wall Street didn't portray the office job as sexy and exciting. Both Charlie Sheen and Michael Douglas end up in trouble with the law in the end. The morally pure character, ironically, is Martin Sheen, who plays a blue collar worker. But the movie's not even about office work; it's a morality play on the dangers of greed. Your channel is great, by the way. I just had that quibble.

@ArtDocHound 3 жыл бұрын

Great channel.

@EyebrowCinema 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks, friend. I appreciate that.

@RLMonkey13 2 жыл бұрын

Great video! I particularly love your analysis of the scene where Lotte comes out as trans to Craig. Also, the fact that the monkey flashback has subtitles is really funny to me. Such a brilliant touch. Makes me want to rewatch the rest of the movie.

@mediatransmission 3 ай бұрын

Did this video get copyright claimed? If so, what did you do to resolve it?

@nateds7326 2 жыл бұрын

1:09 very subtle dialogue here

@thevikingbear2343 2 жыл бұрын

4:45 correction. That NYC apartment is not small by any definition of NYC apartments.

@EyebrowCinema 2 жыл бұрын

Fair point.

@zenleeparadise 3 жыл бұрын

A+ work

@juhaniaho6698 3 жыл бұрын

10:34-10:37 Hank Hill: BWAAH!

@clumsydad7158 Жыл бұрын

Charlie Kaufman is one of my favorites ... even movies that I didn't enjoy at first like Synecdoche, NY-Anomalisa-I'm Thinking of Ending things i have ended up watching 3-4x each. I just watched Human Nature yesterday, hadn't seen it in forever. p.s. - office jobs do kinda suck but other jobs are much worse

@yahooanswers4843 Жыл бұрын

oh man i forgot about being john malkovitch. my dad decided to show it to me when i was around 8 or 9 (don't ask me why) and i remember being confused but rather enjoying it. funnily enough, i am a transgender man and looking back i remember being intrigued at the idea of lottie being trans, but not really knowing why. i also really liked the 7 1/2th floor thing, and i still think thats a really cool choice. love the channel, keep it up!

@Dyojenes 3 жыл бұрын

Amazing movie!

@lefteyereport6354 2 жыл бұрын

The cubicle films happened to coincide with the rise of neoliberalism, and the fact that none of these characters actually achieve more than temporary catharsis before finally just saying "I guess this is ok" I think has a lot to do with the combination of the end of the cold war and the deindustrialization of the US to outsource labor primarily to the third world.

@mou6854 2 жыл бұрын

neoliberalism was in America for decades at that point though

@VelkanKiador 2 жыл бұрын

4:48 Who... Who actually sets out to be a puppeteer? How do you decide that you want to actually make a career in puppeteering? O__o

@atulyabharadwaj2279 3 жыл бұрын

Tsai ming liang?

@daviddenis4178 2 жыл бұрын

The fact that Being John Malkovich wasn't even nominated for Best Picture in 1999 is still a travesty.

@robert0price 2 жыл бұрын

Confirms my bias I like it

@cousinbernardcletus 2 жыл бұрын

I grew up watching these kinds of movies and now I’m realizing that they kind of instilled this anti-corporate pro-doingwhatevermakesyouhappy mentality within myself, I always hated fishing but now I wanna give it a try

@TimLee356 Жыл бұрын

"get out" with complications

@CenterRow 3 жыл бұрын

Comment for the algorithm

@EyebrowCinema 3 жыл бұрын

May it look favourably on our endeavors.

@auldthymer 3 жыл бұрын

same

@lyonellaverde3135 3 жыл бұрын

It's telling how sympathetic and likeable actor John Cusack is that I was rooting for him until halfway through the movie. Another actor would have been more immediately repugnant to an audience.

@robgronotte1 2 жыл бұрын

Hmm, Craig is a bad guy, but worse than the Narrator in Fight Club? He blows up several large buildings. It is at night, but it probably still resulted in at least quite a few deaths.

@harrywilson1660 Жыл бұрын

The things Craig does are worse than what the Narrator does? I mean, I'm not *sure* you're wrong, but the Narrator is pretty extreme.

@barista_2060 Жыл бұрын

Disclaimer: no - I'm not trying to justify Schwartz's actions but all the main characters were terrible in the movie (what you seemedd to omit). Incl. Maxine. She was basiscally a femme fatalle. She was playing with Schwartz's, Luddie's (and probably even Lester's) feelings for her own benefit and satisfaction. She was also the one who decided to make a business out of John Malkovich's life. In general she was obviously aware of Schwartz's affection but seemed content with keeping Schwartz around like a puppy as long as she could gain sth from that relationship. But it didn't stop her from destroying his marriage. Not because she cared about him but simply for fun. She intentionally seduced Lottie while she was in Malkovich's body. She didn't even shy away from setting up a date with Lottie right in front of her husband. And that's all even before the sexual coercion happened so you cannot excuse it as her taking the revenge.

@antoniosugar7044 4 ай бұрын

Hell, even Lotte (the most sympathetic character in the movie bar Malkovich) tries to kill a pregnant Maxine

@hellofriend545 6 ай бұрын

I don’t really watch horror movies, but Being John Malkovich was a horror movie to me. It was so deeply disturbing watching these characters behave so heinously, I mean, locking your wife in a cage so you can go rape her lover?? So twisted…

@barista_2060 Жыл бұрын

16:10 That's sexual coercion not rape. Pls don't misuse significant terms like this.

@Carla-jd1ub 3 жыл бұрын

this was sooo good. It's really interesting how all of it is related to masculinity (and in some cases hence misogyny)

@EyebrowCinema 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Carla :)

@keiththorpe9571 Жыл бұрын

In "The Matrix", "Office Space", "American Beauty", and "Fight Club", our protagonists are your stereotypical Everymen. Flawed, a bit selfish, a bit entitled, but capable of finding happiness and fulfillment because they are, at their core, redeemable people. In "Being John Malkovich", Craig never finds, indeed was incapable of finding, such happiness and fulfillment because his problem wasn't his soul-crushing job. His problem was that he never had a soul to crush. He was a wretched, empty husk of a human being, without the capacity for reflection and self-evaluation because he was fundamentally and irretrievably damaged. His ultimate fate is more than well deserved.

@dogmeat7486 Жыл бұрын

I don't actually believe that the matrix is an allegory for the trans experience. It was written long before the writers *both* changed their perceived gender. Long before it became fashionable to do so and when doing so was seen as weird, creepy and even unhinged. What are the chances that both brothers actually had gender dysphoria, and decided to inset that into their movie? alot less than them just retroactively claiming that it was part of the film during a time when doing so not only gets copious amounts of attention but likely shielded them from criticisms from their peers. Obviously this comment will garner hatred and criticisms, however, I am an adult capable of withstanding japes and jabs from idiots on the internet, unlike some people that tend to alter their persona and entire identity to align with politics and fashion. The "identity politic" stage of western civilization is certainly interesting to watch, albeit sad and depressing.

@florinivan6907 Жыл бұрын

The thing about the trans allegory is that its there only if you squint your eyes. Ie Neo is unsure about who he is which yeah I guess its applicable to someone who has gender disphoria. But there is nothing in the text that limits it to just that interpretation. There's a reason why it appealed to most people in 1999. Its story about a nerdy guy in his 30s who has to fight the system has widespread appeal to a lot of people. In fact if you leave out the sci fi stuff and apply it to the real world Neo is an extremist recruited by a bunch of terrorists to fight the system. This interpretation is actually more upfront than the trans one. They pretty much state that anyone can be an enemy ie civilian deaths don't matter.

@dogmeat7486 Жыл бұрын

@@florinivan6907 The thing is that the trans groups aren't really fighting the system, they are a direct result of the system. If your entire government, the people that run it, the elites, the entertainment etc are in favor of a thing, also being in favor of that thing doesn't set you apart as a freedom fighter or traditional extremist, it sets you smack bang in the middle of the main stream. To imply that the trans movement is some kind of fringe movement is to claim that American culture as a whole is a fringe of itself. It really confuses me how people can misunderstand this, if the news is telling you a thing, if the schools, the government, the universities and yes, even the MEGA CORPORATIONS are telling you a thing and you obey that thing, you are a product of the system, you are just another sheep in the herd. So i disagree with the idea you put forward, it is not a trans allegory in the attempt to claim it to be fringe fighting and fighting the system, it IS the system.

@om3g4z3r0 Жыл бұрын

Bring on the bongos 1 and 2 and 1 2 3 go RAce and gender race and gender race and gender cmon everybody race and gender race and gender

@smillman437 3 жыл бұрын

Great video as usual dude.. but what’s with race obsession? “But the matrix throws a wrench into this because Keanu is BIRACIAL-“ OH MY GAWD NO WAY!!!! ... dude, nobody cares. These were casting choices based on acting chops, marketability, budget, and various other film business banalities. You could quite literally do Fight Club with a guy of any race, and it would be Fight Club. It’s 2021. You know, virtue signalling that you see white-coding everywhere is going to go out of fashion. Anyway. I really appreciated your thoughts on Being John Malkovich. I’ve always been disappointed that I didn’t appreciate it as much as you and some others that I talk to about it. I should watch it again.

@kostajovanovic3711 3 жыл бұрын

Just stick with the second part

@lennoxmate4064 2 жыл бұрын

I’ve only just discovered this channel and I’m loving the videos . . . but why is “white dude” a recurring phrase? I never hear a black male character referred to as a “black dude”? The race and gender seem to be over emphasised. Also “Toxic Masculinity” is another one. To accept such a thing should also make one aware of “Toxic Femininity” but I get the feeling there is awareness of one but not the other. Anyway, that aside I’m loving the analysis of these videos. 👍🏽👊🏽

@thefungi8484 2 жыл бұрын

I think it's trying to emphasize the "white privilege" part as a core element of the grievance not being a real or rational threat or a problem

@skotovstudio 10 ай бұрын

Good video, but it is really tiering that you say every time "cis, white, males", just say a man god damnit

@piro5916 2 жыл бұрын

Obviously, you are mistaken.

@SwissCheese667 2 жыл бұрын

While I like the part of your analysis on office films, I find your take on Craig quite unfair. I think your ideological bias is showing when you start throwing around big words like "misogyny" or "transphobia" when attempting to describe his attitude and actions. There, your analysis becomes shallow and feels like pandering to the now dominant woke discourse. Yes, Craig is a petty and selfish little man, but I wouldn't go as far as to call him "cruel". He doesn't seem to enjoy hurting his wife; his reprehensible actions against her are merely driven by desperation, as he sees no other way to fulfill his longing for Maxine. It is the latter who I would describe as being cruel and manipulative - much more so than Craig. The enjoyment she gets from toying with people is obvious ("Oh my darling it's so much more! It's playing with PEOPLE!"), and as much as she is sexy, funny, and charismatic, one has to admit that she is a ruthless person who couldn't care less about other people's feelings. And what about Lotte? She also hits on Maxine first chance she gets without any concern for her husband. I could go on but I think you get my point.

@jeff__w Жыл бұрын

That’s how I saw Craig also-as desperate, unfulfilled and “failed”-and Maxine as cruel and manipulative. I don’t see Craig’s “cruelty and selfishness”-if he is exhibiting those traits-as bringing him back to the same place he started in. (It’s sort of hard to see being trapped inside a seven-year-old girl as being “back to the same place he started in” in any case but whatever.) Rather it’s his desperation and obsession with Maxine that leads him to attempt to re-enter the mind of John Malkovich in a last-ditch effort to win her back. That said, other than that being a fact of the plot, I’m not so sure the _film_ is making any point _about_ that, given that Lotte and Maxine, Maxine being more flawed than Craig, wind up comparatively happy while Craig, presumably, does not.

@sedi2066 10 ай бұрын

I agree. Maxine is very unlikable and almost insufferable. Whereas Craig is extremely impressionable and devoid of any personality

@jakethet3206 3 жыл бұрын

Dude, Fight Club doesn’t belong in here. It’s not a comment on office life or culture or whatever. It’s straight up satire about how messed up the whole “white grievance” culture is.